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1. 

   divider
   

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   I've always loved this album recently gave it a listen. I still really like it. So I looked it up on wikipedia just out curiosity and it turns out that MOST people hated it. Aside from that, it was well ahead of its time in terms of the DIY aspect of its creation. It was made all on 1 computer with very little production.

   So, what's the verdict here guys? Anyone else disagree with the critics and see it as a good album?

   I'm just curious to know what the average industrial/ebm people think about it.

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   Eric Christian
   

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   @divider "I'm just curious to know what the average industrial/ebm people think about it."

   Seriously? Was anyone even paying attention to Billy Idol during that time period? In 1993 I was racing motocross and listening to much more interesting music like Slayer, Alice in Chains, STP, Soundgarden, White Zombie, Ministry, NIN, SP, 242 & FLA to name a few.

   Compared to White Wedding and Rebel Yell Cyberpunk didn't interest me at all when I mistakenly bought it several years later from the bargain bin. If I recall I listened to each song for a minute and then gave it away to some girl I knew soon thereafter. Cyberpunk was seriously lacking in production and the synth sounded really cheeseball especially considering the amount of awesome gear that was available at the time. Honestly though, all that stuff aside I can tell you the number one reason Cyberfunk failed and sunk Billy Idol's career and that was the unknown exit of Steven Stevens. I think if things would have worked out differently and both Billy and Steve would have worked on this concept together for several years it would have been incredible.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   xeno
   

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   I like it - the songs are good (but not great), but I don't get the urge to skip
   any of them...

   The top songs on "Billy Idol" and "Rebel Yell" are better, but if i put on those,
   I have to press "next" on the remote for half the songs...

   (also, in general, if the fans and general public ignores or hates a new release
   by an artist, that's often a good indication that I'm gonna like it :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   DJ Iscariot
   

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   @Eric: http://youtu.be/T3n0vBcW5fc

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   vx cheerleader 69
   

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   I like it a lot, especially the incredibly cheesy dance version of Heroin - that's just toooooooo much, really. And Shock To The System's one of my favorite night-club tracks ever.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   divider
   

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   Wow. So, very few people like it. Hmmm.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   soillodge
   

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   I did not care for the song writing comparatively to his earlier stuff. The theme was cool, part of that whole 1990's sci-fi cyberpunk thing that was seeping into every media outlet and the Tetsuo nature of his music video was neat...

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   But the song writing lacked and when he tried to be edgy, it was just silly. This attempt was cool like Dolph Lundgren was cool in all his really bad sci-fi films. Like "I Come In Peace", or "Universal Soldier". It sure did not age well.

   `michael

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   metaball
   

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   ::White Zombie, Ministry, NIN, SP, 242 & FLA to name a few.::

   considering the records put out by these bands & others who had embraced the imagery, style & ethos of "cyberpunk" in the preceding decade, Billy Idols record was a shallow attempt to lift the imagery without any of the substance or DIY punk ethos to back it up. a bad joke w/ a decent production budget, half-assed programming & backup singers.

   ::"I Come In Peace", or "Universal Soldier". ::

   did you see the epic Mario Van Peebles masterpiece Solo?
   

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   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   divider
   

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   I have to disagree heavily with the negative criticisms of Billy's Cyberpunk album.

   It was always just a pop album and I think people perhaps expected too much from it. Yes, the cover of Heroin is very dated and cheesy (it was Madonna-vogue-era-ish sounding) but the album is a solid listen with some great melodies and tunes.

   I get the impression that people just didn't give the album a chance and I can't blame them. It was very easy to dismiss the Cyberpunk album at the time (after 89, Idol had become irrelevant in the music business) and the mainstream was pushing bands like NIN, White Zombie, and Ministry who had a harder edge sound.

   But there in lies the misconception with this album, at least from the point of view of someone who enjoys it. I never thought of this album as a contender for NIN's broken or any of that mainstream rock-industrial; In fact, I think it's a mistake to make such an association. I don't associate or compare FLA's Tactical Neural Implant with NIN's Broken. Why should I make such comparisons with Cyberpunk? I find that most of the people who have a problem with the album came to with a lot of pre-conceptions. Just give it a chance.

   Instead, Cyberpunk seems to fit more with the Shamen, Utah Saints, and Babble. Many of tracks indeed have that Babble feel to them; it's definitely more of an ambient, chill-out, listen than an industrial vibe.

   I think many people came at this album with expectations of Idol's previous work and because of that were very dismissive. I just think that was the wrong attitude. Yes there is some cheesy-ness to it but that was the prevailing sound of electro-pop music at time and don't forget, it's just an electro-pop album. The lyrics aren't incredible but they certainly aren't bad; compared to most industrial lyrics they're quite good. Compared to Rob Zombie lyrics, they're Shakespearean.

   Of course people wanted to hear that old Idol formula ,and it's there a little bit, but why be so disappointed?

   In spite of this album's flaws, I will defend this album. I love many of the songs and can't stop listening to them when I get a chance to hear them.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    divider
    

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    Hey look, back in 1993, Billy Idol looked like every be-dreaded chick in the industrial scene

    ;)

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    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    metaball
    

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    ::Of course people wanted to hear that old Idol formula ,and it's there a little bit, but why be so disappointed? ::

    i remember hearing about what he was doing before the album was released & being intrigued. as a kid i loved "eyes without a face", "flesh for fantasy", "white wedding" & dancing with myself" ...still do. the word was he'd gotten creative control & was taking the new record in a "cyberpunk" direction. the idea that sprung to my mind was those classic songs with a F242 off-up/evil backing tracks & he'd finally be shedding the cheesy production that had been imposed on him by his evil major label overlords. he'd finally be getting back to his edgy GenX punk roots w/ some contemporary electronics. & then he delivered a bad Jesus Jones style techno record riddled with factory preset synth sounds, hokey riffs & pop cliches. classic image over substance that the whole concept was against.

    ::think if things would have worked out differently and both Billy and Steve would have worked on this concept together for several years it would have been incredible.::

    amen!

    that said i saw him live w/ Steve Stevens @ the Inland Invasion a few years ago & they kicked all kinds of ass.

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    klondike
    

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    Billy Idol's was one of the "coolist" rock stars. He did it longer off better than most, withuot settling into self-parody. Like, oh David Lee Roth. Whiplash Smile is my favorite album. More restained and moody. I can listen to Sweet Sixteen and Don't Have a Gun over and over. Damn, I miss what "pop" music once sounded like. And Steve Stevens was underated throughout the 80's.

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    hollowman
    

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    He took the ball and ran with it. I don't blame him. The problem lay in the fact that he was trying to sell something to the mainstreams that they didn't want to understand and the industry didn't see bucks with a move like that. Take Ministry for example. When With Sympathy was released it gained a following with the New Romantic set. My brothers and I ate it up because it was only one of a small handful of American bands doing that sound and it was very catchy material. But when Ministry started going for more edge and scratching at the surface of the Industrial sound they didn't have that much to lose from the change. They weren't BILLY IDOL and nobody was going to lose a fortune over it. That crossover phase before The Land of Rape and Honey is some of the cheesiest shit from the era considering the more entrenched acts of the time. Idol was in the same ballpark too with Cyberpunk. If he had continued he may possibly have put out his own Land of Rape and Honey in time.

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    metaball
    

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    i don't Billy Idol is capable of anything on the level with Twtich. though i could totally hear him doing it & perhaps that's exactly what i had in mind when i heard about him doing "cyberpunk".

    Posted 1 year ago #

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