Chicago/Tinley Park, IL - Media Reviews

Def Leppard delivers what its fans want By Bob Gendron

The album format may be dying, but to the multigenerational throngs that flocked to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on Saturday night, it hasn't lost a lick of relevance. Headlining a classic rock triple bill oozing with the nostalgia of a time when radio ruled, Def Leppard attested to the eternal appeal of the blockbuster LP. Or what's now an endangered species.

To its credit, the quintet has aged much better than crusty openers Foreigner and Styx. Primarily performing hits from three albums whose huge sales numbers aren't even imaginable in today's climate, the Brits tossed around gooey glam hooks and hi-hat beats like pieces of candy.

Little about the band has changed since its 80s heyday, not least its fetish for one-word song titles ("Foolin'," "Photograph," "Animal"). Vocalist Joe Elliott sported layered hair, studded jeans and a denim jacket. The newest tune performed was nearly 15 years old. And yes, girls still go wild for the MTV mega-smash "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

Not every song stemmed from the group's glitzy lite-rock and mushy adult-contemporary phases. "Mirror Mirror" and "Another Hit and Run" had tougher rhythmic backbones reflective of their latter-stage new wave of British heavy metal genesis. Comparatively, "Love Bites" and "Hysteria" were synthetic pop fluff, and an unplugged "Two Steps Behind" further exposed its cornball lyrics.

Note to band: Just as The Wave is the death knell at a baseball game, leisurely back-and-forth arm-waving motions at concerts are signs that a ballad is too mushy.

Then again, few seemed to notice that Elliott often came up short when singing highs. Or that electronic echoes boosted choruses. Fans were too busy saluting "Rock of Ages," a call-to-arms whose sloganeering "long live rock 'n' roll" refrain summed up the basic purpose of Def Leppard's 90-minute set and ongoing career.

By Chicago Tribune 2007.

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