Top 10 albums of the Decade (2000-2009)

10. Chicago Stone of Sisyphus (2008, recorded in 1993) This was the last album Chicago recorded that they really believed in. Recorded in 1993 and produced by Austrian Peter Wolf. This was the first album Chicago recorded since Chicago XI that had no songs by outside writers. All of the songs on the album were either written or co-written with at least one member of the band. While there were some session musicians performing on the album, the reliance on session musicians was considerably less than on Chicago's albums from the eighties. As such this is likely the last Chicago album of original material that actually IS a Chicago album. It falls in at #10 for 2 reasons. The omission of the song Get On This which appears on many of the bootleg versions of the album that had/have been floating around since it was originally supposed to have been released on March 22, 1994 and the 14 year delay in the album's release. Technically this is a 90s album. It sneaks onto this list based on the technicality of its official release. (note, the review I've linked to is of the bootleg version, not the official release of the album).

9. Def Leppard Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008) This is easily the best new album from Def Leppard since Adrenalize and possibly even since Hysteria. It's a return to form after the abysmal X (the sleeve made a great bird cage liner and the CD made for a passable coaster). It's an extraploation of their 2006 covers album, Yeah! which was also thoroughly enjoyable but misses the list as its covers and not original material.

8. CTA Full Circle (2007) After being voted out of the band he helped found, drummer Danny Seraphine dropped off the radar for over fifteen years. Upon resurfacing he put together California Transit Authority. On their debut album they did primarily covers of Danny's material with Chicago. These new arrangements of Chicago classics are much more faithful to the spirit of the band Chicago once was than the new material that Chicago has been releasing in more recent years (incidentally, since Danny's departure). Seraphine found a chemistry with guitarist Marc Bonilla that he hasn't felt with any guitarist since the passing of the late great Terry Kath. You can hear that chemistry on every track. There are some excellent contemporary arrangements of some of Chicago's more obscure songs (Happy Cause I'm Going Home for example). Whether or not you're a fan of Chicago, this is an excellent album as it really takes their material to a different level.

7. OSI Free (2006) In 2003 former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore teamed up with guitarist Jim Matheos of Fates Warning and his former bandmate, drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater to form OSI. Their self titled debut was thoroughly enjoyable ambient metal. Their 2006 follow-up was an extrapolation and a substantial improvement over their debut.

6. My Chemical Romance Welcome to the Black Parade (2006) Love it or hate it, emo was there and hard to miss around the middle of the decade. Personally I'm not generally a fan of emo, but Welcome to the Black Parade transcended the genre. The classic rock influences were undeniable. There was a strange Queen meets Pink Floyd meets Green Day vibe dripping from almost every song. There's an anthemic quality to many of the stronger tracks on the album (and the strong tracks comprise most of the album).

5. Verve Pipe Underneath (2000) While I didn't "discover" this particular album until 2002 it really struck a chord with me. Brian Vander Ark (whom I had the pleasure of meeting in 1996 when the Verve Pipe performed at my alma mater my freshman year) is a brilliant lyricist and on this album, moreso than any other Verve Pipe album, the lyrics really spoke to me. I was at a point in my life where I was spinning my wheels and this album was an emotional road map guiding me back to where I needed to be.

4. Porcupine Tree In Absentia (2003) By the time In Absentia was released, Steve Wilson and co. had already well established themselves in England on their previous releases. This was the album that introduced Porcupine Tree to the US audience. While the album cover is arguably a bit disturbing or even off-putting for some, the music is brilliant. There's an ambient vibe reminiscent of Pink Floyd with some subtle heavy metal hints that suggest a slight Dream Theater (incidentally, Porcupine Tree's drummer, Gavin Harrison, ended up replacing Mike Portnoy in OSI, on their 3rd release, Blood) influence creating a sound and style that is unique to Porcupine Tree.

3. Steve Lukather Ever Changing Times (2008) Around the same time that the sun was setting on the remarkable thirty-one year run of his band, Toto, Steve Lukather recorded Ever Changing Times. This marked his first full album of original material since Luke (1997). This is a decidedly more polished and also more well-rounded release than the gritty raw crunch of Luke. Lukather explores his various different influences from jazz fusion to AOR to hard rock. His guitar playing is superb and while he's not known for his voice, it certainly fits the material he is performing with the soulful grit he came to be known for in Toto.

2. Dream Theater Train of Thought (2003) (oddly enough, I haven't yet reviewed this one) After the at times brilliant and at times mediocre Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Dream Theater released the much heavier metal onslaught of Train of Thought. Despite only having 7 tracks, the album clocks in at just over an hour long. The first four songs given the listener a relentless full speed ahead progressive metal onslaught before the slow melancholic 3 minute pause of Vacant giving the listener just enough time to catch his or her breath before putting the accelerator back to the floor for the final two tracks. This is easily Dream Theater's heaviest album ever and I'd argue their best of this decade (although this year's Black Clouds and Silver Linings does come close to matching Train of Thought's brilliance). The early Metallica and Pantera influences are unmistakable.

1. Toto Falling in Between (2006) It's bittersweet that this ended up being Toto's final album as it also was, imho, their best. After a revolving door of lead singers in the 80s, Bobby Kimball returned to the fold in 1998 after a 14 year "vacation" (as Steve Lukather said on the '98 tour, "you'd think he'd have a f***in' tan!"). With Bobby's return Toto grew progressively better starting with 1999's Mindfields followed shortly thereafter by their 2002 covers album Through the Looking Glass and culminating with Falling in Between. There's not a weak song on the album, the addition of grammy winning keyboardist/vocalist, Greg Phillenganes, was a welcome one (Phillenganes initially joined to replace David Paich on tour as Paich had retired from touring, but was still an active member of the band in the studio). There's a strong organic cohesiveness to the album. While Toto had remained popular in Europe and Asia they'd largely fallen off the radar in their native USA. It's unfortunate as that has left this great album largely unheard by domestic ears. For whatever reason, the critics never really warmed to Toto despite their commercial successes. Some would say it was a fluke that Toto IV essentially swept the 1983 grammies (Record of the Year - Rosanna, Album of the Year - Toto IV, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals - Rosanna, Best Vocal Arrangement for 2 or more vocalists - Rosanna, Best Engineered Recording Non Classical - Toto IV, Producer of the Year - Toto) but there's no denying the eclecticism and musical brilliance of Falling in Between. If they had to go out, at least it was with a bang, not a whimper.

Honorable Mentions
Velvet Revolver Libertad, Them Crooked Vultures, Guns 'n' Roses Chinese Democracy (it was surprisngly better than expected, but the bar was set pretty low given the length of time it took to release the album), Brian Vander Ark Resurrection, Ben Folds Rockin the Suburbs, Dream Theater Black Clouds & Silver Linings, OSI Blood, Dream Theater Systematic Chaos, Ben Folds Songs for Silverman, Robert Lamm Subtlety and Passion, Sons of Champlin Hip Li'l Dreams

Def Leppard - Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

So the "Sparkle Lounge" sounds more like Liberace's living room than anything one might associate with Def Leppard. But in reality, the "Sparkle Lounge" was where the band would get together while on tour to work on new material. This album is the fruits of those musical labors.

Simply put this is a step back in the right direction after the terrible misstep of 2002's X which left some fans (including this one) wondering if in addition to being deaf, the Lep might also be a eunuch.

2006's cover album Yeah! showed some promise, but being a covers album it was tough to discern whether the Lep had regained their swagger or if they were just aping the swagger of the bands/musicians they were covering.

Luckily, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge confirms that the Lep has indeed regained their swagger and attitude. With only one slow song, Love the album is considerably more uptempo and rollicking than the band has been since 1999's Euphoria album. If anything the material is considerably stronger than that on Euphoria making this possibly their strongest album since the passing of guitarist Steve Clark.

The music is catchy and upbeat, the harmonies are there, the driving guitars are there, and you can even hear Lep tipping a hat to the likes of ELO and Queen on Love which, with its grandiose strings and tight harmonies, is one of the band's best slow songs in quite awhile.

The one weak point-- the lyrics. Granted, Def Leppard's lyrics have never been within the realm of deep or profound and the one album in which they did go deep (1996's Slang) was not well received because it was largely not what the fans had come to love and expect of the band. The lyrics are traditional Def Leppard, simple and to the point but the low point on the album is Bad Actress which musically is a solid song but the lyrics are so cheesy and lamer than any of the recent ill-fated Kentucky Derby horses that it really takes away from a song that had the potential to be so much better.

Returning to good fun hair metal that put them on the map in the eighties was a recipe for success and this album is a true return to form of what this band is truly capable of. Fans of the High 'n' Dry through Hysteria era should be quite happy with this album.

Related Links
Def Leppard Songs from the Sparkle Lounge on Amazon.com
Def Leppard Slang review
Def Leppard Euphoria review
Def Leppard Yeah! review

Def Leppard - Euphoria (1999)

After exorcising their demons on the deeply personal (and some would argue overly somber) Slang album 3 years prior, Def Leppard seemed to have regained their footing with 1999's Euphoria.

The band seems to have picked up where they'd left off with 1992's Adrenalize, there's a fun energy to Euphoria that's reminiscent of their Pyromania and Hysteria albums. Someone apparently neglected to remind the Lep that it was no longer 1992, and while many of the songs on this album would have likely been hits in a pre-grunge era. The sonic wall of guitars and vocal harmonies that Mutt Lange had perfected as their producer on their eighties albums is certainly still there. Their tongues are still planted firmly in their cheeks with songs like Demolition Man, All Night, and Back in Your Face Again (the latter of which would not sound out of place at an NHL hockey game), and their softer side was evidently still present on songs like Goodbye and It's Only Love.

It's never been any secret that Def Leppard was influenced by the late Marc Bolan, and perhaps they've found the perfect match to Bolan's 21st Century Boy with their very own 21st Century Sha-La-La Girl. A tip of the hat to the late Bolan, perhaps?

Ten years earlier and this album would have been a huge hit to follow up on the success of 1987's Hysteria. Sadly the audience of 1999 wasn't as conducive to the fun-loving rock of this enjoyable, if underrated band. Thus the album went largely ignored by the general listening public, much to their detriment.

Def Leppard - Slang (1996)

By the mid-nineties the very style of music which had made Def Leppard's Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987) albums so popular was as good as dead. After hiring former Dio guitarist, Vivian Campbell to replace the late Steve Clark, Def Leppard opted to re-invent themselves in the image of the music of that era.

Disposing of not only the logo but also the bombastic, fun, over-the-top glam/hair metal that had graced all of their previous albums the Lep entered uncharted territory.

While some may argue that Slang was a failed experiment-- credit must be given to Def Leppard for at least attempting to reinvent themselves, rather than sticking to the same tried and true formula of their previous albums.

Other than the title track, there's nothing on this album that would have fit on any other Def Leppard album. The musical style is more spare, minimal, and generally "naked." Some would say that the greatest flaw of Slang is that much of the music is far too serious or too dark. People who were expecting the fun of Rocket, Rock of Ages, Pour Some Sugar On Me, or Armageddon It instead got songs that dealt with death, suicide, and other similarly somber topics. This wasn't the Def Leppard the fans had come to know and love in the eighties and the resulting lukewarm reception was quite evident in its modest sales.

Stand-out tracks include Breathe a Sigh (which has my favorite misheard lyric EVER*), Slang, Work it Out, Pearl of Euphoria, and Where Does Love Go When It Dies. But, that being said, this isn't a singles album-- the album as a whole is actually greater than the sum of its parts.

With over ten years having passed since Slang's release one can offer a bit more objectivity-- hindsight, if you will. While this wasn't the "fun" Def Leppard of the eighties it, very likely, was an album the band HAD to make. Prior to this album, the band hadn't really dealt with the death of guitarist, Steve Clark. As much as it is a change of direction, it was the band's way of getting past Clark's death and moving on with their lives.

Three years later with Euphoria the band would get back to that fun-loving, happy-go-lucky pop-metal of the Hysteria era. But sometimes a band needs to take a step in a different direction, a personal re-evaluation, before they can move forward. Slang was just that for the Lep.


*the first time I heard the lyric "I more than long for your affection" as "I mow the lawn for your affection."

Def Leppard - Yeah! (2006)

Sometimes you want music that makes you think—that makes you re-evaluate certain long held opinions you may have. Other times you just want music that’s just plain fun—pure mental vacation. This is the music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s not music for the sake of music, it’s not music for the sake of the almighty dollar, it’s music purely for fun.

Def Leppard is fun, they always have been, their new album Yeah! is no exception. Generally cover albums are “stop-gaps” to buy time for the band to finish working on original material without the band falling out of the public spotlight. Generally they’re hit or miss, and many fans consider them “cop-outs”—after all we fans have heard the same old song before. We want something new!

What makes Yeah! work where other cover albums have failed is Def Leppard’s song selection. These are all songs by bands that influenced the various members of Def Leppard in their youth. With many of the groups/musicians they chose to cover—they didn’t go with the obvious—with T-Rex a lesser band would have covered Bang a Gong (Get It On), Def Leppard chose 20th Century Boy; for Sweet one might expect Ballroom Blitz or possibly Fox on the Run, but they chose Hell Raiser; for Free just about anyone would expect All Right Now, but instead they went with Little Bit of Love, with ELO the obvious would have been Don’t Bring Me Down (or possibly Do Ya?), but Def Leppard instead went with 10538 Overture.

Some of these songs Def Leppard is exactly the band you’d expect to cover them—Hell Raiser is probably the most obvious. On their Retro-Active CD the Lep chose to cover Sweet’s Action to great effect. Perhaps because Sweet was to the seventies what Def Leppard was to the eighties. Pure glam-rock fun, not at all pretentious, just good old fashioned rock and roll fun (with a bit of hairspray thrown into the mix for good measure).

Other songs are less obvious, although still (in some cases surprisingly so) quite respectable covers—The Kinks Waterloo Sunset, ELO’s 10538 Overture, David Essex’s Rock On, and Roxy Music’s Street Life all fall within that category.

After 2002’s X, which bored me to tears after only a couple of spins in my CD player, I was a bit apprehensive, but the price was right and I figured after High ‘n’ Dry, Pyromania, and Hysteria Def Leppard had more than earned a second chance. These guys may not be the band to make you think about the ills of the world, their music isn’t what one might hear in a Starbucks, and it certainly will never be considered high art—but there’s already plenty of that kind of music out there. Def Leppard is fun, that’s what people listen to them for and Yeah! is just the kind of album that can re-establish their reputation with a new generation of fans.