Devil's Playground
Studio album by
Billy Idol
Released22 March 2005
Recorded2004[1]
GenrePunk rock, hard rock, pop punk
Length54:28
58:59 (Japanese edition)
LabelSanctuary
ProducerKeith Forsey
Billy Idol chronology
VH1 Storytellers
(2002)		 Devil's Playground
(2005)		 Happy Holidays
(2006)
Singles from Devil's Playground
  1. "Scream"
    Released: March 2005
  2. "Rat Race"
    Released: June 2005
  3. "Sherri"
    Released: September 2005
  4. "Yellin' at the Xmas Tree"
    Released: December 2005
  5. "Plastic Jesus"
    Released: March 2006
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Billboard(negative)[4]
The Guardian[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Sputnikmusic[7]

Devil's Playground is the sixth studio album by English rock vocalist Billy Idol, released on 22 March 2005. It is his first studio album in over a decade (the latest being 1993's Cyberpunk), and his first new studio songs since 2001 (Idol's cover of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" on Greatest Hits). The album also reunited Idol in the studio with guitarist Steve Stevens and producer Keith Forsey. All songs were written or co-written by Idol except "Plastic Jesus". The album was engineered and mixed by Brian Reeves at the Jungle Room in Los Angeles.

During the recording of the album, the crew of the TV show Bands Reunited ambushed the Jungle Room and tried to convince Billy to reunite with his old band Generation X for a one night performance, but Idol slammed the door on them, leading to an apology by the crew.

Idol and the band supported the album with a world tour of rock festival appearances in 2005 and 2006, including several performances on the Vans Warped Tour.

The song "Scream" was used in an episode of Viva La Bam, in which Idol also guest starred, where he and Bam Margera sing it as they go down the highway.

Critical reception

Devil's Playground was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 11 reviews.[2]

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "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.".[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Idol and Brian Tichy except as noted

Devil's Playground track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Super Overdrive" 4:18
2."World Comin' Down" 3:33
3."Rat Race"Idol, Steve Stevens4:17
4."Sherri"Idol3:17
5."Plastic Jesus"Ed Rush, George Cromarty4:53
6."Scream" 4:42
7."Yellin' at the Xmas Tree" 4:14
8."Romeo's Waiting"Idol, Stevens3:42
9."Body Snatcher" 3:57
10."Evil Eye" 4:32
11."Lady Do or Die" 4:37
12."Cherie" 3:47
13."Summer Running"Idol, Stevens4:30
Japan bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Bleeding Me Insane"4:31

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Devil's Playground
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 34
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[9] 21
French Albums (SNEP)[10] 105
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 15
Italian Albums (FIMI)[12] 51
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 75
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 40
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 78
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[17] 13
US Billboard 200[18] 46

References

  1. ↑ "Official Brian Tichy Website – Biography". Briantichy.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Devil's Playground – Billy Idol". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Stephen Thomas Erlewine (22 March 2005). "Devil's Playground – Billy Idol | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Billy Idol: Devil's Playground". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 14. 2 April 2005. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (18 March 2005). "The Guardian Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (24 March 2005). "Devil's Playground | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Sputnikmusic Review". Sputnikmusic. 18 September 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Top of the Chart: 50 Cent Still Rules The Pack". Chart Attack. 31 March 2005. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Billy Idol – Devil's Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Billy Idol Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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