Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

And when did you buy these albums?

Eyesore wrote:

So it's official. I'm excited for this album! I can already say it blows X away. Not that that was hard.

BAD ACTRESS
C'MON C'MON
GO

There is definitely an old school rock feel to a lot of these songs, but I wouldn't say it's a Def Leppard sound. A lot of the songs seem like they're channeling their influences rather than playing things you'd have heard on High N Dry, or any other album. Just listen to "Bad Actress" and "C'mon C'mon" (played on the radio, so there are overdubs and fade ins/outs).

There are some experimental tracks—like "Cruise Control" and "Gotta Let It Go"—that could have easily been on later albums, but even most of those tunes have something retro about them. "Go" is probably the most experimental and modern-sounding, but it's a great song. Nice and heavy.

This is Def Leppard????? Sounds more like Gotthard or Wig Wam.

Nothing wrong with that. It's not X. That's all that matters at this point. Haha.

Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.......

.....sounds like something Helloween would've come up with in the early-90s.

Sounding like Gotthard isn't a bad thing at this point for DL.

Eyesore wrote:

I definitely think them doing all those cover songs for Yeah! put them in a different headspace. For X they were clearly going for acceptance in the mainstream pop-rock crowd, which is why they had those "songwriters" co-write—or in the case of "Long Long Way To Go," completely write—most of the songs on the album.

I hope to see just the band credited as songwriters on this upcoming album. Collaborating with people is different. Def Leppard collaborated with Mutt Lange. Bon Jovi collaborated with Desmond Child. When a songwriting team is brought in to the studio, that's not collaborating. So we'll see, but the album is solid, from what I can hear. And I should have linked this before, but there are samples for every song here:

http://www.deflepparduk.com/sparkleloungepreview.html

Completely agree about the outside songwriters - why the band felt it necessary to bring in the Backstreet Boys' songwriting machine on 'X' is anyone's guess.

Thanks for the link - I'm liking what I've heard so far.

emptytomb1 wrote:

Sounding like Gotthard isn't a bad thing at this point for DL.

True. I like both Wig Wam and Gotthard but I keep wishing DL would return to the form of High N Dry. It's never gonna happen but I can wish...

Anyone ever check out Phil's side project, Man-Raze? Stupid name, but there's some sort of logic behind it when they describe it. Still stupid, though.



Anyway, I dig them. Very 70s punk style. In fact, the drummer is in the Sex Pistols.

Eyesore wrote:

Anyone ever check out Phil's side project, Man-Raze? Stupid name, but there's some sort of logic behind it when they describe it. Still stupid, though.



Anyway, I dig them. Very 70s punk style. In fact, the drummer is in the Sex Pistols.

Hey! I like that!

A lot more than anything DL has put out in years...

They experiment a bit on the songs I've heard. There's a dub song, where Phil tries on a Jamaican accent, but overall most of the tunes I've heard have a nice punky feel to them. Their debut comes out in June.

Eyesore wrote:

They experiment a bit on the songs I've heard. There's a dub song, where Phil tries on a Jamaican accent, but overall most of the tunes I've heard have a nice punky feel to them. Their debut comes out in June.

Yeah, I checked out their website. I'll definitely check out that debut!

If fans of old Def Leppard cry about this album, they're just being stubborn...

Those tracks sound very good!

Leppard wont revisit the High N Dry style (although "Bad Actress" is somewhat akin' to that, musically), just as Maiden wont skip the by now obligatory long slow intros and write stuff like "Charlotte the Harlot" anytime soon.

From what Ive heard so far, I really look forward to SFTSL.

Man, this band has moved so far away from heavy metal, it's not funny. It's too bad. Their early stuff was awesome.

These songs sound decent. But I don't get 'Nine Lives'. I was under the impression that McGraw was actually going to be singing. He had like a 5 second intro and that's it. Unless he's singing back up and I can't hear it. Kind of a waste to bring him in (because I'm sure it cost them quite a bit of money). Not sure were they were wanting to get airplay with a Def Lep/McGraw song anyway. Even if McGraw was featured on it more, it's too rock for country radio, it's too rock for pop radio, and McGraw would sound out of place on any rock station (not that I really expect ANY radio stations to support Def Leppard regardless). Not a bad song though, just a puzzling McGraw intro.

The songs sound okay, definitely better than X. 'Go' is probably my favorite from what I've heard. I was gonna pick this up before listening to these songs, and I still plan on picking this up. This spring/summer is shaping up to look pretty good for rock (the Dokken and Whitesnake albums sound good as well).

xyz wrote:

Man, this band has moved so far away from heavy metal, it's not funny. It's too bad. Their early stuff was awesome.

No offense to you, you like what you like, but I still think it's funny there's a lot of people out there who still pine for the sound of their first two albums. There's so many people that claim to not like this band but still say "they should go back to heavy metal". That was 27 years ago and those albums were no way as popular as their later output, of course they'll never go back to "heavy metal". It's not as if they were ever the most hardcore metal band in the world anyway, it was only 2 albums.

Personally, I love the Mutt Lange sound. I'm not a big fan of the first two albums. They were okay, but nothing special, IMO. Besides 'Wasted' and 'Bringing On the Heartbreak', nothing else really stands out to me.

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I still think it's funny there's a lot of people out there who still pine for the sound of their first two albums. There's so many people that claim to not like this band but still say "they should go back to heavy metal". That was 27 years ago and those albums were no way as popular as their later output, of course they'll never go back to "heavy metal". It's not as if they were ever the most hardcore metal band in the world anyway, it was only 2 albums.

Agreed.

And I don't believe McGraw's 10 second cameo cost them a thing. Rick Allen's brother is McGraw's Tour Manager...

Metal Misfit wrote:

These songs sound decent. But I don't get 'Nine Lives'. I was under the impression that McGraw was actually going to be singing. He had like a 5 second intro and that's it. Unless he's singing back up and I can't hear it. Kind of a waste to bring him in (because I'm sure it cost them quite a bit of money). Not sure were they were wanting to get airplay with a Def Lep/McGraw song anyway. Even if McGraw was featured on it more, it's too rock for country radio, it's too rock for pop radio, and McGraw would sound out of place on any rock station (not that I really expect ANY radio stations to support Def Leppard regardless). Not a bad song though, just a puzzling McGraw intro.

From what I've read, Rick Allen's father is Tim McGraw's manager. So the connection isn't as off-the-wall as it first appears.

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No offense to you, you like what you like, but I still think it's funny there's a lot of people out there who still pine for the sound of their first two albums. There's so many people that claim to not like this band but still say "they should go back to heavy metal". That was 27 years ago and those albums were no way as popular as their later output, of course they'll never go back to "heavy metal". It's not as if they were ever the most hardcore metal band in the world anyway, it was only 2 albums.

What a lot of people miss, I think, is that those first two albums really aren't so different from later album. Yes, the riffs are sometimes heavier, but if those albums were recorded in the same manner that Hysteria was, no one would ever call them heavy metal albums. Just listen to a song like "Hello America" That song—and nearly all the rest—have that signature Def Leppard sound. I simply think that the production of those albums lends them a more metal sound. But I still think if those albums were written in 1989, they'd sound nothing like they do now.

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Personally, I love the Mutt Lange sound. I'm not a big fan of the first two albums. They were okay, but nothing special, IMO. Besides 'Wasted' and 'Bringing On the Heartbreak', nothing else really stands out to me.

That's it? Man, those are full of classics! "Answer To The Master," "Overture" (I'd love a metal band to cover this!), "Mirror Mirror," "Another Hit & Run," "When The Walls Came Tumbling Down," ah...I could probably name them all. Haha.

Huh. Didn't realize there was a Def Lepp/McGraw connection behind the scenes.

Eyesore wrote:

That's it? Man, those are full of classics! "Answer To The Master," "Overture" (I'd love a metal band to cover this!), "Mirror Mirror," "Another Hit & Run," "When The Walls Came Tumbling Down," ah...I could probably name them all. Haha.

Yup, that's it. Haven't listened to either album in a long time, but off the top of my head, that's what sticks out.

I think the Tim McGraw thing was done more from a marketing stand-point than anything else. Being that there was already a connection, it was easy for some PR guy to say, "Hey, let's put Tim on this thing, then we'll slap a sticker on the cd saying 'The New single FEATURING TIM McGRAW' to appeal to middle America".

Like I said a few pages back, Tim's vocals add nothing to the song, but if some yokel in Bumblef*ck, Kansas that sees this in Wal-Mart, he's gonna pick it up.

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What a lot of people miss, I think, is that those first two albums really aren't so different from later album. Yes, the riffs are sometimes heavier, but if those albums were recorded in the same manner that Hysteria was, no one would ever call them heavy metal albums.

I agree.

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Rick Allen's father is Tim McGraw's manager

Rick Allen's brother is Tim McGraw's Tour Manager

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I think the Tim McGraw thing was done more from a marketing stand-point than anything else. Being that there was already a connection, it was easy for some PR guy to say, "Hey, let's put Tim on this thing, then we'll slap a sticker on the cd saying 'The New single FEATURING TIM McGRAW' to appeal to middle America".

Like I said a few pages back, Tim's vocals add nothing to the song, but if some yokel in Bumblef*ck, Kansas that sees this in Wal-Mart, he's gonna pick it up.

Absolutely. Someone saw how well Bon Jovi did in the country market with Have A Nice Day, and they put two and two together. McGraw definitely adds very little to the song, and he was probably brought in after the song was pretty much recorded. But he's in the video, and that might make some connections with new fans.

It's actually connected me and my ex-wife again! Haha. Tim McGraw was her favorite, and with Def Leppard being mine it made me wonder if she was on MySpace. And there she was—married with two daughters.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

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Rick Allen's father is Tim McGraw's manager

Rick Allen's brother is Tim McGraw's Tour Manager

Whatever. You wanna fight? Don't you be bold textin' me, sucka!

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It's actually connected me and my ex-wife again! Haha. Tim McGraw was her favorite, and with Def Leppard being mine it made me wonder if she was on MySpace. And there she was—married with two daughters.

You were married? That poor woman!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

It's actually connected me and my ex-wife again! Haha. Tim McGraw was her favorite, and with Def Leppard being mine it made me wonder if she was on MySpace. And there she was—married with two daughters.

You were married? That poor woman!

Yup. And she was lucky! I rule. But she sucks, though. She was the type of Christian that was too Christian to have Marilyn Manson CDs in her house (she threw mine out without me noticing), but she wasn't too Christian to have another weiner delivered to her mailbox for cocks when I was in Italy.

[quote="Eyesore]... but she wasn't too Christian to have another weiner delivered to her mailbox for cocks when I was in Italy.

[/quote]


I know i shouldn't laugh, but that's quite possibly the funniest metaphor i've heard.