CD REVIEW 
http://ae.boston.com/music/newondisc/reviews/def_leppard.html

Deff Leppard: X
By Ken Capobianco, Globe Correspondent, 08/09/2002 

Seems like long ago and far away when Def Leppard was one of the biggest-
selling pop-metal bands on the planet. The group's career went kerplunk
when it couldn't come up with an alternative to the soaring anthemic rock
that was its specialty. On this comeback record, it has dropped any
pretense of being a metal band. Instead, the Leps focus on the bubblegum
hits and, mostly, sound invigorated. The songs are better than in recent
outings; the production is just as fabulously over-the-top as it ever was;
and there are enough hooks to keep Captain Ahab satisfied. The first half
of the 13-track set is stellar pop, with singer Joe Elliott airing it out
lustily over harmonies as thick and sweet as marmalade to go with strings
and textured keyboards, which give "You're So Beautiful" and "Long Long
Way to Go" some resonance. There are those lyrics, though - they always
were the band's weak point, and there's little improvement here. "I give
in/ when she gives out" is just one of the clunky lines that Elliott
pretends is a compliment. But there are more than enough smartly arranged,
highly melodic songs to prove that the Leps never lost their pop smarts.
They simply misplaced them for a while. 

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