Personnel: Billy Idol (vocals, acoustic guitar); Mark Younger-Smith (guitar, bass); Arthur Barrow (keyboards, bass programming); Greg Mathieson (keyboards); Phil Soussan, Jimmy Johnson, Vito (bass); Phil Shenale (bass programming); Mike Baird, Keith Forsey (drums); Stephanie Spruill, Bunny Hull, Alex Brown.
Recorded at Lighthouse Studios, Track Record, Conway Studios, and Oasis Studios, Los Angeles, California.
The spars code on this disc is both AAD and DDD.
This is a special limited edition package with a fold-out poster booklet similar to Aerosmith's "Pump" and Robert Plant's "Manic Nirvana."
Like any Billy Idol album, Charmed Life is wildly inconsistent, but it has enough strong songs -- like the gloriously tongue-in-cheek hard rock of "Cradle of Love" -- to make most of the filler on the record forgivable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/3/90) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...explores new dimensions in his character and his work."
Entertainment Weekly - "Unexpectedly touching..." - Rating: A-
