Def Leppard - Photograph vs. Whitesnake - Still of the Night?

[WildRanger]

Signature tune by Def Leppard or Whitesnake?
What do you prefer and why?

[HOF]

I like both songs, but Photograph was more of a formative song in my rock fandom and one of the catchiest rock songs of all time IMO.

[TAC]

Still Of The Night is amazing. John Sykes kills on it, and I love Aynsley Dunbar on it too.

[Dave_Manchester]

2 more songs I'd never heard (I like these polls you make WildRanger, they're creative). Having now listened to both I went with Def Leppard (I own one of their albums - Adrenalize, a childhood favourite; I know nothing of Whitesnake).

[El Barto]

Going with Photograph. At the time it came out it was a monster. It was fresh and it brought hard rock into the mainstream. At the same time SotN was when Whitesnake jumped the shark for me. I know it's when they became uber-popular, but as much as I love John Sykes I liked Whitesnake as a blues-rock band much more than as a hard rock band. Mickey Moody was the better guitarist for them, even if not in general.

[TAC]

Going with Photograph. At the time it came out it was a monster. It was fresh and it brought hard rock into the mainstream. At the same time SotN was when Whitesnake jumped the shark for me. I know it's when they became uber-popular, but as much as I love John Sykes I liked Whitesnake as a blues-rock band much more than as a hard rock band. Mickey Moody was the better guitarist for them, even if not in general.

Even though I consider Whitesnake 1987 extremely overrated, Still Of The Night is such a beast of a song. I hear you about old school Whitesnake. I also didn't really like what they became, but SOTN is undeniable.


And there was no bigger Def Leppard fan me when Pyromania came out, but I was quite suspicious of Photograph.

[KevShmev]

Photograph was so huge. I remember it dominated MTV's Friday Night Video Fights for like 10 weeks straight.  That said, it was never a song I loved. Always liked it, but that was it.

Still of the Night, meanwhile, slayed me from the start and it has held up well for me.  Easy vote.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Both great songs, but Still of the Night is a beast!

[wolfking]

Still of the Night, easily.  Saying that, I'm not much of a DL fan but Photograph is a great song.

[kirksnosehair]

2 more songs I'd never heard (I like these polls you make WildRanger, they're creative). Having now listened to both I went with Def Leppard (I own one of their albums - Adrenalize, a childhood favourite; I know nothing of Whitesnake).

3 things:


1. Download Def Leppard's "High 'n' Dry"
2. Listen to it
3. You're welcome

[kirksnosehair]

As for the poll, I went with Whitesnake - they were the first band I ever saw live - Boston Garden, 1978 opening for Jethro Tull


Photograph is a good song, but that album was the beginning of the end of Def Leppard being a hard rock band.  They spent the next 20 years churning out syrupy ballads

[jingle.boy]

Still of the Night.  Didn't even really have to think about it.  Dat intro 

[TAC]

As for the poll, I went with Whitesnake - they were the first band I ever saw live - Boston Garden, 1978 opening for Jethro Tull

Pretty sure I have a bootleg of the Whitesnake set.

1. Download High n Dry

Yes, one of my favorite albums of all time.

[emtee]

Whitesnake by miles. That album would be in my top 10 most spun albums of all time. It owned me during that period of time.

[Stadler]

Going with Photograph. At the time it came out it was a monster. It was fresh and it brought hard rock into the mainstream. At the same time SotN was when Whitesnake jumped the shark for me. I know it's when they became uber-popular, but as much as I love John Sykes I liked Whitesnake as a blues-rock band much more than as a hard rock band. Mickey Moody was the better guitarist for them, even if not in general.

Even though I consider Whitesnake 1987 extremely overrated, Still Of The Night is such a beast of a song. I hear you about old school Whitesnake. I also didn't really like what they became, but SOTN is undeniable.


And there was no bigger Def Leppard fan me when Pyromania came out, but I was quite suspicious of Photograph.

This is pretty much me.   I got to see Def Leppard open for Billy Squier in '83.  Squier was good, but he couldn't hold back the juggernaut that was Def Leppard.  They may be the best opening act I've ever seen, if you think of "opening acts" in the traditional sense (up and comer playing for 40 minutes to warm up the crowd for the headliner, as opposed to just a band earlier on the bill on a festival or package tour).

I LOVED Pyromania at the time, but for some reason Photograph the song never clicked.   It was the exact opposite with Whitesnake; I LOVED Slide It In (still do; I have both versions) and was mostly disappointed with 1987, except for that song.   

[TAC]

Going with Photograph. At the time it came out it was a monster. It was fresh and it brought hard rock into the mainstream. At the same time SotN was when Whitesnake jumped the shark for me. I know it's when they became uber-popular, but as much as I love John Sykes I liked Whitesnake as a blues-rock band much more than as a hard rock band. Mickey Moody was the better guitarist for them, even if not in general.

Even though I consider Whitesnake 1987 extremely overrated, Still Of The Night is such a beast of a song. I hear you about old school Whitesnake. I also didn't really like what they became, but SOTN is undeniable.


And there was no bigger Def Leppard fan me when Pyromania came out, but I was quite suspicious of Photograph.

This is pretty much me.   I got to see Def Leppard open for Billy Squier in '83.  Squier was good, but he couldn't hold back the juggernaut that was Def Leppard.  They may be the best opening act I've ever seen, if you think of "opening acts" in the traditional sense (up and comer playing for 40 minutes to warm up the crowd for the headliner, as opposed to just a band earlier on the bill on a festival or package tour).

I LOVED Pyromania at the time, but for some reason Photograph the song never clicked.   It was the exact opposite with Whitesnake; I LOVED Slide It In (still do; I have both versions) and was mostly disappointed with 1987, except for that song.

I remember that tour, and three months later Def Leppard would be my first concert.


I actually though Slide It In kind of blew. I hate the title track.

There's a couple good songs...Slow an' Easy, Love Ain't No Stranger, Standing In The Shadow, but I was really disappointed with it.



The only time I ever saw Whitesnake was opening for Motley Crue in 1987.

[King Postwhore]

Saw Whitesnake with Dokken. One hell of a show.  I love both songs and every time eith comes on random on my I-Pod or on Sirus Satellite I crank both.

Still of the Night just by a millimeter. 

[TAC]

Still OF The Night has real drums!

[King Postwhore]

So did Photograph. He had 2 arms back then.

[TAC]

So did Photograph. He had 2 arms back then.

They used programmed drums for Pyromania, but at least the cymbal crashes are real.

[King Postwhore]

I think I remember that now. Twas the era.

[TAC]

I think I remember that now. Twas the era.

Yeah, here's a couple of articles talking about it.

https://fullinbloom.com/kevin-shipley-on-the-making-of-def-leppards-pyromania-hysteria/

https://www.rocknrollinsight.com/2017/10/behind-scenes-of-recording-def-leppards.html






At least the drums on High n Dry are real. I'd be devastated to find out any different. One of the articles also mentions that Pete Willis does in fact play rhythm on most of the album. That's interesting.

[HOF]

I think I remember that now. Twas the era.

Yeah, here's a couple of articles talking about it.

https://fullinbloom.com/kevin-shipley-on-the-making-of-def-leppards-pyromania-hysteria/

https://www.rocknrollinsight.com/2017/10/behind-scenes-of-recording-def-leppards.html






At least the drums on High n Dry are real. I'd be devastated to find out any different. One of the articles also mentions that Pete Willis does in fact play rhythm on most of the album. That's interesting.

I learned about the programmed drums when I watched this video recently:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2eokzYW1Xpg

[TAC]

Yes I've seen Dennis Ward's video on this. He picks it right off.

[KevShmev]

I would ask, who cares if the drums are real or not?  "Do they sound good and work for the song?" is what matters.  Are we going to dog bands next for using synthesizers (OMG, fake keyboard noises!!!)?

[TAC]

I would ask, who cares if the drums are real or not?  "Do they sound good and work for the song?" is what matters.  Are we going to dog bands next for using synthesizers (OMG, fake keyboard noises!!!)?

 


Just a couple of dudes talking....

[KevShmev]

Alright, I'll just be...chilling.

[Stadler]

Honestly, it's not the drums that separate Pyromania for me, it's the vocals.   On the first two, Joe is a rock singer, screaming and screeching (in the best possible way).  Very Bon Scott.   On Pyromania, the vocals started to become very processed (not the word I want, but you'll get my meaning) and it's been that way ever since.   Compare the chorus to "Let It Go" and "Photograph".   Even the ballad - Bringin' On The Heartbreak - wasn't as processed.   I saw Def Leppard with Kiss in 2014 and Rick Allen KILLED it.   Yeah, he may not be playing the same way as Mike Mangini, but he played every note in real time, and that's all I can ask of my rock bands.   

[TAC]

Honestly, it's not the drums that separate Pyromania for me, it's the vocals.   On the first two, Joe is a rock singer, screaming and screeching (in the best possible way).  Very Bon Scott.   On Pyromania, the vocals started to become very processed (not the word I want, but you'll get my meaning) and it's been that way ever since.   Compare the chorus to "Let It Go" and "Photograph".   Even the ballad - Bringin' On The Heartbreak - wasn't as processed.   I saw Def Leppard with Kiss in 2014 and Rick Allen KILLED it.   Yeah, he may not be playing the same way as Mike Mangini, but he played every note in real time, and that's all I can ask of my rock bands.   

So first off, what Rick Allen has accomplished, and the band's dedication to him is amazing. Full on props for that. I saw the Hysteria tour 3 or 4 times and I was mesmerized by his performance.


On Pyromania, I knew it was different right away. After the initial 6 months after the release and seeing them that June, Pyromania really faded for me, as I would be getting into heavier music. And you're right, "processed" is totally accurate.

I bought the deluxe edition (I never bothered to get it on CD) a few years ago because it had the live show from LA. The studio album is practically unlistenable to me, honestly.

[KevShmev]

I totally get the processed vocals thing.  That is their Queen influence, but while the Queen big layered harmonies always sound natural, like it was 100 guys singing, the Def Leppard layered harmonies often had that processed sound.  The beginning of both Pour Some Sugar On Me and Rocket both featured layered harmonies that sound a bit too processed instead of sounding more natural, if you know what I mean.  I still like Rocket quite a bit, and acknowledge that the other is a good song (but one I never need to hear again), but the processed vocal thing totally makes sense.

[TAC]

Well, now you're talking Hysteria which fucking blows.

[HOF]

I would ask, who cares if the drums are real or not?  "Do they sound good and work for the song?" is what matters.  Are we going to dog bands next for using synthesizers (OMG, fake keyboard noises!!!)?

It doesn’t bother me. I already think of Def Leppard’s records primarily as studio productions. Not that they can’t play, but the way they layer tracks and process sounds gives their albums less of a live feel anyway (at least from Hysteria on). It’s part of what makes them them.

[Stadler]

And they (mostly) deliver them live in terms of performance.   I just don't like that chanting, gang-vocal sound they sometimes get.  Where it sounds like ten guys standing in front of a mic singing.  Queen never sounded like that.   AC/DC's backing vocals sometimes sound like that, and I don't like it there either.

[ProfessorPeart]

I think I remember that now. Twas the era.

Yeah, here's a couple of articles talking about it.

https://fullinbloom.com/kevin-shipley-on-the-making-of-def-leppards-pyromania-hysteria/

https://www.rocknrollinsight.com/2017/10/behind-scenes-of-recording-def-leppards.html






At least the drums on High n Dry are real. I'd be devastated to find out any different. One of the articles also mentions that Pete Willis does in fact play rhythm on most of the album. That's interesting.

Wow, I never knew this about the drums. So Rick's last album as a 2-armed man, he didn't even play drums on it. He just hit some cymbals.

Seeing this only makes me love The Early Years set that they put out earlier this year. That is the ultimate Def Lep set for me. I always thought Pyromania was the beginning of the end for me (with Hysteria being the end), but this cements it. I do like the album, but this dampens it some.

[TAC]

As far as I am aware, the Jim Steinman version of Hysteria has never seen the light of day. I would love to hear that.