Springfield, IL - Media Review Quotes
By Matthew Dietrich
On Tuesday, the band powered through all of the expected hits, and also shrewdly introduced a handful of songs from its new album, "Euphoria."
"Demolition Man," the hard rocking song that opens the new album, came second in the set, and showed just how favorably the band's new material stands up to the better known hits.
"Promises," the new single now getting frequent radio airplay, revisits the opening guitar lick of 1983's "Photograph" and grafts it onto a big, powerful ballad that could easily have been recorded in the band's heyday.
Def Leppard has always had its share of detractors, who sneer at the band's slick production (by Mutt Lange, known these days as Mr. Shania Twain) and the commercial nature of its recordings. None were in attendance Tuesday, as virtually everyone in the audience seemed to know every word to every song.
"It's good to be back," belted Elliott as the crowd roared its approval for "Promises." Obviously, Def Leppard's fans feel the same way.
For a band that's been together for 22 years and has weathered everything from the death of one of its original members (Steve Clark died of an alcohol and drug overdose in 1991) to the now famous 1984 car accident in which drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm, Def Leppard remains youthful and vital in concert.
Aside from Elliott's constant encouragement of the crowd to make more noise, the other memorable element of Tuesday's show was shirtless guitarist Phil Collen's non-stop gliding about the stage as he pealed off trademark licks.
By The State Journal-Register 1999.
Read the full review at - sj-r.com
By The State Journal-Register
Biggest Surprise
When the Illinois State Fair Grandstand schedule was announced early in the summer, who would have guessed that the second-biggest show would come from '80s metal-pop band Def Leppard? But by August, the band's new album, "Euphoria," had become a hit, and the band's long-time fans turned out in force.
A crowd of 10,117 (many of whom, one could safely assume, were at the band's last show here in 1988) seemed to know every word to every song, turning the show into a massive sing-a-long of hits old and new. No flab on the band either: Despite a 20-year-plus history, Def Leppard's member were in top form on Aug. 18.
By The State Journal-Register 1999.
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