BILLY IDOL: Dream Into It (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

The two EPs, “The Roadside” (2021) and “The Cage” (2022), had allowed us to revel in Billy Idol's renewed inspiration. They also made their author realize that their short duration nevertheless required as much promotion as a full-fledged album. So it's with a more classic format that the Brit returns, just over ten years after the excellent “Kings & Queens Of The Underground”. And while the latter was already introspective, “Dream Into It” aims to be the soundtrack to the artist's life, presenting it as a kind of concept album.

Indeed, from the eponymous track, which evokes the childhood dreams of little William Michael Albert Broad on a pop-punk mid-tempo with a haunting sweetness and catchy chorus, to the single ‘Still Dancing’, each song deals with a stage in his life. This retrospective is also evident in the different musical styles covered. Punk energy propels ‘77’, a tornado of freshness duetted with Avril Lavigne, as well as the hyper-catchy ‘Too Much Fun’, dealing with the self-destructive excesses the master of the house experienced in his youth. This theme is also tackled in the company of Joan Jett, with whom he has shared complicity and outrageousness since 1978, on a light, melancholy ‘Wildside’.

This track is one of the best examples of how Billy Idol lays himself bare throughout the nine scenes of this work. The singer opens up like never before, apologizing to loved ones neglected during his career (‘People I Love’). His deep vocals are even reminiscent of Iggy Pop in certain intonations on the astonishing ‘I'm Your Hero’, touching in its sincerity and translating his vision of himself through the eyes of his children and those who love him. Finally, if ‘Still Dancing’ brings this autobiographical work to a close, with hints of the inescapable ‘Rebel Yell’, it is not to put an end to the artist's professional activity, but on the contrary to affirm that he is still alive, energetic and looking to the future.

Beyond its originality, “Dream Into It” exposes a Billy Idol who has never been so touching and captivating at the same time. Each piece of this memoir, as introspective as it is cathartic, proves fascinating and full of riches that are discovered after every listen. At the age of 70, the punk-new-wave legend proves that he is still capable of being creative while taking on the lessons imposed by a life that perfectly symbolizes the authenticity and excesses of rock'n'roll. It's a dazzling return to the limelight, and a harbinger of more surprises to come. - Official website

BILLY IDOL

DREAM INTO IT

BMG

ROCK