Def Leppard Album: “Slang”

Def Leppard took the old phrase and lived by it with this CD. In response to the dark grunge music that was flooding the airwaves and MTV at the time, Def Leppard showed they could easily run with the dark masses from Seattle. Slang is complete departure from Leppard's previous work and shows just how versatile and talented these guys really are. You want grunge, they can give it to you, and it's really good too. Hey guys, can you do some country? (just kidding) Slang is dark, moody, and some what disturbing. The fact this album is better overall musically then many of the grunge bands shows that grunge is a fad, and will eventually die out, leaving the really talented bands in place progressively developing their own music. This CD may have been a marketing mistake for the band, but it still has plenty of merit, and anyone who truly likes them will see past the change of pace and see what is really great about Slang.

I really can't believe this CD never got any more publicity or airplay than it did. True it was a completely different sound from anything Def Lep had done before but the tunes on here sounded so much like what was getting played on the rock stations of the mid-late nineties that you would think it would have been a hit. I wonder sometimes had they released this under a different band's name what would have happened. Seems almost like rock radio was prejudiced against Def Leppard because hair-metal, arena rock was pretty much dead by the mid-nineties. They were trying to go in a more modern direction but their fans from the 80's didn't like this new direction and the alt-rock fans pictured them as a hair metal band so they were left with no audience. There are some really strong songs on here like "Work It Out", "Slang", "All I want is Everything". "Blood Runs Cold" is a great slower song. "Truth is a great alt-rock song. Yes, alt-rock. Nothing hair metal about this song. People should give this CD a chance. It's really good.

Before you scream, I'll admit that this is not the best example of the sound that made Def Leppard a hard rock heavyweight in the 80's. For that, you need to look elsewhere (namely "Pyromania" and "Hysteria"). However, if you ignore for one moment your preconceived notions of this band and give this record a simple listen as if it were an anonymous piece of music, you might be likely to agree that this is one of the greatest, most adventurous album experiences you'll ever hear. This is by far the most mature, subtly complex music that Def Leppard ever recorded, and as a result, my favorite not only of their albums, but a top ten contender on my all time list. Everything is so different on "Slang," you'd think that this band had just come out of the gate. The guitar work on songs like "Turn to Dust" and "Pearl of Euphoria" is inspiring because of its simplicity. The latter song, the album's best track and coda, might as well have belonged to Led Zeppelin. The ballads, particularly "All I Want Is Everything" and "Where Does Love Go When It Dies," are for once sincere and moving, devoid of the usual mushiness that has become a trademark. "Blood Runs Cold," supposedly written about their late guitarist Steve Clark, is poignant in the same way that "Deliver Me" is haunting. Even the title track, the closest thing to traditional Leppard fare, is fresher and more creatively fun than most of their previous songs of the same blend. It is a shame that this material's commercial failure has since forced the band to return to its safer pop sensibilities, instead of allowing them the opportunity to delve into this territory even further, and in essence, grow as musicians and songwriters. We'll never know what could have been. Don't get me wrong, I champion the fun and good times of their 80's heyday as much as any fan. But whereas those albums were strictly geared towards escapist entertainment, "Slang" is the only example of Def Leppard's music that actually touched upon genuine artistry.

Slang is one of my favorites right behind On Through the Night and Pyromania. Nice mix of ballads, new age touches and melodic rockers. This was a total departure with only a few exceptions. Joe is probably in his finest vocally, considering he was always less than perfect in that department. Here's how I rated Slang.

1. Truth - An angry new age rocker with a dark wall of sound. 7/10

2. Turn to Dust - Eastern flavored with a pretty much vintage Def Leppard chorus. 7/10

3. Slang - Joe raps on this one but catchy. 6/10

4. All I want is Everything - Great Ballad, probably the best ballad they ever done and best song on Slang. 10/10

5. Work it Out - Very nice sonically with honest lyrics and music. 8/10

6. Breathe a Sigh - Attempt at R&B, sound pretty [...]. 4/10

7. Deliver Me - Stark and seroius rocker. Best rocker on the album! 9/10

8. Gift of Flesh - Perfect song after Deliver Me. Very alternative sounding while maintaing their signature sound. 8/10

9. Blood Runs Cold - Nice, spacey ballad, solid vocals from Joe. 8/10

10. Where Does Love Go When it Dies? - Very elegant acoustic and electric guitars with great backing harmonies. 8/10

11. Pearl of Euphoria - Too long and stays in mid tempo rut. 5/10

Overall = 6.5 Solid record

This album got a lot of flack from fans and from critics. I'm not sure why. I think it probably is because this is not an in your face rocking album. But that does not mean it doesn't rock. It is a very experimental album for Def Leppard, but they've done that before. Think of the leap musically between Pyromania and Hysteria. This is a more subtle album than anything they had done previously, and much darker. Come to think of it, that is probably why it has been slammed on. It seems that many people want a band to kick out the same album over and over, and not have an artist as musician stretch his/her/them-selves. I don't want to hear Hysteria again. I have it and love it. But if I want to hear it, I'll put it on my CD player. I admit it took me a few listens to really enjoy this album. And that at first I thought it was a bit wimpy. But then I listened to the intricate, subtle guitar work of songs like Truth and Work It Out. And I began to understand and feel the anger and despair in songs like Truth and Gift of Flesh. Yes, it's dark and disturbing at times. Yes, it's not slam in your face rock 'n roll (excpet for the song Slang). Much more subtle like Animal and Diehard the Hunter. And yes, musically it pushed the band into areas many were afraid to explore. Too bad more people didn't explore it with them and give it a second listen to really appreciate the musicianship on this wonderful album.