Post on 04-Jul-2018
JUNE 2011 ISSUE JUNE 2011 ISSUEMMUSICMAG.COM MMUSICMAG.COM
CHEMISTRY IS A DELICATE THING AMONG THE MEMBERS
of any band—but in a hard-rock outfi t with a trademark two-guitar
attack like Def Leppard, there is another, secondary chemistry that
must also be just right. Guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell
have for nearly two decades forged a perfect balance between
the former’s more technically minded, classical-tinged approach
and the latter’s bluesier wail. “Keith Richards calls it ‘weaving
a musical tapestry,’” Collen points out, nodding toward rock’s
prototypical two-guitar powerhouse, the Rolling Stones. “We’re
very different as players,” adds Campbell. “That’s one reason we
work so well together.”
Campbell replaced founding guitarist Steve Clark, who
passed away in 1991 after a painful battle with alcohol abuse. The
fact that Collen proved able to fi nd another kindred six-string spirit is
only one of the minor miracles that have kept the British powerhouse
pushing forward for more than three decades. They have done so
despite roiling changes in the music business, fans’ changing tastes
and their own personal challenges—before Clark’s death, the group
had already coped with the loss of drummer Rick Allen’s left arm in
a 1984 auto accident. Def Leppard has nonetheless survived and
thrived, riding out the storms to remain a seat-fi lling arena attraction.
“We take our work seriously,” says Campbell, 48, “but not ourselves.
We show up on time, we show up sober and we do our job. There’s
a real commitment.”
The latest from Collen, Campbell, Allen, singer Joe Elliott and
bass player Rick Savage is Mirror Ball: Live & More, a long overdue
record of the band’s onstage prowess and a timely summation of
Leppard’s journey to date. Culled from shows recorded on their
2008-2009 tour, the two-CD, one-DVD set (available exclusively
through Walmart) also features three new studio tracks that prove
the band has lost none of its luster. “I think there’s still plenty more
to come,” says Collen, 53. “The passion is still there.”
DEF LEPPARDPhil Collen and Vivian Campbell are hard rock’s double-barrel dream team
By Russell Hall
‘We’re very different as players. That’s one reason
we work so well together.’ –Vivian Campbell
Jeff F
asano
Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell
626262
MUSICIAN
M mag 12.indd 62 7/7/11 9:22:03 PM
Why make a live album now?
CAMPBELL: Making live albums in the past
was very laborious and expensive. You had to
get a mobile truck and do the entire recording
over one or two shows. That creates
something we didn’t want: performance
anxiety. Technology in recent years has
become very portable and affordable. We
started recording and archiving every show
we did during the 2008 and 2009 tour—over
100 shows. After a week of that, you forget
you’re recording. You’re in a much more
natural state, and that allows you to focus
on the show as it’s happening in real time.
It allowed us not to be concerned with what
we call “red light fever.”
How do you two click so well?
CAMPBELL: We’re very secure emotionally.
A lot of guitar players tend to be competitive.
Phil and I have never experienced that. We
capitulate to the greater good of the song
and the greater good of the band. Plus we
play very differently. Phil’s hands are a lot
faster than mine, especially his right hand.
He accents all the notes with his right hand,
something I’ve never been able to do. I play a
much more legato style, and let my left hand
do a lot more work than my right.
When did you fi rst learn to play?
COLLEN: A friend at school showed me
one chord. After that I learned by listening—
everything from Deep Purple to Led Zeppelin
to Santana to Mick Ronson, on those Bowie
albums. I also listened to lots of American
guitarists: Rick Derringer, Ronnie Montrose
and Johnny Winter. I preferred the American
style. The Americans had a fl air that some of
the British players didn’t.
CAMPBELL: I didn’t know many people
who played guitar, but whenever I ran into
someone who did, I’d ask them to show me
a chord or a lick. I had a crush on a girl when
I was 13. Her mother played guitar, and she
showed me the lick for “Day Tripper.” That
was the fi rst riff I learned. Mostly I learned by
sitting down with records and working songs
out. That started with Rory Gallagher’s Live!
in Europe and Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak.
How did you fi nd Vivian?
COLLEN: We didn’t want to replace Steve.
We couldn’t do that. If you have a family
member who dies, you don’t replace them.
If we were going to bring someone else in,
he needed to have different attributes and
bring something different to the table. Vivian
did that. He’s such a lovely guy. He was
sensitive and a great player. Plus he brought
vocal talent.
CAMPBELL: It was harder for them than
for me. It wasn’t the fi rst time I had stepped
into another band, whereas they had never
gone onstage without Steve. I think that
was frightening for them. As a result, we
rehearsed for about two months before my
fi rst gig with the band. I think that was more
for Def Leppard’s benefi t than for mine. They
knew I could play. A lot of the vetting process
was about the personalities, and whether
their personalities would work with mine.
Are great riffs a dying art?
COLLEN: Yes. The motivation for being
in a band changed at some point. People
want to be rich or famous, or they just want
attention, whereas players in the past were
more about sharing their gifts. Riffs are less
important to players than they once were
because the stuff that goes on around the
riffs isn’t as important. Some of the grunge
bands had great riffs, but nothing much has
come since then.
CAMPBELL: That was one of the great
things about Steve Clark. He was a great
riff writer. I pale in comparison. That’s a
target I’ve set for myself for the next Def
Leppard studio album. I want to focus on
writing riffs rather than on trying to write
complete songs. Sure, a lot of the great riffs
have already been written, but I’m certain
there are a few more out there.
Did all that ’80s shredding hurt?
COLLEN: That was what killed off great riffs,
to a large extent. It was ridiculous. Obviously
those guys didn’t have girlfriends. They just
sat around and played this stuff no one
else cared about, in a real male-dominated
arena. I love shredding but it became absurd.
There’s a time and a place for that. But if
that’s all you do, then you’re missing out on
an integral part of music as an art form.
What are your main guitars?
CAMPBELL: I have several Les Paul reissues,
but my main squeeze is a bastardized guitar,
a hybrid. It started life as a ’78 Les Paul
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Collen has been playing variations of his
Jackson Signature guitar for the past 26
years. “I play very aggressively, and I like
to really dig in,” he explains. “I don’t have a
light touch with my left hand. Some players
just skate over the fretboard, but I can’t do
that. I also use heavy gauge strings—.13 to
.54—and a metal pick. That really helps on
some of the lead stuff.” Collen’s stage setup
includes a Marshall JMP pre-amp and solid-
state Randall Power Amp manufactured in
the ’80s, along with TC Electronic effects
processors. For acoustic guitars, he’s lately
opted for either a Guild or a Breedlove.
Campbell’s beloved ’78 Les Paul hybrid
has been re-fretted with Dunlop 6000 Series
wire, as have all his guitars. “I like bigger
frets,” he says. “I also put TonePros hardware
on all my Les Pauls and a CTS 300K pot on
the volume control, so that it rolls off clean.
In addition to the Les Paul hybrid I have a ’56
reissue with Lindy Fralin P-90 pickups that
sounds really nice.” Campbell adds that he’s
using Engl equipment for the fi rst time for
Def Leppard’s current tour. “I’m using Engl
speakers and power amps,” he says, “and
I’m currently experimenting with Engl pre-
amps. I’m also still using the Marshall JMP
pre-amps, which have been in my rack for
17 years.”
‘I love shredding,
but it became
absurd. There’s a
time and a place
for that.’ –Phil Collen
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Collen has been playing variations of his
Jackson Signature guitar for the past 26
years. “I play very aggressively, and I like
to really dig in,” he explains. “I don’t have a
light touch with my left hand. Some players
just skate over the fretboard, but I can’t do
that. I also use heavy gauge strings—.13 to
.54—and a metal pick. That really helps on
some of the lead stuff.” Collen’s stage setup
includes a Marshall JMP pre-amp and solid-
state Randall Power Amp manufactured in
the ’80s, along with TC Electronic effects
processors. For acoustic guitars, he’s lately
opted for either a Guild or a Breedlove.
Campbell’s beloved ’78 Les Paul hybrid
has been re-fretted with Dunlop 6000 Series
wire, as have all his guitars. “I like bigger
frets,” he says. “I also put TonePros hardware
on all my Les Pauls and a CTS 300K pot on
the volume control, so that it rolls off clean.
In addition to the Les Paul hybrid I have a ’56
reissue with Lindy Fralin P-90 pickups that
sounds really nice.” Campbell adds that he’s
using Engl equipment for the fi rst time for
Def Leppard’s current tour. “I’m using Engl
speakers and power amps,” he says, “and
I’m currently experimenting with Engl pre-
amps. I’m also still using the Marshall JMP
pre-amps, which have been in my rack for
17 years.”
63
Jeff F
asan
o
M mag 12.indd 63 7/7/11 9:22:21 PM
JUNE 2011 ISSUE JUNE 2011 ISSUEMMUSICMAG.COM MMUSICMAG.COM
Custom that I bought in a pawnshop in
Nashville in 1993. I especially like its neck,
which is very chunky and has a great worn
feel. That guitar got run over and the whole
body was destroyed, but I was able to
salvage the headstock, the neck and the
front pickup. I had it re-bodied with a smaller
Les Paul Standard-sized body, so it wasn’t
as big and heavy. And every other aspect of
the guitar has been changed out, from the
machine heads to the nuts to the frets.
COLLEN: I usually take about seven guitars
on the road. For the current tour I’ve got two
new Jackson Supremes, and a variety of
my Jackson Signature PC1s. The PC1 has
gotten better and better through the years.
It’s got a Sustainer, which acts as a pickup
as well, in the neck position. You can get
screaming feedback no matter where you
are in the room. It has a bolt-on mahogany
neck with a maple fi ngerboard. The new
model—the PC Supreme—is a neck-through,
with a completely different look. It’s an arch-
top with an ebony fi ngerboard, but with the
same electronics as the PC1.
What’s the secret to your longevity?
CAMPBELL: No one in Def Leppard
considers himself a rock star. I think that’s
more of a British phenomenon as opposed
to an American way of thinking. If you look
at, say, Mötley Crüe, who’s very much an
American band, they’re as much image-driven
as they are music-driven. They’ve written
great music, but they are also personalities
with rock-star personas. Leppard has
never been like that. There’s never been an
individual in the band who’s been fodder for
the tabloids. The focus has always been on
the music. That’s kept us together.
‘We’ve tried to push the boundaries
in Def Leppard, but the fans only let
us go so far.’ –Phil Collen
Kevi
n W
inte
r/G
ett
y Im
ages
BEYOND THE BAND
Both Campbell and Collen have undertaken
projects that afford them opportunities to expand
their guitar horizons beyond their work in Leppard.
Campbell recently spent time playing guitar
in a re-tooled version of Thin Lizzy, while Collen
serves as the six-string force in the high-octane
outfi t Manraze. “We’ve tried to do things that
push the boundaries in Def Leppard, but the
fans will only let us go so far,” says Collen.
“We’re stuck in a bit of a box. In Manraze I can
go all over the place, both musically and lyrically.
Manraze has a new album coming out in August,
punkfunkrootsrock. We called it that because all
those elements are there.”
“Playing in Thin Lizzy re-energized my
passion for the instrument,” says Campbell, who
performed with the group from May 2010 through
May 2011. “It took me back to my teen years, to
the time when I was learning Thin Lizzy songs by
playing to their records. That stuff is ingrained in
my DNA. To do that for real and to play onstage
with [longtime Lizzy members] Brian Downey and
Scott Gorham was a thrill. It’s made me want to up
my game as a player in Def Leppard. I think both
Phil and I will be pushing for a bit more guitar on
the next studio album.”
Campbell and Collen onstage with Def Leppard in Las Vegas, May 2006
Inse
t: And
rew
Mac
Pherso
n
646464
MUSICIAN
M mag 12.indd 64 7/7/11 9:21:11 PM