Devil's Playground

1	Super Overdrive 4:18
2	World Comin' Down 3:33
3	Rat Race 4:17
4	Sherri 3:17
5	Plastic Jesus 4:53
6	Scream 4:42
7	Yellin' at the Xmas Tree 4:14
8	Romeo's Waiting 3:42
9	Body Snatcher 3:57
10	Evil Eye 4:32
11	Lady Do or Die 4:37
12	Cherie 3:47
13	Summer Running 4:30
14	[CD-ROM Track]

Barnes & Noble

Spending a decade or so in self-imposed exile hasn't changed Billy Idol a whit, which ought to delight his fans -- and alarm folks who think it's impossible to keep snotty adolescence alive in the face of a looming 50th birthday. The hair's still bleached, the sneer's still omnipresent, and -- most important -- the attitude is as joyfully bad as it was the first time Idol loosed his rebel yell. That's clear from the lather he works himself into on "Scream," a punchy riff-fest propelled by Idol's lascivious delivery of lyrics that play up his pleasuring prowess, not to mention the moody, raised-middle-finger posture of "Rat Race." Reuniting with longtime guitarist Steve Stevens obviously invigorated the old boy, judging by the slash-and-burn vibe of "Super Overdrive" and the surprisingly on-target roots-rock twang of "Lady Do or Die," on which Idol sticks to the lower register he showcased on old faves such as "Eyes Without a Face." Sure, there are a few missteps, notably a woefully misplaced cover of the jokey road warrior anthem "Plastic Jesus." But for the most part, this Playground packs plenty of incendiary thrills into its sonic rides. David Sprague

All Music Guide

The most remarkable thing about the 12-year wait between Billy Idol's fifth album, Cyberpunk, and his sixth, Devil's Playground, isn't the enormity of the gap between records, it's that almost nobody noticed that he was gone. The odd thing about Devil's Playground isn't that Billy pretends Cyberpunk doesn't exist, it's that he now pretends that he's always been a metalhead, as if his posturing in the '80s was more than an affectation. With his trusty sidekick guitarist Steve Stevens in tow, Idol cranks up the volume and never lets it slide, even on the infrequent ballads. Occasionally, they lighten things up a touch and wind up with some killer tunes -- in particular, "Sherri" is a terrific pop song, while the lively, acoustic-driven "Cherie" is a deft delight (is it a coincidence that the titles are nearly identical?). On this pair of hooky, catchy tunes named after girls, Devil's Playground points toward an interesting, fruitful direction for Idol -- one that acknowledges his veteran status without sounding aged -- that he hopefully may wind up taking next time out. Stephen Thomas Erlewine