Leppard back with diverse album – Smith returns with ‘Saddest Song’ of life

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This CD cover image released by Mailboat Records shows the self-titled album for Def Leppard. (AP)
This CD cover image released by Mailboat Records shows the self-titled album for Def Leppard. (AP)

NEW YORK, Nov 3, (Agencies):  Def Leppard, “Def Leppard” (Mailboat Records)

With a diverse set of songs that range from potential arena anthems to driving rock ballads, it seems pretty obvious that Def Leppard wasn’t taking any chances on their eponymously titled new album.

And who could blame them. It’s hard for a band to recapture that sound of a particular era, and even harder for fans to accept something out of character from the band. So they did the next best thing: capture the spirit of their earlier work, while maintaining a strong sense of freshness on their first album of new songs since 2008.

That’s kind of special coming from a band that made their bones in the late 1980s with catchy hard rock tunes. Resting on the laurels of the mega-selling albums “Pyromania” and “Hysteria” from decades ago, the band has enjoyed a long career of live performances that continue to thrill its fan base.

But frontman Joe Elliott has always proclaimed “the band will never be a nostalgia act,” so it’s not a surprise he put so much time and effort into this album. He wouldn’t play any of its tracks on the band’s last tour because he felt the new songs deserve their own showcase.

Standout tracks include the bouncy “Man Enough,” the guitar-rich “Sea of Love” and “Dangerous,” which sounds like something left off “Pyromania.” While it’s not for everyone, the die-hard fans will appreciate this effort, as well as Elliott’s word that Def Leppard will never become its own tribute band.

Singing about a soldier serving abroad or bedtime for his young son, rocker Rod Stewart continues his comeback to song writing with new album “Another Country” and says his attitude to penning tracks has changed with age.

The 70-year old singer, who gained fame with the band Faces before enjoying solo stardom, has previously said song writing was a slow process for him.

“Time”, released in 2013, was his first self-penned album in years, following several covers, including the popular “The Great American Songbook” album series.

“In the old days, when I was with the Faces and my solo albums,(song writing) was more like being at school doing homework,” Stewart told Reuters. “But actually now, I enjoy the process. It’s something, I think, has come with age.”

With his spiky hair and raspy voice, Stewart is known for hits such as “Maggie May” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”. He says his new album is “pretty varied”.

“There’s … ‘Way Back Home’, which although I wasn’t around … (is) memories I’ve garnered from my brothers, sisters and parents about what London was like after the war,” he said. “Otherwise there’s a song on there about putting my son to bed.”

Stewart has long been candid about his rock and roll party lifestyle. Today’s music scene is a lot tamer than his 1970s heyday, he said.

“There’s not quite this spontaneity that there was when I was coming through and also there wasn’t mobile phones with cameras so obviously we got away with a lot more than new artists do,” he said.

“But generally speaking, I don’t think you can shock the public anymore, I think they’ve been shocked enough.”

Along with a new album, upcoming Las Vegas and European performances, Stewart says he has no plans on retiring and would even like to play Glastonbury music festival with Faces.

“What I do is who I am, so I would like to keep it going as long as possible,” he said

“As long as the voice is still there and the lungs have still got plenty of energy, then I will keep doing it.”

Sam Smith was by some measures last year’s biggest breakthrough musician, but on his latest song, he is sadder than ever.

Smith returns to his familiar subject matter of fleeting love on “Drowning Shadows,” a previously unreleased song that will appear on a deluxe edition of his blockbuster album “In The Lonely Hour” that comes out Friday.

“Brace yourself, this is going to be really depressing. So sorry if anyone’s in a happy mood,” Smith joked as he premiered the song Monday on Apple’s Beats One radio.

Described by Smith as “the saddest song I’ve ever written,” the 23-year-old English crooner demonstrates the power of his soaring, soulful voice on “Drowning Shadows” as he narrates his battles with alcohol and casual sex.

Smith sings: “I don’t know how I’ve reached this place / So far from heaven, so far from grace.

“Go home to nothing or stay out more? Give in to someone or lock down my door? Or drown all my shadows, drown them like before?” he sings to piano and strings.

Smith explained to radio listeners that the song was in fact written prior to “In The Lonely Hour” but was left off the album because “something didn’t work” in the production.

The singer, who re-recorded the song, said that “Drowning Shadows” was about his former life as he returned home each evening in London from the studio in a taxi.

He would face a daily crossroads as he decided whether to hit the gay bars or go home alone.

“I was in such a lonely, sad place when I was recording this album,” said Smith, who was a bartender until a few years ago.

“I used to go out by myself and drink and try and find love. Or I would just go home and chill,” he said.

But the album proved to be a global hit backed by the strength of the ballad “Stay With Me,” itself a tender reflection on the aftermath of a one-night stand.

Smith has since gone on to pack stadiums and won three of the four most prestigious awards at the latest Grammys.

More recently Smith, who successfully underwent surgery for vocal cord problems, composed the theme song for the latest James Bond film.

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