I can’t believe it’s been forty years since “White Wedding” was a massive hit for Billy Idol. I also can’t believe it’s been, I think, fifteen years since I saw him rocking Download Festival. Given he was in his 50s then and is “about 67” according to a Google search now, it’s incredible as well as pleasing to see that he’s still going. Seemingly he bathes in the same spa as Alice Cooper and Mick Jagger.
The Cage is a semi-follow-up to last year’s Roadside EP, and features four absolutely top notch songs. Idol is more rock than punk these days, not that that is anything to complain about, and he’s surrounded himself with a crack set of musical troops. The title track is an absolute barnstorming opener and proves that he’s not just relying on his name to keep himself going these days.
His vocals on “Running From The Ghost”‘s quieter moments do perhaps reveal his age a little, but not in a bad way. You can hardly expect to hear the exact same tones as he was throwing down in 1982, but when he hits those rockier sections… Hell’s bells. It’s like his voice sheds decades. I thought the opening track was good, but this is an absolute gem.
“Rebel Like You” is a little more mainstream rock. Not a bad song, but not the strongest of the quartet on here. It does give the guitar the chance to show off with a nice little solo, and it’s not bad by anyone’s standards… it just faces strong competition on this little collection.
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The funk kicks in for “Miss Nobody” which is the definite oddball song. However, I like it for this reason. It definitely harks back to the golden era of the 80s (maybe even the 70s), but not in a style I think I’ve ever heard Idol touch upon before. It’s groovy as a pair of corduroy trousers and sounds like it comes from the same time period.
A short review for a small release… small in terms of the number of tracks but not in terms of quality. It’s surprise packages such as The Cage EP that keep the interest in long-term artists going. Younger / newer bands need to look to releases like this and ask themselves if they could still be rocking out such tunes in forty years time. Not many could.
Billy Idol is on tour with Television and Toyah with his rescheduled dates in October.
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Header image by Steven Sebring
The Cage EP is out now
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