ALBUM REVIEW : *** BILLY IDOL “Charmed Life” <i> Chrysalis</i> : <i> Star scale: one (poor) to five (a classic). : </i>

And with a rebel moan. . . . No, Billy Idol hasn’t gone in for whimpering confessionals. But the personal healing chronicled in much of “Charmed Life” is a long way from the exaggerated bluster that made the singer famous. Credit Idol’s maturity, but also backhandedly credit his longtime guitarist and sidekick Steve Stevens, who had the good grace to go off to pursue a solo career and let Idol be.

Over the years Idol seemed to be trying to top Stevens’ guitar histrionics with his own increasingly buffoonish vocals. But the more restrained guitar of Mark Younger-Smith leaves Idol a free man, able to pull off such relatively subtle and affecting material as “Prodigal Blues” (a gently moving examination of his relationship with his parents) and “Trouble With the Sweet Stuff” (a caution against all sorts of addictions).

But lest you miss the cartoon Idol, there’s an embarrassing version of the Doors’ “L.A. Woman.” Idol yelps and growls and hollers while the band manages to avoid all the drama of the original--which was hardly the Doors’ best moment anyway. Skip this, but savor the rest.