Irvine, CA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard @ Irvine Meadows By Orange County-Register

The typical heavy-metal band is about as wholesome as Freddy Krueger's nail clipping's, but Def Leppard is a metal group that even Tipper Gore could love.

Friday night during Def Leppard's hour and 40 minute show at Irvine Meadows, there wasn't a scrap of leather, no whips or chains, no man dressed in 'ladies' clothing and nary a hint of misogyny, devil worship or other nastiness.

Unfortunately, heavy-metal without the raunch is a little bit like a slasher film with no blood or Mexican food without the hot sauce.

Stripped of the element of rebellion, metal music is loud but bland.

The members of Def Leppard were energetic and likeable on stage, but they lacked the theatrical elements that makes concerts by bands such as Motley Crue fun even for those who don't like their music.

A little cute butt-bumping by guitarist Steve Clark and Phil Collen was about as showy as Def Leppard got all night.

Thus, Def Leppard is able to satisfy the heavy-metal purists and also is able to recruit fans from among Top 40 listeners.

Def Leppard was one of the first heavy-metal bands to attract a large female following, which found its cuddly image much more appealing than the spikes and leather of most metal mongers of the late 70s and early 80s.

By Orange County-Register 1988.

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Def Leppard @ Irvine Meadows By Los Angeles Times

Well, if Def Leppard wants to be remembered in the '90s, it had better start worrying:

Stiff challenges for metal supremacy are coming on the left from the speed-metallers led by Metallica, on the right from the pretty boy melodiers spearheaded by Bon Jovi and in the middle from the cadre of street kids fronted by Guns N' Roses.

And Friday, in the first of the Irvine shows, the English quintet didn't do anything to prove itself ready to hold off the challengers.

Don't get the wrong idea, Def Leppard can thud, rock and rouse the kids with the best of them.

Joe Elliott makes an amiable front man, and Rick Allen is certainly the best one-armed drummer since Moulty of the 60s garage band the Barbarians.

But for all the nifty melodies of tunes like 'Hysteria' and anthemic posturing of such numbers of 'Rock Of Ages', there wasn't an enduring classic and hence a legacy the band to be found in the whole two-hour plus show.

At least it doesn't need to worry about Europe.

The vapid Swedish five-piece that opened the show with a deadly dull set of simplistic rock and hair tossing.

By Los Angeles Times 1988.

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