X (Def Leppard album)

X
Studio album by Def Leppard
Publication (s)	July 30, 2001
admission	2002
Label (s)	Universal
Format (s)	CD
Genre (s)	Hard rock
Title (number)	14th
occupation	Singing : Joe Elliott Guitar : Vivian Campbell Guitar : Phil Collen Bass : Rick Savage Drums : Rick Allen
production	Pete Woodroffe , Def Leppard
Studio (s)	Joe's Garage, Polar Studios, Rumbo Studios
chronology Euphoria (1999) X Yeah! (2006)

X is the eighth studio album by British hard rock band Def Leppard , released in 2002 . The title refers to the Roman spelling of the number ten, as the album, if you include the two compilation albums released by 2002 ( Retro Active and Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits ) by the band, is the tenth album of the group .

background

As with the 1996 album Slang , Def Leppard once again turned away from the well-known sound when recording X and tried, with the help of Marti Fredrickson, who had already worked with Aerosmith, as well as Andreas Carlson and Per Aldeheim ('N Sync, Britney Spears , Backstreet Boys) to change the musical direction. Overall, the group seemed to be looking for a more poppy , radio-friendly sound.

Pete Woodroffe, who had already contributed to the creation of two previous albums, took over the production again. Most of the songs were recorded in Joe's Garage , singer Joe Elliott's private recording studio , and all vocal tracks were recorded here. The instrumental recordings for the tracks Now, You're so Beautiful and Everyday were recorded by Marti Frederiksen at Rumbo Studios in Los Angeles , the track Unbelievable was recorded and produced by Per Aldeheim and Andreas Carlsson at Polar Studios in Stockholm .

reception

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

X   UK 14th 08/24/2002 (3 weeks)   US 11 08/17/2002 (1 week)

Singles

Now   UK 23 08/17/2002 (2 weeks) Long long way to go   UK 40 04/27/2003 (2 weeks)

Thomas Kupfer ( Rock Hard ) wrote about this album that it would “hardly be able to tie in with the (commercial) successes of the century“ Pyromania ”and“ Hysteria ” , even though “ the quintet collaborated with various established co-authors ” to create their own material "To give a contemporary look" . They tried to “set new impulses” , but in the end one had to say that “this (thank God?) Did not succeed” . Only "the fact that on" X "the rock influences were pushed into the background in favor of more poppy sounds" testifies to "the influence of the co-writers squad" . The album “doesn't really ignite even after several runs” , the song material seems “at times frighteningly calculated and smoothly polished” , and singer Joe Elliott has “never delivered” a “less pressurized vocals ” . Only a few titles were reminiscent of "earlier heroic deeds" with a lot of imagination . Otherwise “cultivated boredom” dominates , which would only be broken by “one or the other flare-up of the typical Def Leppard melody arcs” and thus “saved from total mediocrity” .

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic stated that with the album “Euphoria” , released in 1999, the group “failed to be (still) perceived as an active band” in the popular perception . Even X could "certainly not eliminate this flaw" because a lot on the album sounded as if the band were "desperately looking for a new hit" . On the positive side, it should be noted that she was “chasing after sounds that were not trendy” , but that she was acting “age-appropriate” . Erlewine concludes that "smooth production" and the "self-confident adults" made the album "regrettably" to "a leaden affair."

Track list

1. Now (Marti Frederiksen, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage, Rick Allen) 3:58
2. Unbelievable (Per Aldeheim, Andreas Carlsson, Max Martin ) 3:58
3. You're So Beautiful (Frederiksen, Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 3:31
4. Everyday (Frederiksen, Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 3:08
5. Long, Long Way to Go (Wayne Hector, Steve Robson) 4:38
6. Four Letter Word (Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 3:07
7. Torn to Shreds (Collen, Savage, Elliott, Campbell, Allen) 2:56
8. Love Don't Lie (Elliott, Collen, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 4:46
9. Gravity (Collen, Elliott, Pete Woodroffe, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 2:33
10. Cry (Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Savage, Allen) 3:17
11. Girl Like You (Campbell, Collen, Elliott, Savage, Allen) 2:49
12. Let Me Be the One (Elliott, Campbell, Collen, Savage, Allen) 3:29
13. Scar (Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Savage, Woodroffe, Allen) 4:59
14. Kiss the Day (Savage, Collen, Elliott, Campbell, Allen) 4:27 (bonus track in Europe)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} booklet of the album
2. ↑ Charts UK Charts US
3. ↑ Review in Rock Hard 183 (2002)
4. ↑ Review on Allmusic.com