CD review: Def Leppard-Songs From the Sparkle Lounge

It's really hard to describe the sound of this album. After listening to it, "heavy metal," "pop," "ballad," and just "rock" all seem to fit. But not in the way that many albums do--one song at a time. Instead, several of these are combined in some songs and what you get is....something.

It's not a bad something though. However different it may be, it's still Def Leppard, and Def Leppard can still rock. Despite Joe Elliott's range shrinking a little (not a lot, but enough to notice), you can still tell that this is the same band that put out "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Of course, not all of the songs are a new sound--several of them still sound like something straight out of the 80s. However, there are definitely some modern influences.

The album is Def Leppard's first since "x" (excluding YEAH!, which was all covers). I think that for a band to be able to put out an album so long after the previous one and still make it good really says somehting about their talent.

Tracks to check out:

• Go
• Nine Lives
• Tommorow

Def Leppard lives on-New single, "Nine Lives"

Def Leppard released a new single today, off their upcoming album "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge," titled Nine Lives. It's about time. The band has released no new material since the 2002 album "X." On the other hand, they have been touring quite a bit, and if you've seen them in concert you know that they put on a great show.

"Nine Lives" is a pretty good song, although it resembles pop rock much like the track "Slang" from 1996. I"m glad to say though that after all these years, Def Leppard still has what it takes to keep on rockin.