On Through the Night -
1980Tracklisting -
1.
Rock Brigade.
2. Hello America.
3.
Sorrow Is A Woman.
4.
It Could Be You.
5.
Satellite.
6.
When the Walls Came Tumbling Down.
7.
Wasted.
8.
Rocks Off.
9.
It Don’t Matter.
10.
Answer to the Master.
11.
Overture.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5MDUAzbkTZwDUN5DvC9l8m?si=V97mODMQQMm_RP9_tQg-CQA year on from
The Def Leppard EP, what has changed? For one, we have a new band member, a two armed Rick Allen! Def Leppard have moved on and started playing shows all around England and starting to branch out into the rest of the UK with their original material. So, with that, it’s time for a new release, which was delivered in the form of
On Through the Night.
Taking cues from their previous release, the new album reuses two tracks from the 79 EP, while adding new touches to them. It also adds 9 brand new tracks that were no stranger to the stage.
The songs presented on
On Through the Night are very different than what you would think from DL. With a sound like more of a 70s affair, songs like
It Could Be You feel like an old school Led Zeppelin production.
Rock Brigade kicks us into the album, and though the lyrics are a bit unrefined, this is a great kickoff track. As one of the most recently played tracks from this album, and one of only two featured on the band’s
Rock of Ages compilation in 2005, you can see how this track has stood the test of times. Killer rocking vibes, helping to set the scene for the rest of the album.
Hello America especially feels like a rocked up Beach Boys anthem, while still providing a great insight to who Leppard were at the time. The interesting thing to me is that even though the harmonised vocals are present, they are nowhere near as punchy as they’ll become, and are far from the anthemic multi-vocal section that they would become on subsequent releases.
Sorrow Is A Woman,
It Could Be You and
Satellite are a bit more generic to me, not really standing out to my ear. The best of the three is definitely
It Could Be You, with a killer hook of a riff.
Satellite does offer a nice clean section midway through though, but post-listen, these don’t offer as many memorable moments as the rest of the album.
When The Walls Came Tumbling Downis a great look into their early epics, with a really story driven lyric structure. There are some great instrumental hooks here too, which is a trait that a lot of these songs have to offer.
Wasted is, for all the right reasons, the most played song off of this album. The edge of the guitars on this track very much speak to the powerhouse of Steve Clark’s sound. This and the closing track,
Overture, are head too head for my favourite from On Through the Night.
Rocks Off, sadly, seemed to leave less impact on me than the original on
The Def Leppard EP. The production is enhanced, but certain lead fills that have been added are somewhat distracting to me.
It Don’t Matter almost feels like something that could’ve been on one of the first Van Halen albums, and has a sound that almost reminds me of
Fly By Night era Rush.
Answer to the Master has a killer main riff which reminds me of Creed’s
Fear. The instrumental section proves how much of a powerhouse Def Leppard were as a band, with a powerful guitar harmony into a massive guitar solo.
The whole album comes to a head on the re-recorded
Overture, which sounds even more epic than it ever did before. This wouldn’t feel out of place on one of the Paul Di’Anno Iron Maiden albums to my ear. An epic ride through most of what the album has had to offer, all rolled up into a single smorgasbord.
On Through the Night isn’t my favourite Leppard album, not by a long shot, but this is still a great rock album for 1980. One could see it as a valuable stepping stone between the EP and
High n Dry, which really it is. Due to seeing it as an extension, and really enjoying a fair few of these songs, I’m giving it the same rating as the EP, a 4 out of 5.
Topic: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive (Read 11465 times)
