CMT (Country Music Television) had a great show called CMT Crossroads. The show would bring together two famous acts, one being a country artist and the other either Rock, Pop or whatever they felt would work together. One of those episodes that aired on November 7, 2008 brought together and a young rising country star named Taylor Swift and a band she grew up listening to thanks to her parents, Def Leppard. A dream come true for her and a strange match-up for me. But it was Leppard so I watched. And when the DVD was released, I bought it.

The DVD came out on June 16, 2009 and was exclusive to Wal-Mart stores here in the States. The DVD contained the entire show that was broadcast as well as some bonus material. That bonus material was three bonus songs that were performed and not aired. You also get a bunch of interviews. In total, you get 75 minutes of Country Rock Crossover. Honestly, I wish there was a CD for the show, I’d like that in the collection. Now, was the show good? Let’s find out.

The show kicks off with “Photograph” from Def Leppard and a good one to start as it is one of their most famous songs. Phil Collen breaks out that famous riff while fully dressed and still some hair; and Taylor sings the first verse. Dang, she is so young here. She has a great voice, but she can’t muster the power needed for this song but she can hit some of those notes Joe can’t. Joe Elliott takes on the second version and that is they way this song should be sung. They share the choruses. The band is all the Lep folks and even Taylor’s band so we get two drummers and numerous guitarists and bass players. I even see a keyboard player in the background there. The bands sound awesome and they do play the song to perfection. Who knew it would actually work so well.

Between the songs, they some behind the scene footage and interviews. Taylor was born two years after ‘Hysteria’ came out. Taylor’s mom was a superfan so Taylor has been listening to Leppard since she was little. When she got the opportunity to do Crossroads she made sure she did with Leppard. The next song is a Taylor one and it is “Picture to Burn” which sees Joe grab an acoustic guitar and there are even some violins and a banjo…we’ve gone country. What is great about the show that Taylor and Joe are definitely sharing verses except Taylor seems to be getting more of her songs that Joe. But weird seeing Leppard doing the backing vocals, but they have great backing vocals so it sounds good.

They show the drums and where Lep has the Union Jack and Leppard logo and then Taylor’s drummer has the American flag and her name in the Lep font. They then talk about her love of Shania and the Mutt connection. They go back to the show and do Taylor’s “Love Story”. Joe even gets to sing the line “I’d be the Prince while Taylor does the “I’ll be the Princess”…that was quite humorous (if you know the song). Joe is having to hold back on the chorus because it is so reserved and he is so used to belting out the vocals. Taylor’s guitarist does the solo which is a shame as they should had Viv or Phil rip a new one.

This is the first time Leppard has ever played with another band since the time they worked with The Hothouse Flowers. They then talked about how young they were when they started and how Rick Allen was 15 when they started and his 16th birthday was at a show opening for AC/DC. They talked about how the touring and record making gave you a well rounded perspective on life even though they missed out some education. The bands go in to “Hysteria” and Joe sounds great on this one. Fun to see Phil playing his guitar standing next to a violinist. Taylor does her verse and she does a good job especially at the end, but the Lep boys really know how to play this song and make it look effortless. It sounds amazing.

They improvise a country song with Taylor and they talk about Drew who Taylor wrote a song about him and how he came up her driver to see if she was still interested and the answer was No. They cut back to the show and do Taylor’s “Teardrops on My Guitar” (which is the song she wrote for Drew). I will say it is weird seeing Joe singing a song like this and he doesn’t look completely comfortable if I’m being honest. He is more comfortable on the chorus.

In one interview, they are standing and I think Taylor is taller then everyone. Joe asks her how she was able to sell 3.5 million albums in 2008 because he would like to know. Cut back to the show and we get “When Love & Hate Collide” and this one actually feels like they countrified it. It works well as a duet and Taylor slays it. I will have to say that I think this is the coolest song on the whole set that works really well for both parties. They go straight in to Taylor’s “Should’ve Said No” which picks up the energy a little. The Leppard boys are great again on the backing vocals. Joe’s verse is good, but I don’t believe he is really feeling those lyrics. But he’s a pro and handles it well. No offense to Taylor’s guitarist, but really, why not use Viv and Phil for her songs. They are much better players.

Joe gets everyone to do handclaps and the crowd is in to it and then you hear it, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” comes roaring in. The song rocks out and they go out with a bang. The violin on the song really did add something to the song which I think was pretty dang cool. More strings on those riffs is always a good thing. That was the right song to end the show as it got everyone up and screaming as it always does.

After the show, I hit the bonus material for three songs that were not broadcast. The first song we get is “Our Song” which Taylor wrote when she was in 9th grade and Joe asks here when was that and she said about 3 years ago and the look on Joe’s face was priceless. Joe was in to this one and they do a good job with it. Then we get the Leppard song called “Love” from “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge”. This one has Taylor along with her guitarist out front in the spotlight alone and then Joe comes out for the second verse. This is already such a beautiful ballad and another that works well as a duet and might be the best song they did together.

The final bonus song is another ballad from Lep, “Two Steps Behind” and this one is all acoustic and has about 9 acoustic guitarists and one slide guitar. And you know what, it sounds great. The other bonus material is a press conference and some more interviews and I won’t give those away like I have some of the other as I think I’ve talked enough about this one.

I will admit that the songs for the most part are still true to the original artists, they really haven’t changed anything up and no one is adding enough to the other person’s songs to make it a version I would want to hear outside of the original songs. “When Love & Hate Collide” and “Love” might the exceptions. I still would want this to have in my collection on CD or vinyl so I have the songs on that format as the completist in me likes the CD/Vinyl option. It was an entertaining show and to see two of the most popular artists of all time (from different decades and genres) was a cool idea. But will I pull this out and watch very often? No, probably not. My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars as they did do a good job with it and I would’ve loved to have been there when they recorded it.

NEXT UP: DOWN ‘N’ OUTZ – ‘MY REGENERATION’ (2010)

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 Crossroads – 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!