Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Classic Rock MagazineDec 17, 2014The plastic punk with the cartoon sneer has made his grown-up masterpiece. [Nov 2014, p.90]
-
Q MagazineNov 13, 2014Idol's magnetism is simply colossal--an invaluable commodity in these times. [Dec 2014, p.110]
-
Nov 12, 2014A fantastic and powerful rock album, Idol’s return commands attention.
-
Nov 25, 2014Aside from its title track, most of Kings and Queens of the Underground sounds a lot like primetime 80s Idol, untouched by the ravages of time, lifestyle, changes in musical fashions or anything else.
-
MojoNov 5, 2014Daft, overblown and sometimes unintentionally hilarious. [Nov 2014, p.90]
-
Oct 21, 2014So much intensity can be unnerving coming from a man in his late fifties--but Idol makes up for it on the carefree "Can't Break Me Down," a punky pop tune with a "bang bang bang" chorus catchier than anything Fall Out Boy have written lately.
-
Oct 20, 2014Some of the styles are undeniably tacky but, hey, bad taste is part of Idol's legacy and Kings & Queens of the Underground touches upon that garishness along with his exaggerated swagger, fondness for hooks, and an irascible snarl, and that makes it an autobiography even if it never tells a story.
-
Oct 20, 2014Old-school arena punk rockers such as Bitter Pill and Postcards from the Past attempt to restart the Idolmania era, though aren’t always best assisted by producer Trevor Horn’s 80s stadium-rock gloop.
-
Nov 25, 2014It’s as if Idol stumbled into a Renaissance Faire, answered someone’s questions about his old hits, then decided to record it, surveying his lazy, crazy, drug-hazy Sunset Strip days to the accompaniment of flutes and lutes.
-
Oct 20, 2014This collection of “edgy” rock numbers (Postcards from the Past, in particular, sounds like a pastiche of his biggest hits) and dreary ballads is a turkey of epic proportions.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 9 out of 12
-
Mixed: 2 out of 12
-
Negative: 1 out of 12
-
Jan 26, 2023
-
Nov 3, 2014
-
Oct 22, 2014