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“Looks like Sting, sings like Bing” was how SCTV ribbed Billy Idol in the early 1980s when his punk-goes-pop rise to MTV fame stoked much derision. In the ’90s, he tumbled into self-parody thanks to his debauched romps through the L.A. party scene and highly publicized overdoses. But contrary to Bob Seger’s insistence that “rock ‘n’ roll never forgets,” musical nostalgia is an industrial-strength cleanser. And in an era when the tautology of “Ashlee” and “punk” in the same sentence actually flies and all things ’80s are the rage with the current crop of buzz bands, Idol has bounced back as a resurrected real deal. The hard candy of his latest, Devil’s Playground, is more than a guilty pleasure, and with six-string slasher Steve Stevens back beside him, Idol returns triumphant to finally live up to his moniker.
