Oakland, CA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard @ Oakland Coliseum By San Francisco Chronicle

What actually separates Def Leppard from the millions of other ear-crunching, heavy-handed metal bands - apart from the band's multi-million success - remained a mystery, even after more than 90 minutes of aural punishment at the Coliseum.

Lead vocalist Joe Elliott dressed the part - red boots, black leather pants and sleeveless English flag T-shirt (replicas conveniently on sale in the lobby).

And managed some particularly athletic leaps that his less agile cou8nterparts would have great difficulty matching.

The band's songs ran into each other like a pileup at a stock car race.

There were no slow songs, no ballads, no quiet, lyrical moments - just an avalanche of hard-hitting, thick rock.

Leppard curled a vague touch of melodic sensibilities into a couple of pieces, the band's most successful tracks on the radio, but largely stuck to a decidedly unsubtle, car-crash sound that lacked only the breaking glass to bring the image to life.

Ultimately, it was like the tale told by the idiot, just so much sound and fury, signifying nothing.

By San Francisco Chronicle 1983.

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