Slang (©1996 Mercury)

Truth / Turn to Dust / Slang / All I Want is Everything / Work It Out / Breathe a Sigh / Deliver Me / Gift of Flesh / Blood Runs Cold / Where Does Love Go When It Dies / Pearl of Euphoria

In the 80's these boys were the crown princes of big hair pop. With Slang the boys get haircuts, roughen up their sound a bit, and manage to pull off a very good rock album that remains somewhat true to their old sound, but also grows with the times. There are a number of excellent tunes here, and it's too bad the album stiffed. I really liked this album more than I expected to.

Rock on dudes, rock on.

Euphoria (©1999 Mercury)

the songs: Demolition Man / Promises / Back In Your Face / Goodbye / All Night / Paper Sun / It's Only Love / 21st Century Sha La La La Girl / To Be Alive / Disintegrate / Guilty / Day After Day / Kings of Oblivion

Well, here's a formula rock album, perhaps a more appropriate title would have been Euthanasia.  I guess the guys were a little gun shy after the beating that Slang received.  So they took a step backwards and borrowed liberally from their past efforts and came up with Euphoria.  There's nothing really wrong with this album - It pushes all the right buttons, but somehow it just doesn't have any life or soul.

Reviewed Summer 1999

1: Now 2: Unbelievable 3: You're So Beautiful 4: Everyday 5: Long, Long Way To Go 6: Four Letter Word 7: Torn To Shreds 8: Love Don't Lie 9: Gravity 10: Cry 11: Girl Like You 12: Let Me Be The One 13: Scar

These guys are still able to sell a few records, even if they’re far from the dizzying heights of their 80’s pinnacle. X find the boys moving forward with a harder edged pop sound that bears little resemblance to their previous work, although there is the occasional musical snippet that tugs at the nostalgia strings.

The songs are pretty solid, and this is an enjoyable listen throughout. Having said that, there really isn’t much to sink your teeth into – with the single exception of "Four Letter Word", which hearkens back to nearly classic Def Leppard.

Still, this is Def Leppard the band people love to hate. Frankly, I’ve always really liked these guys, and I like ‘em. They could do with a few less ballads, and more barnburners, but hey – it’s not 1987 anymore.

Reviewed May 6, 2005

A Tribute To Def Leppard (©2008)

1: Photograph (Jani Lane) 2: Rock Of Ages (Kelly Hansen) 3: Bringin' On The Heartbreak Phil Lewis) 4: Rock, Rock (Kevin Dubrow) 5: Too Late For Love (Stevie Rachelle) 6: High & Dry (Jizzy Pearl) 7: Foolin' (Steve Whiteman) 8: You Got Me Running (Kory Clark) 9: Wasted (John Corabi) 10: Let It Go (Jason McMaster) 11: On Through The Night (Paul Shortino) 12: Rock Brigade (Joe Leste)

As a general rule I'm not a big fan of tribute albums. I picked this up in a moment of weakness at a checkout stand, and I have to say that I got a kick out of the bait and switch cover. Performed by Warrant, Quiet Riot ... my ass. However the back of the jewel case makes it clear that it's Jani Lane of Warrant, Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot etc. So you can forgive them a little for trying to grab attention using the "marquis" bands.

Def Leppard is probably as good a choice as any to pay homage to. The guys doing to paying are for the most part guys who rode the lightning back in the day, and while Def Leppard may no longer be a commercial force, they are still out there not merely touring the nostalgia circuit.

As to the songs themselves here, I was for the most part pleasantly surprised. The Legacy version has no credits at all, so I have no idea who played what - but the songs have a pretty consistent feel to them so I suspect that it's the same band throughout. As to the song selection, there are a couple from the band's debut, and the rest are evenly split between High N' Dry and Pyromania. Which kind of hacks off at the knees anything the band did after 1983.

For the most part the songs are played safe without any real surprises. There are some surprisingly weak moments: Jani Lane is right at the top of his range and you can hear him straining to make some of the notes which was I didn't expect. The one song that really surprised me was Kevin Dubrow's take on "Rock Rock" which turns the original inside out and backward. It's really the only time on the album someone took a chance, and to be honest I think it's the best song on the album.

This is not essential listening, but as far as tributes go it merely highlights the strength of the original material.

Reviewed January 13, 2009