| On Through The Night | 1980 |
| High 'n' Dry | 1981 |
| Pyromania | 1983 |
| Hysteria | 1987 |
| Adrenalize | 1992 |
| Retro Active | 1993 |
| Vault: Greatest Hits (compilation) | 1995 |
| Slang | 1996 |
| Euphoria | 1999 |
| X | 2002 |
If there's any band out there that really makes me believe hair metal wasn't such a bad thing after all, it would undoubtedly be this one. Of course, no musical genre is entirely worthless or anything like that, but also, very few in this style have come even close to true greatness like Def Leppard have - essentially, they pretty much defined the overproduced, huge, harmony filled, and above all energetic and hook-dominated sound that would become a blueprint for many bands to follow. But of those bands who followed, no one else could have come up with a more attractive and convincing style than Lep's hybrid of retro pop, glam and arena rock. Sure, maybe there were times where it could get overly mechanical and tasteless (as on, for instance, Adrenalize), but more often than not, their songs hold up to time as a genuine pop pleasure a lot better than their contemporaries.
Of course, Def Leppard's turmoil within the framework of their own band has probably caused as much attention as the music itself, most notably their habit of often taking years to get their albums down in the studio during the 80's, and they weren't exactly helped by such unfortunate setbacks as drummer Rick Allen losing an arm and eventually recovering to play a specialized drumkit, losing two guitarists to alcoholism (one of which eventually died), and the grunge movement, which, although not completely killing off their commercial momentum, put a huge dent in their sales, as with most bands of the era. Still, when the dust has settled, it's their songs that are still held in genuine repect by many rock fans, with their legacy particularly set in stone on two classic albums of the 80's (Pyromania, Hysteria).
As for the lineup of the band, there are three members here that have more or less been constant since they began, first of these being frontman Joe Elliott. I have a theory that almost every vocalist from hair metal bands modeled themselves after one of three singers - Bon Scott and/or Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Vince Neil of Motley Crue, and Elliott. Not surprisingly, I find the group of singers who took after Joe the most listenable, since he's certainly an impressive, unique and charismatic frontman, and it would be difficult to imagine anyone different in his place leading the huge harmonies of the rest of the band. The other two constants, the "Rick's" of the band (Savage on bass and the aforementioned Allen on drums) aren't anything particularly special instrumentally, but the former stands out quite well on harmonies, and the latter's massive drum sound is always attractive to hear.
Finally, there's the issue of guitarists, the problematic area for the band to say the least. They've always employed two axeman (a rhythm and lead player), with the most notorious of these being Steve Clark (who replaced Pete Willis when the original guitarist was fired from the band for alcohol troubles) and Phil Collen. Listening to Pyromania in particular, I can't help but notice how their technically skilled, yet never aimless, soloing and interplay fits seamlessly into the poppy songs, and they were always good for several killer riffs, too. Tragically, though, the band would later lose Clark to the same sort of alcohol troubles that plagued Willis, only this time, that story ended in death. His replacement Vivian Campbell (Dio and Whitesnake) has filled in admirably, with tasteful playing always complementing the song, even if his work isn't quite as blazing as it once was earlier in his career.
Yeah, so there they are - the Ultimate Pop Metal Band. They did take a couple albums to really hit their stride, and also stagnated in the early 90's a bit with Adrenalize, but they've shown an admirable willingness to experiment with Slang and Euphoria (the latter merging these modern elements with their classic sound), and are still going on into the 21st century as a still respectable band.
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Overture, Rock Brigade. LOW POINTS: It Could Be You, Rocks Off.
Back before Def Leppard's sound was characterized by anthems like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" which set the standard for 80s pop metal with multi-layered harmonies, huge choruses and production sound, the Leps were a pretty standard hard rock band on their debut effort - most of the songs are characterized by the kind of energy that would be expected out of a band of young guys excited about making their first record, and it is indeed this sort of fire that elevates much of this material from being your standard mediocre fare to something at least a bit respectable. Of course, there are signs of the band attempting to branch out a bit creatively from that sound, too, a couple of them even among the highlights of the album, and there's also a decent amount of melody-writing too, thankfully, though not nearly as much as later on.
Probably the most well known song on here is "Rock Brigade", and that's one such example of the potential they had at this point - it's a terrific pop rocker that opens things up with a bang on a memorable harmonized chorus and a solid verse hook. In fact, the next couple of tracks here are also at least a little successful as well - "Hello America" is somewhat cheesy, with those stupid, somewhat dated synths in the chorus, but I can't deny how engaging and well-written the melody is. And the ballad "Sorrow Is A Woman" shows off their late 50's-early 60's pop flavored roots quite nicely in the verses, combining it with a hard rocking chorus in the process. But regardless of those highs, a lot of this material simply lacks the hooks that help make the band's classic songs really work, and the lack of them on such filler tracks as the generic speed rockers "It Could Be You" and the utterly stupid "Rocks Off" can't help but bring down the quality of the album a bit.
This is also applies a few other decent but flawed tracks in "When The Walls Come Tumbling Down" (a song that tries to be something dramatic and epic, with its' spoken word intro and all, but comes off as substandard because the melody just ain't that great) and just sort of there tracks like "Satellite" and "It Don't Matter". At least "Wasted" and "Answer To The Master" fare better as tough rockers, the former with its' blistering energy and the latter with a groovy, stick in your head riff. But it doesn't apply to "Overture", the band's first extended epic and longest album track ever at 7:44. I don't exactly know how it got its' title, as it's the last song here and doesn't reprise any musical themes from earlier, but musically it's very well paced, with a calm acoustic intro and outro and a dramatic fast-paced middle, and lyrics apparently telling some sort of war story. Whatever it may be, it's the easy highlight on what's probably the band's weakest overall effort (well, second weakest). Still a good album worthwhile for its' highlights and innocence, though, especially since you'll never hear any of these songs on the radio, in concert, or even on the hits compilation Vault.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: On Through The Night, Switch 625. LOW POINTS: Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes).
Somehow, this album has gained notoriety in the Def Leppard catalog as a fan favorite, but other than the fact that the sound isn't 'overly' commercial just yet (or too 'alternative' like Slang), it's kinda difficult for me to see why. Not that it's a bad album by any means - in fact, it's one of their most solid efforts in terms of consistent songwriting, and when we're speaking in terms of melodies, every one of these songs has something memorable going for it. But damn, if anything can be called 'midrange' in this band's catalog, it has to be this album. The songs might be catchy, but many of them follow the same basic hard rock pattern in construction that makes me get sick of hearing so many lesser bands like this, and the melodies, as fine as they are, aren't really that gripping or irresistible enough to make you really sing along with them like the next two albums do. But regardless of this, I definitely wouldn't want to give this album a less than 'good' rating, because I honestly enjoy almost everything here somewhat while it's on.
In the general public, though, this album is most known for spawning Def Leppard's first huge hit in "Bringing On The Heartbreak", which certainly has the trademarks of future ballads, from its' big harmony chorus to the slower, haunting chorus. This particular one's good (especially the prechorus of 'you got the best of me... come on, can't you see...'), but I'm not sure what it is exactly that's supposed to make it stand out over other more worthy songs. Or what's supposed to make anything stand out that much on side one, besides the great instrumental "Switch 625" (well, sort of... there's awesome harmony breaks here and there on this one), which actually grooves along more dynamically than most of the other tracks here do. Better than the 'so straightforward it's almost dumb' opening "Let It Go", the somewhat obvious, but still entertaining "High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night)" and "Another Hit And Run" - all of these songs have distinct hooks of their own, mind you, but they're kinda formulaic.
The second side, however, is thankfully a bit more captivating. Sure, it does get a little dull in the semi-ballad "Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)", which does practically nothing for me at all even though it isn't totally unmemorable, but it's got what should have been the title track to the last album! I'm not sure why it wasn't, since "On Through The Night" is easily the best song here - it has a solid arrangement and captivating guitar work that seems to build perfectly into its' climactic chorus. The closing "No, No, No" is a fairly exciting speedster with some showstopping vocals in its' refrain that manages to end the album on a fun enough note, and finally, there's two of the finer displays of harmony work to come out of the early years of this band in "Lady Strange" and especially the kind of generic but easily singable "You Got Me Runnin'". But again, I really don't see what makes the diehards love this one so much, since none of the songs here come even close to the best of their output - it's just a mostly even 'good' quality album that's definitely nice to listen to, but not too much more. It's because of this that I'm probably feeling a little generous in giving this a low 7, but oh well.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Billy's Got A Gun, Stagefright, Photograph, Die Hard The Hunter, Rock Of Ages. LOW POINTS: Action! Not Words, Rock Rock (Till You Drop).
Alright, so now we start getting to the period in Def Leppard's history that everyone knows about, and there are definitely several reasons for their simultaneous commercial and artistic breakthrough following two nice, but ultimately just passable, early 80's metal albums. First off, the melody writing has definitely improved quite a bit from before, as many of these songs have lasting hooks that may stick in your brain for quite awhile. The production style is also fully in place, with the multi-layered harmonies, the huge technologically enhanced drum sound, and the like, which gives an extra energy to the sound here. And finally, it was during these sessions where original guitarist Pete Willis was replaced by Phil Collen, a much more talented axeman who suddenly gives the band a very excellent twin guitar attack that's easily as powerful as any tandem in 80's metal. With all these factors in place, it's very easy to see why this was such a success in their catalog.
For one thing, who could forget that fantastic eight-note riff interplaying with that simplified, thumping drumbeat as the main instrumental hook of "Photograph"? Not to mention the way it kicks into overdrive with that fantastic vocal melody, upliftingly smooth pop chorus ('photograaaaaph... I don't want youuuuu....'), and highly melodic guitar solo? It definitely deserved to be as big of a hit as it was, that's for sure. Even the boneheaded "Rock Of Ages", as cheesy as it is, might have you singing along because it's perfectly suited for a huge overproduced sound like this - it's definitely an addictive melody, and the opening German countoff to the song is also a neat idea. The most successful ballads on the album might be less impressive, but both "Too Late For Love" and "Foolin'" have a decidedly haunting texture and care for melody sorely lacking in whatever 'power' ballads might come later in the genre, especially the former's structure and smooth harmonies.
What gives Pyromania the edge over the 80's metal singles albums, though, is that there are several album tracks that are just as well-written, if not even better, than the singles. One of them ("Stagefright") is essentially a more produced take on the raw sound of the first two albums, but it just about blows away any of its' counterparts in that area in terms of energy and absolutely fantastic guitar work, enough that it's still even featured in the band's live sets. Great power chorus here, as well. There's also a very respectable stab at a storysong war epic in the extended "Die Hard The Hunter" (with helicopters in the background and unsettling guitars in the introductory passage), which shows just how well even a big commercial sound can be suited to songs like this, not to mention the critical importance of how both guitarists in the band playing off each other is able to work brilliantly (some of the best soloing on a Def Leppard album can be found here). Great song!
The best of these non-single songs, however, also happens to be not only my favorite song on the entire album, but also my personal favorite track of Def Leppard's career. Yup, the closing "Billy's Got A Gun", a social commentary song that in the hands of many similar bands would probably fall flat, is a completely mindblowing epic. I'll say that lyrics are rarely ever a big strength of these guys, but this song is a major exception - the psychologically tortured thoughts of the main character here seem to give extra resonance to the dark guitar part that introduces us to this bleak, hopeless world. Plus, the booming drum work, typically excellent chorus hook, and the special care in the structure and soloing really help push the song to classic status, making it a truly fitting end to the album.
Unfortunately, it's not an effort that's as ideal in consistent songwriting as the mostly immaculate Hysteria (though this one's best tracks are definitely no worse!). In particular, I'm looking at the kinda limp opening rocker "Rock Rock (Till You Drop)" (at least the song part, anyway - the keyboard-led intro is fantastic, even if it doesn't fit in with the rest at all), the lamebrained arena rock of "Action! Not Words", (whose subject matter - exploration of MTV's style in the 80's - and vocal melody predictably comes off as dumb, though it isn't a bad tune) and the weakest ballad on the album, a decent but pretty obvious rewrite of "Foolin'" ("Comin' Under Fire"). But hey, even with those stumbles, Pyromania is still among the best and most unique of its' style, and might even be considered the standard for pop metal if not for the next one.
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COMMENTS
Here it is, the album responsible for every shitty glam band in the eighties. Poison, Motley Crue (well, maybe not The Crue), Winger, Warrant, Kix, the list goes on. Actually Pyromania is not that bad an album, I was 13 when it was released and I played the crap out of it, but I've grown up since then too. This is where they ditched the REAL drums for electronic ones. Tell me something...Why the fuck did they even use Rick Allen after High and Dry? They could've easily used a machine (you know, like they did on Hysteria). Oh well, as I said, not a bad album but I would'nt rate it any higher than 6.
Hey, at least this album sounded a bit more human than Hysteria, which would take four more years to record!! Good God!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Gods Of War, Armageddon It, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Animal, Hysteria. LOW POINTS: None.
Well, after Pyromania became a massive success, little did the general public know that they would have to wait four years for a followup to it. Most people familiar with this album, of course, probably know about the tensions involved in making it (not to mention that incident with the drummer losing his arm which no one knows about), and at first, the length in between releases (and the relative flop of the album's initial singles) seemed to have cost the band momentum. But thankfully, it took off commercially in a huge way, becoming one of the best selling albums of all time, essentially a pop metal answer to Thriller or Rumours where every song could have had huge potential as a single. Normally, with these albums I can easily find quite a few flaws (mostly within the non-single tracks) and babble on about how inconsistent it all is, but not in this case. Track by track, this album is amazingly even in quality, filled with powerful singalong hooks and energetic production.
The first side as a whole, in fact, is practically a whole paradise of radio singles. Well, not so much with the opening two tracks "Women" and "Rocket", which were the ones that got the album its' initial 'disappointment' tag, but even these are still quite good songs in their own right - the former is a tongue-in-cheek, booming anthem about our friends of the opposite sex (with equally fine verse and chorus hooks), and the latter (a tribute to British rock stars of the 60's and 70's), while a little overlong and sometimes cluttered with sound effects and samples, builds very effectively, with a smooth chorus as memorable as anything on here. And speaking of smooth, the pure pop gem "Animal" benefits greatly from this kind of production, as its' unforgettable chorus ('I got to feel in my bloooood.... whoooa!') carries a fantastic harmony-filled weight, with the guitar parts throughout flowing very nicely.
The two biggest and best known hits here, meanwhile, are the ones that close out the side. You know, I consider it quite an accomplishment when a band can really get me to sing along to absolutely idiotic and meaningless lyrics, yet that's exactly what "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (with its' huge drum beat, chanting, guitar breaks and anthemic chorus) is able to do. I've always found it funny that this is considered to be one of the ultimate wedding songs. In a similar kind of trashy department, then, comes the even better "Armageddon It", with even more ridiculous lyrics but a lot to complement them. The anthemic melodies are incredibly catchy (especially the 'give me all of your loving...' chorus), plus it's got outstanding energy and highly memorable guitar work, including a impressively flowing and melodic solo that definitely has to stand as one of Steve Clark's finest moments
Elsewhere, no blockbuster Def Leppard album would be complete without a few ballads, and the three on Hysteria are probably among the best songs they'd put out in this style, two of which were huge hits. The first of these, "Love Bites", also became their first chart topping single, and while it might not be the most deserving song on the album for that position, it's still a fine song - it's got a dark, almost robotic edge to it in the verses, mostly through the production (robotic voices) and instrumentation, and the way this contrasts with a poppy harmony-filled chorus works well. It's a much better song than "Every Rose Has Its' Thorn", at least, as is the best of these ballads (the title track) - this one's got an intimate, yet almost haunting guitar line and an atmosphere that's perfect to slowdance to, with a good desperation in the chorus ('I got to know tonight, if you're alone tonight...') and another fantastic vocal melody. And as for the non-hit, the closing "Love And Affection"? Maybe it isn't spectacular, but hey, it's got a relaxing feel to it that might put a good taste in your mouth.
The best song on here, though, is none of these. On the album itself, "Gods Of War" was probably conceived as an epic-styled diversion to start off the second half after all those hits on the first one, but it actually strikes me as the most well-written and powerful song here (not by a lot, but it does earn that title nonetheless). It's pretty much a sort of war story in the vein of the last album's "Die Hard The Hunter", with spoken samples and a clear darkness apparent in its' atmosphere, but I would say it definitely surpasses its' predecessor in quality. The intro is certainly interesting, but what really makes it work is the combination of an awesome bassline from Ric Savage (maybe his best independent one), a melody that's certainly no worse than anything else on here, an exceptionally conceived song structure, and lyrics that are actually great for once in their political subject matter. And how about how exceptionally well-timed those samples are throughout? Nice.
Finally, to round out the album, we have the three remaining non-hit songs, and while they're certainly not among the better songs here, it's a testament to the album's quality that even the weakest song here ("Don't Shoot Shotgun") is a whole lot of fun to listen to, meaningless glammy lyrics and all. The speed rocker "Run Riot", while not one of the catchier ones, is certainly one of the more energetic, and that alone makes it fairly enjoyable, while "Excitable" is just one big 4 minute dumb, booming, sexual party that very few other bands could convince you to come to and honestly not make you feel guilty at all. It's very good stuff, just like everything else here. While the album isn't exactly a perfect listening experience (sometimes it can get slightly dumb and maybe overwhelmingly overproduced and pop-heavy for its' own good), this is still probably the highest peak pop/hair metal could ever climb. Immaculately and energetically produced, extremely catchy, and all of that stuff.
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COMMENTS
Well...I suppose you read Martin Popoff's review of this album, I think it's the best Def Leppard review I've ever seen. Finally somebody who was not afraid of giving a VERY popular band like this a big fat 0! They deserve less than that. How could you give this piece of shit a 9?! It's generic pop/glam crap that's no better than any of the hundreds of crap 80's bands that dominated the scene at the time. In fact, it's one of the worst albums I've ever heard. The vocals are buried in a mess of electric drums and the background vocals suck beyond belief. This is horrid. But did'nt this sell like 10 billion copies?
Truly great and talented bands like King's X and Dream Theater will never reach the popularity of Def Leppard. Sad..........
[email protected] (John Schlegel)
I am sorry, Nick, but please allow me to venture an opinion. Like the commenter above me, I also have read Martin Popoff's review of this album, and I regret to say that I too wholeheartedly agree with it. Somehow, this LP became the de-facto defining record of the hair metal movement (if the genre can be dignified with the expression "movement") and one of the top-selling albums of all time. But in my opinion, Hysteria is the epitome of bad, ultra-commercialized '80s bubblegum glam/pop metal. Every song, every hook, and every note honed through every instrument or super computer sounds utterly and hopelessly dumb, amateurish, corporate, and GENERIC!!
To me, this record sounds like it came out of a great big machine. The machine has lots of buttons and funny dials, and looks like that contraption that was supposed to unfairly find the last Golden Ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What you do is punch in a predetermined computer program for how the "perfect" rock & roll record will sound. You install the program category by category, number by number, button by button. The machine then determines exactly how the "perfect" rock & roll record will sound--every song structure, every melody, every guitar riff, every drum track, all the lead and backing vocals. KAZAAAM!! The Rock & Roll T8-2000 has your result. It sounds like either this or new Aerosmith. Get the picture?
You do great work, Nick. And Pyromania IS a nifty disc. But, given the opportunity to comment on Hysteria, I had to be "on the internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world. . . . Worst album ever."
Give this album a zero?, who and why in gods name would do that?
If one is to put their differences with 80's metal aside and just take notice that this is in fact the greatest album of the late eighties.
If its not will someone please stand and tell me a better one released after 85?, not many contenders eh?
To put it simply other albums from the time cant compare with the immense production effort of this, it doesn't just sound good, it SOUNDS good, the chorus, the lyrics and the many many sounds occring in the background, serious ear candy.
They say grunge killed off 80's hair bands, where is grunge now?, buried alongside Kurt Cobain thats where, please dont try to pass off some of that modern punk crap as grunge, thers no emotion there, Nirvana, one good album then a suicide.
Pour Some Sugar On Me, Run Riot, Love Bites, Rocket,Armageddon It, Women, Animal, the whole album is near instantly quoteable (with the exception of that little stinker Exciteable).
17 million albums, the proof is in the stats gentlemen, and counting.
"The band would eventually rack up 18 million in sales - 12 million of which were made in the US - making Hysteria the largest selling hard rock/heavy metal album of all time, and Def Leppard the first band to sell more than seven million copies of each of their successive albumin the US."-BBS
0/10, bleh, more like 11/10 maybe they should use this on their next album "Have you ever needed - to armageddon someone while pouring sugar on them because they are an animal which is exciteable like a rocket and doesn't want its photograph taken for the rock of ages festival which is full of promises from people who'll make love like a man while they stand up and kick love into motion because all they want is everything while their blood runs cold while me and my wine say hello america and demand action not words to stop bringing on the heartbreak because I wanna touch you before love and hate collide and then miss me in a heartbeat, NOW! - so bad", and thats the extended title!
Will somebody tell me at what address to find this individual Popoff's review? All I can find is an advertisement for his recently published "encyclopedia of heavy metal".
Moreover, I would like to respond to John Schlegel's comment. He said "to me, this record sounds like it came out of a great big machine. What you do is punch in a predetermined computer program for how the "perfect" rock & roll record will sound. You install the program category by category, number by number, button by button. The machine then determines exactly how the "perfect" rock & roll record will sound."
And I turn the tables by replying: EXACTLY! The PERFECT rock and roll album! You couldn't have said it better, John. I rest my case.
My rating--10 out of 10. The best pop album of the 1980's, hands down. Believe me, it DESERVED to sell every one of those 17 kajillion copies. No question about it.
[and another revision later on:]
God, what a shitty reader comment that was. How old am I? Zero?
I don't think I can emphasize enough what an amazing record this is. This album is proof of the utility of CRAFT, even in such a normally spontaneous genre such as rock and roll. Hooks abound, harmonics crammed into every second. . . Yeah, sure, if they'd worked on this record for only TWO years, it'd probably have sucked. They're not geniuses like the Beatles. They just have a very obsessive, patient work ethic--and are able to tolerate Mutt Lange's tyranny. Sometimes that makes all the difference.
I think the two readers above are irked by the STYLE of the record more than anything else. The reason '80's pop/glam "crap" has its horrific reputation today is NOT because of its commercial appeal, though, but because of its inconsistency. One hit single and ten crap hookless songs, that's the order of the day in most of the '80's mainstream. Which is why consistent groups such as Leppard come as a breath of fresh air. New Aerosmith sucks because of their inconsistency, not because it appeals primarily to 14-year-old girls. The word "generic" has become so overused it's almost painful. You wouldn't use that word to characterize the Everly Brothers, would you? Fleetwood Mac? No, of course you wouldn't. Why not? BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT FROM THE '80'S. Stupid reason, but there nonetheless.
Anyway, best rock album of the '80's, hands down. Every song could have been a hit. If Zen Arcade beats this, I will gladly eat my words.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Let's Get Rocked, I Wanna Touch U. LOW POINTS: Personal Property, Make Love Like A Man.
Even though Hysteria still became a huge success despite its' length of time in appearing after Pyromania, the band vowed not to repeat an experience like that again. But sometimes fate is out of one's hands - again, like last time, technical studio problems again delayed the recording, and this time, a band member's troubles ended in death (Steve Clark unfortunately losing his battle with alcoholism), with all of this keeping Adrenalize from being completed for five years. Unfortunately, the band apparently didn't use their time in the studio to revamp their sound too much, as the album as a whole just comes off as a pale repeat of the earlier formula with much less artistic and commercial success. Add to that the melodies, arrangements and overall excitement aren't anywhere near what they were before (they're almost tired and dated sounding here), and it's no wonder a lot of people turned away from the band, especially considering the long gap and most distressingly, that it was released when grunge began to take off.
There's hardly anything on here that sounds even like a terribly successful refinement of the sound either - the songs often sound even more overproduced than before, and the material seems somewhat generic and mediocre. I mean, let's face it, the really trashy and obnoxious songs like "Make Love Like A Man" and "Personal Property" just sound laughable in the context of the time period, especially since the solid melodies aren't there, and the band's main weakness, awful lyric writing, is exposed. The ballads thankfully aren't bad, but still, "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)", "Tonight" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" just sound like half-hearted adult oriented retreads to gain more commercial airplay without a hint of the slightly haunting atmosphere and great guitar work of earlier efforts (though the last one, I must admit, does have a gorgeous prom style elegance to it). These songs almost lead me to compare the band at this point to Bryan Adams, which actually is who Joe Elliott comes off sounding like at numerous times. Hey, both of them even have the same producer!
But whatever reservations I may have against a lot of these songs (seemingly epitomized by the melodic, but fairly soulless and not too exciting, "Heaven Is"), there's enough quality material on here to allow me to still call this a decent album, disappointing as it is. First off, the opening "Let's Get Rocked" is a simply fantastic song, boasting what is easily the most entertaining melody on here, and a hilarious tongue-in-cheek vibe in the subject matter of the lyrics (i.e. what keeps the guys going after all these years even when they get in sticky situations, using strict parents, and dates with girls who love classical music but hate rock and roll as metaphors for this). The two closing tracks, despite their unimaginative titles, "I Wanna Touch U" and the arena rockish "Tear It Down" both manage to have fantastically booming energy and huge choruses, especially the former one - upon hearing it, this one's a sticky hook that's very difficult to get out of your head.
Finally, to round out the album, there's one sort of attempt at a serious epic in the 7 minute eulogy to Steve Clark ("White Lightning"). It can't really compare to the epics they did on the two previous albums in scope, but the lyrical matter does give it extra resonance, and the buildup is certainly one of the more effective moments of tension in the Leppard catalog I can think of, plus there's also a very nice use of harmonies in the middle. For the most part, though, a lot of these fine moments are merely exceptions to a pretty formulaic album that may certainly not be painful to listen to on the whole (it even slightly surpasses On Through The Night in quality), but it displays a bit too many signs of creative stagnation for me to call it all that good. Thankfully, they would find a way to incorporate new styles into the sound on the next one.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Desert Song, From The Inside, Fractured Love. LOW POINTS: Miss You In A Heartbeat, Two Steps Behind.
But before they could deliver that next studio effort, the logical step for the band would be to put out a collection like this. Basically, Retro Active is a collection of B-sides, unreleased songs, cover versions and soundtrack material covering the band's entire career, and a surprisingly worthwhile one at that (I also really dig that awesome 'optical illusion' album cover). Even more worthwhile, in fact, than the previous album's somewhat tired songwriting - really, there is some very good stuff inside the Leppard vaults here, and the songs here prove it. Maybe the production isn't as huge and overproduced as one might expect from the band, but the more stripped-down approach here often works for the better, if you ask me, or those who might have found the band's recent material a bit too overcommercial, but like the early stuff. Those who fit into that category may want to check this one out.
Especially noteworthy here is the opening "Desert Song", which is probably one of the most fantastic, dramatic rockers in their entire catalog - the riff is somewhat simplistic, but the raw style of production enables them to pack somewhat of a punch to it, and plus the chorus hook here is the usual top-notch quality. "Fractured Love", meanwhile, is different than what you might expect from a song of that title, as it's quite a bit more moody (and also simultaneously aggressive) than anything on Hysteria, while still being catchy. Then there's "From The Inside", one of the most interesting diversions the band's ever undertaken - it's somewhat of an 'Irish folk ballad'-type piece, and the band is able to handle that style no problem, particularly where Joe Elliott's vocals are concerned. Meanwhile, the two cover versions (Sweet's "Action" and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark") are ideal places to go as far as showcasing the band's roots, particularly the latter's soulfulness.
Any misfires here? Well, yeah - unfortunately, the biggest ones are two ballads that somehow have become well-known songs in the band's catalog. The acoustic "Two Steps Behind" is certainly melodic, but the cloying nature of it and the much too cheesy strings in the background utterly ruin whatever potential it might have, while "Miss You In A Heartbeat" is even worse in the sap department, without even the melody to redeem it. But still, it's hard to be disappointed with most of these songs - even the Adrenalize-like rocker "She's Too Tough" sounds superior to most of that album, while "Ring Of Fire" and "Ride Into The Sun" get by on exciting energy. The latter in particular is worth mentioning since it's a re-recording of the first song the band ever wrote - it may not be great, but in all, it's certainly not bad and does indicate the considerable potential they had in the early years. As for the album itself, despite its' status as a rarities collection, it does have enough fine-quality material for me to recommend it to even casual fans.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: All I Want Is Everything, Work It Out, Blood Runs Cold. LOW POINTS: Pearl Of Euphoria.
One day, the members of Def Leppard woke up and noticed that practically every other pop metal band, except maybe Bon Jovi, was laying dismally low in terms of commercial success, and that the band themselves realized that they had completely gone out of step with the times on their last effort, which itself demonstrated the creative possibilities of their sound had been exhausted. So naturally, the Leppards had to take an entirely different approach to songwriting, for the first time recording their parts as a band, giving each member creative input on what musical ideas should go into the album. The resulting release, Slang, is in many ways is a creatively fantastic record that sounds like the work of a completely different band, one which is quite open to exploring a variety of musical directions (grunge, Eastern music, arena rock, and even an almost hip hop-techno feel in places), leaving their big production, anthemic, layered harmony songs behind them.
But while many fans may argue that the band is trying to be too 'new' in 'selling out' to the alternative crowd, and the album didn't exactly sell in breathtaking amounts, all of this just gives me the opportunity to call this album one of those most badly underrated records of the 90's. Maybe it's just me, but I just can't see all that much here that shows the band going 'bandwagon jumping' - if anything, the experiments help the band sound fresh by giving these musical styles previously unfamiliar to their sound a Def Leppard identity. It also helps that this is the first album where Vivian Campbell fully replaces Steve Clark in the guitarist's role - new blood always works. And on several songs, the band really sounds fresh and upfront, and decidedly unpolished, like the riff-heavy guitar of "Truth?" (one of the most aggressive songs of their career), the almost eerie low-register vocals and heavy chorus contrasting with a Sting-ish vocal melody on "Deliver Me" and "Turn To Dust", with a seriously unsettling Eastern vibe here.
Even the ballads, while there may be a touch of sap in them here and there, have a distinctly different guitar sound and a unique moody atmosphere almost unheard of before. And nowhere else in the Def Leppard catalog will you ever hear such a despairing, yet hauntingly beautiful guitar line like on "Blood Runs Cold", plus all three melodies (verse, chorus and bridge) are just hard to deny. "All I Want Is Everything", meanwhile, is probably my favorite song on the whole album, as the new textures on this ballad sound incredibly refreshing when set to a fabulous guitar line and vocal melody like this one has (great bassline as well), and "Where Does Love Go When It Dies" shows the guys getting a bit introspective on us, and it sounds pretty nice in a vibe like this. Only the completely indistinguishable closer "Pearl Of Euphoria" does nothing to register in my memory for 6 long minutes, but hey, that's just one throwaway.
Even the two most well known singles ("Work It Out" and the title track) bear little resemblance to the hits of the past. The former does have kind of a poppy melody (especially at its' terrific singalong chorus), but a decidedly industrialized vibe to the heavy guitars and production, plus those moody vocals are effective, while the latter is an actual dance song with a Latin flavor and electronic textures, and surprisingly enough, it works - a compact, unabashedly party-like number that's a whole load of singalong fun. Even the most arena-rockish number ("Gift Of Flesh") is based a whole lot more on the rawness of "Desert Song" than, say, "Armageddon It". Alright, don't get me wrong - I'm not about to say this is their best album or anything. While the creativity might be high, very few songs register as classics, and the melodies aren't as great as their peak period, but still I just can't accept people bashing this just because it's something vastly different from their usual style. If anything, this album proves the band has a talent for wonderful diversity, plus it's a welcome change coming after the tired Adrenalize.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Demolition Man, Guilty. LOW POINTS: All Night, Back In Your Face.
All of a sudden, in the late 90's, the metal scene of the previous decade seemed to be gradually gaining more acceptance to mainstream listeners, so naturally, being the evil commercially hungry demons that Def Leppard are, they decided to return to their old style again, thus once again gaining accusations of bandwagon jumping. Well, sort of - contrary to popular opinion, Euphoria is not a mere repeat of the classic Pyromania and Hysteria sound as many figured originally. Instead, like U2's 'comeback' effort released a year later, this is essentially an attempt at a quintessential album for the band that pretty much combines all the phases of their career into one 50 minute offering. This means that they don't entirely leave behind the 'experimental' edge of Slang, or the more innocent energy of the early days. In a sense, this prevents it from becoming a stagnant album like Adrenalize, and while a lack of new ideas (or classic tracks) makes it a bit weaker than the previous album, this is still solid stuff.
It's also worth noting that the guitar team of Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen, previously laid back on Slang mainly due to the mellow nature of that material, really get to show off their promise together here throughout several of these tracks. For vintage performances from these two, I would particularly single out the slightly epic-tinged closing track "Kings Of Oblivion", which is pretty much made by the top-notch rhythm and lead work, and the most upbeat track of the album "21st Century Sha La La La Girl" - this one has one of the coolest complex riffs the band has ever come up with, and that infectious melody is no slouch either. Plus, it's rhythm is one of the most effective examples of the previous album's influence. The chemistry between the two guitarists is also clearly working on the instrumental "Disintegrate" (when's the last time we had one of those? "Switch 625"! it certainly sounds High 'N' Dry-ish, anyway)
Oh, and keeping up with the 'return to the roots' thing, the harmonies (noticeably absent on the previous album, of course), pop-oriented choruses, and production style have really come back with a vengeance. "Demolition Man" in particular is perfectly placed as an opener, with an incredible high-energy, 'we're back!' intent apparent in the verse melody and excellent fast chorus, while lead single "Promises" sounds straight out of their classic period, as it musically can be compared to the tone of Pyromania, while melodically (the chorus, especially) is quite comparable to Hysteria. Regardless of how much it may sound like retreading, that melody is superb. "Paper Sun", meanwhile, actually does pull off being representative of that 'combined feel' most of the album has in one singable, slightly dramatic, epic-styled song. Elsewhere, "Day After Day" is kinda filler-ish, but still a well-written harmony-filled tune that's nice to listen to.
As for the last album's influence here, it mostly comes through in the ballads, particularly the Campbell-penned "To Be Alive" (a more moody piece originally meant to be used in his side project), though in the case of "Goodbye" and "It's Only Love", it just brings a more formulaic (though catchier in the former's case) feeling to that style. Meanwhile, the best of these songs ("Guilty") has a bit of a goofy disco-ish thing going with its' guitar part and the way the rhythm goes, but in combining the feel of both "Hysteria" and Slang as a whole, it creates quite a neat vibe, not to mention the melody (though it may become unmemorable if you haven't heard it for awhile) is a very well-done piece of modern day Def Leppard.
In all, I'm quite pleased with the way the album turned out, though the only things that disappoint me is, again, the fact that they're not really advancing much from their earlier style, and so the progression on the last album that sounded so fresh before is missed. And there's also two tracks here that really should never have been written - the lamebrained and cliched "Back In Your Face" is not an ideal way to re-introduce yourself to the world, guys, since it's about as awkward as the dumbest Adrenalize stuff at best. Plus, the Prince styled, Mutt Lange-penned "All Night" is just stupid beyond words. What the heck were they thinking on this one? That they would actually sound hip doing a song like this? Whatever. Anyway, other than those two stumbles, the album's a pretty consistently enjoyable modern day Def Leppard album, certainly worthwhile if you've ever liked the band at all.
Update: Meh - this album really doesn't hold up on future listens to me. It's still okay, but it seems reaaaaally shallow and dumb. I guess my current self is slapping the asshole hair metal fan side of me in the face right now, so the rating goes down significantly (not too much for Slang, though).
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COMMENTS
Well, all I can say is that this is sort of a comedown after Slang. Not because of the return to the 80s pop/rock/metal sound - heck, I love "Love Bites" as much as the next guy - but because of a few too-obvious flaws, namely:
1) Self-cloning. "Promises" sounds like "Photograph" retouched. Ditto with "Goodbye" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone...", and "21st Century Sha La La Girl" and "Slang" (well, sort of). That's always a bad sign to me, even though two of those tracks come off well.
2) The ballads have got too sappy. And since Mutt Lange is not credited for lyrics on either "Goodbye", "To Be Alive" or the annoying "It's Only Love" - all of which sound like (sorry, are) annoying AOR - I wonder what went wrong.
3) "All Night". Look, Leps, I could even laugh at "Make Love Like A Man". But this Mutt Lange-penned song is so incredibly stupid that it lowers the album rating by about half for me. What the hell were they thinking? Please, Mutt, next time you write a song like this, tell Shania Twain to appear in drag and perform it. It might actually make like #105 on the Bad Lyrics chart, but since you already occupy quite a few top slots, that shouldn't matter, right?
4) "Disintegrate". One word: boring. Two words: this only works when Eddie Van Halen does it, somehow. Not because he's doing anything to write home about now, but because of that goddamn "Eruption" track.
However, that doesn't mean there are no bright spots. "Paper Sun", with dark lyrics and a blazing riff, shows the band is still A-1 in songwriting when it actually tries. "Promises" and "21st Century......" are both very catchy. "Demolition Man" may be the best rock song they've done since 1987. "Guilty" tries to be a mood piece of the Slang kind, though it doesn't quite work out (and that opening beat sounds like a disco song, damn it!). All in all, this one is extremely uneven.
Call it a six.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Scar. LOW POINTS: Four Letter Word, Cry.
All I can say is that one listen to this album is enough to prove that its' title certainly doesn't mean an actual intense approach to the sound (and what's with that stupidly simplistic, attention grabbing album cover?). And after all, that's to be expected - the guys are getting up their in age, and they can't just be writing high energy rockers forever. But damn it, I miss that energy they once had. Maybe I could even forgive the lack of this quality were it for the album demonstrating an actual creative and interestingly layered approach like Slang, but this is sadly not the case. In fact, X strikes me as a really light, almost dangerously adult contemporary, take of their signature style - there are just way too many ballads and/or softer tracks thrown into the mix (like the typical "Let Me Be The One"), and even the rockers generally sound pretty lethargic, which certainly makes it harder to give in to the admirable Def Leppard catchiness. Even the harmonies are much less prominent than usual!
A catchiness which is quite present, but this is probably the one Leppard album I will say that catchiness comes the closest to having no actual substance to back it up. Basically all the musical ideas here can find their roots in earlier albums - "You're So Beautiful" has a traditional Pyromania backbeat to it (but not the energy or inspired guitar work) and "Girl Like You" a sort of Adrenalize vibe (not that the album had a very unique vibe, but let's just say it reminds me a lot of "I Wanna Touch U", only, again, totally lacking energy), to name a couple examples. Even "Gravity", which some fans complain about as a crappy 'disco song', to my ears sounds like a simply decent reworking of "Slang", while a couple songs like "Cry" (with a slight amount of rawness, but a simplistic approach to riffing and melody, plus an ugly chanting chorus) and the lead single "Now" (with some light electronic touches and a decent power chorus) hint back at Retro Active or some of Slang's more straightforward, heavy moments.
I will say that the album is quite a bit more listenable and melodic than it has a right to be, even though that only lifts it up from forgettable mediocrity. Such songs as "Everyday" and "Love Don't Lie" are simple pop pleasures that are nice to listen to, if not too special, while the melodic pleasantness of the ballads "Unbelievable" and "Long Long Way To Go" (two songs, incidentally, that were completely composed by outside songwriters) are about the only thing that saves them from absolutely forgettable, overly bland status ("Torn To Shreds", incidentally, is overly forgettable, though okay listening while it's on). Let's just say the album rides a consistently 'average' vibe, with only one song bordering on atrocious ("Four Letter Word", an "Armageddon It" ripoff whose chorus/lyrics sound absolutely ridiculous), and only one song approaching true excellence (the closing "Scar", which boasts an awesome, uplifting vintage Leppard singalong chorus, a memorable guitar riff, and an expert melodic build). Not that far off from a 6, but I'm just not in the mood to give in to the bland, unenergetic sound of this one.
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