Def Leppard (album)

Def Leppard is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 30 October 2015.[3] The band's first studio album since 2008's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career) and their first on earMUSIC Records, it became their seventh top ten album on the Billboard 200 after debuting at number 10.[4] The first single "Let's Go" was released 15 September 2015, alongside the artwork and track listing.

For the 1979 EP, see The Def Leppard E.P.

Def Leppard
Studio album by
Def Leppard
Released30 October 2015[1]
Recorded2014–2015
StudioJoe's Garage in Dublin, Ireland and Phil's Sweat Shop, California, US
Genre
Length52:39
Label
Producer
  • Ronan McHugh
  • Def Leppard
Def Leppard chronology
Viva! Hysteria
(2013)		 Def Leppard
(2015)		 And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit
(2017)
Singles from Def Leppard
  1. "Let's Go"
    Released: 15 September 2015
  2. "Dangerous"
    Released: 12 February 2016
  3. "Man Enough"
    Released: 4 April 2016
  4. "We Belong"
    Released: 8 December 2016
Music video
"We Belong" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

The album was produced by Ronan McHugh and Def Leppard. It won a 2016 Classic Rock Roll of Honours Award for Album of the Year.[5]

Background

In August 2015, singer Joe Elliott stated that the album would consist of 14 tracks with a running time of around 55 minutes. Regarding the sound of the album, he explained "It's just called Def Leppard because that's what it sounds like. It doesn't sound like any one specific era of Def Leppard. It's got everything. [...] Every single aspect of anything we've ever wanted to put out — acoustic, heavy, soft, slow, fast — it's there. That's why we call it Def Leppard because, just like Queen were, we're capable of coming up with vastly different kinds of songs."[3]

Guitarist Phil Collen referred to the album as "probably the most diverse thing we've done" as well as "the best thing we've done since Hysteria" as it contains "the loudest rock guitars we've ever had on some tracks." However, he stopped short of calling it an "experimental" album, instead saying that it's "more liberating and expressive".[3]

The album was recorded at Elliott's home studio, named Joe's Garage, in Dublin, Ireland.[6]

Singles
Classic Rock album fan pack

Vocalist Joe Elliott has described lead single and opening track, "Let's Go", as "a call to arms and a classic Def Leppard song. It's that three-minute pop-rock stuff with big chunky guitars and a big chorus. And it has that swaggering, mid-tempo rhythm, like "Pour Some Sugar on Me", and "Rock of Ages"." He described that the band wanted a familiar sounding song to introduce the album, being released several years after their previous album.[7]

Reception

Joe Elliott, observed Classic Rock, "is the first to admit that Leppard aren't Bob Dylan. Sometimes they're barely even Bob the Builder. But then that's the beauty of it – if ever a band were cliché-proof, it's Def Leppard. If nothing else, you have to admire their sheer brass balls. With its crackling guitar and nuclear-detonation bottom end, 'Let's Go' doesn't so much revisit 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' as move into its spare room, steal its cornflakes and start sleeping with its wife. But even that pales into insignificance next to the finger-poppin' white-boy funk of 'Are You Man Enough?', which rips off Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust' so shamelessly that it should come with its own stick-on handlebar moustaches… But for the most part, Def Leppard is the sound of a band who have rediscovered their sense of purpose."[8] Rating the album 3.5 out of 5, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Def Leppard is "a summation of where the band is now: they love the past, both their own and their inspirations, but they're not looking back, they're loving the life they live."[9]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Let's Go"
5:01
2."Dangerous"
3:26
3."Man Enough"
  • Collen
  • Elliott
3:54
4."We Belong"Elliott5:06
5."Invincible"
3:46
6."Sea of Love"Collen4:04
7."Energized"Collen3:23
8."All Time High"Elliott4:19
9."Battle of My Own"
  • Savage
  • Elliott
2:42
10."Broke 'N' Brokenhearted"
  • Collen
  • Elliott
3:17
11."Forever Young"
  • Collen
  • Elliott
2:22
12."Last Dance"Savage3:09
13."Wings of an Angel"
4:23
14."Blind Faith"
  • Collen
  • Campbell
  • Savage
  • Elliott
5:33
Total length:52:39
Classic Rock limited edition fan pack exclusive tracks
No.TitleLength
15."We Belong" (alternative vocal take)5:06
16."Let's Go" (UK radio edit)3:56
Japanese limited edition bonus track[10][11]
No.TitleLength
15."Last Dance" (Demo)3:09

Personnel
Def Leppard
  • Joe Elliott – lead & backing vocals, acoustic guitars
  • Phil Collen – guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "We Belong"
  • Vivian Campbell – guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "We Belong"
  • Rick Savage – bass guitar, backing vocals, additional guitars, co-lead vocals on "We Belong", lead vocals on "Last Dance (Demo)"
  • Rick Allen – drums, percussion, co-lead vocals on "We Belong"
Additional personnel
  • Debbi Blackwell-Cook – backing vocals on "Sea of Love"
  • Ronan McHugh – keyboards, bouzouki, Mellotron, producer, engineer

Charts

Weekly
Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 85
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 39
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16] 11
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 79
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 32
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[19] 33
Irish Albums (IRMA)[20] 57
Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] 36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 11
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[27] 1
US Billboard 200[4] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] 1

Year-end
Chart (2015) Rank
US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 39
Chart (2016) Rank
US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[32] 31
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[33] 50

References
  1. "Def Leppard Releases First Video Teaser For Forthcoming Album". Blabbermouth.net. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Def Leppard: "Def Leppard" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. "Def Leppard's Joe Elliott Explains Decision To Make New Album Self-Titled Affair". Blabbermouth.net. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. Caulfield, Keith. "Chris Stapleton Soars to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart After CMAs"," Billboard.com, 8 November 2015.
  5. "Sarah Geronimo bags Best Asian Performance award at 2016 Classic Rock Awards". Mindanaodailymirror.com. 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  6. "Def Leppard on the prowl once again as they return for Belfast concert". Belfast Telegraph. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. "Def Leppard's Joe Elliott on Donald Trump and Eighties Pride - Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2015.
  8. Everley, Dave: "Albums: Def Leppard"; Classic Rock #217, December 2015, p90
  9. "Def Leppard Def Leppard Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  10. "Def Leppardの「デフ・レパード」". Itunes.apple.com. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  11. "Def Leppard [Japan Bonus Track] [Regular Edition] DEF LEPPARD CD Album". Cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  12. "Australiancharts.com – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – Def Leppard – Def Leppard" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  14. "Ultratop.be – Def Leppard – Def Leppard" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Def Leppard – Def Leppard" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  16. "Def Leppard Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Def Leppard – Def Leppard" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  18. "Def Leppard: Def Leppard" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 45. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  20. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 45, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  21. "Italiancharts.com – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  22. "Charts.nz – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  24. "Swedishcharts.com – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Def Leppard – Def Leppard". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  27. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  28. "Def Leppard Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  29. "Def Leppard Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  30. "Def Leppard Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  31. "Hard Rock Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  32. "Hard Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  33. "Independent Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
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