We are now in the mid 90’s and the rock bands from the 80’s were basically gone. Ok, they were still around, but they were not cool. Those bands were try going darker, heavier and try to match the grunge scene and the style of rock that was going on at the time. Def Leppard were no different as far as not being cool anymore (except I still thought they were). Thankfully though, they did not follow the other bands and go heavier and grungier. No, instead they went in a direction no one saw coming. They experimented with new sounds, new instruments and delivered an album that was like nothing you’ve ever heard from them. They tried something entirely new.
The result of the new sound was ‘Slang’. It was a darker album for sure, but not grunge dark. Lyrically dark. The band members were not having the best of times around then. Joe Elliott and Rick Allen had both been arrested for spousal abuse (not to each other, they weren’t married to each other). Rick Savage was suffering from Bells Palsey and the death of his dad. And Phil Collen was going through a divorce. All of that impacted the writing of this album.
Another thing that impacted the album was that there was no more Mutt Lange. He wasn’t involved at all. However, we did get the impact of Vivian Campbell as this was his first studio album he had made with the band since he joined. I think that helped change things up as well. The band ended up producing the album themselves with Pete Woodroffe. They also recorded the album completely different. No more Lange style of one instrument, one note at a time. This time around, they recorded it together. A novel concept.
It was released on May 14, 1996 and it did not do well at all. Well, it did go Gold, but it didn’t go Platinum. It only went to #14 on the Billboard albums chart. They did release 4 singles but no Top 40 tracks anymore. Nope. Times had changed. However, it doesn’t mean that this album was not good…not in the slightest.
The opening track, “Truth?”, was blatantly obvious that this was not the same band. A darker, more foreboding sound. Very experimental as the band show no signs of their old self and that is why this song is a stellar choice to open the album. It says, hold on to your hat…this is going to be different. It’s heavy drumbeats and very progressive guitar work are exceptional an unlike anything else they’ve done. When I first heard this back in 1996 my initial reaction was…WHAT???? But it quickly turned in to “HELL YES!!”.
The next track, “Turn to Dust”, was an even bigger departure. With the band’s use of a sarangi in the opening of the song, you get a South Asian folk flair. There is a Beatles tone to it and even a Bowie shout-out so the boys haven’t completely abandoned their roots. The chorus is a little heavy and totally killer. It isn’t anthemic, but it is catchy and even better then the opening track.
The first single and title track, “Slang” is one of two songs that might be considered more of their older sound, but still nothing like anything else they’ve done up to this point. You could possibly dance to this one too. Heck, even Joe raps a little on this one. WTF??? Yeah, that was my first impression as well. But, I love it. They are keeping us on our toes with this one. A song about phone sex too…huh!!!
“All I Want is Everything” is up next and it slows things down. A ballad that is nothing like the well-polished ballads of the past. It is dark, foreboding and the guitar tone is gritty and morose. The chorus has a great melody and is quite brilliant. It took me awhile to get in to this song, but I think I’m finally there. I had always wondered why so many people liked this one as at first I didn’t. I put the headphones on and really listened to it and started to hear things I’d never noticed before, certain notes and textures, and eventually I found the song to be one of the finer moments on the album.
One of the more fun songs on the album is the rocker “Work It Out”. Vivian Campbell’s first major contribution to the band and it is a homerun. It has a more industrial sound, it is heavier and that bass at time from Sav is so freaking funky. And some of the best bass work, bar none, on the album. I gravitated to this one immediately and might be one of my favorite tracks on the album…if not THE favorite track.
“Breathe a Sigh” gives us another ballad and this one is another departure for the band. There are some R&B moments with those verses both musically and even how Joe delivers those lyrics. It is soft, subtle and tantalizing. The chorus is old-school Lep with those lush vocal harmonies that would make the boy bands jealous. It really shines amongst the darker material on the album.
Then we get the first misstep for me with “Deliver Me”. I do not like Joe’s singing on it at all. The song is a rocker though so it has that going for it. Joe’s vocals are deeper, grittier and maybe it is too far the other way from Lep, but it does nothing for me. The chorus does pick up and make things better, but the slow, droning verses kill it for me.
The band goes all heavy metal on us with “Gift of Flesh”. The heaviest song the band has done in years and definitely the heaviest on this album. It feels almost apocalyptic, there is an urgency to it and there is something we haven’t talked about at all on this album…a guitar solo. The best one on the album (or at least the most memorable one at least). This song is slamming from start to finish and can I get a Hell Yeah!!!…I can’t hear you!!!
Then the album ends with not 1, not 2, but 3 ballads in a row. Wow! Talk about changing things up. But don’t expect to be bored, not by any stretch of the imagination. It kicks off with “Blood Runs Cold” which could possibly be on of the most haunting songs the band has ever done. Musically, it is ethereal, so much so that it could break if you touched it. Joe delivers the lyrics so emotionally and you can feel the sadness, the pain and the heartache. My favorite ballad on the album.
“Where Does Love Go When It Dies” sees the band get all philosophical with this acoustic beauty. It is about as old-school as they get, but yet it still feels different and more sophisticated. Joe does it again lyrically and vocally and gives us another brilliant track and this one will make you stop and think. You can’t say that too many times with their songs.
Then we get the final song and most epic on the album, “Pearl of Euphoria”. It opens with a killer bass line (Sav does it again). Elliott’s vocals are deliberate, darker and deeper in tone. It has a similar modern tone like “Truth?” and yet there is a 70’s tone a la Zeppelin. It has that otherworldly lyrical content you expect from Zeppelin. The guitar playing is exquisite and some of the finest on the album. There are so many great things about this one I don’t know where to begin. What a way to go out.
Track Listing:
- Truth? – Keeper
- Turn to Dust – Keeper
- Slang – Keeper
- All I Want Is Everything – Keeper
- Work It Out – Keeper
- Breathe a Sigh – Keeper
- Deliver Me – Delete
- Gift of Flesh – Keeper
- Blood Runs Cold – Keeper
- Where Does Love Go When It Dies – Keeper
- Pearl of Euphoria – Keeper
Track Score is 10 out of 11 Tracks or 91%. This is one of the most surprising albums the band has ever put out. It took me a couple listens to get it back in the day, but when I did, I was all in. A very dark album versus everything else in the catalog and fit with the darkness of the 90’s music that was out, but it was nothing like the 90’s music at the time. It was its own animal or beast. Def Leppard stretched their legs with this one. They experimented, tried new things and some people might not get it, but those of us that do are given a masterpiece. Now, it isn’t as good as their earlier albums, but it might be one of the best they’ve done since ‘Hysteria’, even to this day. My Overall Score is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars. I pull this out more than any other album except the first four. I can’t recommend this one enough.
NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘MONTREAL: THE CLASSIC 1996 BROADCAST – (BOOTLEG CD)
THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES
- Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
- First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
- Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
- On Through the Night (1980)
- When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
- High & Dry (1981)
- Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
- Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
- Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
- Pyromania (1983)
- “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
- “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
- Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
- Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
- Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
- Hysteria (1987)
- “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
- Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
- Rarities – Volume One (2018)
- Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
- Historia – DVD (1988)
- Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
- Adrenalize (1992)
- “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
- “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
- Live Sheffield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
- Retro Active (1993)
- Visualize DVD (1993)
- Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
- Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
- “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
- Video Archive (1995)
- Slang (1996)
- Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
- Euphoria (1999)
- Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
- Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
- Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
- Cybernauts – Live (2000)
- X (2002)
- Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
- Best of Def Leppard (2004)
- Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
- Yeah! (2006)
- Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
- Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
- B-Sides (2021)
- Yeah! II (2021)
- Yeah! Live (2021)
- CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
- Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
- Def Leppard (2015)
- The Lost Session (2018)
- Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
- Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
- Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
- Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
- Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
- Diamond Star Halos (2022)
- High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
- Drastic Symphonies (2023)
- Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
- Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
- The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
- Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
- “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
- Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” – 5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
- Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
- “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
- “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
- Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
- X: World Tour (2003)
- Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
- Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
- Viva! Hysteria (2013)
- And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
- Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
- The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
- The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
- Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
- Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
- Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
- The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
- The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
- London to Vegas (2020)
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
- The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
- The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
- Def Leppard Funko Pop!
2 Loud 2 Old Music 