Search - Def Leppard :: Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

It finally happened again. An actual rock album from Def Le

J. C. Amos | Seattle | 04/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After X, I began to accept that we would never hear Lep rock quite like they did in the Pyomania Days. Sure, X had a couple rocking tracks like Cry and Scar, but mostly the songs were poppy and some that I don't care for at all that could've been written by Matchbox 20. Even Euphoria, which rocked fairly hard, tried to be too much like Hysteria.



I think Sparkle Lounge (despite the fairly lame album title) is the album that Def Leppard fans like me have been waiting for. It rocks. The last time I've heard so many rocking Lep tracks in one album was in Retro-Active, and half of those were covers. This just may be their hardest rocking outing since Pyro. And the band is in top form. Joe sounds fantastic, as always. It's amazing that after all these years he hasn't lost his range. The guitar work from Phil and Vivian is great. There are some good, memorable riffs on nearly every track, which is something X was missing. The production value is great as well.



I was hooked from Go. It is one of the best Def Lep tracks I've ever heard. I can't quite compare it to any other song of theirs, though I've tried. If I had to choose, I'd say it sounds a bit like something on Retroactive, like Desert Song combined with Ring of Fire. But it's fast, has a nice dark tone to it and it's heavy! I've never heard a song like Go from the band before and I love it.



The Single Nine Lives is good too, even being co-written by Tim Mcgraw. Luckily it's not a country song. It rocks and reminds me a bit of Armageddon It, though of course not as classic. Other tracks here are good too. C'mon C'mon has a nice pop-rock feel to it. Love is the only ballad on the album and it's a very different Lep ballad, with acoustic guitar parts that sound like Battle for Evermore from Zeppelin and some Queen-style choruses. And Bad Actress must be what's drawing the AC/DC comparison, and it's also a different track for them. There are a few songs that I don't care for as much as others (Hallucinate is okay, but sounds like a Euphoria leftover) but there's nothing here that's throw-away and the album is listenable through and through. And one of the best things is that for the most part, everything here is different from what we've heard before, though the album still remains Def Leppard.



For those who've complained that this band hasn't rocked in a long time, this may be the album you've been looking for.

"

No lounge songs here, folks

Sal Nudo | Champaign, Illinois | 04/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Probably not since 1996's "Slang" have I been so satisfied with a Def Leppard album of original material. "Euphoria" from 1999 contains excellent tunes but is slightly mired down with some total clunkers at the start, while 2002's "X," though bravely seeking to navigate into pure pop-rock waters in the vain of the then-popular boy bands, is a bit limpid when compared to the entire Leppard catalog. Enter "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge," an album that has real hit potential for a band that deserves more accolades to come its way in this day and age.



With its splashy cover and a less curt title than most Def Leppard albums, "Sparkle Lounge" right away makes its presence felt -- and the in-yer-face music does not once disappoint. The first track, "Go," is a pure jolt of both retro and modern Def Lep energy and may have made a stronger lead-off single than "Nine Lives" with Tim McGraw, though that great song's crunchy guitar work, hand claps and various addictive choruses are ten times more real and fun than tunes such as the contrived "Let's Get Rocked" from "Adrenalize." Equally as elated-sounding is Rick Savage's glammy toe-tapper "C'mon, C'mon," apparently the band's next choice for a single, which could easily find a happy home in commercials, movies and arenas till the end of time. Savage also wrote the multi-dimensional "Love," which threw me for a bit of a loop. "Love" begins with a thunderous explosion but quickly subsides to beautiful flamenco-style guitar picking and Elliott's soft vocals, which at first come off as sappy. Luckily, though, "Love" actually turns out to be a creative piece that is somehow a concoction of Queen's extravagant vocals, The Beatles' easy melody and Leppard's militaristic guitar work wrapped into one.



Interestingly, the Leps mostly chose to forgo a collaborative songwriting process in favor of bringing individual projects to the table. Collen's soaring "Tomorrow" features a Bono-esque "hoo-hoo" rally at the start and a message of living for today, but it's his other tune, "Hallucinate," which qualifies as one of my favorites on the CD. The opening riff of "Hallucinate" is chunkier and bolder than "Photograph"'s from the early 1980s, but Elliott's amazing vocals and the chorus within the song are what make it so special. Elliott, meanwhile, flaunts his rugged vocals, rollicking songwriting skills and intrepid attitude on the rough-and-tumble "Bad Actress" and the majestic but rocking "Come Undone," which is another favorite of mine.



Vivian Campbell, too, deserves credit for his songwriting work on "Cruise Control" and "Only the Good Die Young." The former song takes on a suicide bomber's eerie point of view, while the latter is a sweet and deserving tribute to the legendary Steve Clark, whose dark but catchy riffs have managed to live on in Def Leppard's music. Uncannily, "Only the Good Die Young" is a cool mix of Beatles and old-school Leppard, which proves Campbell is an underrated weapon in the band, someone with a great voice and guitar-playing skills, and a guy who seems to bring a fresh approach.



Joe Elliott's voice is less raspy than in years past -- probably all the screaming and cigarettes over the years have taken their toll -- but his iron vocals are still on cue enough to more than get the job done. The underrated Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell are brilliant on this CD, pulling off stunning, fluid guitar solos everywhere, and Rick Allen's drum fills are so liquid-smooth that the guy must be receiving technical help somewhere. Nonetheless, this new approach to percussion on a Leppard album only enhances what is rapidly becoming a Hall of Fame career. Highly recommended."

Def leppard awoke! they came back

charles | New York, NY | 04/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"after listening to five of the new album "songs from the Sparkle Lounge",

i would have to say for the first time in a long long time def leppard got back the heavy guitar riffs and harmony that made male and even female fans remember the glory days of old when High N Dry was hot and Pyromania was king. I dont know how or what woke the band up, but they sound heavy.It is like Steve Clark is there along with original band mate Pete Willis of course not in form but in spirit. The Song "Go" is awesome! "Gotta Let it Go" is another great tune as is "Come Undone"."Bad Actress" has some feel to Hysteria or Pyromania days. I also think Leppard used some AC/DC sound ..that was well know from their 70s days like "Powerage", or "Let there be Rock" or even "Highway to Hell"-just the riffs i am speaking about. "Nine Lives" is also a cool track. "Hallucinate" sounds smooth just the beginning has that AC/DC sound as well as "Tomorrow". You be the judge. Take it from me a old-time Leppard fan, I think the boys got a hit album."