The 80's Never Ended: Vol.2 - Def Leppard

WHERE THEY ARE NOW:

Fans of the (former) Hair-Metal-Pop band Def Leppard have been treated with a number of "new releases" in the last few years. The first of which hit the store shelves and iTunes lists in 2006 and was titled "Yeah!", a collection of 1970's tunes by the band's favorite artists. 

Included on the album were "covers" by such classic rock bands as The Kinks (“Waterloo Sunset"), Free ("Little Bit of Love") and Badfinger ("No Matter What") as well as "glam rock" artists Roxy Music ("Street Life") and David Bowie ("Drive-In Saturday"). Critical reviews of the album were mixed and it spent only 1 week in the charts at # 52. That being said, it is a fantastic album.

The "big hit" from the CD as a cover of the 1973 David Essex tune "Rock On". The band covers it with an appropriate amount of swelling guitar melodies and crunchy, bouncing guitars and bass. The song itself is no stranger to the pop charts, as there has been a charting cover version of it in every decade since its release. The Def Leppard version is, as you would expect, heavier sounding than the predecessors and it also lacks the polish. From the opening fade-in to the climactic stop-dead ending, the song sounds very much like it could have been recorded live.

The song choices on the album are eclectic to say the least. Nowhere to be found are covers of genuine, chart topping hits. It turns out, that was by design. In an interview with the website Bullz Eye, drummer Rick Allen stated that they didn't want to cover any songs that would be "too obvious" and instead went with lesser known tracks that had inspired them in their youth. Each band member assembled a list of "wanted" songs for the effort. According to Allen, when the band compared lists, they were all pretty much the same.

Choice cuts on the release include the previously mentioned "Rock On", "Waterloo Sunset" and a surprising rendition of "Stay With Me", the classic rock-blues anthem by The Faces featuring Rod Stewart. The Def Leppard recording marks the first time that lead vocals are handled by guitarist Phil Collen. The vocals were recorded in one take, meant to be a guide track for lead singer Joe Elliot to record over as progress on the track progressed. The band decided that the performance was so raw and energetic, that it stayed on the final version.

Bonus tracks were recorded for exclusive release on various versions of the album for retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Assembling these miscellaneous tracks will yield the faithful fan with another almost full-length release. Among these tracks are "Space Oddity" from David Bowie, "How Does It Feel" by Slade, The Stooges' "Search And Destroy", the Queen classic "Dear Friends" and "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Also thrown in are some live tracks and interviews.

As a fan for 30 years, I played this CD many times over, singing along with vaguely familiar songs from my childhood. It was genuine pleasure to hear new versions of some of these "classic" tracks that sound better (in some cases) than the original recordings by the original artists.

 For a rating, I give "Yeah!" a solid 5 out of 6 strings.

Up next for the band was "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" released in 2008. The lead single divided long-time fans of the band as it featured co-lead vocals with country artist Tim McGraw. For years, rock and pop acts had been "crossing over" to the country charts. Defecting artists include Lynrd Skynrd, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and Bret Michaels of 80's glam-rock band Poison. Whether for monetary gain, or to expand their ever-shrinking fan base, these acts were able to garner new hits long after they disappeared from the rock and pop charts. For Def Leppard to attempt a similar ploy was beyond the expectations of the average fan. The single experienced moderate success, and the band was nominated for a County Music Video of the Year Award.

 A follow-up single "C'mon C'mon" saw them return to their hard rock roots. The song closely resembles past classics from their Adrenalize and Euphoria LPs.

The fans that had been alienated with their minor collaboration with country artist Tim McGraw would find even more reason to voice displeasure as the band announced a live concert appearance with (then) teen-country sensation Taylor Swift for a session of CMT's "Crossroads" music series. The band performed classic Def Lep tracks such as "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Photograph" alongside Swift as she sang portions of the lead vocals. Def Leppard then acted as Swift's backing band for the hits "Love Story", "Picture to Burn" and "Teardrops On My Guitar".

The collaboration was subsequently released as a DVD and both artists were nominated for 2 County Music Awards for their efforts. As some fans were undoubtedly disappointed for the band's "crossover" into country music, seemingly more fans climbed on board the Def Leppard express. Reviews of the concert are overwhelmingly positive on sales sites like Amazon and Wal-mart websites. Purchaser reviews included this telling insight, "This was a great find because I am a big Def Leppard fan and my daughter (11) is a huge Taylor Swift fan! Now her fondness for Taylor has rubbed off on me and my fondness for DefLep on her! They take part in singing each other's hits and it is very well done."

For "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge", I rate the album at 3 out of 6 strings. Mainly an album for die-hard fans and completists, it features many OK songs, but no GREAT ones.

For "Crossroads with Taylor Swift (DVD)" I give an unexpected 6 out of 6 strings! Joe Elliot was in fine form and Taylor's singing style perfectly complimented his. The re-working of classic Def Lep tracks as duets also worked well beyond expectation. The fact that they earned 3 Music Industry Award Nominations for this pairing is proof enough that the effort was not wasted. I suspect that in years from now, new Def Leppard fans will point to this event as the day they discovered Def Leppard. An outstanding performance.

The final release in Def Leppard's tri-fecta arsenal of late was the triple disc "Mirrorball" from 2011. Included are 2 CDs of live music and a DVD packed with live performances and music videos for "Nine Lives" and "C'Mon C'Mon". Also included are 3 new studio recordings, "Undefeated", "Kings of the World" and "It's All About Believing". 

The album was co-produced by the band along with Ronan McHugh, who also produced the "Sparkle Lounge" CD. For the most part, the live recordings lack sonic clarity and sound flat, almost like the recording was made (like we used to in the old days) from an FM broadcast. It is the worst sounding Def Leppard recording since their debut effort "On Through The Night" (Detailed later in this article).

Also annoyingly, Phil Collen's lead guitar parts are over prominent in the mix. Collen has (since Steve Clark's passing) had a penchant for, I'll just say, "flourishes". The "traditional" Def Leppard sound has the guitars crunching away softly during the verses (when Joe Elliot sings) and then give way to crashing, steady guitar chords for the chorus, then a fret-bashing, finger blurring furious guitar solo. On these live versions, Collen can be heard almost constantly fiddling around with high octave "wahs" and "woes" on his signature Jackson electric guitar. These "flourishes" were not present on the original studio recordings and Collen (as senior guitarist present) is obviously taking liberties with his licks during the songs.

While some hard rock fans may think "MORE GUITAR IS BETTER!” this critic is much more, well, critical. Like any great band, each member plays an important role in the creation and execution of great music. Mr. Collen overstates his importance during these recordings and does not do them proper justice. Songs like "Rock! Rock! Till You Drop" are almost unbearable as he manages to work in a screech or scream at nearly every opportunity. Having seen (and heard) the band on a previous tour, I was disappointed at this aural affront. Perhaps Def Leppard should not self-produce their albums if this is to be the final result.

As a last bit of criticism, I was also not happy with the "sing along" portions during the set. For instance, their classic ballad "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" is utterly ruined by band-promoted audience participation. Listen up Def Leppard; if I wanted to hear a drunken idiot (let alone 10's of thousands of them!) sing your music, I'll go to the local bar on Karaoke Night. I paid to her YOU sing your songs. To borrow a phrase from you, C'Mon C'Mon!! 

 The set list of the (nearly) double live CD is a nice mix of "hits" and "misses" from the band's 30+ year career. Sure, you'll hear the mandatory "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Photograph" along with later hits "Let's Get Rocked!" and "Nine Lives", but you also get gems like "Switch 625" and "Action" that were never singles but have become fan favorites. All in all, "Mirrorball" is a classic, turn it up to 11 album, even with the annoying item mentioned earlier. It is the band's first official LIVE release, dare I say, it won't be the last.

For "Mirrorball" I begrudgingly give 4 out of 6 strings. The flaws are numerous, but not fatal. The new songs are OK, but will quickly fade into obscurity. The DVD has some interesting bits, but mainly is a bonus disc and not full length. The 2 main reasons this set earned 4 stars is twofold. One, it's amazing to hear a LIVE Def Leppard concert almost in it's entirety, and two, it was cheap. I'm not kidding. It was like $12. For a double CD and a DVD. $12. Who in their right mind would download this from iTunes at 99 cents a track (24 tracks total) when you can pick up the CD for a "discount bin" price? If this set was priced at (what one would expect) $29.99 or higher, I could easily, and without regret, give it 2 strings.

According to rumors (on the internet of course, where else would rumors spread these days) the band is already at work on their next studio release. Currently, they are touring in support of "Mirrorball"...a live concert series to play songs from a live album? The logic escapes me. I look forward to their next release.

Read on for a look at where Def Leppard has been, from their 1980 debut up to the 2000's.

WHERE THEY WERE:

With their breakthrough LP "Pyromania", Def Leppard converted overly pop-friendly American radio into a haven for guitar distortion, booming bass and high adrenaline melodies. By no stretch of the imagination was Def Leppard first in making hard rock, but they were arguably the best during the 1980's.

Joe Elliot's vocal range would make an opera singer envious. Rick Allen would come to be known as "The Thunder God" behind the drum kit. Strong and steady bass banger Rick Savage provided the lower end for soaring guitar riffs and solos from Steve Clark. Pete Willis, a former engineering student at a local college, on rhythm guitar, rounded out the group. At the time of the recording sessions for their debut LP, they had an average age of 18.

Modern day hard-rock aficionados take for granted their ability to instantly download their favorite band's latest songs via the Internet. Back in the 80's, getting your hands on an album full of screaming guitars & thunderous drums meant a trip to a sometimes-distant record shop. If you were lucky, there would be a small section of a dozen or so LPs in the back corner of the store. If you weren't lucky enough to find the band and album you wanted, it was off to another location and the search was on. All of that changed in 1983, when a new British invasion occurred and Def Leppard rode the tsunami into American pop culture history.

The decade started off with a whimper for the band. Their first LP "On Through The Night" (1980) produced one single for the US market, "Rock Brigade", which failed to chart. Ironically, the song chosen as a single in the UK, "Hello America" also failed to crack the Top 40 and was not released in the US. Overall, the LP had spotty production values, suffered from a muddy audio mix and relied on a long string of cliche' lyrics. That being said, "On Through The Night" stood out as a raw, unpolished and unapologetic testament to rock music and it's power to overthrow the reigning king of (then) current music, disco. The LP would gain a second-life of sorts later in the decade when Def Leppard's popularity was unmatched by any contender. More on that later.

In support of the album, the group toured the UK as an opening act for Sammy Hagar and AC/DC before heading stateside as a supporting act on Ted Nugent's tour.

For a rating, “On Through The Night” gets 3 out of 6 strings, but only in hindsight. At the time, it was overlooked.

Their second LP, "High 'n' Dry" was released in 1981.

Although the lead single "Let It Go" barely dented the US Top 40 Charts at #38, hard rock fans began to take notice. Perhaps due to the exposure of the preceding US tour, perhaps because of new producer (of AC/DC's "Back in Black" fame) Robert John "Mutt" Lange's production techniques, Def Leppard's sophomore LP contained some of their most explosively charged rhymes and rhythms to date. It was with this LP that "The Def Leppard Sound" first appeared. The track "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)" became the anthem for countless backyard keg parties, as well as a favorite in subsequent tours. The crunchy guitar sounds on "Mirror, Mirror" and "Another Hit and Run" would be endlessly recycled by garage band wannabes for decades. But the most "important" track on the LP would be "the hit that never was", the arena-ballad-love song (before there even was such a thing) titled "Bringin' On The Heartbreak".

By the advent of MTV in August of 1981, Def Leppard had filmed no less than 6 music videos to promote their music, albeit mostly stage performances or live concert clips. One of those videos was for "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" to which MTV took an instant liking and placed it in heavy rotation as one of the first ever "hard rock" or "metal" videos to air on the channel. This exposure opened the band to a whole new audience, middle of the road America. Despite the enviable free promotion that Mtv brought, it didn't pay off with increased album sales. "High 'N' Dry" did surpass the units shifted for their debut, but it was far from a run-away best seller. It was only after their next release that the LP gain momentum and achieve gold status with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

For a solid, rock-out air guitar sing along album, I give “High ‘N’ Dry” a solid 4 of 6 strings.

If "High 'N' Dry" could be compared to a brush fire, their next album can only be described as an explosion, prophetically captured by the cover art which depicts a high rise office building burning behind the crosshairs of some unknown weapon.

Released in January of 1983, the album quickly rose to #2 on the Billboard Albums Chart and was only denied the #1 position by Michael Jackson's masterpiece "Thriller". The LP spawned a string of singles, supported by imaginative music videos that took MTV, radio and the entire nation by storm. Returning as producer was "Mutt" Lange who further tweaked and expanded their sound with the use of synthesizers and "gang" background vocals. Overnight, "Pyromania" became the standard hard rock sound that all other artists were compared to.

The lead single, "Photograph" was a longing love song to an American icon, Marilynn Monroe. The accompanying video captures the band performing onstage in brilliant color as cutaways tells the story of the movie actress being stalked by a "passion killer" in stark black and white sequences. Also making debuts in this video are the now standard "Union Jack" motif that the band displays in subsequent videos and artwork, and guitarist Phil Collen, who replaced Pete Willis mid-way through the album's recording sessions due to alcohol abuse. The single reached #1 on the Billboard Top Tracks Charts and #12 on the more popular Pop Singles Chart. The single's success was rather one-sided though, where it proved extremely popular in the US, back at home, it barely dented the UK charts where it peaked at #66.

The next single, "Rock of Ages" proved that their previous hit "Photograph" was not a fluke. It too hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Tracks Charts and was a solid Top 20 hit on the Pop Charts. The song features 4 of the most famous words in Rock History, "Unta Gleeben Glouten Globen" as a kind of count-in. The words were performed by producer "Mutt" Lange after dozens of takes as he began to grow tired of using the industry standard "1,2,3,4". The band liked the sound of the gibberish so much; they insisted that he include it on the finished track.

On the strength of these 2 singles alone, the "Pyromania" LP reached Gold status in March of 1983, just 2 months after being released. Less than a month later, the album had gone Platinum with sales over 1 million copies. Bolstered by the success of the LP, their back-catalog began to pick up sales as well. Their previous album "High 'N' Dry" went gold, then platinum, followed by "On Through The Night" which went Gold by the end of 1983.

Further singles from "Pyromania" also charted well, with "Foolin" and the mid-tempo ballad "Too Late For Love" breaking into the Top 10. By the end of the album's run on the US charts in 1984, it had amassed sales in excess of 6 million copies.

This album deserves it’s 5 out of 6 string rating. An instant classic that STILL sounds good today!

Hoping to capitalize on this surge in popularity, their record company decided to re-issue their previous LP "High 'N' Dry" with a couple of "newly remixed" tracks. "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" was heavily remixed as sythesizers were added and the guitar tracks of former member Pete Willis were erased in favor of newly recorded parts added by his replacement, Phil Colleen. The single was released with another remixed tune, "Me and My Wine" as it's B-Side. Again, the single failed to make an impact on the US Single Charts. In later years, when "High 'N' Dry" was re-issued on compact disc, these remixed tracks were omitted, thus, it became "the hit that never was".

The “remixed” version of “High ‘N’ Dry” gets 5 out of 6 strings. An additional string compared to it’s original, in honor of the 2 new tracks included. Another 7 minutes of rockin’ Def Leppardness.

The years between "Pyromania" and their next release have become legendary, and even lead to the urban legend of the "Def Leppard Curse”. For all the trials and tragedies that occurred during the recording sessions from 1984 to 1987, the resulting album would propel Def Leppard from mere rock stars, to rock gods. The story was even recounted in a bio-pic produced by MTV Network affiliate station VH-1 as "The Def Leppard Story".

"Hysteria" was released in August of 1987 and eventually topped the US and UK album charts, despite the fact that no less than 4 producers were hired and fired, the recordings were scrapped twice and started over, and Drummer Rick Allen lost an arm during a New Year's Day car crash. In the liner notes to the album, the band expressed their regret that it had taken so long to get it into their fan's hands and promised to not let that happen again. It proved to be wishful thinking, but I digress.

When the first single "Women" was released in the US along with it's requisite video, fans around the world hailed their return and then went about their normal lives. The single was not a chart-burner, and the LP was not selling well. During the nearly 4 years of recording sessions, Def Leppard had racked up such a debt to their record company, that is was reported that the album would have to sell 10 million copies before they could even break even. The failure of the lead single "Women" was not a good omen.

Their second single (in the US) "Animal" was released and performed reasonably well, reaching the Top 20. The LP sales picked up a bit and "Hysteria" was given first Gold, then Platinum status by October of 1987. By November, it had reached 2 million copies, then 3 million by January of 1988.

The 3rd single, the title track ballad "Hysteria" was released in January of 1988 and bested the previous single's position by going Top 10. Momentum was definitely building and the LP was steadily selling more and more copies, but nothing could prepare the populace for what happened next.

Then, something unprecedented happened. Their 4th single, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was released and the country exploded into what could only be labeled, appropriately enough, "Hysteria". The single shot to #2 on the singles charts. The video went to #1 on the MTV Video countdown and remained there for over 3 months. Boosted by the overwhelming popularity of the song and video, the LP went to #1 on the album charts and began selling at a pace of 1 MILLION RECORDS A MONTH during the single's run on the charts. At the time, there were news reports of record stores being completely out of stock and a CD pressing plant whose workers went into overtime and weekends pressing new CDs to keep up with the demand.

The follow up single "Love Bites" went to #1 on the US Billboard singles chart, their only single to do so. Further singles included "Armageddon It" and "Rocket" which both peaked inside the Top 5.

“Hysteria” receives a perfect 6 out of 6 string rating.

A full length concert video was released "In The Round, In Your Face" during the following tour as well as a video hits collection called "Historia" which collected all of the previous videos from 1980 to 1988. Both of which went Platinum. The amazing sales of "Hysteria" also propelled sales of the back catalog of LPs to more than double, and as "Hysteria" went on to sell 10 million copies in the next 2 years, all their previous efforts went Platinum or multi-Platinum as well.

As it seems with Def Leppard, every high point in their career comes with a crushing low. After the conclusion of the "Hysteria World Tour", which went through Europe twice and America FOUR TIMES, Guitarist Steven Clark became increasingly withdrawn and depressed. The situation escalated to the point that he was put on sabbatical from the band during their sessions for the next LP. Within months of his departure, he would succumb to alcohol and drug addictions and die at the age of 30.

The tragedy left fans worldwide, and the band, shocked. It would take Def Leppard nearly 5 years from the time of "Hysteria's" release to comeback with the follow-up "Adrenalize". Although Clark is absent from the recordings on the album, he had written several songs with the band prior to his death and 6 of these were included in the final version of the CD. The song "White Lightning" was written and dedicated by the surviving members as a tribute to him.

"Adrenalize" featured 6 singles including the Top 20 hits "Let's Get Rocked", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" and the Top 40 hits "Make Love Like A Man" and "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion). The CD went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US.

“Adrenalize” gets 4 out of 6 strings. Although it contains some great songs, they are overly “poppy” and not as hard and edgy as hard-rock fans would have expected.

In the 90's Def Leppard released several new albums to varying degrees of success.

"Retro Active" (1993) was a collection of B-side and unreleased songs from previous sessions, mainly from the “Hysteria” era. Included were re-recordings of fan favorite B-Sides, “Ring of Fire” (Not the Johnny Cash classic), “ I Wanna Be Your Hero” and “Tear It Down”.  This album also marks the first appearance of Vivian Campbell on guitar.

As a whole, “Retro Active” is a darker album than either “Hysteria” or “Adrenalize”. The LP kicks off with “Desert Song”, a track recorded for “Hysteria” but left in the Vault along with “Fractured Love”, the second track. Both songs have a “God’s of War” feeling to them, with minor chords and low-slung vocals. Both are slower tempo, but are definitely not “sway side to side” dance songs like most of the other tracks on “Hysteria”. In that context, you could probably understand their dismissal, but inside the grooves of “Retro Active”, they fit perfectly.

Highlights of the album are “Two Steps Behind”, their last Top 20 hit in the US, another arena ballad favorite “Miss You In A Heartbeat” as well as the trio of “Hysteria” era B-side tracks.

For a rating, I give “Retro Active” a solid 5 out of 6 strings. I am docking 1 string due to the fact that some of the songs had been edited, or had portions of them re-recorded for this album, hence, it is not a true “from the back of the Vault” release.

"Slang" (1996) was their attempt at re-inventing themselves with a more organic sound and more personal songwriting. This is their first album without producer Mutt Lange since 1981. It is also their first album not to go Platinum in the US.

The popular music scene at the time of the mid 90’s was not Def Leppard-friendly. The so called “hair bands” of the 80’s were out of fashion, grunge and alternative rock had taken over the radio. In an interview recorded for the VH-1 “Behind The Music”, lead singer Joe Elliot compared their new sound to their previous releases. “It wasn’t a case of trying to copy Pearl Jam or Nirvana, it was more a case of not copying ourselves.”

The band was visably annoyed with the lack of the album’s success during later press interviews. Lead singer Joe Elliot commented that other rock acts “like U2” are praised when they do a 180 with the band’s sound and re-invent themselves.

Drummer Rick Allen summed up the album’s general reception, “Listening to Slang with the record company in London, it was like somebody had just farted.”

Four singles were released from the album, the title track, “Work It Out”, “All I Want Is Everything” and “Breathe a Sigh”.  The highest chart action of these singles was for “Work It Out” which peaked at #6 on the US Rock Tracks Charts, a far cry from previous efforts.

For a rating, “Slang” gets 3 out of 6 stars. For the average Def Leppard fan, there’s just nothing here to hang your hat on. Gone entirely is every musical shred of what makes Def Leppard, Def Leppard. The title track is a fun romp and it was a nice change of pace to hear Rick Allen on REAL DRUMS for the first time since his auto crash, but there’s just not much else to root for on the album.

"Euphoria" (1999) was a return to their previous hard/glam rock traditions. Also making a return (of sorts) was Mutt Lange. Instead of full time producer, Lange helped write several tracks, played guitar and even provided some background vocals. The overall feel of the album was an upbeat, optimistic, all night long, rock party.

In it’s first week of release, the album sold nearly 100,000 copies and nearly cracked the US Top 10 Albums Chart at #11. The first single, “Promises” hit #1 on Billboard’s Rock chart, the first time they had hit the top of the charts since 1993.

Other singles included “Paper Sun” which also just missed the Top 10, “Goodbye”, a slow burning ballad akin to their classic mega-hit “Love Bites” and “Day After Day”, another Top 20 US Rock Track hit.

The resulting tour saw audiences return and sales figures for the album were improved over the figures for “Slang”.

As a “return” to the sounds of their other “ia” albums, Euphoria gets a solid 4.5 out of 6 strings.

 "X" marked their 10^th album (hence the roman numeral x, meaning 10) and their foray into more modern pop-sounding songwriting. Although the 3 singles were released from the album, none made a dent on the British or American charts. The most unremarkable album of their career and the songs from this release have not been performed live since the tour in support of the album. Def Leppard even ignores this one.

“X” gets 2.5 out of 6 strings. Nothing to write home about.

In the 2000's, fans of Def Leppard have been treated to several more releases. A greatest hits package titled "Rock of Ages" and an album full of cover tunes titled "Yeah!", on which the band performed songs from their childhood influences like Queen, David Bowie and even Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. But, I’m sure you read about all of that somewhere…..

Keep Rockin’ The 80’s!