| Def Leppard, And There Will Be A Next Time – Live From Detroit | |
| Genre: | AOR, Hair Metal |
| Musicianship: | 3.5 |
| Songwriting: | 4.0 |
| Production & Engineering: | 3.0 |
| Vibe: | 3.0 |
| Overall Rating: | 
3.38 (out of 4) |
Coming up on their 40th anniversary, you’d have to live under a rock or have one foot in the grave to not be familiar with at least seven songs on Def Leppard’s new double live CD/DVD, And There Will Be A Next Time – Live From Detroit. Both filmed and recorded on July 15 2016, the concert captures many of Def Leppard’s timeless hits from back-to-back diamond records, Pyromania and Hysteria. Sprinkled in are some other classic hits and a few songs from their more recent records.
Given the slick production value of their biggest hits, recreating them live has always been challenging for Def Leppard, but here, they do a pretty decent job of it. The guitar work was as expected: Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell did a spectacular job in keeping the spirit of the hits alive and well, while drummer Rick Allen and bassist Rick Savage provided the unmistakable rhythm section that has defined the band for decades.
Vocally, this one isn’t quite as strong as 2013’s excellent Viva! Hysteria, though it is mostly decent. We appreciate how Joe Elliot has selectively picked the right high-pitched parts to retain, while changing some of the less significant bits—high pitched singers don’t get to belt out all the high parts forever. And, we enjoyed Elliot’s tone overall. However, his delivery sometimes fell short, particularly on “Love Bites” and “Hysteria.”
We loved the extra hard swing on “Rocket,” and the playful, effortless guitar assault on “Lets Get Rocked” was great. The true diehards will treasure “Switch 625,” a fantastic instrumental they have performed live frequently. The somewhat grittier approach also worked well on “Let It Go,” a driving guitar number from yesteryear.
Had this been sold as a concert DVD with bonus audio CDs, we would have told Def Leppard fans to jump right on it, because the concert footage is great high-definition stuff, and it really shows how these guys are still on top of their game decades later. But it’s actually sold as a double-live CD with a bonus Blu-ray DVD in the package. No matter how you look at it, the band’s latest live release offers a great collection of classic hits as well as some newer songs, and they mostly deliver an outstanding performance, with or without the visuals. Fans should pick this one up and… well… get rocked!
—BS and SK
