Customer Reviews

Pickin' on Def Leppard: A Bluegrass Tribute

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The finger plucking is amazing. Stan Dailey's vocals are formidable, if a little overwrought at times. The backing vocals are also solid, as is fitting when covering a band like Def Leppard. Overall, Cornbread Red deserve credit for covering such an electrically charged, uber-produced rock band like Def Leppard, a group that probably benefits more from a new musical translation rather than straight-ahead cover-song imitation.

Cornbread Red give songs like "Photograph," "Animal," "Hysteria" and "Rocket" a pleasant folksy charm. Elsewhere, heavy rock songs with big-rock choruses like "Foolin' " don't translate as well. The larger-than-life, doe-eyed metal ballads like "Bringin' on the Heart Break" and "Love Bites" also feel a little stifled in bluegrass form. Still, "Pickin' on Def Leppard" demonstrates that all great electric-guitar laden rock `n' roll tunes are at heart great acoustic tunes. Def Lep's popular hits are well represented here, though it would have been cool to see lesser-known songs like "Mirror, Mirror," "Too Late for Love," "Run Riot," "Love and Affection" or "Comin' Under Fire" given a go in bluegrass format.

"Armageddon It" takes the award for the most naturally converted bluegrass tune. Even in electric form, the song's main riff always had a bit of a jukebox country swagger to it, while the chorus is pure ear candy that would translate well in any musical language. Interestingly, the bluegrass version of "Rock of Ages" contains almost as much pep as the heavy metal original. Again, it just shows that great songs translate well in many musical genres. (I once saw Leppard's "Rock Brigade" performed brilliantly by a high school choir on YouTube.) "Pour Some Sugar on Me," as expected, is a rollicking good time as a bluegrass tune. And "Let's Get Rocked," as performed by Cornbread Red, is probably an improvement over the cheesily done original.

If you're a big Def Leppard fan (like me), this album is a worthwhile kick in the pants.

Ok, Not one for Bluegrass Music. But I thought I would give this a listen considering I am HUGE Def Leppard fan. I actually like this CD. I am not exactly sure why????? But I do. At least give the tracks a listen and then decide for yourself. You might find you like it. Although there will be no square dancing (lol)!!!!!!

Decided to listen to it as a joke and was quite suprised. A lot better than I thought it would be.

I bought this cd for my husband, and we both have enjoyed it a lot. We have also bought some Amazon MP3's of the Pickin' On Series other songs.