Rebel Yell (album)
Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox album Rebel Yell is the second studio album by the English rock musician Billy Idol, released on 10 November 1983 by Chrysalis Records in the US and on 9 January 1984 in the UK. After the release of his 1982 eponymous debut studio album, Idol continued his collaboration with producer Keith Forsey and multi-instrumentalist Steve Stevens. The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Initially recorded without a drummer, utilizing only the LinnDrum and Roland TR-808 drum machines,<ref name="DancingWithMyself"/> Forsey and Stevens later decided to hire Thommy Price to play drums on some of the songs.<ref name="Stevens2006"/> The cover sleeve and images were shot by Brian Griffin. Idol got the idea of the album's title after attending a party with the Rolling Stones and drinking Rebel Yell bourbon whiskey.
Background and recording
Rebel Yell reunited the hit-making team of Idol, Steve Stevens, and Keith Forsey after their success with Idol's solo debut, Billy Idol (1982). Idol got the idea to name the album "Rebel Yell" after attending a party with the Rolling Stones. He explained on VH1 Storytellers that people were drinking Rebel Yell bourbon whiskey and he thought that would be a great title for an album.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref> The title track was recorded in only three days at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.<ref name="Stevens2006">Template:Cite web</ref>
Working with Forsey were guitarist Steve Stevens, bassist Phil Feit and later Steve Webster, drummer Gregg Gerson, and keyboardists Judi Dozier and Jack Waldman. Drummer Thommy Price was brought in towards the end of the recording sessions.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "At the eleventh hour of finishing the album, we knew we needed a real drummer. As good as the Linn was, it still sounded a bit too unreal at times ... All the parts were there; they just had to be copied and played by someone. That someone ended up being Thommy Price."</ref>
Cover art
When Rebel Yell was in production, Idol had a disagreement with his record company over the image that would be used on the album cover: he saw it as flawed, but the company refused to change it. In response, Idol decided to steal the master tapes for the album and give them to his drug dealer so that he could blackmail the company, saying, "This guy I've given them to, he'll have them out on the street bootlegged in a couple of days if you don't change this picture."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Forsey later recounted that Idol had actually taken the wrong tapes: "I let him think he had the mastersTemplate:Nbsp... He did whatever he had to do with the label. Everything was squared away, and then he came back and I said, 'By the way, Bill, I've got the real masters.Template:' "<ref name="Stevens2006"/>
Release and critical reception
Rebel Yell was released to commercial success. In the United States, the album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, and it also peaked in the top ten in other countries, including Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it double platinum for shipments of two million copies across the United States. Four singles – "Rebel Yell", "Eyes Without a Face", "Flesh for Fantasy", and "Catch My Fall" – were released from the album. The accompanying music videos for all singles received heavy airplay on television channel MTV. Idol's longtime girlfriend Perri Lister can be seen in the front row during the video for "Rebel Yell".
Upon its release, Rebel Yell received positive reviews from critics. Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone called it "a ferocious record, sharp as a saber, hard as diamond, as beautiful and seductive as the darker side of life with which it flirts", and ultimately "an intelligent assault upon the senses" at a time "when too much of what comes over the airwaves is all sweetness and light, or mere undifferentiated head-banging".<ref name="RS"/> In Smash Hits, Kimberley Leston praised Idol and Stevens for "stirring together rock, disco and punk elements without forgetting the importance of a good tune."<ref name="SH"/> Robert Christgau, however, suggested in The Village Voice that music videos "have been the making of this born poser's career and the unmaking of his music", quipping, "if you've got no taste for the sound of the sneer, the visuals definitely aren't fantasy enough."<ref name="VV"/>
In the 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rob Sheffield highlighted the wide-ranging music on Rebel Yell, calling it "a brilliant combination of punk, disco, synth pop, glam rock, metal, and mud wrestling".<ref name="RSAG"/> AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine concluded, "Each stylistic turn is distinguished by Idol's gusto. He's unafraid to be gloriously, shameless tacky, a quality that separated him from his new wave peers then and continues to give Rebel Yell a trashy kick years after its release."<ref name="AllMusic"/> Writing for Record Collector, Simon Price deemed it "essentially a dance record", crediting Forsey with taking influence from krautrock and disco "to machine-tool Billy Idol's music into an irresistibly metronomic force".<ref name="RC"/> Classic RockTemplate:'s Dom Lawson lauded Rebel Yell as "an 80s hard rock pinnacle" which marked Idol's "transformation into the ultimate MTV-generation rock star".<ref name="CR"/>
In 1999, EMI Music reissued Rebel Yell as part of their "Expanded" series. The new version of the album included previously unreleased bonus tracks and expanded liner notes. In 2010, audiophile label Audio Fidelity reissued a 24-karat CD remastered in HDCD by Steve Hoffman.
Track listing
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Personnel
Musicians
- Billy Idol – guitar, vocals
- Steve Stevens – lead guitar, bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, synthesizer, keyboards
- Steve Webster – bass guitar
- Judi Dozier – keyboards
- Thommy Price – drums
- Sal Cuevas – bass guitar on "Eyes Without a Face"
- Jack Waldman – additional keyboards
- Gregg Gerson – drums on "(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows", "Rebel Yell" (Session Take), "Motorbikin'" (Session Take) and "Flesh for Fantasy" (Session Take)
- Mars Williams – saxophone on "Catch My Fall"
- Perri Lister – backing vocals on "Eyes Without a Face"
- Phil Feit – bass guitar on "Rebel Yell" (Session Take), "Motorbikin'" (Session Take), and "Flesh for Fantasy" (Session Take)
- Keith Forsey – drum programming (uncredited)<ref name="DancingWithMyself">Template:Harvnb: "We tracked everything to Keith's patterns ... We used both the Linn and a Roland 808 that had a much softer sound. ... Keith's drum patterns were very distinctive and usually ended up as the hook in the song."</ref>
Technical
- Keith Forsey – producer
- Michael Frondelli – engineer, mixing
- Dave Wittman – engineer, mixing
- Gary Hellman – engineer
- Steve Rinkoff – engineer
- Pete Thea – engineer
- George Marino – mastering
- Brian Griffin – photography
- Michael MacNeil – cover design
- Stephanie Tudor – production co-ordination
- Bob Norberg – mastering (1999 expanded edition)
- Kevin Flaherty – compilation (1999 expanded edition)
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1984–1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> | 16 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 40 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1984) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> | 53 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 18 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 62 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 7 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 16 |
| Chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 20 |
Certifications
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