Def Leppard Still Has Something to Prove

    Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen doesn't hesitate to say his band has
been called outcasts on the rock scene in recent years.
    After scoring two of the biggest selling albums of the 1980s in
"Pyromania" and "Hysteria" (which sold some 7 and 15 million copies
respectively), the band fell out of favor after the release of the
"Adrenalize" album in 1992, which topped out at about 3 million in sales.
    The 1996 follow-up CD, "Slang," found Def Leppard trying to react to the
post-Nirvana times by bringing a more raw and dirty edge to their music.
    "Slang" was primarily recorded live in the studio with plenty of rough
edges left on the final tracks. That shift in sonic direction fit the trends
of the time, but did nothing for the band's fortunes. "Slang" made almost no
impact on the market.
    "We were so unpopular in the mid-90s, I think a lot of the alternative
stuff was a reaction against a lot of crummy bands that were a bad version
of what we were doing in the mid-80s. It just overloaded," Collen said.
    "I don't think it would have really gotten a shot if it had been "Sgt.
Pepper's" or "Dark Side Of The Moon." We said that because it was our time
to be getting a shot at, with people really not liking us. So by the time we
started it, we weren't quite sure what direction to go in."
    The band- Collen, singer Joe Elliott, guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist
Rick Savage, and drummer Rick Allen- found their answer after writing the
song "21st Century Girl" early in the process that led to their new CD,
"Euphoria."
    Def Leppard takes the grandstand stage at the Outagamie County Fair in
Seymour at 8:00 p.m. Saturday.
    With a forceful rhythm guitar line and a simple but potent vocal hook,
the song instantly recalls the classic Def Leppard sound of "Armageddon It,"
Pour Some Sugar On Me," and "Bringing On A Heartbreak." Early reaction to
the song helped set a tone for the rest of the new CD.
    Other rockers on "Euphoria"- such as "Kings Of Oblivion" and "Day After
Day"- employs a similar sound and approach, with layers of meticulously
assembled guitars and finely tuned vocal melodic edge.
    Meanwhile the musical mix of "Euphoria" is balanced by a healthy quota
of optimistic anthemic romantic ballads, like "Promises," "Goodbye," and
"Guilty," as well as a few songs with a strong edge of defiance.
    Such songs, Collen said, reflected the band's decision to ignore the
consequences and reclaim the signature sound that pushed the band out of the
rock mainstream after "Adrenalize."
    "We were actually quite pissed off," Collen said. "We were going, 'Hang
on a minute, we've got something to say. We're different from all this lot
(of other 80s pop-metal bands). We're better than that and we will be heard.
    "There was definitely an edge on this album that there wasn't on
'Hysteria', although it may be of aggressiveness that wasn't present on that
album. Yeah, it's us being pissed off and going, 'You know, we do have
something to say and you will listen' kind of thing."
    Though "Euphoria" bears the sonic trademark of the popular Def Leppard
albums, Collen said it was probably the easiest and smoothest recording
process the band has experienced. "Euphoria" was completed in the fairly
streamlined period of 10 months.
    "This is the first album where we actually came in under budget, came in
on time, and it's the first time we actually got it right," Collen said.
    Robert "Mutt" Lange- the man who as producer of "Pyromania" and
"Hysteria" shaped the Def Leppard sound- also helped complete "Promises" and
sharpen two other songs, "All Night" and "It's Only Love."
    "He's just got so much enthusiasm," Collen said. "Before you know it,
you're working like you haven't before."