Denver, CO - Media Reviews

Def Leppard cranks out the hits By Jay Dedrick

What's a hard-rocking band to do when, in Spinal Tap parlance, its popularity grows more selective? When its new songs, aimed squarely at radio's young pop fans, fail to win listeners? For Def Leppard, the course of action is simple: Hit the road with the hits.

At a nearly full Magness Arena on Tuesday night, the veteran British outfit returned to Denver with a loud, generous show heavy on material from the '80s. It's been more than a decade since the Leppards' days of sold-out, two-night stands at the old McNichols Arena, and despite the smaller venue, the group's on stage energy was surprisingly high.

The band took the stage in the wake of canned stomp- romps from Queen and Gary Glitter who needs an Avs game to pump a fist and yell "hey"? The sports arena crowd can use a release when hockey tickets are scarce, and Def Leppard fit the bill nicely.

The sound hit like a slap shot to the chest. The persistent pounding of one-armed drummer Rick Allen was a sight to watch and a force to be felt. He provided a fine foundation for the main attraction, the dense and often dazzling guitar work of Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. With an impressive arsenal of lightning-fast runs and crunchy chords, they provided massive inspiration for the corps of air-guitarists in the crowd.

Lead singer Joe Elliott impressively defies the years with his voice. Def Leppard always straddled the fence between melody and metal, and Elliott's ability to carry a pretty tune (Hysteria) then cut loose with ferocious, on-key screams (Bringin' On the Heartbreak) remains key to that duality.

Maybe it's a matter of experience paying off. Take "Foolin'", a song with a stuttering chorus that never worked as well live as on record. But on Tuesday, they sent it soaring, speeding up the tempo while keeping it tight. It sure wasn't the sound of a band bored with its old warhorses.

And there were plenty of those for fans during the two-hour set: Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Armageddon It, Photograph, Rock of Ages, Animal, Rocket, Women. The hits were supplemented with dusty album cuts and a few songs off the band's latest album, X, a limp bid at modern pop acceptance. The crowd's tepid response suggested that even the die-hards have no interest in new music from the group.

Even Elliott had to allow himself some nostalgia on Tuesday, recalling the 1988 concert film shot at McNichols. From a stage that was far less impressive than the in-the-round version the band played on then, he spoke wistfully:

"The building's gone what a (bummer). But the building isn't really important, is it? It's us up here and you out there." That formula produced a head-banging good time, whether it was 1988 or 2002.

By Rocky Mountain News 2002.

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