Def Leppard - X
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Artist: Def LeppardEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-07-30
Music Label: Island
Soundtracks:
- Now
- Unbelievable
- You're So Beautiful
- Everyday
- Long Long Way To Go
- Four Letter Word
- Torn To Shreds
- Love Don't Lie
- Gravity
- Cry
- Girl Like You
- Let Me Be The One
- Scar
Music reviews of X
Music Review: Def Leppard using both sides of their brain, like it or not
Rating: 4 Stars
It's obvious that the 1980s are over, so the bands that have survived the transition into the 1990s & now the new millenium are few & can be counted on one hand. Bon Jovi is one & they've made a rather successful move into more adult-oriented material, yet still maintain a somewhat youth-oriented fan base. But their British counterpats Def Leppard haven't been so lucky. The same people that like Bon Jovi might consider Leppard to be an artifact of a bygone era. Nevertheless, they insist on pressing on into the future, for better or worse, as albums like their newest one X prove.
While the reviews of X have been mixed at best, ranging from "not bad for guys on the threshold of 40" to "proof that they should be hanging it up", albums like 1996's ill-fated attempt at growing up SLANG are excellent examples of what bands from Def Leppard's time should be doing as they get older: tweak their signature sound a bit & bring themselves into the present day. If their fans don't agree with the band's wishes (as they refused to do with SLANG), then that's their issue. Those who've stuck it out from the beginning can be sure that Leppard can & will stay around & change along with the times, even if they've still got some things to learn.
1999's EUPHORIA was touted as a return to the panoramic sound of their blockbuster classic HYSTERIA (1987) & even had their old producer Mutt Lange helping out a bit. The fans responded by making it the band's biggest seller since 1992's ADRENALIZE (which was a much lesser album, creatively). I guess with Lange busy working on his wife's (Shania Twain) new album, he couldn't work with Leppard, so the band decided to do things themselves (with a little outside help), explaining X's reminiscence of SLANG more than HYSTERIA.
The album's first single "Now" was an excellent choice because it is one of the most HYSTERIA-sounding songs on the album. While Def Leppard's chances of having hits are smaller now, in a perfect world, this might be enough to bring the band back on top of the charts. Even with the absence of the "everything-including-the-kitchen-sink" production, it still sounds larger than life.
The reviews of X saying that Def Leppard is now offically pop are rather inaccurate. I'd say they've headed more towards the modern rock radar & while their age might strike some as the ultimate in trend-hopping, Leppard manages to do it better than most veteran bands. Songs like "Gravity", "Torn To Shreds" & "Everyday" sound like they might be something off the latest 3 Doors Down or Lifehouse album. But when you have guitars as loud as Phil Collen's & Vivian Campbell's & the husky vocals of leader Joe Elliott, you can tell who it's coming from, unlike those seemingly interchangeable bands.
The most obvious attempts at regaining HYSTERIA-era glories include the epic (5 minutes, the longest song on the album) "Scar", the proposed second single "Long, Long Way To Go", "Cry", "Let Me Be The One" & "Love Don't Lie", all of which contain the highly-polished-you-can-see-yourself-in-it melodies & overdubbed-a-million-times-vocal-harmonies. But such returns to glory days are not as shallow as they look because it's apparent that even though Def Leppard wishes to age gracefully, they could still pull off the sound that brought them to superstardom.
As for weak songs, there's a few & they're ones that have Leppard singing about themes that are definitely out of their age range. "Unbelievable" (produced by Swedish maestros Per Aldeheim & Andreas Carlsson, explaining its teen-pop overtones), "Girl Like You" (I'm sure the band has children their age by now) & "You're So Beautiful" (from a band who wrote the stunning "Love Bites", this is really disappointing) are maybe unintentional attempts at putting them back on the charts by catering to the younger audiences, but they don't work either way. The image of Def Leppard dancing to beats like these in a video is hard to fathom (but it would be pretty funny). The less said about "Four Letter Word", the better.
When fans hear about an album by an artist/band that's said to have them "maturing", their reaction is often to ignore it, preferring the sound they used before better. Naturally, Def Leppard has met that kind of response with albums all the way back to SLANG. As a fan, I must admit that the trilogy of PYROMANIA (1983), HYSTERIA & to a lesser extent ADRENALIZE was brilliant & made bombastic guitar riffs & Cinemascope production into top 40 material. But it's still something a band can't do forever & Leppard is smart enough to realize that, even if they're still unsure if it's commercially wise.
X may have Def Leppard in the middle of an identity crisis & wondering which audience they should be concentrating on (the kids or their parents), yet it's still refreshing to see that the band is around at all after more than 2 decades at work. The fact they're still aware of the importance of good hooks & melodies is admirable, now if they can just apply it to material that's appropriate for their age. Until that happens, don't X out Def Leppard just yet.
Description of X
Japanese 2002 release, their first in three years. With two bonus tracks added 'Kiss The Day' & 'Long Long Way To Go' (Acoustic). Please note these bonus tracks are also featured on the UK edition. 15 tracks in all.Despite all the tragedies and VH1 specials that have befallen them, Def Leppard remain one of the most reliable British arena-rock bands out there. After briefly losing direction in the dour '90s, the band rebounded with 1999's exuberant Euphoria. Things stay mercifully on course with the scintillatingly titled X (as in the Roman numeral for 10, they tell us with a wink). "Torn to Shreds" and "Cry" are classic stonewashed-denim rockers, lifted straight from the 15-million selling Hysteria blueprint. Meanwhile, "Long, Long Way to Go" arrives as the obligatory lighter-waving ballad in the fine tradition of "Love Bites." Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for the heavy metal Duran Duran. --Aidin Vaziri
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