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Rebel Yell (album)

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Rebel Yell
Studio album by
Billy Idol
Released10 November 1983 (1983-11-10) (US)
9 January 1984 (UK)
Recorded1983
Studio
Genre
Length38:10
LabelChrysalis
ProducerKeith Forsey
Billy Idol chronology
Billy Idol
(1982) 		Rebel Yell
(1983) 		Vital Idol
(1985)
Singles from Rebel Yell
  1. "Rebel Yell"
    Released: January 1984[3]
  2. "Eyes Without a Face"
    Released: April 1984[3]
  3. "Flesh for Fantasy"
    Released: August 1984[3]
  4. "Catch My Fall"
    Released: October 1984

Rebel Yell is the second studio album by the English rock singer Billy Idol, released on 10 November 1983 by Chrysalis Records. 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 recording without a drummer, utilizing only the LinnDrum and Roland TR-808 drum machines,[4] Forsey and Stevens later decided to hire Thommy Price to play drums on some of the songs.[5] Musically, Rebel Yell is a new wave album with hard rock and other influences. 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

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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.[6] The title track was recorded in only three days at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[5]

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.[7]

Cover art

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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."[8] Forsey later recounted that Idol had actually taken the wrong tapes: "I let him think he had the masters ... 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.'"[5]

Release and critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Classic Rock9/10[2]
Number One3/5[9]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[10]
Record Collector[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Smash Hits8/10[14]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[15]
The Village VoiceC[16]

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".[12] 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."[14] 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."[16]

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".[13] 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."[1] 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".[11] Classic Rock's Dom Lawson lauded Rebel Yell as "an 80s hard rock pinnacle" which marked Idol's "transformation into the ultimate MTV-generation rock star".[2]

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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All tracks are written by Billy Idol and Steve Stevens, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Rebel Yell"4:45
2."Daytime Drama"4:02
3."Eyes Without a Face"4:58
4."Blue Highway"5:05
Total length:18:50
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Flesh for Fantasy" 4:37
2."Catch My Fall"Idol3:42
3."Crank Call" 3:56
4."(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows" 3:10
5."The Dead Next Door" 3:45
Total length:19:10
1999 expanded edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Rebel Yell" (Session Take) 5:27
11."Motorbikin'" (Session Take)Christopher Spedding4:16
12."Catch My Fall" (Original Demo) 4:11
13."Flesh for Fantasy" (Session Take) 5:09
14."Blue Highway" (Original Demo) 5:00

Personnel

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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)[4]

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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Certifications

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Certifications for Rebel Yell
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[32]
Expanded Edition 		Platinum 250,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[33] 5× Platinum 500,000^
Germany (BVMI)[34] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[35] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[37] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rebel Yell – Billy Idol". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Lawson, Dom (July 2024). "Billy Idol: Rebel Yell – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Expanded Edition". Classic Rock. No. 328. p. 86.
  3. ^ a b c "Great Rock Discography". Archive.org. p. 404.
  4. ^ a b Idol 2014, p. 185: "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."
  5. ^ a b c Reesman, Bryan (1 June 2006). "Classic Tracks: Billy Idol's 'Rebel Yell'". Mix. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Billy Idol". VH1 Storytellers. 22 June 2001. VH1.
  7. ^ Idol 2014, p. 188: "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."
  8. ^ Hann, Michael (16 May 2024). "Billy Idol: 'I stole the master tapes for Rebel Yell – and gave them to my heroin dealer'". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  9. ^ Bursche, Paul (21 January 1984). "Re-Generation". Number One. No. 38. p. 33.
  10. ^ Tucker, Ken (4 December 1983). "Billy Idol lets out a 'Rebel Yell'". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  11. ^ a b Price, Simon (July 2024). "Billy Idol: Rebel Yell". Record Collector. No. 559. p. 95.
  12. ^ a b Puterbaugh, Parke (19 January 1984). "Rebel Yell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  13. ^ a b Sheffield 2004, p. 402
  14. ^ a b Leston, Kimberley (19 January – 1 February 1984). "Billy Idol: Rebel Yell". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 2. p. 21.
  15. ^ Sheffield 1995, pp. 191–192
  16. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (28 August 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  17. ^ Kent 1993, p. 147
  18. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4471a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  20. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 6. 11 February 1985. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  26. ^ Kent 1993, p. 436
  27. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. 5 January 1985. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1984" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1984". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  30. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1984". Billboard. 31 December 1984. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Brazilian album certifications – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  33. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". Music Canada. 20 October 1986. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  34. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Billy Idol; 'Rebel Yell')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  35. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  36. ^ "British album certifications – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". British Phonographic Industry. 19 November 1985. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  37. ^ "American album certifications – Billy Idol – Rebel Yell". Recording Industry Association of America. 14 January 1985. Retrieved 11 April 2016.

Bibliography

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