| blerp 20.12.2005 22:45 |
Are Def Leppard Queen copycats? I've heard it before, and I lovvve their music, but I just wanted to ask others. |
| AmeriQueen 21.12.2005 00:14 |
There are some strong similarities: A.) Both bands use heavy amounts of background vocal harmonies. B.) Both bands are high energy rock bands with strong attention to instrumentation, production and explosive, heavy elements. C.) Both bands are glam/british rock at their roots. That being said, they are definitely not copycats. Queen has a lot more versatility, the Red Special guitar sound and just a lot more writing talent. Leppard uses lots of dual guitar playing and only after their prime did they start to stretch their versatility in song writing. Def Leppard was more of a Led Zeppelin rip off at the begining, a sort of Zep meets Mott the Hoople. High 'N Dry(2nd album) is very pure rock. Pyromania was the blueprint album for 80's hair band rock. Hysteria was, and still is, one of the greatest album productions of all time, unique and great, better than most any album ever done. They blew it with Adrenalize, a cheesy, pop driven piece of crap. What's sad about Def Leppard is that, because of selling out with Adrenalize, they lost a lot of fans and all their studio support with Slang which was their last attempt to truly evolve their sound with something new. Slang is one of the most underrated albums ever made. Def Leppard was screwed a year after Queen, when they had a death as well. Their guitarist Steve Clark was the guy for them who created almost all of their famous guitar riffs. Without that guy, they were never the same. Queen is my favorite band by millions of miles, but before them, Def Leppard was my band. I think ultimately it's the vocal harmonies and the strong, power sounds that make them similar. As far as songs that have serious punch, those two, along with Boston, are the champs. Just my thoughts. P.S. I freaked with excitement at the Freddie tribute when I got to see Def Leppard do 'Now I'm Here' with May. What a combo! |
| AmeriQueen 21.12.2005 03:36 |
One other thing about Lep. Being a fan, this fact(assuming the book was right) really pissed me off! The following horrible story is from Queen & I, The Brian May Story(a book). I assume it's true. It's early 1987(if I remember right), Queen is resting, Def Leppard is trying to get it back together, but they are not too busy with Hysteria at this moment. Brian May and Joe Elliott are neighbors(in same neighborhood at least) and are jamming and hanging out. They try and form a supergroup that would have been: Joe, Brian, Rick Savage(def lep bassist, and Jason Bohnam. Why didn't it happen? Becaue it was blocked by some scumbag music agent/producer/retard/whatever. If it would have tainted Hysteria or The Miracle, than it all worked out fine. But it looked like it was something that could have just been an additional project in their legacys. Would it have been a good album? Well, if it would have been just pretty good, I would have been dissapointed and shocked. That kind of supergroup could have put an album out that would have been top 20 all time at best, damn good at worst. Too bad company dickheads get in the way, don't ya think? |
| Daveboy35 21.12.2005 08:30 |
Hi guys i too love def leppard and have done so for many years i personally don't think that they were copying queen though ,they were a great rock band in their own right and obviously influenced by queen,sweet,mott the hoople and other groups. They fall in the same category as queen in being totally different from what's going on (only a few groups actually manage this) that said they seen what sounds great and try to form a similar strong sound. Hysteria happens to be one of my top ten albums of all time never have i heard an album of such quality (rocket and gods of war among fave songs) before ,adrenalize justs scrapes by as a album of songs (with steve clark's death marring it's conclusion). I agree SLANG is a very underrated album i generally play that album a lot it has a different sound and direction than previous albums had, but i also like EURPHORIA and 'X' albums too. Def leppard rock. |
| deleted user 21.12.2005 08:50 |
i love def leppard, they are great, i dont think they are queen copycats, they are just influenced by queen and they love their music. brian and joe are very good friends so i think they maybe talked some ideas over and joe used them. |
| AmeriQueen 21.12.2005 14:58 |
Hey Brenda, while I disagree with X, an album that I tried to like, but couldn't at all. However, I agree that Euphoria was very good. It's a mistake to judge music with any outside thoughts or preconceived notions, but what somewhat tainted Euphoria for me was it's desperate and obvious attempt to cash in on their old style. It lacked the effort to grow, but stunk to high heaven of a band trying to re-live the past. That being said, there is some damn good stuff on Euphoria, along with some obvious rip offs of their old stuff(Promises = Photograph, Back In Your Face = Pour Some Sugar On Me). One thing hardcore Lep fans will agree with me about is that of all bands I have ever heard of, nobody does better with b-sides than Def Leppard. So much in fact that their best stuff over the past 15 years have all been mostly from their b-sides. 'I Am Your Child' is a b-side that is better than any track they have written/recorded since Hysteria. Back to the Queen comparison: In one sentence, I would just say that Def Leppard and Queen's greatest similarity is their zealot-like belief that sound quality and production value is by far more of a priority than lyrics and conforming to the sort of "Keep rock pure and untouched." attitude. They aren't saps like all these bands who think production experimentation and technology will corrupt the music. Queen and Def Leppard pour it on in the studio, and that is why they are compared, and why they both rock! |
| Oberon 21.12.2005 15:32 |
And they are a great live band as well - another thing in common with Queen. I don't think they're copy cats. I think they're (or were) original enough in their own right not to be. |
| shanemcd 21.12.2005 16:33 |
I think they have been influenced by Queen amongst other bands - but their style is different, especially in the guitar area - Brians style is different. Also I think the production / recording techniques are also different. |
| Future Queen Guitarist 24.12.2005 23:43 |
def leppard is different because they are heavyer than queen yet i admire both bands. but brian does have a different type of style of playing than steve clark but they both rule |
| Sharron .G 25.12.2005 00:00 |
Honest to god.... I'd like Leppard 1,000 times more if they had a different singer. I can't understand a word Joe Elliot says. His voice seems weak to me.... Live Leppard albums are a joke.... I think Asshole Rose might be a better live singer(and thats sad) By the way...I see no connection of the bands. What Leppard song sounds like a Queen song?? I know of none. |
| AmeriQueen 25.12.2005 01:33 |
It's more the styles, than the individual songs. For instance, the evolution of WWRY: We Will Rock You - Queen - 1977 Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard - 1987 Cherry Pie - Warrant - 1993 Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani - 2005 These are different songs, but they all run along a very similar vein of musical creativity. Heavy, simple drum beat leads the way; lots of quiet air, strong vocals, cheesy lyrics, all that is heard stands out. I read something comparing the first three songs, and I just factored in the Gwen song as a recent track that has that sound. I think you are crzy though about Eliott. Joe Eliott is one of the most talented heavy metal/hard rock vocalists of all time! he's original, the king of scream, and a top good songwriter. Oh well, to each his own. |
| Future Queen Guitarist 25.12.2005 19:54 |
Sharron .G wrote: Honest to god.... I'd like Leppard 1,000 times more if they had a different singer. I can't understand a word Joe Elliot says. His voice seems weak to me.... Live Leppard albums are a joke.... I think Asshole Rose might be a better live singer(and thats sad) By the way...I see no connection of the bands. What Leppard song sounds like a Queen song?? I know of none.joe elliot or someone said in the band said the song " Heaven is " was more Queen than Queen so tht is probably the one |
| Future Queen Guitarist 25.12.2005 19:56 |
Sharron .G wrote: Honest to god.... I'd like Leppard 1,000 times more if they had a different singer. I can't understand a word Joe Elliot says. His voice seems weak to me.... Live Leppard albums are a joke.... I think Asshole Rose might be a better live singer(and thats sad) By the way...I see no connection of the bands. What Leppard song sounds like a Queen song?? I know of none.joe elliot or someone said in the band said the song " Heaven is " was more Queen than Queen so tht is probably the one and never say asshole rose is a better live singer than Joe , he rulz better than AXEL ROSE !!!!!!!! |