It’s amazing that the frontman from Generation X would go on to such fame that would last as long as it has for Billy Idol, and that would generate several ‘best of’ packages in under 30 years for a core set of songs as well-known as these are .  This new compilation (the Deluxe Edition) brings together a collection of videos, all of the well-known MTV-era ones, as well as a full 18-track set of the best that Billy Idol has to offer.  Born of the punk era in the late ‘70s, Billy Idol came to prominence as the flashy, up-front persona only to exceed that even further by his highly successful solo career, generating single after single to a legion of satisfied fans.

It’s no surprise that the first six tracks on Idolize Yourself are the very familiar core-set of Idol songs by which he is best known for (“Dancing With Myself,” “Hot in the City,” “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face,” “Flesh for Fantasy,” all off of his first two solo releases).  With a few more albums, Idol showed conclusively that he was a hitmaker.  His version of “Mony Mony” is a memorable one.  All in all, this compilation brings together 18 Idol songs, two of them brand new and exclusive to this set.  The new songs, “”John Wayne,” and “New Future Weapon,” are good tunes and are Idol in sound.  Good news since Billy Idol still sounds fantastic so many years later.

On the Deluxe Edition, the added DVD brings 13 videos including two previously unreleased versions (“Hot in the City” (Uncensored version), “Cradle of Love” (Extended Billy Idol Only version)).  It’s always great fun to relive those early MTV-era videos that many of these are.  The DVD tracklists the same as the first thirteen songs on the CD in the same order.  This makes Idolize Yourself a complete set with exclusives that you might want to have in your libraries, with the memorable MTV videos if you opt for the suggested Deluxe Edition.