Def Leppard - Yeah!
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Free Music Notes for Yeah!
Free Music Review: Yeah? - Hell Yes!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Yeah? This disc should have been titled: "Hell, Yes!!!" Put this in your CD player and return to the glitter days of the early 70s. Although there are blatant hints on previous albums and videos, this collection affirms the sound that eventually would become Def Leppard. I always knew there was a reason why I had to get the latest album and stand in line to get tickets for the next tour. Luckily, I grew up on the shores of the north coast - I have caught Lep shows in four cities [Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and Toledo] at six different venues!
Since the liner notes explain the band's exposure to these artists, I would be amiss if I didn't share Glam Rock's availability in the Midwest. "The Buzzard - Cleveland's 101 FM WMMS" exposed north central Ohio to The Spiders from Mars, T-Rex, and Mott. At the time we had to drive toward the lake to get reception on our FM converters, but until we were in range the 8track blared Aladdin Sane, The Slider, or All the Young Dudes. Late night broadcasts of In Concert, The Midnight Special, or Don Kirshner's Rock Concert gave us the stunning visuals. Many a night was spent in front of the television with the sound turned down low for just a glimpse of Thin Lizzy or Queen or The Faces. David Essex and David Bowie appeared on the various variety hours, such as Sonny & Cher. I am definitely old enough to remember and have the fisticuffs scars to prove it. Across the pond, we didn't have a Glam Rock movement, so to speak. Our Glammers had a raw edge and very quickly morphed into Punk or New Wave.
Now, this album rocks from the opening chords and handclaps of "20th Century Boy" to the final drum roll and waning riff of "Stay With Me." The folksy harmonies on the aforementioned T-Rex track, "20th Century Boy," sharpen images of Marc Bolan, gliding on the stage. David Essex's "Rock On" - finally does. Phil and Viv shred, enough said. Technically, the next cut isn't really a Blondie song, but I've only heard Debbie Harry's version of the Nerves' "Hanging on the Telephone." If Blondie ripped it up in 1978, then Leppard mauls the tune in 2006. "Waterloo Sunset," from the Brothers Davies, a.k.a. The Kinks, never sounded sweeter. Speaking of Sweet, what would any respectable cover album from Sheffield be without at least one choice Sweet track? Personally, I still like Retroactive's "Action" better, but the band sufficiently rails out "Hell Raiser." ELO's "10538 Overture" eerily grabs onto the listener - not unlike "Desert Song." Again, the guitars scorch! Joe Elliot turns in one fine vocal performance on Roxy Music's "Street Life." Then he out does himself. The band's faithful cover of David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday" drips with the soul that would become the Thin White Duke from the transition period between "Diamond Dogs" and "Young Americans." Just when you think, "No way, can Joe top those vocals," he does. His bluesy pop chops are thoroughly satisfying on Free's "Little Bit of Love." Def Leppard oozes Mott the Hoople from the chunky guitars to the layered harmonies. "Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" is raucously fun - like it should be. A personal thanks to the band for including a remixed "No Matter What." I didn't plunk down my cash for this Badfinger song on Rock of Ages. Although it is a little too paint-by-numbers, it's cool. I never heard John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step on You Again," so now it's Leppardized. Thankfully, the next song also, falls into the paint-by-numbers category. For pure vibe, it is spooky how close the boys play Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word" - Joe channels Phil Lynott, while the band pays homage. As I said before the album closes with Phil Collen wailing The Faces' "Stay with Me," but Vivian Campbell's slide guitar really brings this fine collection of cover tunes to a close.
Is Def Leppard's latest album worth your money? Simply: YEAH!
The only thing wrong with Def Leppard's cover album is that it wasn't a double album. Sure, some of their song choices wouldn't have been mine. I may have chosen "Telegram Sam" or "All the Way from Memphis" or "Starman" or "Fox on the Run," but the band will need some B-sides... And then there might be a Retroactive-Revisted. Also, there should have been a Led Zeppelin song, perhaps, "D'yer Mak'er," and I would have thoroughly enjoyed The Hollies' "Long Cool Woman."
For those who are too young to remember the album jackets depicted in the liner notes - Here we go: Rick Savage: Freddy Mercury on Queen II; Vivian Campbell: Marc Bolan on Electric Warrior; Joe Elliott: David Bowie on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; Rick Allen: Lou Reed on Transformer; and Phil Collen: Iggy Pop on Raw Power. The album wear on Joe's photo is a nice touch.
One final comment: I got the Wal-Mart bonus disc, so Joe, how about a video for "Space Oddity." I envision you, as Major Tom... And wouldn't it be a kick, if David Bowie reprised the role of Ground Control. I believe the world needs to hear you sing with one of your greatest influences. It would be an instant classic, like Bing and Bowie!
Free Music Review: OH YEAH!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was originally skeptical about this album. I really did not know what to expect especially after Def Leppard's last album X. The band seemed to forget they were a rock band. However, after buying this album my skepticism was put to rest. Leppard has not rocked out this hard since Pyromania. They have gone back to their roots, literally, recording an album of some of their favorite songs from the 60's and 70's. It also sounds like they tuned their guitars lower like they do when they play live. This gives the album a concert-like feel. You can tell they put a lot of time into recording these songs and they played each one with enthusiasm. This is quite different from X in which they seemed like they were trying too hard to be something they are not.
The band invited various people to play on YEAH! including family members, Ian Hunter, Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) and others. Here is a run down of the album:
1. 20th Century Boy: T-Rex
Great opening song! After listening to this one I could tell immediately this album was going to be good.
2. Rock On: David Essex
I love the hard rocking ending they added to this one something the original did not have.
3. Hanging on the Telephone: made famous by Blondie
Interesting chose, still a decent song.
4. Waterloo Sunset: The Kinks
I remember listening to a clip of this a long time ago, however I don't remember it being this good.
5. Hell Raiser: Sweet
Never knew Motley Crue ripped this song off (Kickstart My Heart). Kind of sad but I still like both songs still. Justin Hawkins helps Leppard out on this one.
6. 10538 Overture: ELO
Sounds like nothing Def Leppard has recorded before. Very classical sounding.
7. Street Life: Roxy Music
Rocks pretty hard. Puddle of Mud ripped some of the parts of this song off when they made She Hates Me.
8. Drive-In Saturday: David Bowie
One of the slower ones on the album. Leppard tried to record it closely to the original.
9. Little Bit of Love: Free
An upbeat song.
10. The Golden Age of Rock `N' Roll: Mott the Hoople
My favorite song on the album. The band just lets it rip on this one.
11. No Matter What: Bad Finger
The band seems to love this one. It was previously released on Rock of Ages greatest hits. I think its ok but not near the best on this album.
12. He's Gonna Step on You Again: John Kongos
I love the rhythm on this song. Some of Rick Allen's best drum work ever.
13. Don't Believe a Word: Thin Lizzy
The band recorded this one with a classical rock style.
14. Stay With Me: Rod Stewart
Phil Collen sings on this one. He sounds very similar to Rod. It was originally released as a B-Side for X.
The album art is also very good. It contains pictures of the band dressed as Glam Rockers. They all look like David Bowie. In the booklet Phil and Joe explain why each track was chosen and what each song means to them.
I highly recommend this album.
Free Music Review: Rock On!
Hit: 5 Stars
After 20 years, Def Leppard's still rockin'! And I mean Rockin'! This album rocks from start to finish, from the opening riff of 20th Century Boy to the crashing end of Stay With Me!
20th Century Boy 5/5: This song has an awesome guitar riff, perfect for startin' out the album, and a closing solo (at least I think it's a solo).
Rock On 5/5: Awesome song! Sounds kinda wierd in the beginning, but the final 53 seconds are worth it!
Hanging On The Telephone 4/5: Pretty Good Song, some parts are kinda pop-ish, though.
Waterloo Sunset 4/5: Definitely the slowest song on this album, but still pretty good, has some hard moments, though.
Hell Raiser 4.5/5: Probably the heaviest song on the album, more closely resembling heavy metal than pop. No guitar solo, but it has some cool riffs.
10538 Overture 5/5: It's just cool. Not as hard rockin' as some, but has some cool guitar lines, and a "Paper Sun" type solo at the end. Not my favorite, but cool.
Street Life 3/5: Not my favorite song on the album, by far. It's o.k., no solo, no big riffs, so just o.k.
Drive-In Saturday 2.5/5: I personally don't like it. Too jazzy for me, like, you know, jazz music.
Little Bit Of Love 7/5: Sounds like it could be an original Leppard song! The guitar solo's short, but sweet, and there are little guitar licks all over! Awesome!
The Golden Age Of Rock N' Roll 10/5: Very rockin' song, with an awesome solo that's VERY fast! It's also cool that the original singer of this song gets to introduce his own song on the album (Oh, and there are some AWESOME hooks and licks in this song)!
No Matter What 8/5: One of my favorite songs on the album. Resembles pop-rock, and I usually hate pop, but Def Leppard just does it right! Cool solo by Viv, too.
He's Gonna Step On You Again 4/5: Cool song, can get you dancing, has a really nice, fun, and just plain cool beat! Also, the guitar riff's pretty cool.
Don't Believe A Word 20/5: Awwww man, I can't tell you how awesome this song is! This includes the best guitar solo (in my opinion) on the album! It's also the longest solo on the album, although the song's only about 2 minutes, twenty seconds. This one could also sounds like it could be an original Leppard song, if it were longer.
Stay With Me 5/5: VERY cool song! Phil Collen actually takes lead vocals on this song (He's pretty good at it, too)! It also has some pretty cool guitar riffs!
All in all, this album's awesome! Awesome vocals, awesome music, awesome songs! This one's a winner!
Free Music Review: Rock On With Def Leppard
Hit: 5 Stars
I will be one of the first to admit that I enjoyed the music of Def Leppard back in the Hard Rock heyday of the 80's. Their powerful blend of melody and heavy music made albums like "Pyromania" and "High & Dry" instantly successful and propelled the band on to greatness for many years. In their early years the band never held back references to those that influenced them, and in interviews you would find regular mention of The Sweet, Mott The Hoople and David Bowie. Now, more than twenty years after they came upon the scene the band has decided to pay homage to these artists who helped form and inspire them by giving listeners their renditions of some of this music. Being honest to the originals would be an understatement for as you listen you will find very little Def Leppard present and almost spot on covers of these songs. The choice to make is on whether this is a good or bad thing, and in my opinion I think it is great. Too often we find the bands "interpretations" of classic tracks to be very far from the original or including elements that don't fit at all. Def Leppard's goal was to bring you into their world for these tracks and have you as the listener understand what made them special to them during their formative years. They could do no less than deliver above par performances. Of the fourteen tracks there are a few standout numbers such as "Hell Raiser" and "20th Century Boy" where the band sounds almost exactly like Sweet and T.Rex. Other tracks I enjoyed ended up with "No Matter What" (Badfinger), "Stay With Me" (Faces) and "Rock On" (David Essex). The guys cover a lot of interesting ground by also delivering numbers by Blondie, David Bowie, The Kinks and Mott The Hoople among several other interesting choices. It's up to you as a listener to vote on if you liked the closeness of the sound more than unique interpretations.
The packaging of this album impressed me very much as well, for it is loaded with the necessary photos but also information about each song in the liner notes. The members of the band include where their head was at during the time they heard this song and what it meant to them on a personal level. That increased the appeal of the booklet for me and made it a fun read as I listened to the songs presented. This new release follows their successful Anthology release of a year ago and it is my hope that the band plans to rock like never before on their next studio effort. After all this reminder of the glory of their past and their origins they can do no less for the fans.
Free Music Review: Ohhhhh Yeahhhh!
Hit: 5 Stars
"Hey Kid, Rock and Roll, Rock On!" As a child of the 1970's, I can certainly appreciate and would recommend Def Leppard's new release, "Yeah!," which is a covers CD featuring music largely from 70's artists such as Badfinger, T-Rex and The Sweet. To simply call this a "covers album," in my personal opinion, is selling the Leps a bit short. Any artist can record a remake of someone else's song, but the band has gone a quite a bit above and beyond that point with "Yeah!." They've managed to put the Def Leppard sound and "touch" on each and every track on the CD while still preserving the basic integrity of each song, and that's not an easy thing to do. That is what makes "Yeah" a fun, energetic and brilliant listen. Though this CD isn't an original studio album (and those fans complaining that this is just another rehash CD, relax, I am sure Def Leppard will have an offering of new material in the pipeline!) older fans will be able to appreciate the musical flashback to their youth while younger fans perhaps not old enough to recall the original 70's versions of these songs will most definitely still be able to get into the music because of the fresh, new way in which the band delivers the material. I most definitely like the fact that Def Leppard did not take the easy way out with this CD by just simply doing "the hits" everyone knows. Yes, there are some popular radio hits like David Essex's "Rock On" and Badfinger's "No Matter What," but there are also more lesser known tracks (to radio audiences perhaps) such as the Kink's "Waterloo Sunset" and Mott the Hoople's "The Golden Age of Rock and Roll." Regardless of song popularity, all of the tracks are wonderfully executed, with Joe Elliott's voice sounding cooler than ever and the rest of the band sounding very tight; specifically the twin guitar efforts of Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen who manage to put all the famous riffs we remember with these tracks in the right places. (A listen to the start of the opening track, "20th Century Boy," demonstrates that very well!) As I listened to this CD and have watched the band perform some of these songs on recent television appearances I really get the impression that Def Leppard had a lot of fun with this project. If they were trying to convey a message about why they did a covers CD in the first place, it seems to be that they're saying, "This is why we do what we do." They certainly do it well and let's hope they continue to do what they do for a long time to come!