"Adam in Chains" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Billy Idol | ||||
from the album Cyberpunk | ||||
Released | 20 September 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992, Los Angeles, U.S. | |||
Genre | Electronica, chill-out | |||
Length | 3:54 | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Idol, Robin Hancock | |||
Producer(s) | Robin Hancock | |||
Billy Idol singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Adam in Chains" is a song by English rock musician Billy Idol, released on 20 September 1993 [1] as the third single from his fifth studio album, Cyberpunk . The song was written by Idol and Robin Hancock, and was produced by Hancock. [2]
The album version of the song has a duration of over six minutes and is divided into two sections: the first two minutes and fifty-four seconds are of a voice coaxing the listener through a hypnotic exercise, encouraging them towards a state of relaxation. The remainder of the song consists of Idol singing in a melodious, slow tempo. For its release as a single in the UK and Europe, a radio edit of the track was created by Hancock. [2]
Within the biography section of the custom floppy disk included with the press pack edition of the Cyberpunk album, the song was described by Mark Frauenfelder:
"Here's a prayer for the tomorrow people and power junkies. Can we find the door to our inner self and challenge our spiritual demons? Can new technologies, such as VR and brainwave entertainment devices become new channels for self-realization?" [3]
In a 1993 interview, Mark Younger-Smith, who played keyboards and guitar on the Cyberpunk album, commented on the song's origins: "The more techno-y and intense songs like 'Heroin,' 'Adam in Chains,' and 'Venus,' started out as a sequenced track laden with keyboards. First we'd set a mood, then Billy would create a lyric." [4]
Aside from the song's music video, Idol also performed the song live on The Arsenio Hall Show in July 1993, along with the Cyberpunk track "Wasteland". [5] [6]
A music video for "Adam in Chains" was directed by Julien Temple. It depicted Billy Idol bound in a chair with a chip inserted into his neck as he is monitored by scientists. He struggles before being hypnotized, and is then inserted into a virtual reality simulator. There he is treated to an ethereal water fantasy. Idol eventually rejects the fantasy, which is consumed in flames as, in the real world, his body violently convulses. The scientists end the experiment and Idol is brought back into reality, only to fall unconscious. There was also a shorter version of the video featuring an edited intro and female backing vocals, using different shots than the full-length video. [7]
Musician, in a 1993 issue, described the song as "New Age lull". [8] Robert Christgau, in his review of Cyberpunk, commented: "So "Adam in Chains," which after a long spoken intro devolves into what a vulgarian might take for his latest love-gone-bad rant, is in fact "a prayer for the tomorrow people and power junkies."" [9] AXS.com later featured the song as one of Idol's "five most underrated songs" in a retrospective look back over Idol's recording career. Writer Kareem Gantt felt the song was a "gem" from a "subpar" album and commented: "It's a weird song, for sure, but it's a single that you won't be able to pull from once you hear it." [10]
European CD single
Netherlands CD maxi-single
UK CD single #2
The track failed to chart in the UK, however it did chart in France at No. 5 and Poland at No. 35. [11]
Idol Songs: 11 of the Best is a greatest hits album by English rock singer Billy Idol, released on 20 June 1988 by Chrysalis Records. It comprises all the singles released from his first three studio albums—Billy Idol, Rebel Yell and Whiplash Smile—as well as the live version of "Mony Mony" and re-recorded Generation X song "Dancing with Myself", both of which appeared on Idol's debut EP Don't Stop. A limited edition of the album contains two extra remixes, and another limited edition contains four extra remixes. The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In 2003, the album was reissued with a different title and cover as The Essential.
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad and the fourth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released as a maxi single with three other songs on 2 August 1999 to coincide with the total solar eclipse that would occur on 11 August.
Don't Stop is the first EP by English rock singer Billy Idol, released in 1981 by Chrysalis Records.
Vital Idol is a remix album by English rock singer Billy Idol, released on 31 May 1985 by Chrysalis Records. It contains remixed songs from his first two albums and the Don't Stop EP. The album was reissued in the United States with one extra track in September 1987, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200. The US release was supported by a non-album live single version of "Mony Mony".
Cyberpunk is the fifth studio album by English rock musician Billy Idol, released on 29 June 1993 by Chrysalis Records. A concept album, it was inspired by his personal interest in technology and his first attempts to use computers in the creation of his music. Idol based the album on the cyberdelic subculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Heavily experimental in its style, the album was an attempt to take control of the creative process in the production of his albums, while simultaneously introducing Idol's fans and other musicians to the opportunities presented by digital media.
"Cool, Cool Water" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and later issued as an A-sided single in March 1971.
"Finer Feelings" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was the final release from Let's Get to It and was planned as the follow-up to "Word Is Out", but it was held back after the release of "If You Were with Me Now". "Finer Feelings" finally appeared in April 1992, remixed by Brothers in Rhythm, and narrowly missed out on the top 10, peaking at number 11 on the UK charts.
"Hood Boy" is a song by American singer Fantasia featuring American rapper Big Boi, from her second and eponymous studio album (2006). It was released as the album's lead single by J Records on November 14, 2006. "Hood Boy" was written by Johnta Austin, Anthony McIntyre and Antwan Patton, and produced by Austin and the Canadian production team Tone Mason. It samples the introduction of the Supremes' 1967 single, "The Happening". An uptempo R&B and hip hop song, "Hood Boy" explores Fantasia's appreciation for thugs.
"Top Gun Anthem" is an instrumental rock composition and the theme of the Top Gun media franchise, including the original 1986 film Top Gun and its 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Harold Faltermeyer wrote the music with Steve Stevens playing guitar and Faltermeyer on the keyboard on the recording. In the film, the full song is played in the film's ending scene.
Cyberdelic was the fusion of cyberculture and the psychedelic subculture that formed a new counterculture in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry, and Tommy James, the song has appeared in various film and television works such as the Oliver Stone drama Heaven & Earth. It was also covered by English singer-songwriter Billy Idol in 1981. Idol's version, which took in more of a rock sound, became an international top 40 hit and additionally revived public interest in the original garage rock single. Idol recorded a live version in 1985 which was ultimately released in 1987 where it became an even bigger hit than the Shondells' 1968 original, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"When He's Gone" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1991 album High Civilization, released as the album's only single in North America. Due to lack of promotion from Warner Bros. to its parent album, the single failed to chart in America but reached number 93 in Canada.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English punk singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US.
"Shock to the System" is a single by English musician Billy Idol, released to promote his fifth album, Cyberpunk (1993). Released in June 1993 by Chrysalis Records, it became a top-40 hit in six countries, including Idol's native United Kingdom, but did not make it onto the US Billboard Hot 100.
"To Be a Lover" is a song written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones originally as "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", but best known as a cover by Billy Idol on his third studio album Whiplash Smile (1986). As the album's lead single, it became Idol's second top ten hit in the US, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
"When I Start To (Break It All Down)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in 2011 as the lead single from their fourteenth studio album Tomorrow's World. The song was written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, and produced by Frankmusik.
"Love Shines" is a song by British-American band Fleetwood Mac. The song was released as a single in 1992 to support the compilation album 25 Years – The Chain. This was the first single released after the departure of vocalist Stevie Nicks and guitarist Rick Vito. The song was released as a single in Europe, but in North America, "Paper Doll" was released instead.
"Sweet Sixteen" is a song by British singer-songwriter Billy Idol, released in 1987 as the third single from his third studio album Whiplash Smile (1986). The song written by Idol and produced by Keith Forsey. "Sweet Sixteen" peaked at No. 20 in the US and No. 17 in the UK. It was also a hit across Europe and beyond.
"Speed" is a song by British singer-songwriter Billy Idol, originally included in the soundtrack of the eponymous film. It was written by himself and by guitarist Steve Stevens, and released in August 1994 as the film's main song through Arista Records worldwide and Chrysalis Records in the United States.
"Can't Break Me Down" is a song by English singer Billy Idol, which was released in 2014 as the lead single from his eighth studio album Kings & Queens of the Underground.