Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

Forget "The DaVinci Code." Def Leppard has answered a more mysterious question for the ages. Can a hair-metal band from the '80s successfully cover a handful of glam metal and seminal rock songs from the early '70s?

Without a single car chase or hidden message, these five Brits have proved that they have a deeper set of rock 'n' roll roots than one might expect. "Yeah!" is a rollicking journey through a set of 14 album tracks from a vital time in the U.K. rock scene.

With any collection of cover tunes, the artist lives or dies by the song selection. Stick with the obvious and you're boring - go too deep into the obscure catalog and you risk losing the average listener. With "Yeah!" Def Leppard has chosen to reconstruct the music that first put the glint of a Gibson guitar in their eyes.

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It's quite possible that there's no room today for unironic rock. From the opening chord of "Yeah!," Def Leppard's first release in four years, the album's expectation's are set — and met with predictable mediocrity.

Nearly every song can be described as "Sounds like Def Leppard covering ______," and this is precisely what a covers album should not be. The band's take on hits by T. Rex and Thin Lizzy flaunt how derivative Leppard is, while Bowie and Kinks covers reveal their thinness.

The band themselves may not be to blame; Gen-Xers deflated rock's sincerity. Today, only commercial rappers can get away without some amount of irony, unabashedly flexing their cash, money and hoes. Really, they're the ones rocking out.

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Ok, so you see the score. Now just why is it so?

So, here is a band that I love; using a concept for an album that I generally loathe; with a frontman who is openly attacking me whenever prompted; and with fans and readers taking sides, ready to pounce to add their 2c worth once this review is posted.

Lets be blunt - I am expected to hate this album. I am expected to react to Joe's silly taunts and dig the knife in now it is turn for me to have my say with this “official review”. But you know what, I don't hate this album and I still love the band. Maybe not the singer so much, but the band, sure.

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Your opinion of Yeah!, the latest release from British rock band Def Leppard, will likely spin on how you feel about cover songs.

If you're an old-school thinker who equates a band's prowess with its ability to write original material, then this collection of covers is likely to leave you feeling — to quote an original Def Leppard song — high and dry. And considering that before this, the only DL CD released since '02 is a greatest-hits compilation, it's easy to conclude that the fivesome is tapped out.

But if you side with music fans who like the comfort of a familiar song or who think covers are cool, there's no reason you won't say "Yeah" to Yeah!

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Def Leppard was my first musical love. They were the first band I fell really hard for. I bought everything I could find - singles, stickers, shirts, patches, you name it. They were my first "by choice" concert - meaning they were the first concert that I wanted to go to.

I followed them through the mid-90s and then just lost touch with them as my tastes changed and I grew. Their CDs drifted out of my collection piece by piece as I stopped listening, replaced by other things I regarded as more important. Until recently, that is. Maybe it's the introduction of the little bundle of joy that is Amanda, but I've recently just wanted to get back to fun music.

And, really, what Def Leppard did in the 80s with Pyromania and Hysteria is nothing short of astounding - these two albums are absolute rock classics that deserve to be held in high regard. More than that, I can see no reason why there is any shame in loving Def Leppard's take on the same 70s glam rock that everyone considers iconic today - yet there certainly is a stigma attached to that name.

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Def Leppard always had a streak of glam running beneath their heavy rock — listen to "Armageddon It" or "Photograph" for proof — so it's no surprise that when the quintet decided to record a covers album in 2006, they devoted it to the '70s glam and hard rock that inspired them to pick up their guitars and play. What does come as a surprise is that the resulting Yeah! is a sheer delight, a roaring rock & roll record that's their best album since Hysteria.

Often, cover albums get bogged down in reverence or ambition, as artists either offer interpretations that are straight copies or fussy reinterpretations as they busily try to make a favorite song their own. That's not the case here. Def Leppard alternate between fairly faithful renditions of familiar classics like T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Badfinger's "No Matter What," or David Essex's "Rock On," to subtle reinterpretations where they make seemingly difficult covers seem easy and unmistakably Def Leppard. It's true on their streamlined, muscular take on Electric Light Orchestra's swirling, psychedelic "10538 Orchestra," but it's most notable on their remarkable reworking of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," which now sounds like a power ballad from Hysteria without ever once sounding like it's an affront to the immortal original.

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The sad slide into obscurity for once beloved music acts often involves new adult pop tunes, greatest hits collections, cover albums and perhaps even a record of holiday songs.

In the past couple years, mega rockers Def Leppard seemed to be sliding down that slippery has-been slope.

The '80s rockers were caught acting their age on their previous studio album, 2002's "X," and last year the band put out a 25th anniversary hits compilation called "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection." On Tuesday Def Leppard released a cover album.

But don't be so quick to judge — "Yeah!" is a surprisingly fun album.

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Pour some sugar…

They've cut their hair, botoxed their wrinkles and tuned their guitars. That's right, your favorite hair metal legends are back with a new album of original covers. After years of releasing records that fell mainly on deaf ears, Def Leppard made another stab at a comeback by releasing an album that features no original tracks…but…it works!

We've all heard our favorite bands cover a song that influenced them but Yeah! is more than just that. It is a selection of Leppard's favorite tunes from the 60s and 70s of their youth and it picks up where classic Def Leppard left off many years, and perms, ago. With covers of songs like David Essex's 1974 classic "Rock On" Def Leppard prove you don't need to write your own songs to drop an album that tears the doors off the hinges and makes you headbang till your gray hair falls out.

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I guess you could call me an old school Def Leppard fan since I have much fonder memories of their rougher edged High 'N' Dry album than I do the billion selling pop masterpiece Hysteria. It still sounds funny referring to an 80's band as old school though. When I first started listening to the new brand of British heavy metal that these boys were selling, they weren't yet old enough to drink in the bars they were playing. Now look at them. Almost a hundred million albums sold worldwide, and celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band. Well done.

I never did get to see the Leppies in their prime, back when Steve "Steamin'" Clark was still stalking the stage like Jimmy Page's fair haired apprentice, and Rick Allen still had both of his arms to pound the skins with. Just when I thought the summer concert season was over at the Nissan Pavilion along comes Def Leppard with this mid-October show. Knowing that my wife was a big fan of the band, I snagged a couple of prime pavilion seats the day they went on sale. Now wasn't she ever pissed when our babysitter fell through and she had to graciously let me go with a co-worker. I guess I owe her one.

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Def Leppard had the first of their two shows in Mexico this Wednesday

A surge of adrenaline arose from the masses during one of the most anticipated concerts by the 40-something crowd: Def Leppard.

The legendary british group - who had the first of their two shows at this location this Wednesday - did not need a million dollar setup to capture their audience, since their acoustic arsenal was more than enough to satisfy a public hungry for heavy metal.

But more than a concert, this was a reunion with "old friends", said the band's singer Joe Elliott, who reminded the audience that the band's first album was released 25 years ago, and was greatly received in Mexico.

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The British group Def Leppard rewarded the care and loyalty of their Mexican followers in the first of their two concerts that they will perform at the National Auditorium in the country's capital.

This was the location for the reunion between the musicians and the public since it had been more than a decade since the band led by singer Joe Elliott last visited the country.

For two hours in front of 10,000 people, Def Leppard shook the enclosure.

Cheered by the audience that never stopped shouting, singing and dancing, the group thanked them for their welcome and signaled that they were happy to be present here once again.

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Def Leppard offered a spectacular concert at the National Auditorium,successfully reflecting more than 25 years of musical history.

Traveling through their musical past, the legendary British band Def Leppard pleased the approximately ten thousand spectators who attended the National Auditorium, who enjoyed the show from beginning to end.

The band, which became successful in the 80's, appeared on stage soon after 8:30PM to thank the audience and express their joy at coming here.

The five musicians that brought heavy metal to the radio revived their glory with their friends, as they themselves called the mexican public, made up of various generations.

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The Def Leppard/Cheap Trick rock 'n' roll show stopped at The Gardens on Wednesday night, and while it might have been easy for both bands to just go through the motions, they did anything but.

Def Leppard is celebrating 25 years in the business by taking to the road to perform songs from their entire catalog. Mainly leaning on the hits, they had the near-capacity crowd on its feet all night.

The band started the hit machine rolling with the third song of the set. The crowd roared when Def Leppard ripped through "Let It Go" from "High 'N' Dry," "Foolin'" from "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" from the album of the same name, interspersing vintage video clips on the overhead screens.

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Def Leppard causes hysteria every time the band is near and Monday night was no exception.

The aging rock gods played before a nearly sold-out crowd at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.

The "Rock Of Ages" tour corresponds with the band's latest double CD "Def Leppard: Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection."

The show is purely a greatest hits-like feature complete with gems marking all aspects of their 25-year history.

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This summer, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard took a cue from Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan and embarked on a tour of minor-league baseball stadiums.

The response was robust the'80s mainstays packed in 8,000-10,000 fans per date and successful enough for the pair to reload this fall in amphitheaters.

But don't act so surprised. The price was reasonable, topping out at a now-unheard-of $50 in most markets, and these two acts, while stylistically different, were huge enough in their day to amass more than 35 hits combined.

Thursday's healthy crowd of more than 10,000 at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater overflowed with 30-something tarts reliving 11th grade and fist-pumping men in jeans and jersey T-shirts (mullets and bandanas were refreshingly absent).

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