Def Leppard took three years to create “Hysteria,” and perhaps as a result, it is one of my least favorite Leps records.
Rock ‘n’ roll shouldn’t sound like it’s been thought out for three years. It should sound spontaneous, dangerous, and fun.
Basically, it should sound like “Diamond Dogs.”
And on their second album in as many years, Sulo, The Duke Of Honk (if I’m honest, my favourite name in all of music), and the boys have pulled out all the stops and made the album they’ve always wanted to.
It starts with a homage to rock ‘n’ roll itself. “Get A Rock ‘N’ Roll Record” is as anthemic as you like, and, more prosaically, it’s the noise I’ve had in my head since I heard the band when I was part of the Changes One Record Club at the outset of the Internet.
More than that, though, it’s the sort of noise I fell in love with in 1989 when I heard bands like The Quireboys (whose T-shirt I’m wearing as I type this) and a little later, the Black Crowes.
“Blight The Life” sounds like The Faces. Everyone told The Quireboys did too, but I was 14, and I’d never heard them. I have now. So have Diamond Dogs, and no one cares. The sound is built on Honk’s piano and a healthy dose of soul. “Wring It Out” is loose and getting the drinks in, “Guru’s And Gangsters” is so classic-sounding that Elvis might have left it behind in Sun Studios, and even 30 years ago, these boys could write a hook (they worked with Max Martin early on, before he worked with Britney Spears), and they’ve lost none of that. “Down On The Debris Field” is your proof.
There’s a beautiful ballad with “On A Whim,” but “Desiree, Yet Another Lonely Mile” is so much more them. Right down to the violins for added country.
“Keep Dripping Down” adds a glorious layer of harmony, and when he sings “mark my words, it’s the last time,” Sulo is fooling no one. This never ends. We all know it.
The foray into folk for “Old Timer” is welcome and surprising, but let’s be honest here, wherever it goes, “Crack” still sounds like the double D’s.
There’s such glee in the swing of “Heart Gone Wrong” that all has to be right with the world, and not only does “Blowout Game” start with a solo, but it’s also got handicaps for fun and a near Lizzy guitar riff. Add some cowbell, and all the things I love most are right here.
“Rising From The Ruins (Of Rock ‘N’ Roll)” is almost a companion piece to the opener, and it’s hard to imagine that rock ‘n’ roll will ever die as long as it’s in the heart of gangs like this.
More than once here, they talk about “you might as well have some fun.” That gets to the heart of “Hardest Nut To Crack,” and if that was the aim, they’ve cracked it, you might say.
Rating: 9/10
