By: Jesse Striewski
My introduction to the latest from Billy Idol (his ninth full-length studio album overall) was via the video for rowdy first single “Still Dancing.” I was alone in a hospital bed at the time, recovering from a recent surgery and unable to sleep in middle of the night. Yet somehow, seeing Idol still doing his thing at age 69, gave me a certain level of hope that I needed.
One of the things on my agenda once free again was to check out the rest of Dream Into It. And it didn’t take long to realize after fully digging into things that it was worth the decade-plus wait (not including a handful of recent EP’s).
The title track sets up the record on a sleek path, while other numbers like “People I Love,” “I’m Your Hero,” and “Too Much Fun” are, well…pretty fun. There’s also some interesting guest spots from the likes of Avril Lavigne on “77,” Joan Jett on “Wildside,” and Alison Mosshart on “John Wayne” (surprisingly one of the strongest tracks here).
While it might not be perfect, it’s great seeing Idol and long time guitarist/collaborator Steve Stevens back together again and doing what they do best. I genuinely hope there’s more of this left in them for years to come.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
