Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

威豹合唱团 / 摇滚歌剧院

★与Queen、Kiss、Judas Priest共列“VHI1 Rock Honors摇滚荣耀”的英国经典摇滚大团★
☆睽违六年第十张大碟融合AC/DC的70年代早期之音与Led Zeppelin摇滚声线☆
★首波主打“Nine Lives”获选“Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock”电玩重点衬乐，请到乡村天后费丝希尔帅气老公Tim McGraw助声伴唱★

　　入选VH1频道“最佳硬式摇滚艺人”第31名，与Queen、Kiss、Judas Priest共同入列“VH1 Rock Honors摇滚荣耀”之林。Def Leppard光在美国便写下超过三千五百万张的专辑销量，无论摇滚风潮怎么吹，始终坚持旋律动听的乐曲铺陈，宣泄美式摇滚的力度，他们却是一组不折不扣的英国佬乐团。

　　来自英国中部工业都市的Def Leppard，在80年代初期开始发酵。1982年换上新任吉他手Phil Collen后，隔年问市的第三张专辑‘Pyromania’获得空前成功，美国大破千万销售，抱走一枚钻石唱片加冕。1984年鼓手Tony因车祸而丧失左臂，拜电脑所赐，以独一无二的电子鼓打击方式继续留在团内。1987年全球销售超过一千五百万张的‘Hysteria’，将其事业推向高峰。1989年药物与酒精过度滥用夺走Steve Clark的生命，带着悲恸进入90年代，请来曾是Dino、Whitesnake等团主奏吉他手Vivian Campbell加入，延续气势的将事业推向另一个高峰作‘Adrenlize’，直到风格逆转的‘Slang’、‘Euphoria’、‘X’与‘Yeah!’等专辑出版，绐终保持无比热力及企图心，更不轻易做解散的打算。

　　睽违六年之久，Def Leppard交出第十张大碟【Songs From The Sparkle Lounge】，主唱Joe Elliott表示：“这次融合了AC/DC的70年代早期之音，Led Zeppelin的摇滚声线。”当然还有许多惊喜暗藏辑中，首波主打“Nine Lives”，已获选“Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock”电玩重点衬乐，浓烈Country-Rock风格贯穿下，请到乡村天后费丝希尔帅气老公Tim McGraw合声伴唱，秀出Def Leppard大胆尝鲜的企图心；以Acoustic和多部和声引出之“Love”，搭配弦乐辅佐，呈现如Queen般的相似味觉；中板的“Tomorrow”透出Def Leppard最拿手的Catchy旋律之掌握，拥有极具商业排行的实力；重重吉他音墙围成，并不时大耍高超Solo技巧的“Hallucinate”，过瘾十足重温属于80摇滚之悍劲；“Bad Actress”则散发最狂野不羁的喧嚣霸气。出道将届满30年，相信他们仍能靠此大作屹立不摇的在英美两地市场出尽锋头！

Def Leppard, Great Britain's premiere arena rock band, is back with a bang--kicking off 2008 with the release of their 14th studio album and a U.S. arena concert tour scheduled for this spring. Entitled Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe), the album contains 11 new songs including the highly-anticipated single "Nine Lives" featuring a groundbreaking collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is Def Leppard's first album of brand new material since 2002's X and begins yet another remarkable new chapter in the band's 30-year recording career.

Recorded last year during month-long stints at lead singer Joe Elliott's Dublin studio, the album's title refers to a backstage area called "The Sparkle Lounge" on Def Leppard's 2006 tour where the band would go to write songs. Tracks from the album have been described by the group as written in the style of Hysteria, with the production of High 'n' Dry.

"The whole record's got a great '70s feel," said lead singer Joe Elliott. "By our standards, it's a very different album as we've been very adventurous, musically, on certain numbers. On the album there are classic Def Leppard songs and then there's also tracks that are very new-wave influenced while others sound like middle-to-late '70s AC/DC. There will definitely be some moments on it where anybody that's familiar with our music will go, 'Whoa! I wasn't expecting that!'"

The foundation for the album's collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw was layed at Def Leppard's 2006 Hollywood Bowl show where McGraw joined the band on stage for an encore performance of "Pour Some Sugar on Me." The artists stayed in touch following the performance, and when the band started writing the song "Nine Lives" they immediately thought of reaching out to McGraw to sing on it. Guitarist Phil Collen flew to Nashville to play it for McGraw who loved it and recorded the song in Nashville shortly after. Other standout tracks on the album include "Go," reminiscent of the band's classic track "Rocket" in its power and aggressive tribal beat; "Love," an emotive and moving epic song; and the anthemic "Tomorrow," a song written by guitarist Collen about the death of his father.

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards to their credit, Def Leppard--Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums)--continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists. The group's spectacular live shows, filled with powerful melodic rock anthems, have become synonymous with their name and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.