''X'' (pronounced ''ten'') is the eighth studio album by English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...
, released on 30 July 2002 by
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
in the US and sister label Mercury worldwide. Much like 1996's ''
Slang
Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...
'', it featured another departure from their signature sound by moving into the pop genre. The album charted at No. 11 on
The Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artis ...
and No. 14 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. Most of the album was produced by Pete Woodroffe and the band, with remaining tracks produced by either
Marti Frederiksen
Martin Harold "Marti" Frederiksen (born July 1, 1962) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. He writes and produces music primarily in rock, country, and pop. He is best known for his work with many artists and bands incl ...
or
Per Aldeheim
Per Henrik Aldeheim (born 17 January 1966), is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and producer.Andreas Carlsson
Andreas Carlsson (; born 3 April 1973) is a Swedish music producer and pop songwriter.
Biography
Carlsson was part of the Cheiron Studios team until the studio was closed down in 2000. In January 2001, former Cheiron-members Andreas Carlsson, Kri ...
.
Background
This is the first Def Leppard album in which drummer Rick Allen actively took part in song-writing. On all of the band's prior albums, he is only credited with helping co-write three tracks. On this album alone, he co-wrote eleven. The album is also the first from the band to include original songs not to be written by any of the members: "Unbelievable" and "
Long, Long Way to Go", the latter of which was released as a single.
The album features the Roman numeral 'X', recognising it as their tenth album release, although the album is in fact only their eighth collection of all-new studio material. Their previous two albums prior to ''X'', ''
Retro Active
''Retro Active'' is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The al ...
'' and ''
Vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
'', were a rerecording of B-sides and rarities and a greatest hits set respectively, although ''Vault'' also included a non-album single "
When Love & Hate Collide
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a power ballad by British rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album ''Vault'', written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. It was originally written and demoed for '' Adrenalize'', but not finalized unt ...
" as well as different versions of the songs "
Pour Some Sugar on Me
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album '' Hysteria''. It reached number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar ...
" and "
Rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
" to what had appeared on the ''
Hysteria
Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
'' album.
The album ''X'' peaked at number 11 on the
''Billboard'' 200, but did not sell to the standards of their previous releases and failed to earn any
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
certifications. With the exception of an abbreviated version of "
Now
Now most commonly refers
to the present time.
Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to:
Organizations
* Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization
* National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization
* Now ...
" being performed as part of an acoustic medley during the Rock of Ages Tour in 2012, nothing from this album was performed live by the band since the conclusion of its supporting tour until their Las Vegas residency in 2019.
For a short time after the album was released, Def Leppard's website Defleppard.com featured a free mp3 download of "Perfect Girl," a bonus track and early version of the track "Gravity".
Reception
''X'' received mixed reviews.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
rated the album 2.5 out of 5. While commending the band for not adopting the then-popular
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
and
rap rock
Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...
sound of the time, Erlewine lamented that the band's pop rock approach meant that "they've left rock behind, turning out a bunch of even-handed adult-pop that is melodic without being tuneful, or memorable for that matter." He concludes that, in some instances on ''X'', "Leppard still shows signs of being a great band -- there's a chorus or a bridge here and there with spark, "You're So Beautiful" and "Everyday" are the kind of sugar-sweet, heavy-pop songs that make this band so irresistible—but the slick production and self-conscious maturity make ''X'' a leaden affair, unfortunately."
Conversely,
Rob Sheffield
Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author.
He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at ''Blen ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' was more positive, favorably comparing ''X'' to
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
's ''
Crush''. Sheffield notes how "since the Lepsters always had catchier beats and craftier tunes than the metal competition, they adapt to global pop with their signature sound intact, and ''X'' may be their niftiest since ''
Adrenalize
''Adrenalize'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded ...
''."
Track listing
Personnel
Def Leppard
*
Rick Allen – drums
*
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio (band), Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Camp ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Phil Collen
Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
– lead vocals
*
Rick "Sav" Savage – bass guitar, vocals
Additional personnel
*Eric Carter – keyboards and
drum loop
In music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections can be repeated to create ostinato patterns. Longer sections can also be repeated: for example, a player might loop what they play on an entire verse of a song in order to ...
s on "Now", "You're So Beautiful" and "Everyday"
*Stan Schiller – shredding
tele
Tele may refer to:
* Television
* Tele (band), a German rock/pop band
* Tele Ikuru, Deputy Governor of Rivers State
* Télé, Mali, a rural commune of the Cercle of Goundam in the Tombouctou Region of Mali
* Telemarketing
* Telegraphy
* ''Eveni ...
licks on "Gravity"
Production
*Producers: Def Leppard, Per Aldeheim, Andreas Carlsson, Pete Woodroffe
*Engineers: Stefan Glaumann, Richard Chycki, Ronan McHugh, Liz Sroka, Pete Woodroffe
*Mixing: Marti Frederiksen, Ronan McHugh, Pete Woodroffe
*Mastering: Tom Coyne
*A&R: Simon Collins, Jeff Fenster
*Production co-ordination: Leslie Langlo, Sue Tropio
*Editing: Brian Paturalski
*Vocal producer: Ronan McHugh
*Drum technician: Jerry Johnson
*String arrangements:
David Campbell
*Programming: Ronan McHugh, Pete Woodroffe
*Photography:
Clive Arrowsmith
Clive Arrowsmith is a London-based photographer.
Works
He has worked for many fashion publications and is one of only a few photographers, including Brian Duffy who have twice been given the commission to shoot the Pirelli Calendar. He curren ...
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
References
;Footnotes
;Other
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:X (Def Leppard Album)
2002 albums
Def Leppard albums
Albums produced by Marti Frederiksen
Island Records albums
Mercury Records albums
Pop rock albums by English artists