Def Leppard

[GuitarGeek]

While I was browsing Amazon last week, I found that Def Leppard have recently released a boxset called The Collection, Vol. 1. So what's in it? Glad you asked. You get:

The first four albums
a live show from the Pyromania tour (yes, the same one that was issued in the Deluxe version of Pyromania, with Brian May sitting in for the encore)
an entire CD of rarities, including most of the non-album material (only a few live tracks and 7" and "extended versions" are missing) from the era covered. This includes nearly all the B-sides from the Ysteria singles, including the original version of Tear It Down.
A 3" CD containing the band's first EP, recorded and released by the band before they even had a record deal

It other words, pretty much everything you would want or "need" from this band.

Seeing as I had always intended to get the first three albums anyway, and the rarities disc looked appealing, I pulled the trigger and got a slightly used copy that Amazon had listed for $56 (regular price was more like $64). And since I have a Prime membership, I still got free two day shipping.

So my verdict? Well, I'm only through the original four albums, but my take is thus:

On Through The Night: Would you believe I've never actually heard this album before, save for Hello America. Dude, this one bad ass debut album! Hard to believe these guys were teenagers when they made this record (in fact, Rick Allen's parents had to sign the original record contract for him, because he was still underage)! Lots of cool songs. And there's even a touch of (ahem) "prog" on the 7 minute The Overture, which closes the album.

High 'n' Dry: Apart from the three songs they did videos for (which was my introduction to the band, thanks to MTV), I had never heard this one either. Demonstrates the first record wasn't a fluke or accident or whatever. More great hard rock music. And despite Mutt Lange's production, they hadn't quite become as glossy as they were about to.

Pyromania: Tipper Gore's favorite Def Leppard album. I actually have this on LP, I rescued it from the 1 dollar bin at Record Exchange back in 85 or 86, but probably haven't listened to it in 25 or more years. Another great album, with lots of classic songs, but this is where things start to get a little glossy. Apart from the three hits off this one, I always liked Stagefright, Rock! Rock! (Til You Drop), and Die Hard The Hunter (another slightly "prog" number).

Hysteria: I have the first CD release of this one, which I got from whichever record club I or my mom belonged to in the late 80's, but again, it's been at least a couple decades since I've listened to it (though VH-1 and VH-1 Classic have insured that over half the songs on this album have stayed in my memory). The band said their goal was to make a "hard rock version of Thriller", and that's kinda what it is, i.e. a record that rocked, but also could provide maximum radio playlist penetration. There were seven singles off this album, and every one of them was was a hit in either the US and/or UK. But besides that there's a few other good songs that I had kinda forgotten about, including the 6 minute mini-epic Gods Of War (which is described in the liner notes as their Kashmir).

As I said, I haven't gotten to the live disc, the rarities disc, and until I can get a hold of a 3" CD adapter, I won't be hearing that first EP at all, but I'm looking forward to playing them later. But I'm sure there's some good stuff to be heard there, as well.

Oh, and it's worth noting that the boxset comes with a book, with liner notes detailing the making of all four albums, as the rarities, lots of cool photos, comments from Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, and Phil Collen.

[frinspar]

I was one of those kids on edge waiting for Hysteria as the hype machine built it up before its release. I was a big fan of the previous 2 albums. I got On Through the Night at some point during that time from Columbia House, as one of my "free" cassettes. Still have it, and my other DL tapes.

I was 14 and working at a pizza place in Austin called Mr. Gatti's the night Women had its video premier on MTV. We all stopped and went into the part of the dining room that had a TV to watch it. That concert, when it came to the Erwin Center, is still a great memory for me.

Should pick this up eventually.

[Jerjo]

The only "pop metal" act worth a damn in my book. Glossy but they could write a hook. I have the first four on CD but it's been awhile since I've spun them. I prefer On Through the Night because Mutt hadn't sanded off all the edges.

[GuitarGeek]

I was one of those kids on edge waiting for Hysteria as the hype machine built it up before its release. I was a big fan of the previous 2 albums. I got On Through the Night at some point during that time from Columbia House, as one of my "free" cassettes. Still have it, and my other DL tapes.

I wasn't a huge Def Leppard fan, but I did like the music I had heard, so I was sort of "on the edge of my seat" too, waiting for Hysteria. I remember during the early parts of the recording of that album, you'd hear reports about them working with Jim Steinman, then Steinman dropped out of the project, then of course, there was Rick Allen's car accident, etc.

And I too remember the premiere of the Women video, and watching it on MTV..."FINALLY, new music from Def Leppard!". What was interesting was, I didn't quite realize it at the time, but I know I heard years later, that album took forever to take off Stateside. They had spent so much money working on it (including having to buy out Jim Steinman's contract, even nothing the band did with him made it onto the album), they were afraid they were gonna be owing money to Mercury for ever.

I guess it was an immediate success in the UK (bigger there than Pyromania had been, in fact), but Women kinda flopped as a single over here, and Animal did only marginally better. Then some strip joint in Miami or some place like that was actually using Pour Some Sugar On Me to accompany their...dancers, and that's supposedly what launched that single into being as big as it was, and that in turn caused the album to finally start flying off shelves, after it had been out for several months. Or at least that's the story the band likes to tell.

Oh, and I almost forgot one of the best things: the first three albums were originally released on Vertigo in the UK, and such, the respective CD's in the box have the Roger Dean label artwork on them, as such things should be done!

[frinspar]

I wasn't a huge Def Leppard fan, but I did like the music I had heard, so I was sort of "on the edge of my seat" too, waiting for Hysteria. I remember during the early parts of the recording of that album, you'd hear reports about them working with Jim Steinman, then Steinman dropped out of the project, then of course, there was Rick Allen's car accident, etc.

And I too remember the premiere of the Women video, and watching it on MTV..."FINALLY, new music from Def Leppard!". What was interesting was, I didn't quite realize it at the time, but I know I heard years later, that album took forever to take off Stateside. They had spent so much money working on it (including having to buy out Jim Steinman's contract, even nothing the band did with him made it onto the album), they were afraid they were gonna be owing money to Mercury for ever.

I guess it was an immediate success in the UK (bigger there than Pyromania had been, in fact), but Women kinda flopped as a single over here, and Animal did only marginally better. Then some strip joint in Miami or some place like that was actually using Pour Some Sugar On Me to accompany their...dancers, and that's supposedly what launched that single into being as big as it was, and that in turn caused the album to finally start flying off shelves, after it had been out for several months. Or at least that's the story the band likes to tell.

Oh, and I almost forgot one of the best things: the first three albums were originally released on Vertigo in the UK, and such, the respective CD's in the box have the Roger Dean label artwork on them, as such things should be done!

That's all pretty interesting.

I was trying to remember how long it was between the album coming out and the tour hitting over here. Seems like it was a while, so hearing that it took time for the album to really take off here fills in that gap.
That summer seems like it was a regular string of stories and updates on MTV leading up to it, and my friends were all looking forward to it. Major marketing campaign that worked really well, and the product damn well delivered. I also remember the hyping of the 360 spinning stage. So cool.

[GuitarGeek]

That's all pretty interesting.

I was trying to remember how long it was between the album coming out and the tour hitting over here. Seems like it was a while, so hearing that it took time for the album to really take off here fills in that gap.
That summer seems like it was a regular string of stories and updates on MTV leading up to it, and my friends were all looking forward to it. Major marketing campaign that worked really well, and the product damn well delivered. I also remember the hyping of the 360 spinning stage. So cool.

Yeah, MTV really went full tilt with the coverage of that album and tour. I remember in particular all the talk about Rick Allen's Simmons drumkit, with the foot pedals that he used to trigger the stuff that he would have played with his missing arm. It wa to the point that eventually, MTV did this thing where Joe Elliott was giving a "tour of the stage", showing all the stuff they had with them. When he gets to the drum riser, he says something like "So much has been said about this drumkit, I don't think I really need to explain it any further", then moved on to talking about the laser mirrors or whatever. He also mentioned that he thought the audience members ho had the best seats were the people up in the nosebleeds because they could actually see the entire the stage.

I also remember MTV doing a Rockumentary at the time on the band, and Joe Elliott saying the band really began because he missed the bus on the way home from work, and while walking home, he met Pete Willis. He says something like "Funny to think if I had caught the bus that night, I might not be sitting here talking to you".

Another side note I remember was, after the Hysteria cycle had kinda died down, and I guess they were starting to work on what became Andrenalize, and Steve Clarke passed away. I remember seeing a news report on regular TV, like the regular news, not MTV or whatever. The thing that struck me was, as they're talking about STeve's death, who Def Leppard, or whatever, they're showing a clip from the Hysteria video, and you know who they were actually showing? Phil Collen! I thought that was...slightly amusing. I was never sure if they just showed a random bit from the video, or if some videographer thought he was being clever by trying to show the guy who passed away, but picked the wrong guitarist to show during the report.

[GuitarGeek]

Oh another memory from the Hysteria era: you may recall, if you saw the show, that they started with a curtain surrounding the entire stage. As seen in the concert video they put out from the tour (and you can see in the beginning of the Pour Some Sugar On Me video too), the curtain would drop, revealing the band onstage, as part of some sort sort of "magic trick". Well, there was a review in Rolling Stone, which commented that audience members who saw several large laundry bins being pushed toward the stage moments before the stage lights went out were less impressed with the stunt.

[Progatron]

I used to draw their logo on my schoolbooks. Still have fond memories of tracks like Comin' Under Fire, Switch 625/Bringin' On The Heartbreak, Rock Rock Til You Drop, Too Late For Love, Me And My Wine, Rock Brigade, etc. They were a good rocking band back then.

Hysteria was massive and inescapable - truly a success story if there ever was one, but it really wasn't as good IMO. Although it has its moments: Women is a good track, and I love the closing guitar part to Gods Of War, which might be my favourite minute or so of their catalogue. A couple of the single b-sides from this period were better than the rest of that album if I recall. And stuff like Pour Some Sugar and Armageddon It are pretty cringeworthy.

[chalkpie]

I always thought they were 'Muricans....shows what I know.

[Scrotum Scissor]

My fave band.

I remember the video to "Pour Some Sugar", with the singer donning that wonderfully 80s tough raspy vox and the brilliant mullet backhair swaying out in front of his raunchy leather shoulders, very thin. I always wondered if they'd fit up his sinuses and emerge from the nostrils, rendering that sound even tuffer than enuff.

It was great later as a "progger" to find out how the vocalist in It Bites had adopted the same tuff technique. It gave me tuffness.

[Vic2012]

Never got into this group. To me they were the British Bon Jovi. I should hear the first couple of albums from the late 70s. They're on Youtube........ya think?

[GuitarGeek]

I

Hysteria was massive and inescapable - truly a success story if there ever was one, but it really wasn't as good IMO.

Yeah, I would to tend to agree with that, in terms of hard rock music. To me rock music shouldn't concern itself with "hit singles" or being "radio friendly" or trying to compete with Michael Jackson or Prince or whomever. If you're making good, catchy, melodic three minute rock n roll songs already, that should be enough. Whether it goes to number one or not should really be beside the point.

And stuff like Pour Some Sugar and Armageddon It are pretty cringeworthy.

I dunno man, I can think when you compare those two songs to some of the cringeworthy songs in other bands' catalogs, they're not so bad:

Grateful Dead: Casey Jones, Money Money, Keep Your Day Job
The Who: Squeeze Box, Why Did I Fall For That, Cache Cache, How Can You Do It Alone, Did You Steal My Money
The Beatles: like half the songs on Let It Be
Queen: If You Can't Beat Them, Cool Cat, Invisible Man
Yes: Big Generator
Genesis: Illegal Alien, Misunderstanding , Another Record, Like It Or Not

[GuitarGeek]

I always thought they were 'Muricans....shows what I know.

You thought a band whose drummer wore Union Jack shorts (and nothing but) onstage, and whose singer also wore a Union Jack t-shirt, were Americans?!

[Zappathustra]

Never got into this group. To me they were the British Bon Jovi. I should hear the first couple of albums from the late 70s. They're on Youtube........ya think?

On through the night is one of the great NWOBHM LPs.

The rest is downhill until excrement level...meaning Hysteria. A quintessential example of complete sell out. It's not even funny, since there was some talent.

[chalkpie]

You thought a band whose drummer wore Union Jack shorts (and nothing but) onstage, and whose singer also wore a Union Jack t-shirt, were Americans?!

Never really watched them play, other than a video or two on MTV back in the stone age.

[Vic2012]

On through the night is one of the great NWOBHM LPs.

The rest is downhill until excrement level...meaning Hysteria. A quintessential example of complete sell out. It's not even funny, since there was some talent.

I'll check out those NewWobhm alblums.

[Trane]

My fave band.

Seeeeriously??

Never got into this group. To me they were the British Bon Jovi. I should hear the first couple of albums from the late 70s. They're on Youtube........ya think?

Couldn't get into them either (though I did borrow their debut album from a buddy), but I wouldn't be as insulting as comparing them to Bon Anchiove (though in some ways, sonically, it's not that inept a comparison)

On through the night is one of the great NWOBHM LPs.

The rest is downhill until excrement level...meaning Hysteria. A quintessential example of complete sell out. It's not even funny, since there was some talent.

Yeah, I also entered their debut under the NWOBHM umbrella, but if memory serves, they rejected that label and didn't want to be called "metal"

[aith01]

Never really watched them play, other than a video or two on MTV back in the stone age.

Me neither. It wasn't until around 2005 when I was looking at a 2-disc "best of" compilation that my dad had, and I noticed the Union Jack was the background on the CD tray inlay. Just one of those "details" I never noticed until then.

I was never a huge fan of them, but I liked quite a few of their songs and still feel that they were one of the best groups from that whole glam rock wave.

This thread reminds me of a personal anecdote: I was talking to my piano instructor a couple years ago (he's a jazz musician primarily and is deep into jazz, but has a very wide ranging taste in music). He was telling me how he used to listen to Poison and how they were still a guilty pleasure of his. I said that Def Leppard were kind of a guilty pleasure for me, and he replied with something like "Man, you don't have to feel guilty about liking Def Leppard. Those guys are great musicians, and can actually really play."

[Vic2012]

Bon Anchovie.......

[GuitarGeek]

Never got into this group. To me they were the British Bon Jovi. I should hear the first couple of albums from the late 70s. They're on Youtube........ya think?

Actually, the first album is from 1980, the second is from 1981.

And Def Leppard never stooped to the kind of Springsteen wannabe-isms that Bon Jovi got up to. And I think there's more proggy moments in Def Leppard's music too (seriously, listen to The Overture or Gods Of War).

[Vic2012]

I'll listen to it on Youtube.

[Crawford Glissadevil]

Like Def Leopard way more than Bon Jovi. White Snake and Def Leopard are my favorite 80's pop-metal bands.

[frinspar]

I remember the VH1 movie about them that came out maybe 20 years ago. Pretty sure it was damn cheesy.

Thinking about it, much as I enjoyed it, Hysteria was the end for me. I never bought anything they put out after, don't know that I've even heard any of it. Weird. Still love all the old stuff though.

[aith01]

Yeah, Def Leppard was a lot more talented musically than Bon Jovi, IMO. Never really heard any similarities between the two.

[JJ88]

I do like Hysteria and Pyromania but I know nothing after that, beyond the odd hit here and there. Never felt the need to go further either.

Great riff on 'Gods Of War'.