Def Leppard rides renewed 'Euphoria'
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07/29/99- Updated 09:54 PM ET

Def Leppard rides renewed 'Euphoria'
By Don Waller, Special for USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES - With thunderous drums, airbrushed harmonies, 
crunching guitars and sharp pop hooks, Def Leppard sold millions of 
records in the '80s - just as Shania Twain does today. 

Not coincidentally, Robert John "Mutt" Lange produced both acts. 

"There's a lot of pop bands out there who try and rock out and fail 
miserably," Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen explains. "But we're a real
rock band. Mutt took that and blended it with classic pop. 

"And that's exactly what he's done with the country thing for Shania
Twain. It's a hybrid. And when you get one that works, it's massive." 

In the case of Sheffield, England-spawned Def Leppard, it was also 
imitated to the point where it became first clichéd, then - in the wake of
the alternative-rock revolution of the early '90s - passé. When Def
Leppard attempted to change its spots with the grunge-influenced Slang in
1996, audiences shrugged. 

Stung, the band retreated to vocalist Joe Elliott's Dublin, Ireland, home
and recorded Euphoria, which entered the Billboard album chart at No. 11
and marks a return to form. (Lange helped out on three songs, including
the chart single, Promises.) "It's not like we tried to re-create our
success by copying Hysteria," Elliott snorts, referring to the band's
11-million-selling 1987 album. "It's just going back to a bigger
production and reintroducing the harmonies." 

That said, the album is not without its share of surprises: the dark,
brooding Paper Sun and the tongue-in-cheek glam-rocker Back in Your Face,
for openers. 

"Paper Sun was written about the Omagh bomb that went off in Northern
Ireland while we were making the record last summer," Elliott reflects.
"We had the telly on and the sound off. You just start writing your own
soundtrack to the pictures. 

"I went overboard on the lyrics to Back in Your Face to make it bloody
obvious we weren't serious. That song was specifically written to sound
like 1973. I wasn't trying to sing like Gary Glitter 'cause he couldn't,
really. But what I liked about him was that he was a great character. And
that's sadly missing in rock." 

"There's some cool hybrid stuff around, though," says Collen. "Korn's
doing its hip-hop/metal thing and it's working. And Buckcherry, which is a
brilliant, straight-ahead rock band, is a great alternative." 

"People ask, 'Is rock over?' " Elliott continues. "It depends on how you
define rock. Kid Rock is rock, isn't he? Limp Bizkit is selling thousands
of records. There's a hybrid thing going off and it'll last for a certain
amount of time. Other bands, like Metallica, will always be cool." 

Last week found the quintet (Elliott, Collen, guitarist Vivian Campbell,
bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen) here in a North Hollywood
rehearsal hall, polishing tunes from their new album in preparation for
their current U.S. tour. 

The band has played a few radio festival s already, and the response has
been eye-opening. "We headlined Miami the other week for 21,000 people
with bands like Orgy and Everclear - the audience was very young - and I
was amazed at how well we went down," Collen marvels. 

"Six weeks ago in Wisconsin - same thing," says Elliott. "Hole were on the
bill and Courtney Love goes into this six-minute onstage rant about how
great Def Leppard is. And Eric, her guitarist, is wearing a Pyromania T-
shirt. We couldn't believe it!" 

Bluegrass chanteuse Alison Krauss is a major fan as well. "Yeah!" Elliott
enthuses. "She interviewed me for (U.K. magazine) Q. You say, 'Why?' Well,
it's like I'm a big fan of Tom Waits. I don't just listen to rock 'n'
roll. And she obviously listens to more than country." 

Some of this renewed interest in Def Leppard stems from the band's tale of
triumphs over tragedies (both original guitarists, Steve Clark and Pete
Willis, abused alcohol and Clark died of it; drummer Allen returned to
performing after losing his left arm in a 1984 car crash) being the
subject of a Behind the Music show that aired on VH1 last year. 

"That did us eons of good," Elliott agrees. "And it wasn't done in a
sarcastic way, which really helped. We're going to tape an episode of
Storytellers for them next week. They're looking at a November broadcast. 

"Meanwhile, we've got The Offspring sampling the beginning of one our
songs. And bands like Local H or Lit or Buckcherry are going on the radio
and raving about how they grew up listening to us. It just seems to have
turned around to where it's OK to like Def Leppard again." 

Back in your face, indeed.

©COPYRIGHT 1999 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.