Def Leppard • Yeah!

B+

Ever since they began courting and ultimately regurgitating the commercial ballad, Def Leppard has struggled to regain the same kind of energy (and respect) that marked their early efforts. Simply put, Def Leppard lost its edge. This time out, the lads opt to recapture their rock roots by covering the music that most inspired them (1970s rock and glam). The end result is Yeah!, Def Leppard's most energetic and fun album since Hysteria. Queen, David Bowie, T. Rex, Badfinger, and Thin Lizzy are all covered here ("20th Century Boy," "Rock On" & "Don't Believe A Word" are excellent renditions). Admittedly, a few songs fall short of the mark and the album is perhaps too long for it's own good, but fans of 70s rock will have little to complain about. Old-school Def Leppard fans, those who felt betrayed by the band's mainstream success and shift toward pop, will still complain and lament the loss of Steve Clark, but for those who preferred Hysteria to High & Dry, Yeah! will find a welcomed home.

Primal Scream • Riot City Blues

B

Riot City Blues, released by anyone other than Primal Scream, would be an album meet with greater acceptance, but as is, Primal Scream's work is once again subject to critical scorn. Either misunderstood or simply unappreciated, Primal Scream's roots-rock efforts are typically lambasted (Riot City Blues being the latest).

While hardly innovative, Riot City Blues is nevertheless catchy and fun. "Country Girl," sounding like a cross between Steve Earle and The Black Crowes, kicks off things with a light-hearted stomp. Things turn a bit nasty with the rollicking "Suicide Sally And Johnny Guitar" (juxtaposing salvation and sex in pure Rolling Stone fashion).

Darker undertones haunt "When The Bomb Drops," and the fantastic, moody psychedelia of "Little Death" is an album highlight. Riot City Blues closes with "Sometimes I Feel So Lonely," a song on par with recent work by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC's Howl being a similar, but much more realized effort). Riot City Blues is neither original nor revolutionary, but for all of its faults, having a bad song isn't one of them.