Billy Idol Rebel Yell (1999 Expanded Edition)

Billy Idol Rebel Yell (1999 Expanded Edition)Get It At DiscogsRebel Yell is Billy Idol's high-water mark, the place where he spun his breakthrough hit "White Wedding" into a full-blown rock & roll lifestyle. Maintaining the synth-drenched New Wave stance of his eponymous 1982 debut -- the album is lousy with synths; they set the pace and color the margins -- Idol ramps up the heavy metal guitar of his accomplice Steve Stevens, pushing solo pyrotechnics as hard as power chords. The slick, cavernous sound provides the perfect setting for Idol's evolution into a cartoon rocker, one who sings every song as if he were Jim Morrison attempting an Elvis Presley impression. Idol's strokes may be broad but they're effective: he's as comfortable pounding his fist to "Rebel Yell" as he is indulging in the goth fantasia of "Flesh for Fantasy" or crooning "Eyes Without a Face," a power ballad with a melody so dreamy it launched the former punk into the Billboard Top Ten. Those three singles anchor…