Author Topic: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive  (Read 11276 times)

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Offline Zoom E

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #70 on: May 08, 2022, 12:04:01 PM »
An edit... Deadeye, it's not Long Island, it's South Fallsburg, NY. That's what I have on my hard drive, but the show is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRal14D24Rc



In fact this youtube page has a number of Pyromania shows.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJrV1WSHPh-IMIgn7oU6HA/videos




The Allentown show just became available a few months ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90pIH6Scg3s
It was recorded on June 27th, 1983, just TWO days after I attended my first ever concert, which of course was Def Leppard. Here's my stub..






But going back to the Allentown show, it is kind of an amazing find, as the taper also recorded both Krokus and Gary Moore. And that Gary Moore set is....a Holy Grail recording for me..

I see that you that wrote the support act names on the ticket stub. I used to do the same but would write it on the back. I caught the Pyromania tour on July 20, 1983 and the support act was Uriah Heep.


Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #71 on: May 08, 2022, 12:27:27 PM »

I see that you that wrote the support act names on the ticket stub. I used to do the same but would write it on the back. I caught the Pyromania tour on July 20, 1983 and the support act was Uriah Heep.

Cool. Did Daisley and Kerslake tour with them at that time? I had both Abominog and Head First.

Def Leppard came back to my area and played in Providence two months after I saw them. Looking at Setlist FM, seems Uriah Heep was the support for that show as well, and Krokus was still on the bill.

Glad I saw Gary Moore instead!
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Zoom E

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #72 on: May 08, 2022, 12:31:04 PM »

I see that you that wrote the support act names on the ticket stub. I used to do the same but would write it on the back. I caught the Pyromania tour on July 20, 1983 and the support act was Uriah Heep.

Cool. Did Daisley and Kerslake tour with them at that time? I had both Abominog and Head First.

Def Leppard came back to my area and played in Providence two months after I saw them. Looking at Setlist FM, seems Uriah Heep was the support for that show as well, and Krokus was still on the bill.

Glad I saw Gary Moore instead!

I really don’t know what the Uriah Heep line-up was. I was not big into Heep and only had the Abominog album. I definitely would have preferred to see Krokus and Gary Moore.

Offline The Realm

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #73 on: May 08, 2022, 04:31:26 PM »
Pyromania - well after listening to High n Dry about 10 times over the last few days I put on Pyromania. I did once upon a time love this album, when I first heard it I was blown away by it. However my feelings are no where near as strong today. On my re-listen the song I enjoyed the most overall was Comin' Under Fire. Too Late For Love is great, still love the vibe of Foolin and Rock of Ages is a good song. Photograph and Stagefright were huge songs to me 'back in the day' and still good but just don't have the same impact anymore.

Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #74 on: May 08, 2022, 04:34:05 PM »
I remember an interview with Joe Elliot when Pyromania was released, and he said that Pyromania was their "real" second album. He said that High n Dry was rushed and he didn't consider it a true follow up to On Through The Night...

My response then was...

WUT??
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Deadeye21

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #75 on: May 09, 2022, 03:53:59 AM »
Live at the LA Forum - Recorded 1983, released 2009

Setlist - 1. Rock! Rock! (‘Til You Drop!). 2. Rock Brigade. 3. Saturday Night (High ‘n’ Dry). 4. Another Hit and Run. 5. Billy’s Got A Gun. 6. Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes). 7. Foolin’. 8. Photograph. 9. Rock of Ages. 10. Bringin’ on the Heartbreak. 11. Switch 625. 12. Let It Go. 13. Wasted. 14. Stagefright. 15. Travellin’ Band (feat. Brian May).

https://open.spotify.com/album/3MJoDIkQxY0MTXE8fqzmPu?si=JoxrW996T_G_VS3cq7GaDw

In my opinion, there are a few different things that I want from a live album. Firstly, I look for the hits. How well is this going to get me hooked for a first time listener? Secondly, I’d like a blend of some rarer tracks. Now that I am a fan of the band, does this live set give me something to sink my teeth into outside of the general singles affair? And then, of course, how good is this performance?
For example, my main introduction to Rush was the Time Machine live album, which got me hooked. The second set was Moving Pictures in full and other huge hits were included all around, but there were also songs like Presto and Faithless and everything was performed super well!

So, how does Live at the LA Forum stack up? Incredibly well, in my opinion. The vibe is huge! Audiences are going nuts and the band are in absolute top form. The setlist could practically act as the greatest hits for the first three albums, including the full first side of High ‘n’ Dry, six of the ten tracks from Pyromania and two tracks off of On Through the Night, all topped off by a really special cover.

The whole thing kicks off with the intro from Die Hard the Hunter, segueing seamlessly into Rock! Rock! (‘Til You Drop!). You can tell from the word go that Def Leppard is in extremely fine form. Following on from that, as if just to prove how far they’d come in 3 years, is a blistering version of  Rock Brigade. We get a couple of tunes from High ‘n’ Dry, including an extended jam version of Another Hit and Run, before a really great performance of Billy’s Got A Gun. Mirror Mirror gives us a great deep cut and then we follow on with three of the four singles from Pyromania (kicking off with a really nice acoustic doodle from Steve before Foolin’). The 1-2 combo of Heartbreak and Switch 625 are real highlights here and then the main set closes with Let It Go and Wasted.
If that wasn’t enough, we get a great encore, starting with Stagefright. The final encore is a really great jam with Queen’s Brian May, where they rock out to Travellin’ Band by Creedence Clearwater Revival!

The set just sounds huge, every track (especially those from Pyromania) are really enhanced by the live tones and proper live drumming. There are multiple solos, showcasing Steve Clark, Phil Collen and Rick Allen. I really love this set!

It’s a great snapshot of how good they were as a live band. The tour for Pyromania lasted from February 9th, 1983 to February 7th, 1984. After having spent all of 1982 in the studio, and having not stopped since 1980, it was time for Def Leppard to take a break.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2022, 04:01:38 AM by Deadeye21 »
Let's go with a P for Deadeye has premature alphabetejaculation.

Offline Stadler

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #76 on: May 09, 2022, 08:14:12 AM »
Not that he needs it, but I want to vouch for TAC on this.  My first concert was Iron Maiden/Judas Priest in August of 1982.   I was very much into High'n'Dry and played it often.  There was a guy sitting near me at Maiden with a HnD shirt on and we were actively waiting on the new record (it came out in January of '83).  I liked it, not as much as HnD, but I liked it.  Def Leppard was my SECOND concert, March of '83, opening for Billy Squier.  I LOVED Billy Squier (still do); he was great, but Leppard was like Maiden:  hungry, and on the cusp and they destroyed the New Haven Coliseum.  That was RIGHT at the tipping point.   "Photograph" was the only single out at that point, and the video was all over the place.  Joe was making waves with the Union Jack shirt (pretty sure I bought one at the show), and it was all sort of fresh and new, even if it was not quite resonating like HnD did.  I liked the deeper tracks.  "Billy..." is still my favorite song off the record (and not because of the name). 

I don't mind the musical shift, even though I like the harder material, but this was the start of something I DIDN'T like: the gimmicky "Rock!" songs.   Rock of Ages is not a favorite of mine, I thought it was silly (and for the record, I don't like other acts that do that either, like Dio, Twisted Sister...)  Joe is a decent lyricist, and I like when his lyrics have a little bit of an angle to them.  The cheesy "rock" lyrics just seem to underscore the worst part of the musical shift for me.

Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #77 on: May 09, 2022, 05:25:48 PM »
My first concert was Iron Maiden/Judas Priest in August of 1982.  ....Def Leppard was my SECOND concert, March of '83, opening for Billy Squier.  .....

Def Leppard was first concert, and Iron Maiden was my second.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Zoom E

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #78 on: May 09, 2022, 06:36:05 PM »
There was an over-saturation of Def Leppard after Pyromania became huge. Joe in his union jack shirt was everywhere. At some point it just became a turn-off.

Still, Pyromania is full of great songs, even if some of the lyrics are cringe-worthy, as pointed out by Stadler.

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #79 on: May 09, 2022, 06:37:21 PM »
Pretty sure I bought one of those sleeveless union jack shirts at the concert.  :loser:  :lol


I know I bought the baseball style jersey with the Pyromania conver on the front, with the gun sight n the back, and it said Rock till you drop, tour till we drop.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Zoom E

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #80 on: May 09, 2022, 06:42:30 PM »
Pretty sure I bought one of those sleeveless union jack shirts at the concert.  :loser:  :lol


I know I bought the baseball style jersey with the Pyromania conver on the front, with the gun sight n the back, and it said Rock till you drop, tour till we drop.

 :lol

I think I just bought a regular t-shirt, which I probably still have in a drawer.

Offline Stadler

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #81 on: May 10, 2022, 07:17:27 AM »
Pretty sure I bought one of those sleeveless union jack shirts at the concert.  :loser:  :lol


I know I bought the baseball style jersey with the Pyromania conver on the front, with the gun sight n the back, and it said Rock till you drop, tour till we drop.

No, now that you mention it, that's the shirt I bought.  The baseball shirt.  My buddy bought the Union Jack, and the sleeveless one I had was the Trooper shirt from Maiden's Piece Of Mind tour.   I don't have the Leppard shirt anymore, but I do have my Number of the Beast shirt from the Maiden show (I can't even fit it over my head at this point).

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #82 on: May 10, 2022, 07:57:26 PM »
Pretty sure I bought one of those sleeveless union jack shirts at the concert.  :loser:  :lol


I know I bought the baseball style jersey with the Pyromania conver on the front, with the gun sight n the back, and it said Rock till you drop, tour till we drop.

No, now that you mention it, that's the shirt I bought.  The baseball shirt.  My buddy bought the Union Jack, and the sleeveless one I had was the Trooper shirt from Maiden's Piece Of Mind tour.   I don't have the Leppard shirt anymore, but I do have my Number of the Beast shirt from the Maiden show (I can't even fit it over my head at this point).

I've posted pics of me in my Piece Of Mind shirt here before.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Deadeye21

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #83 on: May 10, 2022, 10:53:30 PM »
Hysteria - 1987

Tracklisting - 1. Women. 2. Rocket. 3. Animal. 4. Love Bites. 5. Pour Some Sugar on Me. 6. Armageddon It. 7. Gods of War. 8. Don’t Shoot Shotgun. 9. Run Riot. 10. Hysteria. 11. Excitable. 12. Love and Affection.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1ja2qzCrh6bZykcojbZs82?si=CosLB7N0QSa0ngWXOsH_Mw

Anything after Pyromania very easily could have been a different story. While writing for the follow up had started in the months following their last show, Rick Allen suffered a life altering accident on the A57 just outside of Sheffield on New Year’s Eve of 1984. Ten months after being a huge touring act, one of the hottest young drummers of the time found himself in the unenviable position of being a drummer with one arm.

When the writing sessions for the album recommenced, Mutt Lange was unavailable and Def Leppard were instead under the direction of Jim Steinman. Their experience with Jim was less than favourable and the band soon found themselves in serious debt to the studios. This easily could’ve been the end.

But in 1986, Def Leppard made an incredible comeback. While originally touring with two drummers to give Rick a bit of a safety net, it didn’t take long before they realised that he could still do this. The spark was back. Mutt came back to the producer’s chair and the result was Hysteria, Def Leppard’s longest and best selling album to date.

But is it worth the hype? Let’s find out.

Women, is the opening track, and after a great guitar hook, we’re brought into the verse which is absolutely soaked in synth bass. As the song grows towards the chorus, the guitars start to become more prominent again and the vocal gets higher and higher in intensity and pitch. The thing that really grabs me early on is the guitar tone, especially the cleans. This thing sounds super jangly, and it’s a really nice tone. The distorted tone doesn’t feel too far removed from that of Pyromania, but polished further from there. The drums set a really solid groove and throw in a few snare-centric fills. The chorus of this one especially gives that great group vibe that Pyromania capitalised on. This is a really solid opening track, and shows off the whole “we’re back!” vibe that this album really needed.

Rocket follows shortly after, starting with a reversed version of the chorus vocals from Gods of War. This song has a unique vibe, being centred around a drum groove in many places, or around a very simple bass riff. The great thing to this song is the lyrics, which serve as a snapshot of the songs that Leppard grew up listening to (name-checking Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Benny and the Jets and Killer Queen among others, with the most prominent being Satellite of Love in the chorus). The middle section to a certain extent serves as a little bit of a twisted overture for the Hysteria album as a whole, with all sorts of clips being used out of context or in reverse. If anything sets this one back at all, I feel this song goes on a little too long once we get into that middle section, and I kinda prefer the version used in the music video for the track for this reason.

Animal sets a bit of a different pace after the first two. This is both a rocker and a bit of a ballad all at once. This one, much like Women and Rocket before it, is quite bass led. It’s actually awesome how much room Sav is getting to do his thing here. This song provides more big choruses, but also one of my favourite riffs on the record in the bridge. It’s just got a certain bite to it that I really love. The fake out ending is pretty cool too.

Love Bites, Def Leppard’s only number one hit in the US believe it or not, really changes the mood from what’s preceded it. This goes through a good emotional spectrum throughout the three main sections. To me, the verses are quite fragile and questioning, the pre chorus is almost a resignation to the way things are instead of the way he wants them to be, and then the main chorus is almost desperate. This usually isn’t a song I get into too much, but I really enjoyed it this time around. The first solo on this track is really different, nice and open. The outro is a somewhat ominous open feel as well. Hammers to me the fact that the protagonist of the track may end up alone at the end of the track.

Alright, we all know the song that’s next. If you’ve barely heard of Def Leppard, it’s a good chance this is the one you know em for. Step inside, walk this way, you and me babe, hey hey!
The first thing to say about Pour Some Sugar on Me is that the main riff is great, if a little under-utilised for my liking. The snare sound on this track gives the song a really explosive feel and I really like the stab feel of the guitars and bass. Rick’s groove in this is super recognisable too. The solo section here is replaced by a really tight unison between Phil and Steve, which admittedly isn’t a super complex riff but is super effective.  Then you get the lyrics, and they feel a little slapdash. This song was the last written and recorded for the main Hysteria album and it kinda shows, but there’s no secret as to why this was as big of a hit as it was, this song just rocks.

Armageddon It is the last track before we get to leave off from the big singles for a little bit. This one is great. The intro riff is fun, but the verse riff is a highlight for me on this album. More group vocal goodness for the pre chorus and a cool call and response for the main chorus (I remember when those were used only on some of the deepest cuts for High ‘n’ Dry and Pyromania). This song also has a really groovy solo from Steve Clark, which at this point in the album is really welcome. Phil starts soloing over the fade-out and unfortunately the song dies out before it gets a chance to really kick off. That’s something about Hysteria that really isn’t a hit for me, there aren’t as many great solos as there have been on previous albums and on this listen-through, I kinda missed them. This song always leaves me in a good mood, though, and marks the halfway point for this album.

The next song starts off with a really nice ambient guitar intro, a Steve Clark composition, which really gets me in the mood for what’s to come. Gods of War. This is the first of the deeper cuts on Hysteria, but it’s one of my absolute favourite Def Leppard songs ever. This song has a bit of a similar structure of verses and choruses to Die Hard the Hunter the album before, and while that track did have a few instrumental highlights that I did prefer, I think Gods just wins out overall. The production for this song really elevates it, and the vocals are just so infectious. If you have a chance, get the Classic Albums documentary on the Hysteria album. There’s a section where they show off a really awesome layered vocal track from the chorus of this song that is a little underpowered in the final mix. The audio samples at the end of this track give the outro a huge vibe that I don’t know Def Leppard have ever really lived up to again.  This song is just epic, and if this is one you skip, I urge you to give it another go.

Don’t Shoot Shotgun is up next. Compared to every other song on this album, this one feels very bare bones. As a musician myself, I feel like the verses of this one may have been an influence on AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. The group vocals on this track are super prominent and it’s actually a really fun song to listen to. The solo section in this one is one of my favourites for the album for sure, there’s just a really nice vibe to them which actually kinda reminds me of Hold Your Fire era Rush for some reason (conveniently released in the same year). Not too much to say about this one, but it’s a nice fun song that makes a good contrast after how serious Gods of War is.

If you wanted more straight rockers though, Run Riot should surely be on the top of your list! This is my second favourite song on the album for this listen through. The vocals have a Stagefright vibe to them, but leading into the Hysteria style choruses. I feel like this track in particular is a great summation of 80s Def Leppard, the bridge into the solo has the bite of something from High ‘n’ Dry, the soloing is classic Pyromania era and it does all of this within the Hysteria sound. It’s shocking how good this song is, considering Def Leppard almost never bring this song out live unless performing the full album.

And now, onto the title track. Hysteria is probably more of a ballad than a banger within the context of the album, but it’s beautiful. This song is probably the most overly produced, at least according to the band. There are at least 8 different guitar parts in the chorus alone, and every note of every chord was recorded individually. Did it work though? Hell yeah. This song is amazingly beautiful and well worth being the title track of the album. This showcases so many things about this album all in one go while remaining it’s own individual song. The solo here is awesome, the choruses are great, and that main riff is in mind whenever the album title is mentioned. Can you feel it? Do you believe it?

It’s a shame that the last two tracks on the album fall a little short for me. Excitable isn’t a bad song, but on the record this just never takes for me. This is one that is, again, massively produced in the studio. And yet, if I want to listen to this song, I tend to seek out a live version. There’s some really cool parts to this song. The singalong vocal runs are actually really fun, amd I love the build of the bridge, but this song just doesn’t have the energy on the album that it takes on live.

Love and Affection is kinda alright at best. I don’t have a lot to say about it and often I completely forget about it, which isn’t something I like to say about album closers. The riff doesn’t really escalate, the solo is decent but not really anything super great. The chorus vocal is kinda nice, I guess. This song as a whole just doesn’t do anything for me and feels like more worthy of being a B-Side than the actual B-Sides to Hysteria.

So, Hysteria as a whole. Man, what a great album! It’s a victory and a comeback from a point where they very easily could’ve called it quits. For many, this is their leaving point, much as the Black Album would be for Metallica fans a few years later, but I think we’re only just getting started here. This main album ranks a 4.8 for me, because I still kinda like one of the two weakest tracks on the album, but the closer just never took for me.

But hey, while we’re talking about Hysteria, there are actually a few other songs we can talk about, so get ready for the B-Sides post a little later!
Let's go with a P for Deadeye has premature alphabetejaculation.

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #84 on: May 11, 2022, 04:10:55 AM »
I’ll respond properly on my laptop after work but let me just say that Hysteria might be one of the Top 3 musical disappointments of my music listening life.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline soupytwist

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #85 on: May 11, 2022, 04:22:04 AM »
Hysteria was the first album I brought with my own money - I absolutely loved it, then went back and brought the first 3 albums.  For that period Leppard were my favorite band and Hysteria my favorite album.   It all changed in the early 90's when I turned to grunge - and Adenalize disappointed and I went away for Leppard, when I went from Tape to CD I never re brought any of their albums, only within the last few years have I gone back to them as my wife is a big 80's rock fan.  I must say Hysteria is still a fun listen, but now in my mid 40's I can say Pyromania is their best.

Offline Deadeye21

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #86 on: May 11, 2022, 06:10:14 AM »
Hysteria B-Sides - Released on various singles throughout 1987 and 1988.

Tracklisting - 13. Tear It Down. 14. I Wanna Be Your Hero. 15. Ride Into the Sun. 16. Ring of Fire. 27. Release Me.

So, Hysteria was a huge chart topper. Mutt’s guidance led Def Leppard to fulfil his vision of being the rock equivalent to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Seven singles were released, all hitting the top 10 in the US. Back in those days, singles were often packed with great B-Side material and with seven singles being released, there were a lot of cool hidden gems released.

So there were five extended mixes released amongst the various B-Sides. They’re not great in my opinion, and I”m not really going to go into depth with these. They’re just longer versions of the songs that kill the vibe big time by making each line from verses detach from each other unnecessarily. Meh!

Alright, so let’s get it with the cool stuff. First up, Tear It Down, which was bundled with Animal in the UK and Women. This song is a banger! Very simple riff, just three notes, but with the Hysteria production this just works. This track was later included as the closer of the Adrenalize album, but this is a way better version of the song in my opinion. Solo is great, everyone’s really together here and the group vocal is energetic as hell. This song was played a few times towards the end of the Hysteria tour, and was one of the last songs that Steve Clark contributed to the writing for.


I Wanna Be Your Hero is next. This one was the B-Side to Animal in the US and Pour Some Sugar on Me. The intro to this song is really moody before kicking into more of the usual Hysteria rocking affair. This track would later be included on Retro Active, albeit with a different intro. I actually really love this song, and this is one that I really wish could’ve made the album. The whole song sets a very different mood to a lot of what’s on the main album, but I think this could’ve been a very good album closer to Hysteria. Admittedly, for my ear, this song is a little too short and the double fade-out is a little gimmicky, but the main song actually really rocks.

Ride Into the Sun reappears here! Rick Allen and Phil Collen did not play on the original recording of this song and it hadn’t been played live with Phil in the band. So when the song was rediscovered during the Hysteria sessions, it was quickly decided to do a new version of this song and I’m really glad they did. This version was released as the B-Side to the Hysteria single. The vocals have been largely rewritten since the original version on The Def Leppard EP, and while this version fits the tone of Hysteria, I think these vocals just fit the song better as I always felt the original chorus was too crammed. The solo here is awesome, and it’s really cool to see Def Leppard visit old history. This version of the song starts off with Rick playing the main groove before the riff kicks in, different to Retro Active which has a cool piano intro.

Ring of Fire is the B-Side that was bundled with Pour Some Sugar On Me in the US and Armageddon It. The intro on this one is really faded out, which is a shame because the Retro Active version shows there was a great riff hidden underneath the whole time. This song is a total banger other than that though. This feels more at home on Pyromania than Hysteria to me, as this is probably one of the last truly metal offerings from Def Leppard. This is another of the few B-Sides that has been played live, having opened a few shows on the X tour. While I feel that the Retro Active version is maybe a little better and a bit thicker tone wise, this song is fantastic and should’ve been on a proper album.

Sometimes, you’ve gotta goof off though. I don’t even know what they were thinking on this deep cut cover from the Rocket single. This really isn’t good, being sung by one of the band’s guitar techs with Def Leppard just having a big old jam on Release Me by Eddie Miller. This is nothing shy of a parody, and the boys really just having fun. If you’re in the right mood, this is kinda passable, but man, it’s not good.   

I’m not going to give this a rating as it feels a little unfair, but most of these easily could’ve made it to Hysteria and been very welcome. What’s your favourite? Let me know and let’s see if your favourite track still holds up on Adrenalize and Retro Active.

Tomorrow, In the Round, In Your Face.

Let's go with a P for Deadeye has premature alphabetejaculation.

Offline HOF

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #87 on: May 11, 2022, 07:50:20 AM »
Hysteria is a really great album from a production standpoint. Some of the songs are pretty awful, especially Women and Pour Some Sugar On Me. I always liked Love Bites musically, but man some of those lyrics are brutal too. But God’s of War is tremendous, and while Rocket is a tad overlong, I do think it was a cool experiment. I’ve always really liked Armageddon It too. But to me the title track is the high point here. Just a beautiful pop song. I also really like Love and Affection to be honest. It’s got a nice groove and is kind of a slightly rockier Hysteria. It does sound a bit like a rehash, but I enjoy it anyway.

Also agree that the Classic Albums episode on Hysteria is really good.

Offline WilliamMunny

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #88 on: May 11, 2022, 08:34:24 AM »
@Deadeye21—your posts are excellent! Thank you so much for putting all that time into these write-ups. 'Must-read' quality for sure!.

As far as 'Hysteria' goes, it's my favorite Def Leppard album, but I will concede that if it was ten tracks (ending with Hysteria), it would probably be a better listen.

Offline Deadeye21

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #89 on: May 11, 2022, 09:52:36 AM »
@Deadeye21—your posts are excellent! Thank you so much for putting all that time into these write-ups. 'Must-read' quality for sure!.

My pleasure. Wish it wasn’t so finite, coz I’m loving writing these.
Let's go with a P for Deadeye has premature alphabetejaculation.

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #90 on: May 11, 2022, 12:48:29 PM »
@Deadeye21—your posts are excellent! Thank you so much for putting all that time into these write-ups. 'Must-read' quality for sure!.

Definitely outstanding writeups.



As far as 'Hysteria' goes, it's my favorite Def Leppard album, but I will concede that if it was ten tracks (ending with Hysteria), it would probably be a better listen.

As a 10 song album, I would definitely keep the last two songs. There's plenty that come before those that are just awful.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #91 on: May 11, 2022, 01:40:25 PM »
Ok...I'm going to try and recreate my first listening experience to Hysteria.
I will say that by this time, I had completed my first year of college. It's not that I had moved on from Def Leppard, but I kind of had. It had been 4 and a half years since Pyromania, which I never really played anyway. But I was still really excited for their new album.

Wiki mentions that Animal was the lead single. I have no memory of that.

I had a gf that loved Def Leppard, so I may have actually bought 2 cassettes. One for me and ..


Anyway, Women starts off with a cool into. But then it evolves into something that I do not recognize. This is so overproduced and just icky.

Rocket didn't help things, but there's a part of me that kind of likes what they did on this, but.....as a DAMN B-side!

Animal comes next and there's nothing so far on this album that I can sink my teeth into. And just when I think it can't get any worse, along comes Love Bites. Holy shit, what suckage!
WTF HAPPENED TO DEF LEPPARD??

The best thing that I can say about Pour Some Sugar On Me is at least it's a tad upbeat. Honestly, this song is embarrasing.

Side 1 ends with Armageddon It. The first song I thought that was ok.

Side 2 starts with Gods Of War, which is easily the best song on the album so far, and I think it has stayed there. This could've come off of Pyromania, honestly, with a nod to their debut album. Now the production kicks out its legs, but that's beside the point.

Don't Shoot Shotgun and Run Riot are both quite non descript, but I feel like I can actually hear a little Def Leppard in in them.

I ain't gonna lie. I like Hysteria. It has a really cool vibe and pacing to it, and while it's still over produced, the song still cuts through it.

Excitable, like Shotgun and Run Riot was at least a hard rock song at its core. The production is awful. I group these three songs together because for a while I really tried to rationalize this album with these three songs. But at the end of the day, it would be required for me to so lower my standards to accept them as decent.

Love And Affection, believe it or not, was another song I kind of dug.

I tried. I really tried, but this album betrayed me. It was not worth the wait. This was like the hard rock version of New Edition, Mutt Lange's hard rock boy band. Disgusting.

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Stadler

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #92 on: May 11, 2022, 01:56:57 PM »
There's a lot in that post I can resonate with.  I TOO like Hysteria, the song.  I remember hearing "Love Bites" and thinking, "if you're going to crib something from Judas Priest, it's ought to be more than just the shitty title!".   Like TAC, I gave it a try.  And I did have things I could latch on to (I don't particularly like "...Sugar...", but that melody "easy operator come knockin' on my door..." sticks in my head.   I know I made a cassette - it was/is a LONG record, it didn't even fit on a 60 minute cassette - and I put the b-sides on there as well to make a 90 minute cassette.  That made it palatable, but I'd find myself listening to the last couple songs and the b-sides, but if I never hear "Love Bites" again, I'll be fine.  I didn't ultimately give up on Leppard until Adrenalize, but this was, like TAC said, a real letdown.

Offline HOF

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #93 on: May 11, 2022, 02:04:51 PM »
I forgot about Animal, which is another one with kind of gag lyrics but it’s extremely catchy. Still love the sound of that track.

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #94 on: May 11, 2022, 02:33:45 PM »
   I know I made a cassette - it was/is a LONG record, it didn't even fit on a 60 minute cassette - and I put the b-sides on there as well

Speaking of B-sides..

I remember the 45's were supposed to be a puzzle of the album cover. I thought I had all of them, but wiki says Rocket was released in 1989. I was all set by then, and having live version of Women was not going to convince me. But here are the 6 I have. And the b-sides were easily better than anything on the album.

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Stadler

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #95 on: May 11, 2022, 02:39:00 PM »
All this back and forth is sort of digging up bad - well, not "bad", but uncomfortable - feelings.   I WANT to like Leppard so bad; the guitar players are GREAT, Rick Allen is a beast, Joe Elliott is a fan's front man (and he's done an AMAZING job at being fair and respectful and complete with their reissues).  They are an AMAZING live band. They do cool shit like the "Dead Flatbird" stuff (would that Maiden did a similar thing with the Di'Anno records!)

But the songs just aren't there.

Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #96 on: May 11, 2022, 02:50:38 PM »
I hear ya Stads. I have one more big post (concert pics), and then that'll be pretty much it from me. But I think I'll listen along as we go.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Online TAC

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #97 on: May 11, 2022, 04:04:22 PM »
So, I saw three shows on the Hysteria tour in three different venues.

October 12, 1987, Providence Civic Center.....with Tesla

July 30, 1988, Great Woods, Mansfield MA.....with Europe

September 28, Worcester Centrum....with Queensryche


I was so happy to see Queensryche for the first time. I bought a shirt, which I ended up donating to the Samsara Queensryche Museum. Seeing Scott Rockenfield's drums, especially from behind was cool as shit!

The Providence and Worcester shows were "In The Round", which I hate. I would so much rather have the whole band in front of me, rather than one guy at a time.

I'll say this though. What Rick Allen did was damn impressive.






October 12, 1987
Providence Civic Center












would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Stadler

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #98 on: May 11, 2022, 04:30:37 PM »
I'm also going to go out on a limb:  Steve "Steamin'" Clark was irreplaceable.  Or at least the manner of his demise forever changed the band.   I love Vivian Campbell, I really do, but Clark was such a big part of that band and I like to think he was the conscience of sorts.  I know Hysteria was done with his full knowledge, cooperation and participation, but I think as he faded as a driving force in the band, my interest did as well.

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #99 on: May 11, 2022, 04:49:16 PM »
I'm also going to go out on a limb:  Steve "Steamin'" Clark was irreplaceable.  Or at least the manner of his demise forever changed the band.   I love Vivian Campbell, I really do, but Clark was such a big part of that band and I like to think he was the conscience of sorts.  I know Hysteria was done with his full knowledge, cooperation and participation, but I think as he faded as a driving force in the band, my interest did as well.

I don't know. That's an interesting thought and I've never thought about it. He may have been too far gone to have a real influence.

I'll say this, I thought Vivian Campbell was just what the band needed. Another disappointment.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline The Realm

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #100 on: May 11, 2022, 05:08:47 PM »
Hysteria - I bought this on cassette on release day and I gotta admit I was blown away by it at the time. I think as much as anything it was where I was in my teenage years musical journey (ie I actually hadn't discovered even Metallica yet but was a massive Maiden and solo Ozzy fan, maybe a bit of W.A.S.P). So I listened to this album for about 6 months straight, just loved it. Anyway here is Australia, Def Leppard at that time wasn't a big band so the strange thing was that after my 6 months straight listening to this album and telling everyone how awesome it was, no one else I knew was actually into Def Leppard at all. So I think it was about 2 years (approx.) after the release of the album, Rocket was released as a single in Australia and it just took off. It was huge and the band all of a sudden became massive here. Meanwhile, I had well and truly moved on...and just hearing Rocket made me sick...haha...

Offline bl5150

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #101 on: May 11, 2022, 05:35:11 PM »
Hysteria - I bought this on cassette on release day and I gotta admit I was blown away by it at the time. I think as much as anything it was where I was in my teenage years musical journey (ie I actually hadn't discovered even Metallica yet but was a massive Maiden and solo Ozzy fan, maybe a bit of W.A.S.P). So I listened to this album for about 6 months straight, just loved it. Anyway here is Australia, Def Leppard at that time wasn't a big band so the strange thing was that after my 6 months straight listening to this album and telling everyone how awesome it was, no one else I knew was actually into Def Leppard at all. So I think it was about 2 years (approx.) after the release of the album, Rocket was released as a single in Australia and it just took off. It was huge and the band all of a sudden became massive here. Meanwhile, I had well and truly moved on...and just hearing Rocket made me sick...haha...

I think we went through a similar journey as fellow Aussies.  I was first into Van Halen , Ozzy, KISS , WASP and - for me - Pyromania.   And yeah it was interesting how Def Leppard built gradual momentum with Hysteria here over a 2 year period.  Animal was a minor hit , then they really broke with a Top 15 hit with Love Bites and then as the album sales started to roll in they cracked Top 10 with Hysteria in 1989 and the single of the time Rocket fed off that.   For me it was Love Bites that was the catalyst , even though Rocket ended up charting a touch higher in the end.

I was getting into Pyromania at around the same time (just before) and that got far more play , even though I didn't dislike Hysteria.   I started to view them as a bit of a parody of themselves though after I heard Let's Get Rocked.

And yeah...............a band had to break BIG worldwide (not just USA) before they got radio play out here.  It was a totally different scene and just the diehard metalheads who could find a newsagent who stocked the magazines knew anything about anything.

Just like in the Van Halen thread...........talk of songs like Beautiful Girls being summer hits.  Never heard that once outside my own listening  :lol
« Last Edit: May 11, 2022, 05:53:55 PM by bl5150 »
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #102 on: May 11, 2022, 05:36:13 PM »
Interesting that both of you guys mention WASP.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline bl5150

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #103 on: May 11, 2022, 05:39:15 PM »
Interesting that both of you guys mention WASP.

Yeah.......it is rather unusual.  They certainly weren't on the radio but obviously had a bit of an underground following.  Some guy at school who heard I was a fellow metalhead (we were a rare species) gave me a dubbed tape of WASP's first album and I got hooked.  Same guy got me into Pyromania too I think so kudos to him  :lol

I could've added Malmsteen to the list too.  Just a matter of who you knew/what you saw in mags as none of it was on radio out here.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2022, 05:49:02 PM by bl5150 »
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

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Offline Zoom E

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Re: Deadeye21’s Def Leppard Deep Dive
« Reply #104 on: May 11, 2022, 05:58:45 PM »
While Hysteria is undeniably a quality album, I'm in the hugely disappointing camp with TAC and Stadler. The AOR vibe just didn’t do it for me. Gods of War is easily my favourite song, and I also like Women despite the godawful lyrics. I cannot stand Pour Some Sugar On Me.