Billy Idol

It may be debatable when the punk and new wave subculture of the late '70s and early '80s first broke through to the mainstream, but this album remains a perennial contender. Indeed, the cover shot alone perfectly encapsulates the clichés--the sultry pout, black leather vest, tattoos, and spiked bleached hair--of an entire era. After leaving the popular British punk outfit Generation X (represented here by their ubiquitous, if belated American breakthrough hit, "Dancing with Myself"), Idol was shrewd and/or lucky enough to pump up his image just in time for the rise of MTV, infuse his music with guitarist Steve Stevens's metal flash, and hook up with Kiss's former manager--though not necessarily in that order. Former Gen X producer Keith Forsey further burnished Idol's trademark snarl with accessible pop flourishes and yielded two sizable hits, "White Wedding" and "Hot in the City." While "Love Calling" weds some catchy vocal hooks with a Burundi beat to good effect, much of the rest comes off as flaccid, rushed filler. Though 24-bit mastering enhances the sound greatly, the album's brief 10 tracks could have benefited greatly from the inclusion of an original-release track ("Congo Man" was replaced by "Dancing with Myself" shortly after the album's initial '82 release) and several contemporary EP songs that are strangely MIA here. --Jerry McCulley