Having only recently been acquainted to computers, you can almost hear Billy's cogs turning during the album whenever a new sound comes into a song, the finished product ending up sounding more like a newcomer's experiment in making old sounds with new technology rather than an innovative veteran's revolutionary soundscape.īecause of its fumbling nature, when listening to Cyberpunk purely as a prototypically punky DIY statement, there's a genuine charm that emanates from the production, a sense of an artist attempting to discover themselves in a new medium that is not present in Billy's past or future albums. The album was a first for Billy to use computer software as a means to produce his music, the idea of producing from a home studio as opposed to a professional one enhancing his punk-influenced 'do-it-yourself' ethic, resulting in the music sounding almost intentionally lo-fi. With all of this in mind, it is a bit of a shame then that the caveat emptor for this album comes from not the outlandish artistic concepts the listener would need to prepare for, but from the fact that it's too concerned with basing itself on books Billy himself had by his own admission not even read.Īlas, Cyberpunk is cyberpunk in aesthetic only, the lyrics of the album conjuring up themes of future shock and anarchist cyberdelia, in subtext more intended for Billy's own creative emancipation as opposed to serving any subcultural ideology. Taking a closer look reveals that it was an attempt on Billy Idol's part to take creative control of the production of his albums, being an early pioneer in internet promotion for mainstream celebrities and musically quite a departure from Billy's usual radio-friendly Elvis impersonations. If you haven't bothered to read all of it you have at least gathered it is often considered one of the worst concept albums of all time. On the surface this album seems like a shallow attempt at chasing trends gone horribly wrong, glancing at the articles about Cyberpunk you're immediately intimidated by the immense amount of information there is to read about it. Review Summary: The charm of a 'do-it-yourself' experiment bogged down in the pretense of a revolutionary musical idea.
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