Def Leppard’s X album was released on July 30, 2002.
There is a long, long way to go with this in-depth look back at the album, as it will also discuss the challenging circumstances surrounding the X release and the missed opportunities that ultimately led to its commercial underperformance.
Def Leppard X
Def Leppard’s X (the Roman numeral for “10,” to commemorate their tenth studio album release) most likely divides the band’s fanbase into 3 different groups:
- Fans who love any new music Def Leppard releases, regardless of whether it “rocks hard” or not.
- Fans who appreciate a new Def Leppard album but admit they sometimes miss their mark, yet don’t fault the band for trying something different.
- Fans who feel let down and disappointed when a new Def Leppard album (a) doesn’t sound like On Through The Night or High ‘n’ Dry, (b) doesn’t sound like Pyromania or Hysteria, or (c) features songs that sound way too poppy or border on adult contemporary.
Any one of those three groups has its fair share of supporters.
X Marks What Spot?
As mentioned in previous articles on this site spotlighting albums (like the ones for Adrenalize and Slang), it’s important to keep in mind the state of the music industry — and Def Leppard’s place in it — when X was released.
The year was 2002. It had been three years since Euphoria, an album recorded and positioned in the same vein as Hysteria. (The band’s record company went so far as to label Euphoria the final piece in Def Leppard’s trilogy of massive album productions, the successor to Pyromania and Hysteria, overlooking Adrenalize altogether.)
So what was the band to do now? Venture into a different musical direction again and release another Slang-like album, which likely meant sacrificing commercial viability? Or maybe attempt something more raw and hard rock, harkening back to an earlier Def Leppard era?
Recording another album like Adrenalize or Euphoria was an option, too, but the band wasn’t interested in revamping previous efforts.
During an interview discussing Euphoria, Phil Collen told Billboard.com the band would sometimes “borrow” from their own work to create new songs that were similar to previous Def Leppard hits:
“We desperately tried to do that,” he says with a laugh. “With ‘Promises,’ I made the riff in the same key as ‘Armageddon It’ and ‘Photograph.’ It’s basically a rip-off. If another band was to do that to us, we’d go ‘Jesus Christ, let’s sue them.’ But no one noticed.”
He went on to also explain how X differed from Euphoria and other previous Def Leppard albums:
“On this record [‘X’], we didn’t do that at all. This record was quite liberating. We weren’t sticking to any rigid walls or boundaries, which were done on pretty much all of the other records.”
Phil’s comment could also apply to future albums Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and the band’s self-titled Def Leppard, maybe even more so. Because while X was “liberating” in its own right, external factors beyond the band’s control constrained and impeded its commercial fate.
Do You Wanna Get… X‘ed?
Going with another Adrenalize or Euphoria-type album would not have worked very well in 2002. The music industry was still in flux, and the band was no longer the radio and chart powerhouse it used to be.
For instance, the week X debuted on Billboard‘s album chart, top positions were held by Bruce Springsteen, Nelly, Linkin Park, Eminem, Avril Lavigne, and so on; the days of battling acts like Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, and Poison for chart dominance were a distant memory.
So for Def Leppard to return to the public eye with a song like “Let’s Get Rocked” or “Make Love Like A Man” may have satisfied some fans, but it also would have done some damage to the band’s brand, creatively and commercially.
The band was at a crossroads and ultimately decided to try some different things which resulted in a more “mature” sounding Def Leppard album, one that also included songs written by outside songwriters.
To think that Def Leppard would relinquish songwriting duties to outsiders who wrote songs for acts such as Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys (and Nicki Minaj and One Direction thereafter) was hard to fathom.
In recent years, Joe Elliott shared how he initially responded to the suggestion of bringing in outside songwriters for the X album:
“I was completely not cool with [outside writers], cause I knew that we were well capable of writing [songs] on our own, so why would we want to do that?”
This shows the lack of faith external forces had in the band in the early 2000s, as the insinuation was clear: Def Leppard was no longer capable of putting out a successful album of hit songs on their own.
Even though Joe took a more diplomatic route regarding the matter, saying the band considered outside songwriters more of an “experiment,” and that the resulting songs were in the spirit of one of his favorite bands, Cheap Trick, the way he ended his point was telling:
“I think the stuff we wrote on our own has the real flavor of what Def Leppard is.”
Ironically, none of the tracks written by or with outside songwriters resulted in a “hit” song for the X album. To be fair, those so-called “experiments” didn’t adversely hurt the album either; actually, some of them resulted in songs that were worthy additions to the band’s catalog.
Def Leppard’s X album did indeed have something working against it, though, that hurt its chances of commercial success: a release strategy that lacked…a release strategy.
Def Leppard’s X Release Strategy, Or Lack Thereof
The band’s record company released “Now” as X‘s first single, along with a fairly amusing music video whose storyline centered around the decades-long journey of a vintage Def Leppard Union Jack shirt…
…which was intermixed with the band’s performance of the song:
On the surface (and putting aside the overdone acting in the storyline portion), the video tells a “fun” tale as the Union Jack shirt is disregarded and misplaced over the years, going through its share of owners, and finally resurfacing when it’s purchased on an online auction by the person who owned it originally.
Giving this concept the benefit of the doubt, you could assume the music video was conveying how Def Leppard’s appeal crosses generations.
Beneath the surface, though, the video seemed to depict Def Leppard’s iconic Union Jack era (aka the Pyromania era) as a novelty, hokey, a relic of the past, and something that was no longer a fundamental part of the band.
Moreover, not only did it seem to portray Def Leppard as a band that was no longer in its heyday but also as one that had willingly moved on from it, basically telling viewers and longtime fans: “We’ve grown up and matured since those silly Union Jack years. We should be taken more seriously now.”
Arguably, the “Now” video diminished Def Leppard’s image by trying to reposition and market the band as more “current” with the times.
You can revisit the “Now” video and all of Def Leppard’s official music videos here. (And if you really want to indulge in Def Leppard, check out this must-read book!)
Not Right “Now”
“Now” is a good, rather straightforward, song. Its verses are effective in their delivery, and momentum builds quite nicely to the chorus which, for better or worse, is somewhat un-Leppard-like.
That aside, “Now” is better off residing and thriving as an appealing deep track; it does not have, nor did it ever have, the makings of a chart-conquering hit single, especially one that would dominate radio playlists and handle the important task of launching an album.
Again, X marked the return of Def Leppard after a three-year-long hiatus; “Now” wasn’t powerful enough to reintroduce the band back onto the airwaves and reconnect them with listeners and casual fans.
The band’s record company must have realized this, too, as they decided to not go the route of a typical single release, instead choosing to only target rock radio stations with “Now.”
So right off the bat, a small-scale approach.
How did that work out? “Now” didn’t even crack the Top 25 on Billboard‘s niche Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; it also barely made it onto Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart, which could be considered a positive and negative — after all, should the first “single” off of a new Def Leppard album be an adult contemporary success?
From an industry and chart perspective, “Now” was over (figuratively speaking) before it even began. So much for making a meaningful impact to launch a brand new Def Leppard album.
Even More Missteps
After “Now” quickly fizzled out — which, consequently, didn’t create crucial album sales momentum to coincide with Def Leppard’s X tour — it appeared as if the band’s record company had already determined X would not be a hit.
The band’s excellent rocker “Four Letter Word” ended up being more of a throwaway track to AOR (album-oriented rock) radio stations months after “Now” had come and gone, and it lacked any type of significant promotional push.
As a result, “Four Letter Word” barely made a blip, even underperforming “Now” on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart.
Def Leppard did its part, though, even performing “Four Letter Word” on the X tour, but without radio support to help drive awareness (and album sales), the track soon disappeared from the band’s setlist.
A last-ditch Hail Mary effort was attempted long after X debuted and disappeared from the album chart: the band’s moody ballad “Long Long Way To Go” was released…nine months after X came out.
At such a late stage, “Long Long Way To Go” was more of an afterthought; unsurprisingly, it quickly came and went, just like the X album.
Similar to Euphoria, X debuted just outside of the Top 10 on Billboard‘s U.S. album chart, at #11. Whereas an album typically has its peaks and valleys on the chart, driven by radio, marketing, and tour support, the lack of those components working together cohesively is emblematic of X‘s chart lifespan: 8 very short weeks.
X‘s weekly album chart positions in the U.S. can be summed up ever-so-briefly: #11 (debut week), #36, #73, #88, #122, #129, #147, #167, and then gone. Poof. Done.
X didn’t even reach gold certification status.
X Could Have Marked The Spot Better
What’s most disappointing about Def Leppard’s X sales performance is that it didn’t have to be that way. The album could have had a much more effective launch and long-term promotional push.
As the band stated at the time, X showcased their “many flavors”; unfortunately, that message never came across or reached the masses.
A comprehensive, multi-format radio campaign could have been more effective, one that promoted various songs off the album to different radio audiences.
For example:
- “Unbelievable” was radio-friendly and ready-made for Top 40 and Adult Contemporary stations — even though this is one of the songs the band didn’t write, it’s a solid track);
- “Everyday” was perfectly suited for AOR stations, and remains one of Def Leppard’s best album cuts;
- “Torn To Shreds” deserved single consideration, featuring some of the best hooks and harmonies the band has ever recorded;
- “Four Letter Word” harkened back to the band’s High ‘n’ Dry era and would have made a greater impact on rock stations had its release been timed better, as part of a long-term radio promotion strategy.
There’s no reason why multiple radio formats couldn’t have been simultaneously targeted with different X tracks. It’s not a new idea, and it could have effectively provided Def Leppard with airplay coverage on stations across the country, raised awareness of the band’s return, and, most importantly, provided sustainable sales momentum for the X album.
“Long Long Way To Go” then could have been released as a single, as it would have been optimally timed and based on how the previous radio releases were performing.
Put simply, a more strategic plan should have been developed and implemented, giving X a fighting chance to succeed. Alas, none of that was to be.
(You can read a detailed review and ranking of each X track here.)
X Could Have Been… X-ier
For those not aware, the X album introduced a good, yet mostly overlooked, B-side titled “10X Bigger Than Love.”
The track brings to mind the days of Hysteria, when Def Leppard’s B-sides were not only worthy of album inclusion but sometimes better than some of the tracks that made the final cut. That being said, this hard-rocking, catchy song (along with its standout guitar solo) would have added more heft to X, and would have been a fitting counterpart to “Four Letter Word.”
Separately, X also has its shortfalls:
- “Let Me Be The One” would have worked better if the band went with their demo’s original piano-driven version instead, which was more melodic and compelling;
- “Perfect Girl” is the original — and, arguably, superior — version to album track “Gravity,” and it would have been a better, more memorable fit for X.
- “You’re So Beautiful” becomes too hook-driven for its own good, layering hook upon hook…upon yet another hook, which ends up working against it. (The hook overcompensation seems to fit the narrative of external involvement as well as self-inflicted pressure to make sure the album contained its share of “hit songs.”)
That aside, there was a lot of material to work with on X. Unfortunately, numerous avenues that were potentially rewarding weren’t pursued. Hence, it’s not all that surprising that X‘s commercial success suffered. (It’s also not a coincidence that the band ended up breaking away from their record company years later, after fulfilling their contractual album obligations.)
Def Leppard X Is Worth Revisiting
It’s easy to dismiss X‘s poor sales performance and blame its pop-lite offerings as the main cause, but that would require overlooking the song gems that resided on the album.
The album wasn’t given a proper chance to shine, or at least garner the attention it deserved; the same can be said about Def Leppard at the time.
The album wasn’t given a proper chance to shine, or at least garner the attention it deserved; the same can be said about the band at the time. Fortunately, they began taking more control of Def Leppard’s proverbial reins going forward, no longer letting outside influences guide — better yet, misguide — them.
Def Leppard X: Final Thoughts
Was X destined to reach the same commercial heights as Def Leppard’s biggest albums? No, that’s unrealistic.
Were there numerous missed opportunities in how X was positioned and promoted? Absolutely.
In recent years, Joe Elliott summed up the X album this way:
“It’s not a standout album. I don’t think it’s a complete duffer [slang for ineffectual, worthless], and it’s certainly not ‘Hysteria.’ But there is some cool stuff on it.”
If only more people had the chance to discover all that cool stuff when it was released.
