Def Leppard
Def Leppard
earMusic
2015
Usually a band has an eponymous album, either as a debut (in most cases ie Iron Maiden, Rush, Black Sabbath, Van |Halen etc.), which tend to be strong statements of what the band is all about and usually contain at least a few classics, or sometimes a couple of times during their career (Fleetwood Mac, LeatherWolf, Santana etc), which is kinda daft and confusing or when they consider it to be the culmination of their efforts, a classic album worthy to carry the band’s name… in some cases that’s quite true, most amply portrayed by Metallica’s “Black”-eponymous album, which was their true commercial breakthrough, even though it was their fifth release. The Beatles had their eponymous album after some eight preceding ones and so on...
Now, in the case of Def Leppard, we have a band that was huge in the 80s, selling back to back double diamond (>10mil) albums and what not... by all accounts they’re still big, but haven’t done a really cool album since 1992’s “Adrenalize”, their last really good album. In the meantime they re-released remasters of their classics, did a B-sides/Rarities collection (“Retro active”), released a rather crappy album no-one really liked “Slang” in 1996, a cover’s album, 2006’s “Yeah!” and 3 other albums that maybe had a couple of great songs each (or a few more in some cases) “Euphoria”, “X” and “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” some seven years ago, plus a couple of live albums “Viva Hysteria” (obvious) and “Mirrorball”, which also contained 3 original studio tunes – which were not really bad but they finally return this year with an eponymous “statement”… which isn’t bad, but it’s also some way from being great...
“Let’s Go” is a nice mid-tempo song, with some bombast and a slow burning “chorus” that really owes a great deal to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”… ripping off one of your strongest tunes to create a new one isn’t exactly a sign of inspiration, but at least the band manages to pull it off convincingly enough… but the album feels like it could have used a more up-tempo opener...
The opening of “Dangerous” also dangerously flirts with past glories, but soon enough differentiates itself, and it’s predictable but still charming chorus seems to work fine… it’s only a pity that Joe Elliot sounds a bit lacking in the conviction with which he sings… the songs are OK but the performances seem to lack the sparkle necessary, which is kind of weird, because he sounded quite convincing on the “Mirrorball” original tunes not all that long ago...
“Man Enough” is a really funky boogie that ain’t half as bad and has a nice vibe, but could have been a lot “funkier”...
“We Belong” is a ballad that takes the band’s classic ballad format and just tries to make it a lot more contemporary, avoiding any crazy vocal acrobatics and as a result suffers a bit, due to that… compared to their classic balladry, even if it is somewhat reminiscent of what the band can do with the format.
“Invincible” is a nice contemporary rocker, quite modern sounding – but still with a convincing chorus and a nice groove – it feels like something that would not have felt out of place on “X”...
“Sea of Love” has some nice verses that are however not as nice as its quite memorable “chorus”. It’s probably its indecisive sound that seems to have one foot in the band’s earlier style and one in the more contemporary latter efforts that tears it slightly apart and doesn’t let it really work.
“Energized” has a couple of nice idea, mainly around the chorus, but its production with all its fuzzy, modern sounds, looping and really contemporary sound, make it different sounding to the rest of the album that seems to try quite hard to recapture the band’s classic sound.
“All Time High” comes comparatively out of the blue with a big nasty riff that seems to be very “Sweet”/HMK inspired and could have been easily part of one of their earlier efforts if the mastering hadn’t kept its higher/treble end in check.
“Battle of My Own” is a lowly acoustic number that’s got an interesting sound and wouldn’t have felt out of place on “Slang”, in fact it might have been amongst the best songs there… it does explode, interestingly in the latter part but overall isn’t any sort of game changer.
“Broke ‘n’ Brokenhearted” is dirtier and more straight ahead and feels like it could have been something the band could have done during the sessions of “Euphoria” and “X”… as a matter of fact, I’m curious whether some of those songs are actually unfinished demo ideas from back then...
“Forever Young” is a modern sounding rocker that sounds really muffled… with a chorus that kinda works, but not much else...
“Last Dance” is a decent enough acoustic ballad that sounds OK, but again it feels more like a boring Bryan Adams’ leftover from one of his past albums, rather than a bona fide track… during the band’s heyday, this would have been decidedly B-side...
“Wings of an Angel” has a nice enough chorus, but overall its production again feels a little murky and muddy, in a way that it doesn’t really help it's cause...
Last but not least, “Blind Faith” is another bittersweet song, a half ballad if you wish, that felt a bit more Beatlesque/TP&TH like and thankfully it works nicely as a closing statement for the album…
Overall, Def Leppard’s eleventh and eponymous album ain’t as bad as some people would have you believe. It’s actually, I’d say, the most complete album the band has done since “Adrenalize” and tries to recapture that sound. It lacks a bit in punch and conviction, its production isn’t a million dollars, but it’s solid enough and doesn’t disappoint. It also doesn’t manage to excite as much as it could – you won’t find some mega-hit classic here, but repetitive spins will probably endear this album to you making it a sleeper hit/a grower. If Iron Maiden can put out an OK album and have people “foaming from the mouth” as if the band just released “Number of the Beast” all over again, I don’t see any reason why the Sheffield boys should be treated any differently… just let this album grow on you and check out another UK band called Summers (who should have a sophomore coming out soon) that to me is more Leppard, than Def Leppard has been in the past ten years… or more…
Now, in the case of Def Leppard, we have a band that was huge in the 80s, selling back to back double diamond (>10mil) albums and what not... by all accounts they’re still big, but haven’t done a really cool album since 1992’s “Adrenalize”, their last really good album. In the meantime they re-released remasters of their classics, did a B-sides/Rarities collection (“Retro active”), released a rather crappy album no-one really liked “Slang” in 1996, a cover’s album, 2006’s “Yeah!” and 3 other albums that maybe had a couple of great songs each (or a few more in some cases) “Euphoria”, “X” and “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” some seven years ago, plus a couple of live albums “Viva Hysteria” (obvious) and “Mirrorball”, which also contained 3 original studio tunes – which were not really bad but they finally return this year with an eponymous “statement”… which isn’t bad, but it’s also some way from being great...
“Let’s Go” is a nice mid-tempo song, with some bombast and a slow burning “chorus” that really owes a great deal to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”… ripping off one of your strongest tunes to create a new one isn’t exactly a sign of inspiration, but at least the band manages to pull it off convincingly enough… but the album feels like it could have used a more up-tempo opener...
The opening of “Dangerous” also dangerously flirts with past glories, but soon enough differentiates itself, and it’s predictable but still charming chorus seems to work fine… it’s only a pity that Joe Elliot sounds a bit lacking in the conviction with which he sings… the songs are OK but the performances seem to lack the sparkle necessary, which is kind of weird, because he sounded quite convincing on the “Mirrorball” original tunes not all that long ago...
“Man Enough” is a really funky boogie that ain’t half as bad and has a nice vibe, but could have been a lot “funkier”...
“We Belong” is a ballad that takes the band’s classic ballad format and just tries to make it a lot more contemporary, avoiding any crazy vocal acrobatics and as a result suffers a bit, due to that… compared to their classic balladry, even if it is somewhat reminiscent of what the band can do with the format.
“Invincible” is a nice contemporary rocker, quite modern sounding – but still with a convincing chorus and a nice groove – it feels like something that would not have felt out of place on “X”...
“Sea of Love” has some nice verses that are however not as nice as its quite memorable “chorus”. It’s probably its indecisive sound that seems to have one foot in the band’s earlier style and one in the more contemporary latter efforts that tears it slightly apart and doesn’t let it really work.
“Energized” has a couple of nice idea, mainly around the chorus, but its production with all its fuzzy, modern sounds, looping and really contemporary sound, make it different sounding to the rest of the album that seems to try quite hard to recapture the band’s classic sound.
“All Time High” comes comparatively out of the blue with a big nasty riff that seems to be very “Sweet”/HMK inspired and could have been easily part of one of their earlier efforts if the mastering hadn’t kept its higher/treble end in check.
“Battle of My Own” is a lowly acoustic number that’s got an interesting sound and wouldn’t have felt out of place on “Slang”, in fact it might have been amongst the best songs there… it does explode, interestingly in the latter part but overall isn’t any sort of game changer.
“Broke ‘n’ Brokenhearted” is dirtier and more straight ahead and feels like it could have been something the band could have done during the sessions of “Euphoria” and “X”… as a matter of fact, I’m curious whether some of those songs are actually unfinished demo ideas from back then...
“Forever Young” is a modern sounding rocker that sounds really muffled… with a chorus that kinda works, but not much else...
“Last Dance” is a decent enough acoustic ballad that sounds OK, but again it feels more like a boring Bryan Adams’ leftover from one of his past albums, rather than a bona fide track… during the band’s heyday, this would have been decidedly B-side...
“Wings of an Angel” has a nice enough chorus, but overall its production again feels a little murky and muddy, in a way that it doesn’t really help it's cause...
Last but not least, “Blind Faith” is another bittersweet song, a half ballad if you wish, that felt a bit more Beatlesque/TP&TH like and thankfully it works nicely as a closing statement for the album…
Overall, Def Leppard’s eleventh and eponymous album ain’t as bad as some people would have you believe. It’s actually, I’d say, the most complete album the band has done since “Adrenalize” and tries to recapture that sound. It lacks a bit in punch and conviction, its production isn’t a million dollars, but it’s solid enough and doesn’t disappoint. It also doesn’t manage to excite as much as it could – you won’t find some mega-hit classic here, but repetitive spins will probably endear this album to you making it a sleeper hit/a grower. If Iron Maiden can put out an OK album and have people “foaming from the mouth” as if the band just released “Number of the Beast” all over again, I don’t see any reason why the Sheffield boys should be treated any differently… just let this album grow on you and check out another UK band called Summers (who should have a sophomore coming out soon) that to me is more Leppard, than Def Leppard has been in the past ten years… or more…