It's almost like a mini holiday on a Def Leppard album release date. Their albums are few and far between. Their fans are rabid and always have hope that the next one truly will be the worthy successor to the groundbreaking "Hysteria". However, the second rate rehash of "Hysteria" - the overly excitable "Adrenalize" (yet still criminally under rated and undeservedly heavily criticized) is likely the closest we are ever going to get. Yet "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge" is not a throwaway disc. There are plenty of nice songs to be found here, and even though the disc is a little uneven at times, the overall picture isn't a bad one. And some of these tracks are very, very good.

The first three songs are a hard rock shakedown. The modern fuzzy high octane opener "Go" is like "Slang" collided with Lep's "X". The guitars are snazzy and full of fire, and the vortex of vocals suck you right in unapologetically. It's a bull-in-a-china-shop song, barrelling forward forcefully as the rhythm guitars close in like a fuzzy cage.

"Nine Lives" begins with a vocal from country singer Tim McGraw doing his best Joe Elliot impression. Quite amusing, then the song kicks into full gear, revealing another blistering rocker complete with a huge bridge and an equally catchy chorus. This is a more 80s styled approach to the music. "Are you tough enough?" It has that summer-vibe, that "Gary Glitter" glam atmosphere. The big chorus, arena rockin' track that you just know is going to slay 'em in a live setting. Some publications have taken it to town as being a country crossover piece, but after a few dozen listenings (and hearing the opening bit clip that opened the NBA Playoff games in the US) - it is anything but country. It's snazzy 70s glam rock that's pumped up to hard pop proportions. Honestly it seems more like "Do You Wanna Get Rocked?" from "Adrenalize", only - better. The Tim McGraw appearance is nothing more than a publicity stunt that has worked thus far in getting them a bit more air play.

Rick Savage gives us "C'mon C'mon", a crazycool track that takes it down an even more retro highway. This song is repetitive perhaps to a fault for a long term relationship, but it is seriously and unapologetically addictive. The chorus just gets fused in your head and won't shake free. Amazing, perhaps not, but the finely produced piece pumps out tons of danceable energy and is just a fun song that could have come from the "Adrenalize" sessions with ease. Now *this* is what Def Lep is all about - more or less. It's uplifting, its poppy, its absolutely silly and completely loveable despite its flaws. No one cares what it's about, this is just a joyful excuse to get up and shake it.

After the rock'n'roll trio it's time to simmer it down with "Love" that comes across as a sweet, sappy song that invokes none of the kaleidoscope of emotions that their previous ballads have coaxed out. It's a breather, and manages to bring down some of that elusive Queen influence and some slick harmonies that save it from obscurity. The emotion may be missing, but it's general makeup is an interesting mellowed mixture. "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge" starts a downward spiral around this pivotal point.

There's a political song, "Cruise Control" which is rather focused, if an uninviting hard detou. The chorus is a few melodies short of greatness and everything seems to not be quite top notch, which is unfortunate. A little more work and this could have been a big track for them. The Elliot-penned blistering "Bad Actress" takes potshots at the young and glammy actress hacks that are crapping up Hollywood's silver screens at the moment. He sneers the vocals, shouting the vocal lines, while the guitars help to smear the tainted image even more. An unfocused and rather brutal track from the Leps, that is more quirky controversial than substantial.

"Tomorrow" cracks the whip into something more along the lines of trying to throwback to "Hysteria". Imagine "Promises" but with an even *more* modern update.  The chorus is a "woohoo" though.  What the hell is that?  "Hallucinate" crossbreeds the raw rock of "High n Dry" and the opening riff of "Photograph" and slaps another slab of modern cover paint over the whole affair. The chorus is a bit flat here too. These songs aren't "bad" but don't exactly stick to your stereo like a good chunk of classic Def Leppard does.

"Only the Good Die Young" is too far gone into generic territory and "Come Undone" is a bit of Bryan Adams for good measure ("Mutt" produced both Adams and Lep in the 80s). "Undone" is just kind of "there", being modern and rather generic. "Gotta Let It Go" has messy, simple lyrics but the groove is nice, and that dip into softer territory before the kickback that is the chorus makes it a fun final listen.

While "Sparkle" tries to do just that, it seems to fail to light a spark more times than not. The layers of vocals are there, the harmonizing crunchy guitars and even pop peppy pizzazz now and then. But the magic just is absent far too often for the album to be wholly effective as a complete effort. Whether this lack of magic touch is due to the missing in action Mutt Lange, who coaxed "Hysteria" to greatness back in '87 and was behind the band's main surges in popularity, or perhaps a lack of collaboration between band members - the jury's out and remains to be seen where exactly the problems lie.

Is it better than "Slang" or "X"? Absolutely, the songs are catchier, more clever and groomed for a larger audience. However, it seems to lack innovation and relies too heavily on a retro-modern fusion that is both awkward and sad. It's a promising direction however, but considering that there has only been *two* albums of original material in the past *ten* years prior to "Sparkle", doesn't exactly give us hope that a followup will be given life anytime soon. For Def Leppard fans, this is a safe purchase and will be one of the more high profile "rock" releases this year for 80s minded music enthusiasts. It's definitely worth a listen, and especially so if "X" and "Euphoria" has tickled your fancy in the past.
 

Written by Alanna
Sunday, May 4, 2008
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Ratings

Alanna: 6.5/10

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