I'm not gonna get you feel bored with DEF LEPPARD's biography, we all know it. The band that managed to get through so many things, from Rick Allen's accident, to Steve Clark's death and from N.W.O.B.H.M.'s inexistence to the Hysteria multi-million selling success is a giant big leap that only DEF LEPPARD managed to make and survive. After Robert Mutt Lange left the band for Shania Twain's love,  DEF LEPPARD are trying to re-create the Hysteria feeling with a number of major failures such as Slang!, X and Yeah!.

Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is their tenth studio album and the rumor that they were gonna bring the production magician Robert Lange back, made my hopes even higher. But this legendary re-union never happened. Yes, I believe the result of this album is better than Slang! and X, but once more the Hysteria 'ghost' will always haunt this quintet.

The album opens with Go, and the Adrenalize feeling is here. Phil Collen is an exceptional guitar player and knows how to create music through the effects he uses. Nine Lives includes the guest appearance of country singer Tim McGraw and has a great groovy feeling with the edgy guitars that we have missed from LEPPARD's music. The band's efforts to reach the level of Hysteria is visible from the first audition, their failure is in front of you as well. Love is the ballad that every LEPPARD album should have, with obvious QUEEN influences in the diminished chords and the perfect backing vocals. The song Tomorrow could easily replace the opening title's song in the Friends spin off series Joey with a catchy chorus and some major scale melody. The rest of the songs are in the same level, with nothing special to offer to the disappointed DEF LEPPARD fans.

Musically, Songs From The Sparkle Loungea has nice ideas, but they get lost in the wrong production; maybe this could be the album that DEF LEPPARD were looking to release for years now. I guess we will never know the final result if Mutt Lange was involved in Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. Until then, I' m gonna stick to my High N' Dry era DEF LEPPARD's memories.