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Def Leppard Tour History Fan Archive.
Slang Countdown 8 - 1996 Kerrang Album Review

Monday, 27th January 2014





Slang Deluxe Edition.

Def Leppard will release the Slang Deluxe Edition in February and a 1996 album review is available to read.

Kerrang! reviewed the album in May 1996 and the full review can be read below.

Kerrang! - Slang Album Review May 1996

Lep The Good Times Roll

The question is an obvious one; are Def Leppard still relevant? With Kerrang! and the charts full of young Britrock heroes like Terrorvision, The Wildhearts, Ash and Skunk Anansie, can the biggest British rock band of them all still cut it? "Slang" provides some mixed answers.

Judged on the first three tracks alone, the new Def Leppard album would qualify as the biggest balls-up since Graham Taylor was made England manager. 'Truth?' and 'Turn To Dust' are a couple of plodders made no less ordinary by a touch of sitar, but the real turkey is 'Slang' itself, the current single and a blast of brainless party rock that belongs firmly in Leppard's past. God only knows why they've chosen it as the first single, because it's totally unrepresentative of an otherwise sound LP.

The remaining eight tracks are much better. In fact, they're as good as anything Leppard have recorded, and when you consider that, in 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria', Leppard made two of the best albums of the 80s, that's some achievement.

'Work It Out' is exactly the kind of thing Def Leppard should be doing in 1996. It's got all the pop suss of their biggest hit singles, but has a more contemporary feel - a post-grunge consciousness, if you like. 'Work It Out' should have been the first single, something new and different to make people really sit up and take notice of Def Leppard again. Releasing 'Slang' as the single makes it easy for Leppard's critics to write them off.

A pity, because Def Leppard's sixth album (leaving aside the 'Vault' and 'Retro-Active' collections) features some great stuff, none of it greater than 'Pearl Of Euphoria', an epic in the tradition of 'White Lightning' and 'Desert Song'. The heaviest thing here is 'Gift Of Flesh', which has plenty of riff power but none of the bozo element present in, say, 'Run Riot'.

But it's the mellowest tunes that are destined to make 'Slang' another big success for Leppard. 'All I Want Is Everything', 'Blood Runs Cold' and 'Where Does Love Go When It Dies' will melt the hearts of rock fans and housewives alike. Canny bastards, Def Leppard.

'Slang' is very nearly a master stroke. Recorded in a Spanish villa with the minimum of fuss, the emphasis is on vibe instead of the tight-arsed perfection of the 'Mutt' Lange years. 'Slang' is meant to be the album that reinvents Def Leppard as a credible '90s rock band. As a whole it succeeds, but how many people will switch off once they hear the single?

Ultimately, Def Leppard are still relevant in 1996 - relevant to anybody who's into great rock music, whether it's rock music made by a bunch of teenies like Silverchair or a bunch of wrinklies like The Rolling Stones. Listen without prejudice.
By Paul Elliott @ Kerrang!.

All previous updates on this release and new music can be found in the Album News section.

  • Buy 2CD Album @ - Amazon.com - 11th February 2014
  • Buy Double Vinyl Album @ - Amazon.com - 11th February 2014
  • Buy MP3 @ - Amazon.com - 11th February 2014
  • Buy 2CD Album @ - Amazon.co.uk - 11th February 2014 (Import)
  • Buy Double Vinyl Album @ - Amazon.co.uk - 11th February 2014 (Import)
  • Buy MP3 @ - Amazon.co.uk - 11th February 2014





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