CD Review: Def Leppard - Yeah!

After 27 years, Def Leppard has endured unbelievable highs (hits galore, groupies galore, one of only two bands in rock and roll history with two 10+ platinum albums) and equally unbelievable lows (one guitarist kicked out of the band for -- cough -- alcoholism, one guitarist dead from a heroin overdose, one lost arm). Unlike many of the great bands from the hair band era, Def Leppard has stuck together, kept making music, and has kept its head well above water.

Perhaps as somewhat of a "thank you" for all of the band's success, their new album, Yeah!, is a cover album paying tribute to the British rock-and-rollers of the '70s who influenced them. As I learned on a bonus CD I bought (containing several extra songs and a couple band interviews), the band chose only songs by British bands and chose only songs that were released before they signed their first record deal. It's quite different than any other cover album out there.

Most of the songs are not songs that you would normally hear on the radio, except maybe on a "deep cuts weekend." The band wanted to choose songs that were hits in the UK, but not necessarily huge hits. Hence, no Rolling Stones songs. But what we do get is a great gathering of songs from the likes of T. Rex, David Bowie, The Kinks, ELO, Thin Lizzy, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Free, Mott the Hoople, and Faces, among others.

Musically (at least from the songs that I knew), they played the songs as closely to the originals as possible (which was their intent). Joe Elliott's vocals are as sharp and upbeat as ever. Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell's dueling guitars bring the expected gusto that you've come to know and love (especially on Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word"), while the rhythm section of Rick Savage and Rick Allen is tight. By listening to the album, you can tell that they had a great time recording it. Elliott and Collen even brought in their wives to sing background vocals on Mott the Hoople's "The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll."

If you like Def Leppard -- and there's no reason you shouldn't -- and if you like '70s British rock -- and there's no reason you shouldn't -- then you will enjoy Yeah!. Here are some of the highlights of the album:

• "20th Century Boy" (originally by T. Rex) - This song kicks off the album, and the guys do it up nicely, exuding the same raunchy, raucous, sexually charged bravado that Marc Bolan and T. Rex were known for.
• "Rock On" (originally by David Essex) - I don't really like the original at all. However, Def Leppard added some edge to the song, substituting a hard-charging, bluesy guitar solo for the less manly strings that plagued the original. Apparently the video has been getting some pretty decent play on VH1.
• "Waterloo Sunset" (originally by The Kinks) - This is a Kinks song that I'm not very familiar with, but I like whatever Def Leppard did with it. If there's one thing Def Leppard does well, it's use backing vocals with precision, and this song is no exception.
• "Hell Raiser" (originally by Sweet, or The Sweet as the Brits call them) - Sweet is an underrated band, probably most famous for "Ballroom Blitz" or "Fox on the Run." "Hell Raiser," however, is a fast-paced screamer, and Def Leppard brought in none other than Justin Hawkins of The Darkness to provide backing vocals. Good times.
• "Stay With Me" (originally by Faces) - This is the last song on the album, and Collen takes over the vocals from Elliott, and Elliott takes over for Collen on the guitar. Collen does a pretty mean Rod Stewart, and Elliott apparently plays a pretty mean Ronnie Wood, such that when Wood heard Elliott's guitar on the song, Wood said, "Fuck me! It's sounds more like me than I do."

If you want to listen to samples, Def Leppard's website provides samples of every song on the album, as well as the songs on the bonus CDs (the one I got at Wal-Mart features a cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl," Iggy & The Stooges' "Search and Destroy," Bowie's "Space Oddity," Queen's "Dear Friends," and Jobraith's "Heartbeat").

Overall, I give Yeah! by Def Leppard 5 Handrews.

*GMYH CD Review Scale:
-6 Handrews - Buy it now. NOW!!
-5 Handrews - Excellent album that you should seriously consider purchasing in the near future
-4 Handrews - Very good album that you should at least check out on iTunes
-3 Handrews - If you want it, download it illegally
-2 Handrews - Somewhere between Britney Spears and William Hung
-1 Handrew - Ashlee Simpson
-0 Handrews - Kevin Federline