Billy Idol's "Devils Playground" released today. Sound bites on iTunes.

[Train Wreck]

I just finished listening to the sound clips on iTunes, and it sounds pretty good.  I plan on picking it up from Target during my lunch break.  I'd probably download Rat Race and Scream right now if I wasn't planning on getting the CD later.

As far as I know, this is his first album release in almost 15 years.  I'll leave the reviews to the music connoisseur among us.  For me, it usually amounts to "yay or nay."

[WayAbvPar]

Can't you just get the whole album from iTunes for like $9.99? Or are they only releasing a partial album?

[Train Wreck]

Yes, but I prefer ripping in my own format, especially with that dumb "protection" thing iTunes does.  Still, I usually do download from iTunes, but that's only when I only care about a handful of songs.

[Sky]

Scream was a good track when we talked about it here a while back.

There's simply too many artists on my wishlist before an Idol comeback disc. I should have gotten into pirating music I guess.

[Train Wreck]

It turned out to be on sale at Target for $9.99, no doubt because they know that iTunes and probably other suppliers also have that price.  Competition 4tw.  iTune's copy protection annoys me greatly, but they've transformed the retail part of the industry in a major way.  I've always hated paying full price for a CD when I only liked a few of the songs, and I'm glad to see those days are long gone.  And, of course, retailers also have to adapt to the entire album downloads for $9.99, and adjust their prices accordingly.

I agree that Idol isn't going to be making a big comeback.  There's too much block buster stuff out there for him to shine through, and frankly, I didn't see him clawing back to the top anyway.  It's good enough for me to see that he made a new album without embarassing himself, at least not too much.  The good outweighs the bad, and I have a few new tracks to add to my iPod party mix.  That is  enough for me.  Granted, if that was all a $20 CD had to offer, I would probably steer clear of it.  But the new revolution of "eating the meat and spitting out the bones", or only paying for the songs you like, makes it acceptable.

Several of the tracks are good, but none of them compare to his big hits from the 80's.  A couple of the tracks almost sound ridiculous.  Maybe if he could still scream like he did in Rebel Yell, he could have pulled it off, but he's what?  52 now?  Despite those dark moments, his singing voice is still intact, and most of the tracks are of decent quality.  Billy Idol fans or the curious might want to check out Scream, Rat Race, Sherri, Romeo's Waiting, and Evil Eye.

[Shockeye]

I'm still trying to cleanse my mind of "Shock to the System".

[Train Wreck]

At least you didn't hear Super Overdrive.

[Sky]

Maybe if he could still scream like he did in Rebel Yell, he could have pulled it off, but he's what? 

I always thought his best stuff was his lower-range, more soul-y vocals. Same goes for Boy George, actually, the guy should have been a soul singer instead of that new wave crap (I'm seperating the music from the artist here, I don't care if he's a freak and I don't like Culture Club :P)

[Train Wreck]

Maybe if he could still scream like he did in Rebel Yell, he could have pulled it off, but he's what? 

I always thought his best stuff was his lower-range, more soul-y vocals.

That's pretty much how this one turned out.