Yeah! is what a cover album should be. Not simply songs that were once popular and then redone note for note by a new band. Def Leppard reconstructs to what American ears might be obscure songs. These are songs that were instrumental (pun intended) in forming the band's taste in music in the 1970's. Either listeners will buy into the concept that these are song Def Leppard liked and wanted to do or they will complain that they didn't cover obvious songs or just retread one fo their old albums.

The end result is a solid album, frankly one of the best they have done for a long while. Perhaps it is because they could "be someone else" rather than the particularly contrived X album which was more of an unintended self-parody.

Yeah! is a great album for not only Def Leppard fans, but fans of the 1970's UK rock scene.

I picked up this latest Def Leppard CD as a birthday present for my good friend. I am so glad we got to listen to it together that afternoon at work, because this album is great.

Since the radio stations these days play nothing worth even mentioning many times new releases slip through the cracks, and I might have missed this one.

This is a fine tribute to some true masterpieces of British rock.

Every original version looms large in my collection and the Def's cover them in such a way as to actually make them their own. This is a fine example of how a great band has been influenced by other outstanding writers and musicians.

Give this a real listen.

Yeah? This disc should have been titled: "Hell, Yes!!!" Put this in your CD player and return to the glitter days of the early 70s. Although there are blatant hints on previous albums and videos, this collection affirms the sound that eventually would become Def Leppard. I always knew there was a reason why I had to get the latest album and stand in line to get tickets for the next tour. Luckily, I grew up on the shores of the north coast - I have caught Lep shows in four cities [Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and Toledo] at six different venues!

Since the liner notes explain the band's exposure to these artists, I would be amiss if I didn't share Glam Rock's availability in the Midwest. "The Buzzard - Cleveland's 101 FM WMMS" exposed north central Ohio to The Spiders from Mars, T-Rex, and Mott. At the time we had to drive toward the lake to get reception on our FM converters, but until we were in range the 8track blared Aladdin Sane, The Slider, or All the Young Dudes. Late night broadcasts of In Concert, The Midnight Special, or Don Kirshner's Rock Concert gave us the stunning visuals. Many a night was spent in front of the television with the sound turned down low for just a glimpse of Thin Lizzy or Queen or The Faces. David Essex and David Bowie appeared on the various variety hours, such as Sonny & Cher. I am definitely old enough to remember and have the fisticuffs scars to prove it. Across the pond, we didn't have a Glam Rock movement, so to speak. Our Glammers had a raw edge and very quickly morphed into Punk or New Wave.

Now, this album rocks from the opening chords and handclaps of "20th Century Boy" to the final drum roll and waning riff of "Stay With Me." The folksy harmonies on the aforementioned T-Rex track, "20th Century Boy," sharpen images of Marc Bolan, gliding on the stage. David Essex's "Rock On" - finally does. Phil and Viv shred, enough said. Technically, the next cut isn't really a Blondie song, but I've only heard Debbie Harry's version of the Nerves' "Hanging on the Telephone." If Blondie ripped it up in 1978, then Leppard mauls the tune in 2006. "Waterloo Sunset," from the Brothers Davies, a.k.a. The Kinks, never sounded sweeter. Speaking of Sweet, what would any respectable cover album from Sheffield be without at least one choice Sweet track? Personally, I still like Retroactive's "Action" better, but the band sufficiently rails out "Hell Raiser." ELO's "10538 Overture" eerily grabs onto the listener - not unlike "Desert Song." Again, the guitars scorch! Joe Elliot turns in one fine vocal performance on Roxy Music's "Street Life." Then he out does himself. The band's faithful cover of David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday" drips with the soul that would become the Thin White Duke from the transition period between "Diamond Dogs" and "Young Americans." Just when you think, "No way, can Joe top those vocals," he does. His bluesy pop chops are thoroughly satisfying on Free's "Little Bit of Love." Def Leppard oozes Mott the Hoople from the chunky guitars to the layered harmonies. "Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" is raucously fun - like it should be. A personal thanks to the band for including a remixed "No Matter What." I didn't plunk down my cash for this Badfinger song on Rock of Ages. Although it is a little too paint-by-numbers, it's cool. I never heard John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step on You Again," so now it's Leppardized. Thankfully, the next song also, falls into the paint-by-numbers category. For pure vibe, it is spooky how close the boys play Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word" - Joe channels Phil Lynott, while the band pays homage. As I said before the album closes with Phil Collen wailing The Faces' "Stay with Me," but Vivian Campbell's slide guitar really brings this fine collection of cover tunes to a close.

Is Def Leppard's latest album worth your money? Simply: YEAH!

The only thing wrong with Def Leppard's cover album is that it wasn't a double album. Sure, some of their song choices wouldn't have been mine. I may have chosen "Telegram Sam" or "All the Way from Memphis" or "Starman" or "Fox on the Run," but the band will need some B-sides... And then there might be a Retroactive-Revisted. Also, there should have been a Led Zeppelin song, perhaps, "D'yer Mak'er," and I would have thoroughly enjoyed The Hollies' "Long Cool Woman."

For those who are too young to remember the album jackets depicted in the liner notes - Here we go: Rick Savage: Freddy Mercury on Queen II; Vivian Campbell: Marc Bolan on Electric Warrior; Joe Elliott: David Bowie on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; Rick Allen: Lou Reed on Transformer; and Phil Collen: Iggy Pop on Raw Power. The album wear on Joe's photo is a nice touch.

One final comment: I got the Wal-Mart bonus disc, so Joe, how about a video for "Space Oddity." I envision you, as Major Tom... And wouldn't it be a kick, if David Bowie reprised the role of Ground Control. I believe the world needs to hear you sing with one of your greatest influences. It would be an instant classic, like Bing and Bowie!

Def Leppard always was sort of a glam rock band. Lyrics and videos for "Armageddon It", "RockIt", "Photograph", and other hit tunes were full of glam references. So, it's no big surprise that they've done a cover-album full of 1970s glam and hard rock.

The resulting album is a great rock & roll record -- Def Leppard's best album since Hysteria. Most cover albums get bogged down in reverence or ambition: artists either give listeners interpretations that are straight copies or ridiculous reinterpretations as they try to make a favorite song their own. Here, Def Leppard alternate between fairly faithful renditions of familiar classics like T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Badfinger's "No Matter What," or Rod Stewart's "Stay With Me", and some rocked out re-makes like David Essex's "Rock On," which is a more straighforwared power-rock song than the original, and Electric Light Orchestra's psychedelic "10538 Overture," is re-done to sound like a Def-Leppard power-metal original song. The reworking of THE KINKS' "Waterloo Sunset," will probably anger KINKS purists, but then so did VAN HALEN's version of "You Really Got Me".

With Yeah!, Def Leppard is reconnecting with the reason why they're a band at all, playing the rock-songs that inspired them in the first place. They sound like they've been reinvigorated by this material. After hearing these songs, it's easier to appreciate what made Def Leppard themselves such a big-name rock band. They had deep roots in good original material.

The only place they fall short is when they try to top some real rock heavyweights. Compare their versions of FREE's "A Little Bit of Love" or THIN LIZZY's "Don't Believe a Word" to the originals. These guys are not as big-and-bluesy as FREE, but the huge riff that drives the song is clearly part of what became Def Leppard's signature sound. THIN LIZZY's "Don't Believe a Word" works much better, and like the original, it's built on twin guitar harmonies. But THIN LIZZY's own version on 'Live And Dangerous' still remains the song's definitive recorded version.

But the slip on the mega heavy tunes is quickly forgotten on songs like "No matter What" (BadFinger) and "Street Life" (Roxy Music), both of which actually sound better than the originals here.

The raw take on the Faces' "Stay with Me" is far tighter than the original (how could it not be?), but it's just as raunchy and captivating. It's sung by guitarist Phil Collen, whose vocal qualities are a lot like a young, energetic Rocking Rod Stewart. Stewart himself could probably not equal Def Leppard's performance of the song today.

They didn't lose their identity -- still sound like Def Leppard here; the cavernous drums, huge guitars, and driving harmonies -- but they no longer sound slick and calculated (like they did on post-Hysteria albums). Here they sound alive and intense, making the case that they are their own best producers. If they can carry this sound and feel onto an album of originals, they have one truly great record in the making.

YEAH!. Is a killer record in its own right, and more fun than anything else yet released in 2006. Very few bands could make an artistic comeback with a covers album. But this CD reminds everyone that there are very few bands like Def Leppard.

OVERALL RATING: 9/10 (4.5 stars)

"Hey Kid, Rock and Roll, Rock On!" As a child of the 1970's, I can certainly appreciate and would recommend Def Leppard's new release, "Yeah!," which is a covers CD featuring music largely from 70's artists such as Badfinger, T-Rex and The Sweet. To simply call this a "covers album," in my personal opinion, is selling the Leps a bit short. Any artist can record a remake of someone else's song, but the band has gone a quite a bit above and beyond that point with "Yeah!." They've managed to put the Def Leppard sound and "touch" on each and every track on the CD while still preserving the basic integrity of each song, and that's not an easy thing to do. That is what makes "Yeah" a fun, energetic and brilliant listen. Though this CD isn't an original studio album (and those fans complaining that this is just another rehash CD, relax, I am sure Def Leppard will have an offering of new material in the pipeline!) older fans will be able to appreciate the musical flashback to their youth while younger fans perhaps not old enough to recall the original 70's versions of these songs will most definitely still be able to get into the music because of the fresh, new way in which the band delivers the material. I most definitely like the fact that Def Leppard did not take the easy way out with this CD by just simply doing "the hits" everyone knows. Yes, there are some popular radio hits like David Essex's "Rock On" and Badfinger's "No Matter What," but there are also more lesser known tracks (to radio audiences perhaps) such as the Kink's "Waterloo Sunset" and Mott the Hoople's "The Golden Age of Rock and Roll." Regardless of song popularity, all of the tracks are wonderfully executed, with Joe Elliott's voice sounding cooler than ever and the rest of the band sounding very tight; specifically the twin guitar efforts of Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen who manage to put all the famous riffs we remember with these tracks in the right places. (A listen to the start of the opening track, "20th Century Boy," demonstrates that very well!) As I listened to this CD and have watched the band perform some of these songs on recent television appearances I really get the impression that Def Leppard had a lot of fun with this project. If they were trying to convey a message about why they did a covers CD in the first place, it seems to be that they're saying, "This is why we do what we do." They certainly do it well and let's hope they continue to do what they do for a long time to come!