It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs
You cannot deny the power of the ballad during the eighties. It was just as much a part of the era as hair metal, synth pop and sax solos. This past month, I’ve had a ball featuring a different song each day from this era on Mental Jukebox. And I’ve given some thought to the question: what is the greatest ballad of the 80’s? I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t one that rises above the rest. But there are several that probably deserve to be recognized, including The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, U2’s “With Or Without You”, Prince’s “Purple Rain” and the subject of this post: Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without A Face”.
Idol isn’t the type of artist you would first associate with ballads. He didn’t make many of them. But he and his longtime collaborator Steve Stevens wrote one for the ages in 1983. “Eyes Without A Face” is a ballad that rises in tension from the first verse to the second verse into the bridge, where the song’s delicate demeanor explodes into something a bit more, well, Billy Idol. The guitar hook and Idol’s snarl return to remind us Billy is still Billy. All is well. He and Stevens just needed to slow down the RPMs a bit to let the melody, arrangements and Perri Lister’s backing vocals take the spotlight even it was just for a few minutes. And, boy, were they absolutely worth it.
“I'm all out of hope. One more bad break could bring a fall.”