Yeah!

While most of their teen peers were embracing nascent '70s U.K. punk with all the snotty 'tude they could muster, Sheffield's Def Leppard instead infused then-moribund metal with bracing pop smarts. Having long since sold a gazillion or two records with that formula, the '80s superstars pay homage to the eclectic, chart-savvy tastes that spawned it on this collection of covers, recharging their contemporary fortunes a bit in the bargain. Their takes on Me Decade standards like The Faces' "Stay With Me," Badfinger's "No Matter What," and T Rex's "20th Century Boy" may be arguably too faithful, right down to Joe Elliot's often dead-on vocal chameleon routine. But elsewhere they perform some admirable pop archaeology, imparting a darker edge to David Essex's spooky "Rock On" and pumping Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone," one-hit-wonder John Kongos's riff-fest "He's Gonna Step On You Again," and Sweet's "Hell Raiser" full of patent Lep energy. --Jerry McCulley

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