A while back, a new DEF LEPPARD record was something of rarity it seemed. The band was notorious for taking long periods of time between releases-most of that was due to circumstances beyond their control of course. But the band is still one of the “big guns” in the hard rock world. Forming back in the late 70’s the bands’ stories of success and tragedy in the 80’s and 90’s is well documented but yet the group perseveres and here we have a new release “Songs From The Sparkle Lounge” to review.

The band seems to have “settled” into a familiar sound over the course of their last few albums and I guess this new one is not really that different when looked at as whole. Some have said records like “Slang” (1996) were too far off the bands classic sound. I for one loved that record and believe it or not it’s the album that made me a fan of the group (thanks Dennis!). Others said an album like “X” (2002) was too light and not rocking enough. It seemed no matter what the band couldn’t find a winning combination for fans.

For me, “Songs From The Sparkle Lounge” kind of lies somewhere in between the last 3 records the band has released. It has elements of “Euphoria”, “X” and the covers record “Yeah!” One thing noticeable right off the bat is they have went from the slick and ultra-glossy production they have been known for and went back to a more organic and in your face production and it’s refreshing.

The album opens with “Go” and the song has a strong ”Slang” record feel with its heavy and contemporary sound. Probably something some fans won’t dig but as I said earlier my feelings for that “Slang” sound are very strong.

The band throws everyone for a loop by bringing in country superstar Tim McGraw to guest on vocals for the first single “Nine Lives” and it works amazingly well. The band doesn’t try going country with their sound at all. The song is still very LEPPARD sounding and shows McGRAW can fit in the rock mold just fine.

“C’mon C’mon” brings the band back to more straight-ahead classic rock sound and just to make sure you’re paying attention I’ll say it sounds like something the Swiss band GOTTHARD did with the song “Lift “U” Up” from their 2005 “Lipservice” album.

“Love” brings the ballad of the record to light and it’s a little different sounding from the typical LEPPARD ballad. The song actually reminds me of QUEEN’s “Love Of My Life” for some strange reason! Perhaps it’s the arrangement or the orchestration or maybe the QUEEN-like backing vocals or most likely a combination of all three!

“Tomorrow” has something of a “Euphoria” album feel to it and those “who, who” backing vocals remind me of a certain U2 song! The guitar solo reminds me of something you’d hear on a later-day BON JOVI record also. Again the song is nothing original but it does remind one of the more “vintage” LEP sound at least.

“Cruise Control” brings the sound of the “Slang” record back with its contemporary feel but maybe just a slight bit more melodic and accessible in nature.

“Hallucinate” continues with the new-found straight ahead rock sound of DEF LEPPARD and I guess it just shows by this point how much the band must have been influenced with their last record “Yeah!”.

“Only The Good Die Young” has somewhat of a BEATLES vibe in the beginning and has one of the more memorable choruses (along with “Nine Lives”) of the album. Kudos is also to be given for the melodic (but short) guitar solo.

The band continues with its straight-ahead “rock-n-roll” approach with “Bad Actress”. The song sounds like it’s some long-lost leftover classic rock cover from the “Yeah!” album. It’s a different original sound then heard from the band in a while and if anything is something I could have heard from them in their earlier days.

“Come Undone” and “Gotta Let It Go” close out the album and have a similar vibe with the former perhaps being a bit more melodic in its approach. Again the songs are decent rock tracks but nothing ultimately memorable.

All in all this record probably won’t gain the band any new fans and the songs, all though not bad, probably won’t be remembered alongside the bands best tracks. The playing and execution of the album is great and the production is refreshing (from a usually over-produced DEF LEPPARD standpoint that is) but I ultimately have the feeling I’d be hard-pressed to remember many tracks a few years down the line.