Episode 5: Work It Out

This week, your Regarding…Slang hosts Wolfie, Scotzo, podcasting overlord Corey, and Chaz welcome back Van Halen expert David "Loud Dave" Criblez from the Dave and Dave Unclained podcast, as they tackle Def Leppard's second single from Slang: "Work It Out."

It's straight into why this Vivian Campbell-penned track might be Def Leppard's most commercial underrated gem—or at least the one song that proves Joe Elliott doesn't need to hit the stratosphere to sound great.

The song itself? Written entirely by Vivian Campbell, it sits perfectly in Joe's lower register and strips away the signature Mutt Lange production sheen for something that feels like you're watching the band rehearse. It's got industrial touches without going full Nine Inch Nails, a 40-second instrumental section that lets the music breathe, and lyrics about actually working through relationship problems instead of just rocking out or walking the effin dog or taking out the trash...

This episode features:

🎸 David's passionate breakdown of why this is Joe Elliott channeling his inner Iggy Pop

🤔 The eternal Def Leppard dilemma: half experimental songs, half playing it safe, like Joe's mullet "business up front, party in the back"

🗳️ The revelation that this was Chaz's only Def Leppard song to make his wedding playlist

🎵 Bonus tracks: Vivian's original Dublin demo

🎵 🎵 B-side "Move With Me Slowly"—a Stones-flavored jam that sounds like five guys who actually know how to play their instruments

Hidden throughout: Mullet references, Michael Anthony's "flag on the back of his head" hair, and the growing realization that when Def Leppard strips away the candy coating, they're capable of so much more than their hit formula suggests.

Special Bonus: The episode includes "Move With Me Slowly," a track so effortlessly cool and Stones-influenced that it becomes everyone's new favorite Def Leppard song by episode's end. It's proof that sometimes the best music happens when a band just plugs in and jams. Pay attention, Kevin Brown.

The Show

In this season of Regarding…, the panel tackles KISS’s Music From The Elder one song at a time—testing whether its epic ambition holds up under scrutiny. Alongside the analysis, Scott D. Monroe’s original screenplay tries to turn the album’s abstract mythology into an actual story.

Ambition meets accountability.

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