St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN - Media Review Quotes

By Ross Raihala

The best news to report from Thursday's concert is that guitarist Vivian Campbell looked happy and healthy. He's been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma for more than two years, and has come in and out of remission twice. Fellow guitarist Phil Collen continues to impress as well, with the 57-year-old spending the show shirtless, showing off the oiled torso of a college athlete. The pair spent much of the show on opposite sides of the stage, but played together with effortless ease.

Then there's Joe Elliott. Like many other aging metal singers, Elliott has struggled with his voice for years and Thursday was no different.

He's not as awful as modern-day Vince Neil, nor as bizarre as David Lee Roth, but Elliott remains the weak spot in Def Leppard. At times, the electronic trickery applied to what's left of his vocals left him sounding almost robotic, particularly during "Love Bites." (After playing Sioux Falls earlier this month, Elliott posted an apology on Facebook: "I'm sure you noticed, my voice completely went out ... but the crowd was just amazing!")

By Pioneer Press 2015.

Read the full review/1 photo at - twincities.com

By Chris Riemenschneider

Always a band that had spotty success living up to the mega-slick, big-chorus vocals on its albums, the Def jammers fared OK in that department Thursday, with frontman Joe Elliott decently nearing the key high notes. And anyway, they could have unplugged all the mics during songs like “Animal” and “Love Bites” (early in the set) or “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages,” and the 13,000 fans’ voices would have filled in just fine.

Already a band known for its resiliency — drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car wreck in 1985, and guitarist Steve Clark died of alcoholism in 1991 — Def Leppard’s usual show of strength was buoyed greatly this time out by Clark’s replacement, Vivian Campbell. The guitarist, 53, is on tour despite being in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Campbell looked and sounded like a true rock star Thursday, his long curly locks shorn but his smile sticking to him like the scarf around his neck. The sentimental high point came as the crowd gave him a big, hearty cheer when Elliott introduced him to kick off “Armageddon It” — a little Minnesota Nice to kick off the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

By Star Tribune 2015.

Read the full review/24 photos at - startribune.com

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