Quick Spins
Quick Spins
Sunday, May 21, 2006; Page N09
YEAH!
Def Leppard
  With "Yeah!," Def Leppard doesn't cover itself in glory, but fans won't care. (By Andrew Macpherson) |
Releasing an album of cover songs is a defining moment for an '80s arena-rock band like Def Leppard. It's bigger than singer Joe Elliott shearing his flowing mullet. It's possibly more ghastly to fans than drummer Rick Allen losing a limb in an auto accident.
"Yeah!" is a surrender. A penultimate gesture. But it's also the sign of a self-aware career arc from a likable group that still sells concert tickets. Nobody wants to hear a new tune from Def Leppard. Fans want the hits, which the group will dispense in amphitheaters this summer. And what's the next best thing to hits? Other bands' hits! This tribute to 14 influential acts -- British pop-rock mostly from the early '70s -- isn't half bad.
Def Leppard's synthetic vocal harmonies and RoboCop drum sheen upload futuristic vitality into David Essex's minimalist "Rock On," and the quintet enthusiastically captures Sweet's straitjacket swagger on "Hell Raiser" and its heaven-size chorus. Even if you've never heard the groove-stomping "Don't Believe a Word," that wicked twin-guitar riff instantly gives it away as Thin Lizzy.
Wisely, Def Leppard didn't try to reinvent arrangements. But that doesn't save awkward fits like ELO's "10538 Overture" or David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday." But guitarist Phil Collen atones for all at the hard-charging end, summoning his best Rod Stewart karaoke rasp on the Faces' "Stay With Me."
A good-times throwaway CD? Pretty much, but fans might buy it. And if they don't? Def Leppard has already sold more than 65 million albums.
-- Michael Deeds
Def Leppard is scheduled to play July 7 at Nissan Pavilion. DOWNLOAD THESE: "Don't Believe a Word," "Rock On"
THE DRIFT
