Billy Idol – Happy Holidays

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Bodog Music
Produced by Brian Tichy

This album is really very simple. Punk rocker Billy Idol has recorded classic Christmas songs. Not carols, but the songs everyone knows like White Christmas and so forth. He even does Frosty The Snowman.

This is the first album Billy has made in a very long time without guitarist Steve Stevens. Renowned multi-instrumentalist (and regular Idol drummer) Brian Tichy handles all drums, guitars and bass on this record, with long-time keyboard player Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater/Alice Cooper) handling all keys and piano.

Even though most of his normal band are involved, and Billy recently made a remarkable return to music with the excellent Devil’s Playground album, proving hugely successful at many major European rock festivals, anyone thinking of checking this out needs to know this in advance: he has not made rock versions of these songs. Billy has remained true to the original songs, almost crooning his way through the likes of Silent Night and Winter Wonderland.

With Billy remaining so faithful to these classic songs, and delivering them in the way most should be used to hearing them, interest and ultimate liking of this album relies on one key factor: whether or not you like traditional Christmas songs. If you do, and you want to see how Billy sounds singing them, then check this out. It certainly is Billy’s most consistent, melodic and technically accomplished vocal performance to date. If, however, you really don’t like Christmas songs in the traditional sense then the fact that it’s Billy singing them won’t change this.

If he’d made them into rock versions in the usual Idol style, that might have been different, but he’s really changed very little about them at all. Hence the three star rating. What he has done, he’s done well, but he hasn’t done much.

“ true to the original songs ”

Tracklist: Frosty The Snowman / Silver Bells / Happy Holiday / Merry Christmas Baby / White Christmas / Here Comes Santa Claus / God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen / Santa Claus Is Back In Town / Let It Snow / Winter Wonderland / Run Rudolph Run / Blue Christmas / Jingle Bell Rock / Christmas Love / Oh Christmas Tree / Silent Night / Auld Lang Syne

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Non-metal, Billy Idol