Def Leppard bring the pop back to metal
Halfway through their set two weeks ago at Irving Plaza in New York City, Def Leppard played their new single, "Now." The pop-metal legends were doing a one-off club gig arranged by their label to celebrate the release of their first album in three years and 10th overall, X (Island). Singer Joe Elliott started the song alone, strumming an acoustic guitar as a laid-back drum loop played in the background. When he began to sing the first verse, the rest of the band made a cautious entrance, creating a moody backdrop for his delicate rasp. Less than a minute in, things got interesting: Elliott's sweet talk grew more forward, and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell added some pristine melodic embellishments. Then Collen signaled the beginning of the chorus with a flash of dissonance, and everyone but drummer Rick Allen started singing the title refrain in the band's signature four-part harmony. Not everyone in the sold-out crowd knew the words, but they knew the sound - pre-recorded rhythm track and dark melodic undertow aside, "Now" is classic Lep.