Def Leppard

[quarky]

Sure, but people shouldn't expect every new album to sound like it because of those reasons. Also because it isn't 1987 anymore.

I suspect it will happen to Chinese Democracy too though. Many critics will compare it to AFD!

[BlowUpYourVideo]

I've listened to parts of songs from their new album and I might go out and buy it. Sounds quite good.

Then maybe I should get Hysteria. (I only know DL's big hits...)

[Izzy]

Hmm

The new album is fine enough - but its not what I'd call....good

Its enthusiastic enough and has its moments but sounds like they took vocals that missed out on Slang and guitar parts cut from Euphoria and mashed them together

Everything sounds a little too close to something else

[Thorned Rose]

I do see where you are coming from on the Slang and Euphoria... makes sense...

It does seem like they were trying to blend something, it is a great attempt... I guess when the magic is gone it's gone.. and I've always been a big fan of this statement...

When Clark died, so did Def Leppard's quality...

I'm not saying Def Leppard sucks or anything, but everything post Retroactive has been really shaky. I actually really liked Slang in some areas, but other than that... it's been sketchy

[mrlee]

I do see where you are coming from on the Slang and Euphoria... makes sense...

It does seem like they were trying to blend something, it is a great attempt... I guess when the magic is gone it's gone.. and I've always been a big fan of this statement...

When Clark died, so did Def Leppard's quality...

I'm not saying Def Leppard sucks or anything, but everything post Retroactive has been really shaky. I actually really liked Slang in some areas, but other than that... it's been sketchy

Steve was Def Leppard pretty much, they even said when he joined their song writing went to a whole new level and they were scared of losing him.

[quarky]

I am not sure how much writing Steve actually did on Hysteria. I seem to remember that most of his guitar parts were played by Phil anyway.

But I think the whole "Steve" thing is a bit like Slash. If Slash had died after AFD, he would be an absolute fucking god. He didn't though, and he isn't a god. Same with Steve I think.

After Pyromania and Hysteria, the only way was down (it has to be when you are up that high) and the band had to change direction anyway to some degree (they always have). Adrenalize would have been practically the same, and I bet Slang wouldn't have been much different.

For better or for worse, they have always wanted to be more than rock band (look at the influences, and Joe often said he wanted to be like the Stones, Zeppelin or the Beatles, none of which are traditional rock bands). I think it is just that since Hysteria, the direction hasn't been were the public (and a large proportion of fans) have wanted them to go.

For some people, Def Leppard are, and always will be the band that did Hysteria, but I think that for the band, that is just one step in their journey.

So looking at the recent direction, Euphoria was an attempt to do a "Hysteria-style" record. When that did OK, but didn't set the world alight, they went for a younger (and bigger) fanbase with "X", which was an attempt to do the Hysteria sound, but with pop songs. When that (thankfully in many ways!) didn't do much, they went back to their own musical influences and did Yeah!. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is really a continuation of the path from X to Yeah!. They have decided to (hopefully permanently) abandon the "pop" album and go back towards commerical guitar rock. But while keeping the typical Leppard hooks and melodies they have adopted the stripped-down writing and recording style of Yeah.

It works for me (I personally consider this to be the most entertaining album since Hysteria, even if it doesn't have the lyrical and musical qualities of Slang), but for fans who liked "X", it might not be the right direction. For anyone else though, it is definitely worth a listen. Actually several to get a decent feel for it.

[Gunner80]

The new album is just okay. Nothing I'll be listening to in three months.

P.S. To quarky, no man is "GOD."  what Slash is is a great guitar player.

[quarky]

The new album is just okay. Nothing I'll be listening to in three months.

P.S. To quarky, no man is "GOD."  what Slash is is a great guitar player.

Right, because Slash and Steve actually exist  I should have written "thought of as a god".

[Thorned Rose]

I might just add that Leppards new set "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" debuted at #5 last week on the billboard charts.

In it's 2nd week it only slipped to #30.

Most older bands have a top 10 debut and then drop even farther, glad to see they only slipped to 30.

Go Lep!

[guns_n_motley]

def leppard will break 100K sold next week...hopefully they start touring the U.s. soon and release another single..

[Thorned Rose]

Yeah Hallucinate or Cruise Control would make great singles, or even Love would.

They are still hanging tough in the charts, sliding around 20 spots a week.

[guns_n_motley]

I like def leppard, but they are making some horrible decisions if they want this cd to be successful in the states.....they should be touring here now.....and pushing their single...

[faldor]

They just toured North America, as the album got released.  Now they're touring Europe.  They'll be back in the States at the end of the summer.  I think they have a plan.

[mrlee]

I like def leppard, but they are making some horrible decisions if they want this cd to be successful in the states.....they should be touring here now.....and pushing their single...

bah they always tour the states, im just glad they are finally coming over to the UK

[Malcolm]

Great Britain's premiere arena rock band and one of country music's hottest stars will come together for another episode of "CMT Crossroads". "CMT Crossroads: Def Leppard And Taylor Swift" premieres Friday, Nov. 8 on CMT.

Before an invitation-only audience in Nashville in October, Swift will join her all-time favorite rock band on stage for a night that is sure to be a memorable one for the young star.

"Every time I've seen 'Crossroads' on CMT I've always thought, 'If I ever get to do one of those, it HAS to be with DEF LEPPARD!,' so this is really a dream come true for me," says Swift. "I have been screaming the words to DEF LEPPARD songs for years so it's amazing that I'm going to get to share a stage with them this year!"

"How cool is this?! Country's hottest young star wanting to work with us!!" says DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott.

DEF LEPPARD and Taylor Swift join an elite group of performers who have taped "CMT Crossroads", which pairs country music stars with popular artists from other genrespop, rock, R&B to play together, swap stories, and share their common love of music. Previous episodes of "Crossroads" have included Lindsey Buckingham and LITTLE BIG TOWN; BON JOVI and SUGARLAND; John Fogerty and Keith Urban; Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire; Joss Stone and LeAnne Rimes; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; and most recently MAROON 5 and Sara Evans.

[Malcolm]

Def Leppard walk a fine line
By DAVID SCHMEICHEL - Sun Media

Turns out staging a successful rock concert is a lot like making a killer mix-tape: It's all about the songs you choose and the order in which you choose to play 'em.

At least, so says arena-show veteran Vivian Campbell, who should know -- after all, he's been slinging an axe for Def Leppard for the last 16 years.

But while you'd assume the hard rockers would have little trouble keeping their fans entertained -- given the scores of album and radio hits they've racked up since the late '70s -- Campbell says sequencing is still a tricky business.

"It's a tough thing for us, and we're kind of between a rock and a hard place," says Campbell, who also logged time with Dio and Whitesnake before signing on with Def Leppard. "As artists, you keep wanting to move forward and play your new material, but you're kind of beholden to your success of the past. We're fortunate, in that we have a truckload of bona fide Top 20 hits, but the other side of the equation is that's all our audience wants to hear."

Which of course makes it difficult to showcase tunes from your latest album -- in Def Leppard's case, the recent Songs from the Sparkle Lounge -- without prompting a mass exodus for the beer line.

"We try to sneak in a couple new songs as we go, but you can really tell the majority of the audience doesn't know them, because there's a collective, 'Uhh,' " Campbell quips. "You can put a new song in the first two or three -- or even start with it -- because while the audience is there and you have everyone's attention, they'll indulge you. But from then on, it gets difficult. You've got to pick the right (new) song to play, and even then, assume maybe 10 people in the audience are going to know it out of 10,000.

"Running order is very important, especially for a band like us, because our show is very physical, and it's very up, and we don't like to bring it down."

Campbell says the band has learned "from experience" how to strike that balance between fan favourites and labours of love. But they still experience hiccups, as they did back in 2002, the last time they had new material to hawk.

"We started off the tour playing six songs from the new album, and that very quickly became five songs, and then four, and then one -- the single," he recalls. "That can even happen with what you'd hope would be familiar material, like this one tour where we started the show by playing the entire Side 1 of the High and Dry album. About 30% of the audience went mad for it, but the rest of them were like, 'This isn't Pour Some Sugar On Me.' Then we realized that wasn't the biggest album for fans, and it would've been different if we'd opened with Hysteria. So you can't be too clever."

Hopefully fans will recognize a few of the tracks from Sparkle (which features a duet with country star Tim McGraw), especially now that they've had a little extra time to familiarize themselves with the disc.

Def Leppard were supposed to play Winnipeg back in April, but had to reschedule their show when frontman Joe Elliott came down with what Campbell jokingly refers to as "a sniffle."

"It was actually an upper respiratory tract infection, which was very unpleasant," he explains, noting doctors told the band to "nip it in the bud," otherwise they'd have to scrap the next eight months of touring. "We've all been on tour and gotten ill and managed to pull through, but with this, it got to the point where Joe would open his mouth and nothing would come out. Which for Joe Elliott is very strange. That man is in love with the sound of his own voice."

For proof, one need look no further than the recent mini-controversy Elliott stirred up by daring to suggest that glam bands like Poison and Moetley Cruee "totally missed the point."

"You know, we live in a time where you can't say or do anything," says Campbell with a laugh. "And where do people find the time? I have two small children and three dogs, and I don't even have the time to go to the dentist, let alone sit on the Internet chatting about this s-- for hours. It's much ado about nothing."

[faldor]

I saw this story on the show "Rome Is Burning" on ESPN yesterday.  Apparently Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott made a huge faux paux the other night by placing the Stanley Cup upside down during an opening night kickoff show they were a part of.  They were debating whether he did it intentionally or not.  Apparently Chris Chelios of the Wings definitely thought it was intentional, saying he heard Elliott complaining earlier that they didn't even want to be there.  You be the judge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npwMdSWSeZI

http://www1.static.zimbio.com/Def+Leppard/articles/72/Def+Leppard+Defiles+Stanley+Cup


Thursday night marked the official start of the 2008-2009 NHL regular season. For the Detroit Red Wings and their fans the only way to properly celebrate the new season was with a performance by legendary rock band Def Leppard.

While fans gathered at Joe Louis Arena for the 7 p.m. game, Wings fans not lucky enough to grab tickets piled into the Fox Theatre down the street for the game and a historic rock show.

The concert, called "Face-Off Rocks" officially rung in the beginning of hockey season. It's too bad the NHL couldn't get a team that was actually familiar with hockey, or at least the Stanley Cup.

Although the show no doubt rocked, the band committed a serious hockey no-no. When handed the Stanley Cup (the Red Wings took the much-coveted trophy home last season) Leppard lead singer Joe Elliot placed it on a pedestal, upside down!

If we were to compare the hockey world to the catholic world, placing the cup upside down would be like knocking over a baptismal font, stomping through the holy water, only to go to the nearest wall and hang a cross upside down. It?s just not done. Ever.

Still, it's Def Leppard, they did change the world with "Poor Some Sugar on Me," so I guess we can let it slide. Plus they are, after-all English. What would they know about Lord Stanley?s Cup?

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Yeah I saw this on Yahoo.

Joe lacks common sense, methinks.

Unless he moonlights as a progressive architect when he's not touring.

[Gunner80]

I saw this story on the show "Rome Is Burning" on ESPN yesterday.  Apparently Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott made a huge faux paux the other night by placing the Stanley Cup upside down during an opening night kickoff show they were a part of.  They were debating whether he did it intentionally or not.  Apparently Chris Chelios of the Wings definitely thought it was intentional, saying he heard Elliott complaining earlier that they didn't even want to be there.  You be the judge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npwMdSWSeZI

http://www1.static.zimbio.com/Def+Leppard/articles/72/Def+Leppard+Defiles+Stanley+Cup


Thursday night marked the official start of the 2008-2009 NHL regular season. For the Detroit Red Wings and their fans the only way to properly celebrate the new season was with a performance by legendary rock band Def Leppard.

While fans gathered at Joe Louis Arena for the 7 p.m. game, Wings fans not lucky enough to grab tickets piled into the Fox Theatre down the street for the game and a historic rock show.

The concert, called "Face-Off Rocks" officially rung in the beginning of hockey season. It's too bad the NHL couldn't get a team that was actually familiar with hockey, or at least the Stanley Cup.

Although the show no doubt rocked, the band committed a serious hockey no-no. When handed the Stanley Cup (the Red Wings took the much-coveted trophy home last season) Leppard lead singer Joe Elliot placed it on a pedestal, upside down!

If we were to compare the hockey world to the catholic world, placing the cup upside down would be like knocking over a baptismal font, stomping through the holy water, only to go to the nearest wall and hang a cross upside down. It’s just not done. Ever.

Still, it's Def Leppard, they did change the world with "Poor Some Sugar on Me," so I guess we can let it slide. Plus they are, after-all English. What would they know about Lord Stanley’s Cup?

The sports world sure is retarded.

[faldor]

Well, hockey in particular really holds the Stanley Cup in high regard.  They do not appreciate anyone disrespecting the Cup.  I'm not a hockey fan, but I know how much they respect that cup.  Each player on the winning team gets the cup for like a week at a time or something.  It is ridiculous, but that's how they do it.  No other sport is like that.