Def Leppard

Let me start off by saying the new Def Leppard album that came out on Oct 30th, 2015 is by far one of the best that I have ever heard. I was transported back in time to 1989 when I heard the album “Hysteria” for the first time (I was a little late to the party) and could not believe how much I loved each song. Now, if you know me, you know that I am one of the biggest Def Leppard homers there is and you may be tempted to discount my review. Chances are you think I am like Donald Trump saying that everything Def Leppard produces is “huge” and “tremendous”. I completely understand, but know this, while I have eventually liked something about every Def Leppard album since Hysteria, none of them hit me like this. I did not like Adrenalized the first time I heard it in 1992, it had to grow on me. Another reason to possibly ignore my review is the fact that I have a very narrow window of what I consider acceptable music. Ask me to discuss politics or religion and I am very open to hearing ideas very different from my own. If you try to tell me that Nirvana or Pearl Jam are better than Def Leppard, chances are you will end up with a shiv in your back. Prison yard rules man. I for one say that this narrow focus and fierce loyalty makes me the perfect person to review the album. I am like a master sommeliers, knowing how to best pair each Def Leppard song to the emotion and feeling that come with it. So, without further ado here is each song and its perfect pairment. “Let’s Go” This song is pure Def Leppard, in fact, if someone else had done the song I would have said that they stole the guitar rift from “Pour Some Sugar on Me” in the beginning. Some may see this as a criticism, I do not. I like the fact that I can hear any AC/DC song in the world and know that it is an AC/DC song. I can really see this song at the beginning of a concert. The lights are off, the Def Leppard flag covers the stage, you hear the distorted “Do you really want to do this now?” intro, lights are flashing all around and then BAAM! The banner gets sucked up as the guitar rift starts, rock and roll memories are about to be made. “Dangerous” Again, another pure Def Leppard song, kind of has a “Promises” intro but different. Saying something sounds like Def Leppard is a lot like saying Dr Pepper taste like Dr Pepper. It is true, the only way to know what Dr Pepper taste like is to taste it. This song has a good jam to it and is very enjoyable. I would pair this song with anyone dating someone on the top half of the crazy hot matrix from How I Met Your Mother. Sure she is hot, but she is crazy, but she is hot, but seriously, she is crazy. Listen to the words of the song. “Man Enough” This song starts off with a little bit of “Another One Bites the Dust” and is one of the coolest songs on the album. Do not overly focus on the words. I am not really sure how someone is man enough to be my girl, all I know is I likes the jam. Much like The Killers and their song “Somebody Told Me”, I am not really sure what a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year would actually look like. All I know is, I likes the jam, that is enough for me. This song is easy to pair with, I see a gentlemen’s club and girls covered in glitter dancing to this song. “Please welcome to the stage, Miss Crystal Chandeliers”. “We Belong” Great song, not too sappy like “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” but just sappy enough to put onto a mix tape for a girl you like or a very dear friend. 25 years ago when I was better known as Sir Mix a Lot, this song would have been a key song in my mix tape making factory. So, if I ever made you a mix tape between the years 1989 through 1998, go ahead and add this one to the mix, it is a good one. While the kids don’t make mix tapes now, I can easily see someone making a long distance dedication to someone that they care for and using the words of this song to express how they feel. “Invincible” This song is great and much like “Eye of the Tiger”, it is possible to get a little too pumped up listening to it. Be careful, if you are a runner who likes to listen to tunes while they run, chances are you are not really invincible and you just might pull a hammy running too hard. This song will be perfect after Baylor crushes TCU the day after Thanksgiving, Sic Em Bears. “Sea of Love” I was afraid that this was going to be a supper sappy song like “Where Does Love Go When it Dies”, it is not. Rather, it is a fun rocking song that has a much deeper meaning than what Def Leppard is usually known for. It is in line with songs like “Gods of War” and “Die Hard the Hunter”. This one is a hard one to pair with, all I can say is open up your mind believe in what you find. “Energized” This song is like no other Def Leppard song I have heard. You might have a moment of fear thinking your CD is scratched, nope, it is supposed to sound that way. It has a bit of “Paper Sun” feel to it. I really like the course and the lyrics, the song is Def Leppard but with a hint of blues to it. I would pair this song up with getting ready for a nice relaxing long weekend. “All Time High” This song rocks, by far one of my favorites. The guitar solo is awesome, one of the best I have heard. I really, really hope that this will make it into the concert mix. Great song. When Baylor wins the College Football National Championship, this will be a perfect song. “Battle of My Own” Very jazzy and bluesy, love the acoustic guitar and blend of Def Lep voices. It is also very short, only 2:42 minutes. Much like “Sea of Love”, having a hard time with what to pair this song with. Best I can come up with is if you have a battle of your own, this song could really work for you during this battle time. “Broke N Brokenhearted” This is a UFC fight song, great rock and roll. When Ronda Rousey takes the stage to take on Holly Holm she should play this song. Could also add Def Leppard’s “Undefeated” while you are at it. “Forever Young” From the title I thought it was going to be a remake of Rod Stewart’s classic “Forever Young” which I have to say I was kinda looking forward to. This one is not has hopeful as Rod’s song is, but it does really rock. Reminds me of Def Leppard songs like “Mirror, Mirror” from High and Dry. I would pair this song up with Vampire love movie, it has that kind of feel to it. “Last Dance” This song is both sad and it is sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. Perfect blend of Def Leppard voices and love the sound. I told my wife, when our 3 year old girl gets married, this will be the father daughter song we dance to, end of story. It covers a lot of emotions, it could be about someone who lost someone that they loved because of dying too soon, a wedding where a father gives away a daughter, or some knuckle head who lost the girl of his dreams because he slept with that hot crazy girl from “Dangerous”. “Wings of an Angel” I am picking up a little bit of a SAMCRO vibe when I hear this song. I fully expect to see a motorcycle club riding their bikes getting ready to cause mayhem. I hope they can make a video that is as good as the one I have playing in my mind. However, after seeing the video for “Let’s Go”, I think I would rather the video stay in my mind because it is awesome. Just take a few scenes from “Sons of Anarchy” and put Sir Mix a lot on the case and we will have a mighty fine video. “Blind Faith” It is rare that the last song on an album is my favorite. I am not sure why that is, does the band get tired and say that is it, we quit? What, what happens to the last song of a record? Now, if you were thinking I was about to say that “Blind Faith” is my favorite song, sorry about that, I might have been a bit misleading in my open sentence. However, the song is perfect where it is. You see, you have just spent the better part of 40 minutes listening to the best Rock and Roll in years. You have reminisced about lost love, got yourself super pumped up ready to get in the ring with Mike Tyson as well as pictured a girl named Candy Cain doing a lap dance all over your body. You need this song to bring everything down so that you do not go out and hurt something.

Many people have already posted similar reviews to mine. I'll simply state a few facts and opinions about the album overall, then do a song-by-song analysis. (Right there, it's apparent that Def Leppard are under huge scrutiny by everyone. What other bands do people actually care about to this level of analysis? Think about it.) Nothing is boring or stale. This delivery comes right out screaming old/new fusion. So sorry for the people who are still hung up on the NWOBHM. That was a brief period in the band's first years, and it OBVIOUSLY wasn't the way they steered their musical creativity. Someone can always chant why the "next" album wasn't as good. Some people still insist that "Hysteria" was a musical sell-out to "Pyromania," instead of seeing the evolution that took place. Even between their two most famous albums, there was a fair amount of discord amongst fans. This is a band that has suffered through loss of life, limb, and popularity. The media had much to do with this in the '90s, despite a brilliant string of songs that really peaked on "Slang." And just as true hard rock/pop rock was coming back at the turn of the century (big kudos to Nickelback for spearheading it), the band began to record songs that were closer to their massively overproduced earlier efforts. That said, good songs still came. By and large, at this point, THE FANS decided what Def Leppard were. THE FANS gave them more hell than the media or the suits at Mercury/Polygram. The MOST DISSATISFIED GROUP. Fans expecting this, expecting that. Fans who listened to their fairy tale band that never existed. Def Leppard were still making wonderful music, and continued to dazzle on tour. During this period, many elements that helped build the New album were forged (same applies for "Sparkle Lounge," as well). Anyone who has followed the band closely and their evolution through inspiration from so many bands featured on "Yeah!" know what has transpired over the years. The people who ignore those changes and whine about vague weakness in the band are, frankly, informed idiots. Def Leppard are a band capable of doing what practically zero bands can still handle. They sound like themselves, but inject completely different hybrid songs that are either totally unexpected or radically transformed by their own sound if close to an influential favorite of theirs. For goodness sake, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was a half rap, half rock song. Did everyone forget that it barely made it on the album? Even their trademark song was born out of controversy..... If you want something to listen to that sounds fresh, interesting, inspired, and non-repetitive, get this album. For all we know it could be the FINAL full album they make, and it couldn't be a better compilation. Who wants another album that's trying to duplicate another album? Certainly not me! If I want to hear period-specific songs, then I'll play the appropriate album. I am just in awe of the creative genius that gets better. There's no lacking here.... ARE YOU GETTIN' IT??? If you want to hear Def Leppard, and I mean some very, very special music, this album is for you. The more I listen, the more I'm engaged. It's simply that f'n great.

Def Leppard machen es einem wirklich nicht gerade leicht. Im Vorfeld zur Veröffentlichung des neuen Albums, gab es immer wieder zu hören, das das neue Album, direkt an die Erfolgsalben der 80er und 90er Jahre anschließen soll. An Pyromania, Hysteria und Adrenalize. Solche Aussagen wecken natürlich auch ganz bestimmte Erwartungshaltungen. Neben den Aussagen gab es dann ja auch schon vorab zwei Songs zu hören. Let's go und Dangerous. Nachdem ich diese beiden Songs gehört hatte, war mir eigentlich klar, das das neue Album von Def Leppard tatsächlich das Feeling und den Spirit von den drei oben genannten Alben haben könnte. Und dann war ja da auch noch das schöne 80er Old School Cover zu sehen, auch besitzt das Album keinen Titel, sondern nennt sich ganz schlicht nur Def leppard. Auch das kann doch eigentlich nur großes bedeuten. Mehr Ursprünglichkeit, mehr Heavyness, einfach wieder prägnantere Gitarrenriffs. Wie gesagt, Let's go und Dangerous gingen da doch schonmal ganz klar in diese Richtung. Und dann war das Album da und plötzlich war alles ganz anders. Der Traum, das Def Leppard Def Leppard wieder mehr in die Richtung des Pyromanischen Heavy Rocks gehen würde zerplatzte schon während des ersten Hõrens des neuen Albums. Denn so wie das Album beginnt geht es leider nicht weiter. Die ersten drei Songs, darunter die zwei bekannten und Man Enough lösen das Versprechen des stärksten Outputs seit den Erfolgsalben sehr gut ein, danach verliert sich dieser Spirit aber ersteinmal ziemlich schnell. Ganz ärgerlich war für mich dann Sea of Love. Hier musste ich doch tatsächlich das Riff Muster von Sweet Home Alabahma ertragen. Nee ehrlich, so hatte ich mir Def Leppards Rückbesinnung zu alten Tugenden nicht Vorgestellt. Was ich zu hören bekam war eben eine Mischung aus Rock und Pop mit vielen Einflüssen diverser anderer Rock Größen. Bon Jovi, Kiss, Brian Adams, Led Zeppelin und Queen Hmm....., so hatte ich das nach dem ganzen Rummel, der vorher um das Album gemacht wurde, echt nicht erwartet. Wo war das Ursprüngliche, wo der 80er Heavy Rock? Nun........, jedenfalls fand ich schon beim zweiten Durchgang von Def Leppard sehr großen gefallen an den Songs. Denn die Songs sind einfach mal gut. Richtig gut sogar. Retro hin, Heavy Rock her. Gute Songs sind gute Songs. Ja, sie sind poppiger als ich das erwartet habe, aber sie fetzen eben und als ich damals das erste mal Hysteria gehört habe, war ich auch erstmal geschockt, denn das Album war im Gegensatz zu Pyromania ja auch extrem poppig und anders. Irgendwann mochte ich es dann aber auch. Allerdings halte ich Pyromania bis heute für das beste Album von Def Leppard. Egal,.....zurück zum neusten Output. wie gesagt, es gibt hier richtig gute Rock Songs zu hören, aber die kann man nur Genießen, wenn man sich von dem Retro Gedanken etwas befreit. So erging es mir jedenfalls. Ganz befreien muss man sich von dem Retro Gedanken allerdings auch wieder nicht, denn wenn man genau hinhört, dann hat das Album diese Momente der 80er an vielen Stellen immer wieder zu bieten, nur man darf eben kein Album wie Pyromania oder Hysteria erwarten. Und ja, zwischen den vielen poppigen Momenten, blitzt auch immer mal wieder der gute alte Heavy Rock auf. Pop, Rock und leichte Heavyness verpackt in tolle Songs. Das macht wirklich Spaß. Wie gesagt, es gibt viele Einflüsse von den oben erwähnten Künstlern, aber diese sind eben ziemlich gut Integriert und stören mich nicht. Ich sags mal so, wenn Bon Jovi nochmal so ein Album raushauen würden, dann wären die Fans glücklich. Nun ja, Sea of Love finde ich immer noch schrecklich, aber ansonsten gefällt mir jeder einzelne Song und deshalb kann und will ich nicht weniger als fünf Sterne Vergeben. Klasse Album.

I must admit to being a bit dissapointed about Leppard recently. Sure, Sparkle Lounge was a good attempt to re capture their glory days and the closest they've come for a long time, but, it still left me unsatisfied. I bought this more out of habit, got it, played it (in the background while working) and there it sat on the shelf for quite a while. Then, one day, looking for something different to play, I threw this on. What the hell happened then! How could I have ignored this for so long? This album sums up what Leppard are all about, this is what they do when they are firing on all cylinders. Classic Leppard sound, the best songwriting they have committed to record for years. It is, simply, class! Once it gets under your skin, it will be played and played, suddenly, my favorite Leppard album. Get it!!

Great Music and good quality of the product

Si duda un gran disco tiene todo el toque ochentero, no esperemos un histeria 2 de ellos, los que somos fans de toda la vida de def leppard estamos contentos creo, decirme que grupo de los ochenta sobrevive aún? Ellos tienen un caché muy alto aún...lo único malo que cada vez hay más distancia de años entre disco y disco

ECCO ARRIVATO IL NUOVO DISCO IN STUDIO DEI DEF LEPPARD A 7 ANNI DI DISTANZA DEL LORO ULTIMO LP E SINCERAMENTE NON PENSAVO DI TROVARLI ANCORA SU QUESTI LIVELLI.SOLO I PRIMI 2 BRANI POSSONO RICORDARE QUELLO FATTO IN PARTE IN HYSTERIA ED ADRENALIZE:LET'S GO E DANGEROUS,POI SI PROSEGUE SULLO STILE POST ADRENALIZE,MA CON CHITARRE PIù CORPOSE E UN SUONO DI BATTERIA VERAMENTE MASSICCIO,SENTITO SOLO SU RETROACTIVE E QUALCHE LORO VECCHIA BSIDES,I CORI SONO SEMPRE STUPEFACENTI,MA QUESTA VOLTA VENGONO'DOMINATI'DAL GRANDE VIVIAN CAMPBELL,IL DISCO è NOTEVOLE E NELLE 14 TRACCE TROVO UN PO SOTTOTONO SOLO LA MODERNA ENERGIZED E SEA OF LOVE,DA SEGNALARE LA STRATOSFERICA DANGEROUS,INVINCIBLE MOLTO BILLY IDOL,LA ZEPPELINIANA BATTLE OF MY OWN,LO SLOW TEMPO DI WE BELONG DOVE CANTANO TUTTI I LEPPARD E LA MIGLIORE DEL LOTTO:WINGS OF AN ANGEL!!!!CONSIGLIATISSIMO!!!