In their forty-three year (!) recording career, it isn’t unfair to say UK rock stalwarts Def Leppard are known for a pretty steady formula and approach of, in the main, pristine, polished hard rock songs, centred in an eighties sheen. Most of us could recognise a Def Leppard-style song without too much difficulty, and they aren’t (a few deviations – RetroActive, Slang, Taylor Swift, and Ghostly interactions – aside) known for their musical risk-taking or surprises.
With so many rock and metal acts playing entire albums in full these days, it was only a matter of time before the band responsible for one of the biggest (and longest) records of all time decided to give it a go themselves. Selling over twenty-five million copies worldwide, the idea for Def Leppard to play 1987’s Hysteria (Phonogram/Mercury) in its entirety began in 2012 when the band were offered an eleven date residency at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, which they played during March and April of 2013.Continue reading
One of the long grave omissions of the DSP music streaming experience, Def Leppard have resolved a dispute with their record label Universal Records and their entire catalog of classic and recent albums have hit all streaming services today. One of the most iconic and commercially popular heavy metal bands ever, selling over 100 million albums in their storied career, and their albums are now available on all services worldwide. Continue reading
Joe Satriani recently announced that he will be releasing his sixteenth solo album, What Happens Next, on January 12th. The new record sees him teaming up with Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath on bass, and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith on drums, and we have your first taste of the new material today. Continue reading
Riding the crest of the wave of positivity that 2015’s self-titled album (earMUSIC) garnered, Def Leppard’s subsequent tour was equally well received. To celebrate and mark the occasion And There Will Be A Next Time (Eagle Rock Entertainment) was conceived – a double CD live album accompanied by a DVD of the same performance.Continue reading
Unmistakeable. Distinctive from the very outset, Def Leppard’s eponymous new release (earMUSIC) starts off with Joe Elliott’s unambiguous voice asking “Do you really want to do this now?” over a quiet build before a slick guitar lick leads us into some stabbed power chords and album eleven is up and running in their own inimitable style.
Let’s get the obvious bits and bobs out the way first… No, it’s not as classic as Pyromania or Hysteria (Vertigo/Mercury) – it was never, ever going to be; that’s like expecting Metallica to hit the stardust and repeat Master of Puppets (Electra/Vertigo) – but, no, it’s not as saccharine as Adrenalize (Mercury/Bludgeon Riffola), and no, it’s certainly not boring, staid or irrelevant. In fact, it’s interesting how the electricity and energy courses through, with ‘Energized’ lyrically appropriate about how the band seem to have taken a shot in the arm.
Freed from the confines of pressures imposed by others, and without the pressure of writing to appease a label, the Leps got together to jam songs for an EP and ended with their walls down, letting the tide of creativity flow around them, and a whole album in their laps, with songs ‘We Belong’, ‘Let’s Go’ and in particular the excellent ‘Dangerous’ pure top grade Leppard. On top of the traditional Leppard fare that litters the album, ‘Sea of Love’ brings some playful blues, ‘Man Enough’ grooves in with a huge finger-clicking, neck-bobbing funking bass guurrrroove, ‘All Time High’ runs with the Boss and ‘Battle of my Own’ borrows from acoustic Zeppelin .
Relevance has become a redundant concept for bands and that Def Leppard are still going strong a full 35 years after their inception is testament to the fact that, even during creative lulls there is sufficient quality in the band to keep hundreds of thousands of fans engaged and along for the ride; this is a band that give lessons in every song in how to write hooks and, in their sleep, knock out better choruses than most other bands can dream of.
Yes, to a large extent, you know what you’re going to get, but in this case that’s not a bad thing. There will be detractors, and the album does, in true Leps style, tail off a bit towards the end before ‘Blind Faith’ closes things off with class and nods to The Beatles. But, hey facts, kids… Def Leppard is an hour of quality classic hard rock tunes, and the fact that you’re listening to the best Def Leppard album since their heyday nigh on thirty years ago, is more than enough.
8.0/10
STEVE TOVEY
The 10th Annual Classic Rock Awards is being held on November 4, 2014 at the Avalon in Hollywood, CA. Presented by Orange Amplification and hosted by Sammy Hagar, musicians reported to appear include Gregg Allman (this year’s Living Legend Award recipient), and The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore (this year’s Inspiration Award recipient), and many others.
The part time, all star band Kings of Chaos will feature Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke (of Guns N Roses fame), and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), as well as appearances by Hagar, Glenn Hughes (California Breed, ex-Deep Purple), Joe Elliott and Phil Collen (Def Leppard), and Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
Other live performances for the event include Hughes’ California Breed, Rival Suns, and Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts.
The Classic Rock Of Honour awards will be airing on AXS TV in December 2014, with exact date and time TBA.