Def Leppard - Yeah! (06)

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1 20th Century Boy
2 Rock On
3 Hanging on the Telephone
4 Waterloo Sunset
5 Hell Raiser
6 10538 Overture
7 Street Life
8 Drive-In Saturday
9 Little Bit of Love
10 The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll
11 No Matter What
12 He's Gonna Step on You Again
13 Don't Believe a Word
14 Stay with Me

Def Leppard always had a streak of glam running beneath their heavy rock — listen to "Armageddon It" or "Photograph" for proof — so it's no surprise that when the quintet decided to record a covers album in 2006, they devoted it to the '70s glam and hard rock that inspired them to pick up their guitars and play.

What does come as a surprise is that the resulting Yeah! is a sheer delight, a roaring rock & roll record that's their best album since Hysteria.

Often, cover albums get bogged down in reverence or ambition, as artists either offer interpretations that are straight copies or fussy reinterpretations as they busily try to make a favorite song their own.

That's not the case here. Def Leppard alternate between fairly faithful renditions of familiar classics like T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Badfinger's "No Matter What," or David Essex's "Rock On," to subtle reinterpretations where they make seemingly difficult covers seem easy and unmistakably Def Leppard.

It's true on their streamlined, muscular take on Electric Light Orchestra's swirling, psychedelic "10538 Overture," but it's most notable on their remarkable reworking of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," which now sounds like a power ballad from Hysteria without ever once sounding like it's an affront to the immortal original.

This take on "Waterloo Sunset" works because it's informed by a palpable love of the original, and that love is apparent throughout this terrific record.

But there are plenty of good covers albums that are fun merely because the band is having a good time. What makes Yeah! exceptional is that Def Leppard is reconnecting with the reason why they're even in a band by playing the rock & roll that inspired them in the first place.

They're reinvigorated by this material, and by playing these songs, it's easier to appreciate what makes Def Leppard a great rock & roll band.

Compare their versions of Free's "A Little Bit of Love" or Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word" to the originals — they're not as big and bluesy as Free, but the huge riff that drives the song is a direct forefather of Leppard's powerful signature sound, and "Don't Believe a Word" hammers home that few bands built on Lizzy's twin guitar harmonies as well as this group did.

But it's not just that these covers put Leppard's music in context; it's that they sound more like a genuine rock & roll gang than they ever have: listen to the truly raw take on the Faces' "Stay with Me," which may not be quite as sloppy as the original (how could it be?), but it's equally greasy and riveting — plus, it's sung with raw gusto by guitarist Phil Collen, whose turn on the mic emphasizes that this is a sound of a true group.

They still sound like Def Leppard — there are still cavernous drums, huge guitars, and driving harmonies — but they no longer sound as slick and calculated as they did on their albums after Hysteria; they sound alive and vigorous, making a convincing case that they're now their own best producers.

If they could carry this sound and feel onto an album of originals, they would have a killer record, but saying that diminishes the accomplishment of Yeah!. It's a killer record in its own right, and more pure fun than anything yet released in 2006.

Few bands could achieve an artistic comeback via a covers album, but as this glorious record proves, there are few bands like Def Leppard.

Def Leppard - Slang (96)

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1 Truth?
2 Turn to Dust
3 Slang
4 All I Want Is Everything
5 Work It Out
6 Breathe a Sigh
7 Deliver Me
8 Gift of Flesh
9 Blood Runs Cold
10 Where Does Love Go When It Dies
11 Pearl of Euphoria

After the lackluster performance of Adrenalize, Def Leppard realized it was time to abandon their trademark wall-of-guitars sound. Jettisoning producer Mutt Lange — who, admittedly, was busy producing his wife, country singer Shania Twain — the group stripped its sound to the basics for Slang.

There are very few layers-of-guitar effects on the album, just straight, crunching chords. Most notably, Rick Allen has returned to playing acoustic drums after playing an electronic kit for nearly a decade.

The change in approach is apparent and welcome — Def Leppard hasn't sounded so immediate since Pyromania.

Furthermore, they decided to expand their musical vocabulary slightly, working elements of R&B and funk into the rhythms.

Not all of the experiments work, but Def Leppard sound revitalized, particularly when they attack a straightforward rocker.

Slang would have been even better if they had come up with a set of hooks that sounded as alive as their performance, but the album is a much-needed return to form for the group.

Def Leppard - On Through The Night (80)

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1 Rock Brigade
2 Hello America
3 Sorrow Is a Woman
4 It Could Be You
5 Satellite
6 When the Walls Came Tumbling Down
7 Wasted
8 Rocks Off
9 It Don't Matter
10 Answer to the Master
11 Overture

n Through the Night, Def Leppard's debut album, established the band as one of the leading lights of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

While possessing the tight, controlled attack of comrades Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, Def Leppard was uninterested in the fantastic, menacing, and sometimes gothic themes of those bands; instead, On Through the Night is a collection of working-class hard rock anthems informed by the big, glittering hooks of glam rock.

It may lack the detailed production and more pop-oriented songwriting of later efforts, but it's also arguably their heaviest album, and some Leppard fans prefer this sound.

Def Leppard - Euphoria (99)

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1 Demolition Man
2 Promises
3 Back in Your Face
4 Goodbye
5 All Night
6 Paper Sun
7 It's Only Love
8 21st Century Sha la la la Girl
9 To Be Alive
10 Disintegrate
11 Guilty
12 Day after day
13 Kings of Obivion

Even though Slang successfully revitalized Def Leppard, it didn't become a huge hit, which was a disappointment, considering that the band adjusted their sound to fit the times.

Taking that into account, Def Leppard set out to make a classic Def Leppard album with Slang's successor, Euphoria. And, surprisingly, that's exactly what they've delivered.

From the outset, it's clear that Euphoria finds the band returning to the glam-inflected, unabashedly catchy, arena-ready pop-metal that made them stars — and it's also clear that they're not concerned with having a hit, they just want to make a good record.

For them, that means returning to the pop-metal formula that made Pyromania and Hysteria blockbusters, even if they must know that this signature sound no longer guarantees a hit at the close of the '90s. It is true that this approach means Euphoria sounds out of time in 1999, but it's a tight, attractive album with more than its share of big hooks, strong riffs, and memorable melodies.

There are a couple of slow moments here and there, but no more than those on Hysteria, and the best songs (particularly the opening triptych of "Demoltion Man," "Promises," "Back in Your Face," plus the jangly Beatles-esque "21st Century Sha-La-La Girl") are worthy additions to an already strong catalog. But what's best about Euphoria is that it's utterly not self-conscious.

Def Leppard feels free to try straight pop, appropriate Gary Glitter riffs, or play straight metal, without caring whether it's hip or commercial.
That doesn't mean Euphoria is a classic, but it does mean that it's their most appealing effort in over a decade.

Def Leppard - Adrenalize (92)

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1 Let's Get Rocked
2 Heaven Is
3 Make Love Like a Man
4 Tonight
5 White Lightning
6 Stand up (Kick Love into Motion)
7 Personal Property
8 Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
9 I Wanna Touch U
10 Tear It Down

After two straight blockbusters that delivered the goods both musically and commercially, anticipation ran high for Def Leppard's follow-up to Hysteria, in spite of the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark.

Unfortunately, Adrenalize sounds somewhat tired, formulaic, and bland, qualities absent from the band's best pop-metal work.

Perhaps somewhat understandably, Leppard doesn't sound like their heart is really in the party anthems, and their ballads sound more calculated and generic.

But most of all, the songs don't really have the effortlessly anthemic feel Leppard achieved so well on their past two albums, even though they try mightily.

Adrenalize is competent, workmanlike, and impeccably produced, but not much more.