Def
Leppard-Yeah!
(Island)
For
their first all-covers CD, these 80s metal heads surprise by avoiding the
obvious classic rock influences – Led Zep, Cream, the Who – and instead turn
out to be closet glam rock freaks with a few other surprises up their
sleeves.
It
all makes sense when you read the band’s liner notes about growing up in 70s
England, addicted to Top of the Pops.
This
CD was previewed by their single last year of Badfinger's
“No Matter What,” which is
also present here in a slightly remixed version and is as the band suggests,
a near perfect song. They also do a rocking version of T-Rex’s “20th
Century Boy” and impress with pulling out Roxy Music’s “Street Life,” not
only a good song but rather low down in that band’s songbook as a tune
likely to be chosen for a cover.
They
also slip in a little punk with a cool cover of Blondie’s “Hanging on the
Telephone.” There is some odd rock soul, John Kongas’ “She’s Gonna Step on
You Again,” which was covered by the Happy Mondays (as
"Step On '91") in Def’s heyday and
also became possibly the most sampled song in hip hop, with its distinct
yelping background anchoring Rob Base and EZ Rock’s “It Takes Two,” Janet
Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and many others. Probably the prettiest song here is a slightly
muscled up cover of the Kinks’ classic Brit Pop winsome
beauty “Waterloo Sunset.”
However, some of these choices are a little odd. Come on, couldn’t they
come up with a better Electric Light Orchestra song than “10538 Overture?”
Also, no matter how often people try to ram it down my throat; I still don’t
get David Essex’s “Rock On.”
Overall, though, Yeah! is a fun tribute to Def Leppard’s roots. (6/06)
