My two biggest album dissapointments of 2008

[Kohli Rocks Entertainment]

I waited and waited for the new Extreme album and finally they released it in August. But, from the moment I put the cd in--I had a little frustration with the opening song, "Star." It sounds like a Queen - Tie Your Mother Down ripoff. And, the fact that they are all Queen fans--didn't they see that one coming? I like Run and Interface -- but the rest of the album -- just can't fully get into. I'd rather hear Nuno's other 9 million side projects. Did anyone notice how many albums/bands/projects he's been involved with -- I found a bunch of side project stuff on iTunes.

And, DEF LEPPARD -- that "Love" song just really killed it for me. Nine Lives, Cruise Control, and Hallucinate are worth a .99 iTunes buy each -- but not worth the price of a whole album. And, I've been a huge Def Leppard fan for years...but, seriously--WTF happened?

[Lithium]

Well, to be honest, what was there to expect?

[Shuffle]

Well, to be honest, what was there to expect?

I kinda agree though... I haven't heard the albums (only a song from each) and I have no interest to.

Edited January 25, 2009 by Soulseller

[BrandNewCadillac]

Well, to be honest, what was there to expect?

Haha, spot on.

These artists were past their prime over two decades ago.

[Tater Totts]

Whaddya expect when you hear the words "Extreme" and "Def Leppard".

Crap

[Kohli Rocks Entertainment]

Whaddya expect when you hear the words "Extreme" and "Def Leppard".

Normally, they both make great albums. I love Extreme's "III Sides To Every Story" and "Waiting For The Punchline." Nuno Bettencourt is an amazing musician--i'll give you that. But, once the album started off with a Queen ripoff--I started getting bored with the Cd.

DEF LEPPARD normally makes great music. "X" was the last great Def Leppard album. I love every album from that album and before. Can't believe they titled their covers album, "Yeah." They go from Pyromania to Hysteria to Adrenalize to Retroactive to Slang to Euphoria then to X and YEAH! On the new album, they have a song called, "Go!" I wonder if they were going to call the album, "Go." But, finally a good album title, "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge." Very bland album. I don't know what they were trying to accomplish with the "Love" song. That song kind of ruins the moment...

[KBear]

Both bands are singles bands for me. I dig a few tunes, but not the entire catalogue. The three Extreme songs I like I consider pretty awesome though. Stop the World, Rest in Peace, and Tragic Comic. All off of III Sides. Seven Sundays is pretty nice too actually. DL is quite the pansy band, but some of their singles are like sweet candy, you know they are bad for you but they taste really good.

So to me both bands were good for a few songs but the rest of their work was kind of poor. I wouldn't expect much from either band nowadays considering they are past their primes and were never that great to begin with.

Edited January 25, 2009 by KBear

[beebee_head]

I like the new Extreme record....Also an amazing live band.

[DirtyDeeds]

I don't think Extreme is that great, but Def Leppard kicks ass and usually has kicked ass for years. You're full of it if you want to say otherwise. They found their sound early on and they stuck with it. HAven't heard the whole Sparkle Lounge album, though.

[Lithium]

You're full of it if you want to say otherwise. They found their sound early on and they stuck with it.

You might be into it, but that's exactly what's so unappealing to most music listeners with bands like Def Leppard - they started off 30 years ago and they have played pretty much the exact same music since then. There's basically no variation or a hint of musical evolution over the years - you know exactly what you're gonna get before you listen to their newest album.

[Getizzyback]

I haven't heard the new Extreme, never really been into them, but as for the new Def Leppard, I will say it's better than I expected, I mean come on, the band has been around longer than most of the people on this forum have been alive!! If Joe Elliott hasn't thought of it by now, he never will! You can't fault their commitment to music, and really, these guys IMO have never put out anything that's not worth the purchase price....including Slang and Sparkle.

My 2 biggest disappointments were (byfar) were Metallica, and John Mellencamp's latest.

[DirtyDeeds]

You're full of it if you want to say otherwise. They found their sound early on and they stuck with it.

You might be into it, but that's exactly what's so unappealing to most music listeners with bands like Def Leppard - they started off 30 years ago and they have played pretty much the exact same music since then. There's basically no variation or a hint of musical evolution over the years - you know exactly what you're gonna get before you listen to their newest album.

But that's the awesome part. You're almost never disappointed because you know what you're going to get. It's not Pink Floyd or Simon and Garfunkel or Neil Young or whatever. There never was and never will be and should be any depth in the meaning of the music. It's just feel good music and always has been. And with bands like that, they each sort of find their sound. If you want a different sound, look for a different band. It would suck if you bought a Def Leppard album that sounded like something else besides Def Leppard.

[stacks on deck]

You're full of it if you want to say otherwise. They found their sound early on and they stuck with it.

You might be into it, but that's exactly what's so unappealing to most music listeners with bands like Def Leppard - they started off 30 years ago and they have played pretty much the exact same music since then. There's basically no variation or a hint of musical evolution over the years - you know exactly what you're gonna get before you listen to their newest album.

a lot of people find that comforting--that a band does the same thing over and over again throughout their career.

i find that boring. why would i want a band's album to sound like something they've already done? if i wanted that sound, i'd listen to the old one.

give me something new. bands should evolve. their first and last albums should be completely different.

[Lithium]

You're full of it if you want to say otherwise. They found their sound early on and they stuck with it.

You might be into it, but that's exactly what's so unappealing to most music listeners with bands like Def Leppard - they started off 30 years ago and they have played pretty much the exact same music since then. There's basically no variation or a hint of musical evolution over the years - you know exactly what you're gonna get before you listen to their newest album.

But that's the awesome part. You're almost never disappointed because you know what you're going to get. It's not Pink Floyd or Simon and Garfunkel or Neil Young or whatever. There never was and never will be and should be any depth in the meaning of the music. It's just feel good music and always has been. And with bands like that, they each sort of find their sound. If you want a different sound, look for a different band. It would suck if you bought a Def Leppard album that sounded like something else besides Def Leppard.

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

[DirtyDeeds]

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

Maybe I didn't phrase it quite well enough. What I meant is that the reason Def Leppard gets like 20 or more different songs played on any given classic rock radio station every day is not because they blow.

[P.A. Guns]

Def Leppard died when Steve Clark did.

[KBear]

Evolve or not evolve. Depends on the band and the evolution. I think most people would have preferred bands like Aerosmith or Metallica not to evolve. Evolving is great if it works, not so great if it doesn't. I like artists who do both, and for some it works and for others not. The music can be good in either case. And if you like an artist's signature sound enough you can just roll with it when s/he doesn't evolve. Usually I find though, that bands who do not evolve still make the same kind of music but it's usually not as good as their best work, which is most often done in their 20's and 30's. Also, most (if not all) artists will evolve to some degree, it's just some stay within a certain box whereas others do something completely different.

Edited January 25, 2009 by KBear

[Lithium]

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

Maybe I didn't phrase it quite well enough. What I meant is that the reason Def Leppard gets like 20 or more different songs played on any given classic rock radio station every day is not because they blow.

Your point? Popularity does not equal quality.

[DirtyDeeds]

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

Maybe I didn't phrase it quite well enough. What I meant is that the reason Def Leppard gets like 20 or more different songs played on any given classic rock radio station every day is not because they blow.

Your point? Popularity does not equal quality.

But popularity over decades sure does help the argument.

[stacks on deck]

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

Maybe I didn't phrase it quite well enough. What I meant is that the reason Def Leppard gets like 20 or more different songs played on any given classic rock radio station every day is not because they blow.

they get played on the radio so much because the listeners are just like you: okay with familiarity.

that's good in, say, chicken parmesan. if i order that, i want it to taste the same every time. but for music, i want it to be new.

i'm more likely to check out a band if i hear that they're nothing like anything anyone's heard before than if they sound like this band or that band.

[Lithium]

Yeah, you like that, and that's fine, but don't say that people who think differently are "full of it" just because you prefer safe music.

Maybe I didn't phrase it quite well enough. What I meant is that the reason Def Leppard gets like 20 or more different songs played on any given classic rock radio station every day is not because they blow.

Your point? Popularity does not equal quality.

But popularity over decades sure does help the argument.

How so? I'm sure a lot of people who are teenagers now will love and remember, say, The White Stripes in 20 years, that doesn't affect the quality of the music in any way.

[stacks on deck]

the whole 'if something is popular, then it must be good' argument is pretty hypocritical for you guys to be citing.

most people on this forum think lil' wayne is terrible when he's probably the most popular artist in the world right now.

Edited January 25, 2009 by stacks on deck

[Guest Apollo]

Hysteria KILLED what Def Leppard was.

Pour Some Sugar On Me?????????????? Def Leppard went from being an important HARD ROCK band to just another HAIR BAnd with that song and album.

[DirtyDeeds]

I'm over arguing "this band sucks because." I don't like Frank Sinatra, but tons of people still do, decades and decades later, so if means that much to so many people, he must not suck. Most music isn't all-encompassingly good. It will appeal to your baser instincts or it will appeal to your intellect or it will appeal in a variety of other ways. I no longer want to argue that one music listener is superior to another. I'm the type of listener who listens to zone out or to sing along and pump a fist. I rarely listen for other reasons. Def Leppard is the type of band that fills that desire very well, as I suspect it does for millions of others for the past 25 or so years. I'm sure the Jonas Brothers fulfill the desires of 9-year-olds very well for whatever those 9-year-old desires might be. All I'm saying is Def Leppard doesn't suck. If it does that much for so long for so many, it certainly has some kind of a quality to it. The same goes for Nirvana, who I absolutely hate. I never want to hear Nirvana, ever again. I hate Nirvana's music. But they don't suck.

[betterman]

I waited and waited for the new Extreme album and finally they released it in August. But, from the moment I put the cd in--I had a little frustration with the opening song, "Star." It sounds like a Queen - Tie Your Mother Down ripoff. And, the fact that they are all Queen fans--didn't they see that one coming? I like Run and Interface -- but the rest of the album -- just can't fully get into. I'd rather hear Nuno's other 9 million side projects. Did anyone notice how many albums/bands/projects he's been involved with -- I found a bunch of side project stuff on iTunes.

And, DEF LEPPARD -- that "Love" song just really killed it for me. Nine Lives, Cruise Control, and Hallucinate are worth a .99 iTunes buy each -- but not worth the price of a whole album. And, I've been a huge Def Leppard fan for years...but, seriously--WTF happened?

I think Leppard was much better than expected, the best album since Adrenalize.

Extreme was also good, but infact I might like Nuno`s solo projects more, and I agree on the Star song. But songs like Learn to love, Take us alive and Last hour are great songs.

by the way, i thing the best songs on Songs from sparkle lounge is "Love"(!), "Go" and "Cruise control"