Def Leppard

Pre-release hype surrounding the new Def Leppard album promised everything from a return to Pyromania form, to a full-on country album. Fortunately, neither could be farther from the truth. Pound for pound, songs from The Sparkle Lounge is the strongest Def Leppard album since the triple-platinum Adrenalize in 1992, delivering a hard-rocking combination of the band’s dynamic pop sensibility, bustling choruses, and some of the best guitar work from any mainstream rock act this side of the new millennium.

To their credit, Def Leppard don't try and reinvent the wheel in their Sparkle Lounge. Instead, they refine what it is they've always done best, without being afraid to admit that they've grown a little in the process. The album opens strong and doesn't let up, "Go" blistering with an invigorating crunch and melodic muscle that suits the band well, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell ripping and grinding a path for the tracks that follow. The rumors of a country hue were no doubt raised by the presence of Tim McGraw on "Nine Lives," but it's his fans that might be doing the most head-shaking, as the country icon rocks it hard, his vocals melding seamlessly with those of Def frontman Joe Elliot. Again, Collen and Campbell shine. "C'Mon C'Mon" is every bit as poppy and catchy as the title suggests, "Love" is a lush, quaint and naked ballad that wears its unabashed Beatles influence on its sleeve, "Tomorrow" is a feel-good anthem with more rock-solid guitars, and "Cruise Control" is one for the Def Lep highlight reel, a rambunctious blend of modern rock aesthetics and the band’s buoyant pop indifference.

For the first time in a long time, Def Leppard have found the perfect balance between the histrionics of their hard rock roots and the pop accessibility that has made them such a favorite with mainstream America. They still deliver feel-good music, but they make it feel just as good when it hits hard. That's the one-two punch that makes songs from The Sparkle Lounge shine the brightest.

— Paul Gargano
05.09.08

Given that Def Leppard sounded so fun and revitalized on their 2006 covers album Yeah!, it was easy to hope that they would try to channel that same kinetic energy into their next set of original material, 2008's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge. And try they do on this tight set of 11 songs, pushing rhythms to the forefront in an attempt to kick up excitement, dipping into a Gary Glitter stomp on "C'mon C'mon," hitting harder than they have in years on the pummeling "Bad Actress," and revving up the guitars on "Hallucinate" so they mimic "Photograph," which is not the only time they allude to previous peaks, as "Only the Good Die Young" shimmers with harmonies straight out of Hysteria and "Nine Lives," a duet with country superstar Tim McGraw (the partnership isn't all that odd, considering Leppard's former producer Mutt Lange went country in the '90s with his wife, Shania Twain), rides a riff that is a kissing cousin to "Pour Some Sugar on Me." All this effort is appreciated, especially when Songs is compared to the dull leaden grind of X, but the album is hampered a bit by having an immediate sound and elusive hooks; it's as if Def Leppard have created an exquisitely tailored suit but it's oversized, so the clothes hang funny on the model. It's not that Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is devoid of hooks -- "C'mon C'mon" and "Nine Lives" are built around big hooks in the guitars and melodies -- but they don't hit as hard as the overall sound, which makes for a curious listen as the sound grabs hold but the songs don't quite follow through as, at their best, they're growers. They're also a bit of a mixed bag, with the power ballads never managing to take hold, but overall the album is song-for-song stronger than X, and it's helped out enormously by that tight, unified production that glosses over any deficiencies in the writing. And so it's a partially successful successor to Yeah!, following through on some of the overall feel and punch but lacking enough songs to truly bring it across the goal line. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide