Def Leppard

(Bludgeon Riffola/Island)
Reviewed by Aaron Burgess
May 6th, 2008
While Def Leppard had modest success before John "Mutt" Lange entered its world, the legendarily hands-on producer's input on 1983's Pyromania and 1987's Hysteria made the band both household names and multimillionaires. After 1991's Adrenalize (which he executive-produced), Lange started a family with Shania Twain, relocated to Switzerland, and turned away from the harder sounds he once converted into platinum—and Def Leppard's catalog hasn't been the same since. On its 10th studio album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge, Def Leppard does its best to recapture the harder pop-metal of those Lange-era classics. Classic Leppard elements—chiming, skyscraper-sized riffs and meticulously layered vocal harmonies—abound in standouts like "Go" and "Hallucinate," and the propulsive "Bad Actress" is almost hard enough to encourage head-banging. But those few bright spots don't make up for the album's general lack of immediacy or memorable hooks, and in "Nine Lives," a duet with Tim McGraw that sounds equally inspired by fellow Lange protégés AC/DC and the possibility of a Twain/Lange-style pop-country crossover, the band just sounds desperate.