We are now to the 10th Studio album and you’d think that ‘X’ would’ve been a good title for this one, but they already used that title with their 10th album release including compilations. Nope, this time they named the album ‘Songs From the Sparkle Lounge’. A name in reference to a room at each of their live shows they used for tuning, for writing and overall creativity. It had a Christmas lights strewn about around the room along with some equipment such as a drum kit, some amps and even a tape recorder. Apparently, most of the songs, if not all, were written while on the road touring for the ‘Yeah!’ album.
This album saw the band try something new and have their first song featuring an outside party. They brought in Country singer Tim McGraw to assist on a song and yes ,the song has a country flair and we will bash the hell out of it later. I guess they needed to try something new. The album saw the light of day on April 25, 2008 and went all the way to #5 on the Billboard 200 selling around 55,000 copies out of the gate. They did reach #1 on the Hard Rock And Rock Album charts as well. Def Leppard still has some life left in them even after all these years. Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were still going strong. But is the album strong or does it have any life left in it? We are about to find out.
The album opens with “Go” and it has a massive guitar riff that sounds menacing and powerful. The heavy track explodes with a metal energy and might be one of the best opening tracks the band has ever had. It harkens back to High ‘N’ Dry vibe where the riff was king. It also has a killer guitar solo and shows the talent of these two dynamic guitar heroes. Joe sounds great as well on vocals, but you can’t escape those guitars…damn this is exciting and has me desperate to hear the rest of this album.
That is until “Nine Lives” written the help Tim McGraw who also sings on it with Joe. It isn’t really a bad song, very radio friendly and charted in Canada and in the US it hit #12 on the Heritage Rock Charts (and is that anything to really brag about….uh….not really). The song is so cheesy and feels a lot like it could’ve been on ‘Adrenalize’ which to me is not a good thing. I don’t hate it, but not thrilled with a featured song.
The next couple songs are written by Rick Savage. The first is “C’mon C’mon” and it is pure 70’s rock glam and I love it. An upbeat rocker that will get you moving and in a good mood. The chorus is catchy and it has hooks for days. It is groovetastic. It is so good, I’m making up words for it.
Next is a ballad unlike any they’ve done before. “Love” starts out with a literal explosion, then immediately drops to an acoustic guitar and Joe’s vocals. I think the influence for this song is definitely Queen as it has their style written all over it. A gentle, soft piece that is a showcase for Joe’s vocals. There are great harmonies and at times it all gets so dramatic in the way Queen would do it. We eventually get some drums and bass to enhance the song even more. And then guitar solo is so Brian May. A brilliant track. Good job Sav.
“Tomorrow” is up next and was written by Phil Collen…a lot of solo written songs on here. This sounds like it was taken from the ‘X’ album as it would’ve fit there nicely. I am fan of that album so this is very welcome track. It is fun, energetic and catchy. All I need in a good song.
Vivian gets the writing credit for the next track “Cruise Control”. A much darker tune, feels like it is right off ‘Slang’. A heavy bass groove and the song sounds like nothing else on the album. I love darker undertoned songs so this is one of my favorites on the album. Another killer solo, but Sav’s bass is the winner here.
“Hallucinate” is another Phil song and this one sounds like a generic 70’s glam song and sounds like so many other Lep songs. A very catchy song and some nice guitar work, but too much been there done that for me. Nothing new to add to a sound they’ve done a million times. A little boring for me.
“Only the Good Die Young” is another Vivian song and it is another brilliant piece. The keyboards on here are so Beatlesque. The chorus is big, catchy and some great hooks. So far, Vivian’s songs are the most interesting.
Then we get to “Bad Actress” which was written by Joe. Another song that sounds like nothing on the album. Very cheesy lyrics, rocking energy, but it sounds like it could’ve been ‘Adrenalize’ and is right up there with “Make Love Like A Man” and “Personal Property”. Usually I really love this type of energy, but maybe my taste have changed as this one does do it for me.
Another Joe penned song is “Come Undone” and although some great riffs and great vocals, the song is uninspiring and leaves me feeling nothing. A very generic piece that they’ve done before.
The final track, “Gotta Let it Go”, is yet another Vivian song and another fantastic piece. The start with a “Go” and end with a “Go”. And though the songs starts off slow, it does Go!! The bridge is brilliant, great harmonies and then the chorus is huge and anthemic with pounding drums, heavy bass and guitars everywhere. A great closing song to an album that has grown on me over the years.
Track Listing:
- Go – Keeper
- Nine Lives (Feat. Tim McGraw) – Keeper (1/2 Point)
- C’Mon C’mon – Keeper
- Love – Keeper
- Tomorrow – Keeper
- Cruise Control – Keeper
- Hallucinate – Delete
- Only The Good Die Young – Keeper
- Bad Actress – Delete
- Come Undone – Delete
- Gotta Let It Go – Keeper
The Track Score is 7.5 out of 11 Tracks or 68%. This album is actually the shortest album the band has done as it clocked in at under 40 minutes. In this case, less is not more. Yes, there are a lot of really good songs on here, but the album is a little uneven. One thing I noticed is there are not a lot of songs written by Def Leppard. They are mostly written by one member alone. I think that is the reason why the songs fill disjointed at times. A like an album that feels like an album. I did really love Vivian’s songs and glad he is making a stronger statement, but I wish the band would’ve worked this more as a band as it would’ve given us a more even album. With all that being said, I do like this album way more then I used to. At one time this was probably my least favorite album, now I’m not so sure. My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars. It gets better with age.
NEXT UP: MAN RAZE – ‘SURREAL’ (2008)
THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES
- Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
- First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
- Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
- On Through the Night (1980)
- When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
- High & Dry (1981)
- Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
- Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
- Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
- Pyromania (1983)
- “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
- “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
- Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
- Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
- Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
- Hysteria (1987)
- “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
- Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
- Rarities – Volume One (2018)
- Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
- Historia – DVD (1988)
- Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
- Adrenalize (1992)
- “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
- “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
- Live Sheffield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
- Retro Active (1993)
- Visualize DVD (1993)
- Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
- Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
- “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
- Video Archive (1995)
- Slang (1996)
- Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
- Euphoria (1999)
- Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
- Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
- Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
- Cybernauts – Live (2000)
- Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (2001)
- X (2002)
- Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
- Best of Def Leppard (2004)
- Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
- Yeah! (2006)
- Yeah! Bonus CD with Backstage Interviews (2006)
- Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
- Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
- B-Sides (2021)
- Yeah! II (2021)
- Yeah! Live (2021)
- CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
- Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
- Def Leppard (2015)
- The Lost Session (2018)
- Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
- Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
- Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
- Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
- Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
- Diamond Star Halos (2022)
- High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
- Drastic Symphonies (2023)
- Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
- Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
- Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)
- “Just Like ’73” – 7″ Single (2024)
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
- The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
- Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
- “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
- Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” – 5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
- Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
- “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
- “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
- Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
- X: World Tour (2003)
- Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
- Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
- Viva! Hysteria (2013)
- And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
- Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
- The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
- The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
- Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
- Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
- Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
- The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
- The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
- London to Vegas (2020)
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
- The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
- The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
- Def Leppard Funko Pop!
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