Def Leppard - Euphoria (Mercury) Loved by legions of legendary fans, loathed by critics and everyone else, Def Leppard roar back; and if there is an old adage that says rock 'n' roll never grows up, they must be living proof of it.
Old enough to know better, they are still flogging overblown ditties about young lust and heartache in the night; worse, for a tough-looking bunch of blokes from the north of England, they have gone soft.
Def Leppard always knew their most uncritical, accepting market would be the United States, and here they embrace all those flaccid production values that make Bon Jovi sound so puny. Heavy rock used to require a muscular approach - it was a man's job! They are partly redeemed by lively single Demolition Man featuring Damon Hill on guitar, but this remains an amazingly un-self-conscious set of lurve-rock squibs from men pretending to be Anglo-Saxon bruisers.
The worst of the bunch is It's Only Love. This contains a selection of cringe-inducing lines, particularly: 'Ev'ry dream I dream has got you in; and ev'ry minute with you means ev'rythin' '. Among cheesy ballads, this is a real mature cheddar.
The whole approach is patronising towards women, so one hopes they will be too smart to go for such nonsense. But hey: if that is what the chicks want .