Billy Idol Idolizes Himself On New Best-Of Collection

Billy Idol has never had a problem with self-idolatry, and he'll continue that trend with The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, which will be released through Capitol Records on June 24.

The collection span Idol's solo career, from his 1982 eponymous release through 2005's Devil's Playground. The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself will be available in three formats: a CD; a deluxe CD/DVD; and a digital version for those who prefer files to discs. The CD features two new tracks, "John Wayne" and "New Future Weapon," produced by Josh Abraham (30 Seconds To Mars, Limp Bizkit, Staind). The DVD with the deluxe edition includes 13 music videos, including previously unreleased edits of "Cradle Of Love" and "Hot In The City."

You can see Idol perform many of the songs on this new collection at these Canadian dates:

July 4 Coquitlam, BC @ Red Robinson Theatre
July 5 Richmond, BC @ River Rock Casino Resort
July 8 Enoch, AB @ River Cree Resort & Casino
July 9 Calgary, AB @ Fort Calgary
Aug. 6 Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum w/Def Leppard
Aug. 7 London, ON @ John Labatt Centre w/Def Leppard
Aug. 9 Quebec City, QC @ Colisee Pepsi w/Def Leppard
Aug. 10 Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place w/Def Leppard
Aug. 13 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre w/Def Leppard
Here are the tracks on The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself:

"Dancing With Myself"
"Hot In The City"
"White Wedding, Part 1"
"Rebel Yell"
"Eyes Without A Face"
"Flesh For Fantasy"
"Catch My Fall"
"To Be A Lover"
"Don't Need A Gun"
"Sweet Sixteen"
"Mony, Mony" (live)
"Cradle Of Love"
"L.A. Woman"
"Shock To The System"
"Speed"
"World Comin' Down"
"John Wayne"
"New Future Weapon"
Here's what's on the deluxe-edition DVD:

"Dancing With Myself"
"Hot In The City" (previously unreleased uncensored version)
"White Wedding, Part 1"
"Rebel Yell"
"Eyes Without A Face"
"Flesh For Fantasy"
"Catch My Fall"
"To Be A Lover"
"Don't Need A Gun"
"Sweet Sixteen"
"Mony, Mony" (live)
"Cradle Of Love" (previously unreleased extended Billy Idol-only version)
"L.A. Woman"

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Steve Stevens Memory Crash (Magna Carta)

Steve Stevens is best known as the raven-haired foil to platinum-blond pop-punk icon Billy Idol; he’s the leather-clad Les Paul–lover whose incendiary solos lit up Idol hits like “Rebel Yell” and “White Wedding”. But Stevens also moonlights as an instrumental rock-guitar virtuoso, and on Memory Crash he proves to be a startling picker in the same league as Joe Satriani. After the majestic intro of “Heavy Horizon”, Stevens puts the pedal to the metal on the rambunctious fretburner “Hellcats Take the Highway” (he’s got a thing for cool song titles). Both “Small Arms Fire” and “Cherry Vanilla” are seven-and-a-half–minute molten excursions that boast hooky riffs aplenty and ace drumming by Brian Tichy, who has played with the likes of Idol, Ozzy Osbourne, and the great Glenn Hughes.

Stevens shows off his dextrous flamenco-guitar talents at the beginning of the funky “Prime Mover”, and gets all Robin Trower on your ass with a version of “Day of the Eagle” that sees Doug Pinnick from King’s X on bass and vocals. Unfortunately, after nine killer tracks, the CD ends on a weak note when Stevens tackles the lead vocal on the subpar “Josephine”. There’s a reason Billy Idol doesn’t let him sing much.

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