http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4731760.htm

Posted on Fri, Dec. 13, 2002   

Def Leppard is on the prowl again with 'X'
By Paul Freeman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES CORRESPONDENT

"X" marks the Leppard's spot: The 1980s big-hair band is back on tour.

The band has released its 10th studio album, full of the same sort of
fist-pumping pop-rock numbers the band has made its staple for 25 years.

"On this record, it was totally about pleasing ourselves," says Phil
Collen, longtime Def Leppard guitarist/vocalist.

"With previous albums, especially with 'Euphoria,' we were like, 'OK,
we're going to make a record for the fans. We're going to make it sound
like a pastiche of the Def Leppard career.' With this one, we felt that it
was more about us."

Without Lange

The band had to work without famed producer Mutt Lange, who helped create
the band's sound. "We'd always like his input. We'd play him stuff over
the phone. He has the most busy, grueling schedule. He works harder than
anyone I've ever met in my life. So, unfortunately, on this record, we
didn't get a chance to directly work together, but he's always part of the
whole thing."

Once Def Leppard exploded out of Sheffield, England, in 1977 and
established its sound around the world, other bands borrowed liberally
from it. And not just metal bands. Alternative band the Offspring used a
bit of "Rock of Ages" for the "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" intro.

"When we heard the Offspring thing, that was great, really cool. They
asked if they could use that," Collen says. "But in the '80s and
post-'80s, when a lot of the bands were lifting stuff off 'Hysteria,' even
'Pyromania' stuff, it just sounded kind of cheap. If you steal from
another genre and make it your own, then it's cool. But if you're
blatantly trying to get something to sound like something, it's not
flattering, it's just unoriginal."

Def Leppard's sound has often been categorized as metal. Collen says the
label is more inappropriate than ever.

"The definitions of metal have completely changed. You have new genres,
Linkin Park and P.O.D, for example, which are real heavy bands. I love
both of those bands. That defines the new kind of sound. When you play
something like that against us, you say, 'Def Leppard's just a pop band.'
We're a pop-rock band, I guess. But we're not even slightly metal."

Tempered by adversity

Over the years, Def Leppard has overcome obstacles that would have 
disintegrated lesser bands. In '84, drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in a
car crash. In '91, guitarist Steve Clark died of a drug/alcohol overdose.

"All that's made us stronger -- as a band, as people as well. We treat
each other with great respect and dignity, which is really nice. You know
each other's idiosyncrasies. You know when not to push buttons. ... We
experience all these things together -- birth, death, accidents,
marriages, divorces. After a while, you have a lot in common and you can
relate to each other. We've grown a lot, I do believe."

Collen doesn't view Def Leppard's history as unusually tragic. "If you
take anyone's personal life experiences, not even just in this band, over
a 20- year period, nasty diseases, people passing, relationship split-ups,
just horrendous things happen to everyone. A band of musicians that have
been together for the same time period will experience the same kind of
stuff. So we don't look at it as being cursed or having bad luck or
anything like that."

Collen says the band's original concept was to form a hybrid, encompassing
the full breadth of rock music. "When I joined the band, I knew (singer
Joe) Elliott, who had a very similar record collection to me. He liked the
idea of blending everything from T-Rex to David Bowie to Led Zeppelin.
That always appealed to me. The idea was to make it across the board, so a
lot of people could enjoy it. We were a band that liked both Sex Pistols
and Supertramp. We never paid attention to any peer pressure thing of what
we should listen to or like. I think that's one of the big things that
helped our success.

"On the 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria' albums, Mutt Lange was so desperately
trying to create a pop-rock hybrid. And he really succeeded. He then made
the country-pop crossover (with Shania Twain). I honestly believe he
brought country music to most people's homes, made it Top 40-accessible."

'Not just a stereotype'

VH1's "Behind the Music" brought the Def Leppard story to a new
generation. "That's been really important to us. It shows that we're not
just a stereotype. Of course, we now get so many people going, 'Oh, so you
guys were just having complete orgies under the stage.' It wasn't really
like that at all. If anything, some girls would flash us under there.
That's about as seedy as it got.

"But the VH1 thing was great for showing that it wasn't just about image
and getting drunk all the time. There was some substance there as well. We
were trying really hard to make music that people would enjoy."

The band has just returned from a triumphant tour of Japan and is
embarking on its first U.S. tour in more than three years. They feature
several tunes from "X," as well as classic Leppard material. Collen, who
keeps fit with kickboxing, relishes his onstage interchanges with fellow
guitarist Vivian Campbell.

"All of the rest of the stuff, all the promo, making records, even writing
songs to a degree, which can be fun at some points, becomes hard work.
There is some stuff that is quite chorelike. But the live thing is never
like that. The live thing is really the payoff."

PREVIEW

• WHO: Def Leppard

• WHEN & WHERE: 7:30 tonight, Arco Arena, Sacramento; 7:30 p.m. Saturday,
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St., S.F.

• HOW MUCH: $30.75-$40.75 tonight; $39.50 Saturday

• CONTACT: 925-685-8497