Providence, RI - Media Reviews

This Leppard hasn't changed its spots By Rick Massimo

For four hours last night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, it was as if punk and hip-hop had never happened. Whether you think that's a good thing is up to you, but the triple bill of Def Leppard, Styx and REO Speedwagon gave a good accounting of the time when rock music was pop music, and at the same time the headliners showed they have at least a little left in the tank.

Def Leppard was preceded by a montage of their history and the legend "That was then, this is now" and a mention of their new record, Songs From the Sparkle Lounge. They started off, however, with blasts from the past - "Rockit," "Animal," "Let's Get Rocked" and "Foolin'," straddling the line between classic '80s rock and occasional dips into proto-adult-contemporary.

While frontman Joe Elliott apparently was nursing a cold that hindered his ability to cut during the high notes last night (particularly in "Photograph" and "Let's Get Rocked"), the elements of the Def Leppard formula were still basically in place: guitars loud enough to rock but not too loud to get in the way of the vocal hooks, thick background vocals, and plenty of meta-rock - songs celebrating rocking and songs encouraging people to rock.

The band went back to 1981's High N Dry album for "Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)," and the Sparkle Lounge record was represented only by the single "Nine Lives," recorded with Tim McGraw. The latter is an early-'70s glam strut run through the Def Leppardizer, and as such it holds up with their best. But most of the night was taken from their multi-platinum records Pyromania and Hysteria.

The middle of the set started promisingly, with a reworking of David Essex's "Rock On," from Leppard's covers album of 2006, that started off sinuously before ending with full-throated guitars. And the acoustic segment version of "Two Steps Behind" went nicely, as did the acoustic opening to "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" (before returning to electricity after the midsong break). But after an uninspired guitar instrumental and the relatively tame "Hysteria," the guitar bash of "Armageddon It" was a welcome relief from the relief. And they closed strongly with "Photograph," "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Rock of Ages," Elliott's vocal woes notwithstanding.

By The Providence Journal 2008.

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