If you follow Def Leppard at all, you know they really are a 70’s band. Their influences were definitely 70’s and the whole glam rock scene. You can hear it in their songs as well and their side projects like Cybernauts where it is really obvious they have a passion for that style of music. Def Leppard now felt it was time for a covers album. The label brought it up to them, but Joe Elliott had already wanted to do one so it was an easy decision to agree on. Wow! Has a label and band ever agreed on anything before? This must be a first.

They had a few rules, the songs had to be hits and had to have been released prior to the band signing their record deal. And, the songs had to be British. They didn’t stick with that rule entirely as we will see on the next review, but for this album they did. Each band member brought a list of 20 songs each so they had 100 songs to choose from. I imagine they had some overlap which would easily help narrow the selection if more than one person picked it. And what a wide variety of artists they picked and what a great set of songs. I am not a massive fan of cover albums, but there are a few I have liked and luckily this turned out to be one of them. The album came out on May 23, 2006 and the album did okay. It did chart at #16 on the Billboard 200 and the singles charted on these types of charts I am not familiar with but they can say it charted.

One really cool thing about this record is the packaging. Inside you had individual pictures of each band member recreating an iconic image from a 70’s album. They are as follows:

• Rick Savage – Freddie Mercury from the album Queen II
• Vivian Campbell – Marc Bolan from T. Rex’s Electric Warrior
• Joe Elliott – David Bowie from the rear cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
• Rick Allen – Lou Reed, Transformer
• Phil Collen – The Stooges, Raw Power

The pictures are down below. I love that you also get the original Def Leppard triangle logo with light shining through it giving the rainbow affect from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I love when some thought actually goes in to the packaging and this one is A+ material. Now, does the music match the packaging? Let’s find out.

One thing to note about all these songs, the band does not stray too far from the original and usually I hate that as I want something different. However, Def Leppard make it work as they already have their own sound that is matched perfectly with these songs. The opening track of T. Rex’s “21st Century Boy” is a perfect example of this. The song changes nothing really but you get the Leppard guitars, those great harmonies and Joe is killer on vocals. A fun, explosive opening tracks.

And maybe even better is the cover of David Essex’s “Rock On”. Don’t expect Micheal’s Damian’s version, know, Lep stick to David’s version, as they should. It is a major highlight of the album and done to perfection. The bass work on this is so superior and really showcases Rick Savages abilities. The deep, heavy groove. The sultry sexy guitars. It is all fantastic. They have played this one live a lot…probably too much.

Then they go a little punk with The Nerve’s “Hanging on the Telephone”. No, Blondie didn’t write it, they only made it famous. The phone rings and Leppard answers the call with a bombastic energy and rip roaring guitar parts and a frenzied drum part. Joe rapid fires the lyrics and another solid track is displayed for us.

The next track we’ve seen before as The Kink’s “Waterloo Sunset” was added to the UK version of the ‘Best of Def Leppard’ compilation album. Joe does great on vocal showing the right amount of pensive sadness the song requires. The guitars have the right amount of style and flair that matches the tone of the original. A solid track.

The band shines again on the destructive “Hell Raiser” by The Sweet. Damn, this one kicks some major ass. As you’d expect with a title like this, the song completely rocks out. From the “Look Out!” screamed by Joe and the explosion, the high energy rocker will set your speakers on fire if you turn it up loud enough. Remember…if it is 2 Loud, you are 2 Old!! The really cool thing on here is the amazingly brilliant backing vocals of Justin Hawkins of The Darkness! He makes the song even better. Might be my favorite track on the album.

The first misstep for me is the ELO cover of “10538 Overture”. Coming off such an amazing track like “Hell Raiser” it is a little of a let down. Don’t get me wrong, the band plays it great, but the style seems out of place and it sounds too much like Leppard. Strange I know, but what can I say, I’m not normal. I do like the orchestration though. Overall, not a bad track but doesn’t do much for me.

Another track I don’t like is “Street Life”. I am not a fan of Roxy Music so that doesn’t bode well they pick one of their songs. Not much life to it, yes it is upbeat, I don’t feel that Leppard feels this song either. I’ll move on from this one.

As I expected, we would get to a David Bowie song. They chose one that you’d not expect with “Drive-In Saturday”. As much I loved Joe doing the whole Cybernauts thing with the Mick Ronson/David Bowie, this is a little cheesy and lackluster all at the same time. With such a strong start to the album, we’ve seem to hit a lull.

That lull continues with Free’s “A Little Bit of Love” which seems to be moving through sludge as it drags along. A very generic sounding song performance and nothing exciting at all about this one. Sorry guys. Tough sledding in this middle section.

All is not lost when the band tackles “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Mott the Hoople. Heck, even Ian Hunter himself does the opening line. The keyboards/piano are brilliant during the opening and when the band kicks in and you hear that guitar sound, you know you are in for something special. Joe attacks the lyrics like Rick attacks those drums. They get assistance on backing vocals by Emm Gryner (she’s worked for Bowie). Another of the gems on this album.

Next up is Badfinger’s “No Matter What” which we heard before on the U.S. version of ‘Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection’. When I reviewed that one I said it is a faithful version, a little upbeat, but honestly, it was a little paint-by-numbers. No real life to it. But hearing it in the context of all the songs and with some of songs on here I don’t like, this one turns out to be pretty good. I change my mind. I like this one now.

“He’s Gonna Step On You Again” by John Kongos is another one that is special. The guitar tones on this one are killer as Phil and Vivian tear it up. I like Joe’s delivery of the lyrics. The song rocks out and has that whole glam feel to it. I’m not familiar with Kongos, but this song is killer.

Thin Lizzy’s “Don’t Believe A Word” is next and I love Thin Lizzy. A rocker that band delivers a solid performance. A great song is a great song so hard to screw it up. The guitar work is incredible on this one and is really the highlight of the whole thing. They didn’t Leppardize the solo and stuck true to how it should be played. Another fun track.

There are a lot of highlights on this disc and the last song is no exception. We get a cover of Faces’ “Stay With Me” and what makes it cool is it is sung by Phil Collen. I love his voice and you are about to get familiar with it when I review his Man Raze projects. A high energy rocker sung with passion. Phil gives it a punk like feel vocally. Really cool to get him on vocals and cool way to close it all out.

Track Listing:

1. 20th Century Boy – Keeper
2. Rock On – Keeper
3. Hanging on the Telephone – Keeper
4. Waterloo Sunset – Keeper
5. Hell Raiser – Keeper
6. 10538 Overture – Delete
7. Street Life – Delete
8. Drive in Saturday – Delete
9. Little Bit of Love – Delete
10. The Golden Age of Rock ‘N’ Roll – Keeper
11. No Matter What – Keeper (1/2 Point)
12. It’s Gonna Step On You Again – Keeper
13. Don’t Believe a Word – Keeper
14. Stay With Me – Keeper

The Track Score is 9.5 out of 14 Tracks or 68%.  The song choices are perfect as they aren’t necessarily the obvious choices.  The playing is stellar as you can feel a passion and love for their influences. They took their time and did it right. There was a lull in the middle but it is bookended by some stellar tracks. The high energy ones like “Hell Raiser”, “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll, “Stay With Me”, “It’s Gonna Step On You Again” and “20th Century Boy” are some of the best.  Even “Rock On” is incredible and a little gem on the album.  As far as cover albums go, this one might be one of my favorites I’ve ever heard.  That doesn’t mean it is getting a 4 or a 5 score, because I will go to their studio albums more so than this, but there is no denying this is a really good album.  My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars.  Worth a listen if you haven’t heard it.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘YEAH! BONUS CD with BACKSTAGE INTERVIEWS’ (2006)

THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES

1. Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
2. First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
3. Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
4. On Through the Night (1980)
5. When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
6. High & Dry (1981)
7. Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
8. Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
9. Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
10. Pyromania (1983)
11. “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
12. “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
13. Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
14. Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
15. Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
16. Hysteria (1987)
17. “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
18. “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
19. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
20. “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
21. “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
22. “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
23. “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
24. Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
25. Rarities – Volume One (2018)
26. Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
27. Historia – DVD (1988)
28. Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
29. Adrenalize (1992)
30. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
31. “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
32. Live Sheffield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
33. Retro Active (1993)
34. Visualize DVD (1993)
35. Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
36. Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
37. “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
38. Video Archive (1995)
39. Slang (1996)
40. Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
41. Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
42. Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
43. Euphoria (1999)
44. Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
45. Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
46. Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
47. Cybernauts – Live (2000)
48. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (2001)
49. X (2002)
50. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
51. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
52. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
53. Yeah! (2006)
54. Yeah! Bonus CD with Backstage Interviews (2006)
55. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
56. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
57. B-Sides (2021)
58. Yeah! II (2021)
59. Yeah! Live (2021)
60. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
62. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
63. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
64. Def Leppard (2015)
65. The Lost Session (2018)
66. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
67. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
68. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
69. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
70. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
71. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
72. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
73. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
74. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
75. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
76. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
77. Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)
78. “Just Like ’73” – 7″ Single (2024)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED:

1. The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
2. Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
3. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
4. Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
5. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” –  5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
6. Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
7. “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
8. “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
9. Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
10. X: World Tour (2003)
11. Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
12. Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
13. Viva! Hysteria (2013)
14. And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
15. Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
16. The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
17. The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
18. Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
19. Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
20. Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
21. The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
22. The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
23. London to Vegas (2020)
24. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
25. The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
26. The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
27. Def Leppard Funko Pop!