Def Leppard - Mirrorball

They played both Rock of Ages and Hysteria on the Lopez show, but Hysteria was recorded for an online video only and wasnt broadcast on TV. Joe's voice sounded strained at points but he didnt go out of tune once I think.

Here is the link to both vids...
http://www.lopeztonight.com/episode_...ges.php#video1

I dont mind Undefeated, but the other two songs Ive only listened to once so Im not sure if that says something in itself or if I havent given them a proper chance yet.

i totally agree. and then they wonder why most people still think of them as a cheesy 80's hair band. which is not really fair to them but it's not like they're doing much to change people's minds about that either. they have been releasing new material, not very regularly that's true, but some of it it's pretty good, they don't need to keep hanging on to their past successes to promote a new tour. even though Sparkle isn't all that sparkly, there are a couple of great songs there, especially Go. i reckon it should have been a single.

there are 21 songs on Mirrorball and only 4 are post-1992. and one of them is a cover. they release 3 new songs however they choose to play Rock Of Ages, Hysteria and Sugar on shows like Leno and Lopez Tonight. that would be fine if they played some other more recent song, but not okay if one song is all they get. that's pretty much like saying "we wrote new songs, they're not that good, but we used to rock 25 years ago so come see us!" they are basically labelling themselves as a nostalgia act and that seems to be intentional.

i see your point and they are two of my favourite songs, but i wouldn't play any pre-1999 material to promote a new tour, again if they are to play just one song. that's still saying they're stuck in 1983.

in a way i'm glad they didn't, it's probably the only song off of Slang i honestly don't like. it's so different from the rest it almost feels like it made it to the album by accident

i love Starkers' simplicity, even though i've heard a lot of people complain it sounds too empty, i think it's just beautiful. that's how an unplugged album usually sounds like, init Coverdale's voice is amazing and the production is great as well. i love Steve Vai so i like the Slip Of The Tongue period. Judgement Day and Sailing Ships are great songs i reckon.

the band sounds great but Joe seems to be struggling a lot with Rock Of Ages. he does much better in Hysteria. thanks for the links

I know exactly what you mean, but apparently so did the band. Did you ever notice the font used for the title track on the back of the album is different from the rest of the track listing? I actually love the track, but it is a bit of an odd duck as far as the continuity of the album, especially sandwiched between Turn To Dust and All I Want Is Everything.

Maybe they made that song a more familiar Def Leppard track, having less "experimenting" going on, to kinda bridge the gap between their previous style and Slangs, in an attempt to ease fans in to the new sound of the album? That's the only reason I can think of.

Kind of ironic really with an album that boisterously sets out to change the direction of the band and having it's title track have a more classic Leppard feel.

i noticed it but i never connected the two things.

New track sounds ok, but nothing special. Their new material like Bon Jovi's hasn't been up to scratch. I think they did a good job YEAH!. They did good versions of the covers and but they shouldn't be doing covers albums. It just shows a lack of creativity.

Agreed!!!

I wish Del Leppard would have released Re-Master versions of IMO there best 2 albums:

Slang & Euphoria

I picked this up on the way to work today (along with Depeche Mode's Remix 2 '81-'11) and I'm just now sitting down to give it a proper listen. It's good to hear their first live album open up with the original long intro to Rock Rock if rather abruptly as it is literally the first thing you hear... no fade-in to audience first. The grand orchestral-like opening sets up the suspense perfectly before rapid fire pounding giving away to that rip and tear guitar riff with Joe screaming "Hold on to your hat, hold on to your heart! Ready get to tear this place apart!" It made you forgive the dreadful chorus because everything else going on in it just made it awesome. It makes it worth having on this album.

The last time I saw them live they opened with Rocket (and I was late... and ashamedly bored.) They also did it on Live At Abbey Road. The great thing about Abbey Road and the live version here is it's the Lunar Mix intro with the rest of the original studio mix, complete with the back up vocal "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" that they completely skipped doing. Honestly, I have to check some of my bootlegs, but I don't think they actually started doing those until the last tour or so. They always skipped them in the 90's (and I don't think it was ever played live until the Adrenalize tour.) Great to have it on an official live album now.

I'm happy with the sound through the equivalent of headphones. I'll have to give it a listen during the day when I can turn the speakers and sub on to get the full effect. It's a bit of a challenge to sit through if only because I have to be in the right mood to hear all of the same songs again. It's the fresher bits that get me going, such as Sav's bass solo intro leading in to Rock On.

Mind you, going forward, I'm going to compare this album to "Live In the Round In Your Face" video shot in Denver in 1988. Short of the free live mp3s available from the official site in the late 90's, that video was the only official live album they had up until now. In fact their motto had been "if you want a live album in, put the the video in and close your eyes." I recorded the VHS to cassette upon it's release back then and have owned the Laser Disc and the DVD. It's been part of my digital library since I started one in the late 90's. The performances on their first bona fide live release will have to stand up to those performances from 1988 by either improving upon or making some distinction.

Bringing On the Heartbreak is acoustic here, just as it was in 1988. The distinction here is that the audience takes over and goes solo for the chorus (in '88 they just cheered) and that it leads into Switch 625. That makes it worth having. However, I was a bit underwhelmed by Joe's vocal performance compared to Denver.

I'll have to come back around when I'm in the mood to hear the standards.

Thanks for an early review there Bleeding. Im looking forward to grabbing my copy when it is released in Australia.

Some good news today! There was a story on the band on a current affairs show here in Perth tonight, saying how the band will be performing here for Telethon (an annual fundraising event that raises money for sick children/children hospital - it is a pretty big event with people like Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder appearing in previous years).

They apparently rearranged their Australian schedule just so they could do Telethon which is great! Perth is the only confirmed Australian date so far - 15th of October (but they will be appearing at telethon on the 16th).

Cant wait!