Author: Jernej Vene
Artist: Def Leppard
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 2008
Running time: 39:12
Rating: 3/5
Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is Def Leppard’s first studio album since 2002, when they put out X. Over the course of their career they’ve been through a string of tragedies. The biggest were surely on New Year’s Eve 1984, when drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash, and on January 8, 1991, when guitarist Steve Clarke died from a lethal mix of alcohol and drugs. The tracks on Songs from the sparkle lounge have a fresh edge, which isn’t typical for bands with such a long track record. The opener Go and the duet Nine Lives with country master Tim McGraw are prime examples.
The former wonder kids of the British new wave of heavy metal from the late seventies hit straight between the eyes again on the new Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. Their trademark is a blend of polished, roaring guitars and gleaming choirs, serving as a bed for Elliott’s high vocals. By their standards, the songs came together remarkably fast, since they’ve always been known for drawn-out studio sessions. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge isn’t quite as polished in spirit as their biggest hit Hysteria from 1987, and a few tracks hark back to the era of the album Slang, on which they forced their way into the grunge that was all the rage at the time. They recorded the album the way they know best, with the kind of music fans expect from them. And of course, they pulled it off with ease.
Despite all the tragedies and trauma, Def Leppard are a band that just doesn’t know how to quit. They’ve never hit trouble so bad that any member wanted to leave the group. A few times it seemed to them that there was no way out of all the piled-up problems and that the whole thing wasn’t worth the effort. Luckily, two members never made that call at the same time, because if they had, it would have spelled certain doom for the band. On Songs From The Sparkle Lounge the guys have held on to their distinctive sound, which guarantees their success. Def Leppard are also known for their extremely high recording costs, since perfection is their main goal whenever they cut new tracks. Along the way they don’t forget about the quality of the songs, because listeners today are pretty hungry for anything new, so older or, if you like, more seasoned acts often have to grit their teeth to keep up with them.
Def Leppard are a five-piece: singer Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen, and guitarists Phil Collen and the replacement for Steve Clarke. After his death they picked Vivian Campbell, an Irish veteran of stadiums and rock festivals, who cut his teeth as a member of the bands of Ronnie James Dio, Whitesnake, Riverdogs and Shadow King, in which he worked with former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge lounge is a solid rock album that could easily have lived in the eighties, and if it’s meant to be aimed at the new millennium, well, that works too. Credit goes to both guitarists as well. As usual with Def Leppard, the album has just the right amount of solos, the kind the average modern pop listener’s ear can handle. They never overdid it. Maybe someone out there would want more guitars, but personally I think the balance between rhythm guitar and soloing is more than right. Def Leppard are stronger on the fast songs than on the ballads on this record, and those aren’t exactly plentiful. They’ve been to hell more than once, but they’ve always found their way back.
Lineup
Joe Elliott: vocals
Phil Collen: guitar, backing vocals
Vivian Campbell: guitar, backing vocals
Rick Savage: bass, backing vocals
Rick Allen: drums, backing vocals
Production
Def Leppard & Ronan McHugh
Tracklist
1. Go
2. Nine Lives
3. C’mon C’mon
4. Love
5. Tomorrow
6. Cruise Control
7. Hallucinate
8. Only The Good Die Young
9. Bad Actress
10. Come Undone
11. Gotta Let It Go
Album running time: 39.12
