That Def Leppard started 80s glam metal as we know it is no secret.
But not many people remember that they actually helped carve the New Wave Of British
Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) as well. Their first album, "On Through The Night" (1979), had
little to none of their future gloss, but instead was heavy and rough (for the time).
Back then this English quintet consisted of Joe Elliot (vocals),
Rick Savage (bass), Pete Willis (guitars), Steve Clark (guitar), and
Rick Allen (drums). In the following years they developed their signiture commercial sound
that carried their albums "High And Dry" (1981), "Pyromania" (1983), and "Hysteria"
(1986) to sell 30 million copies total (the fact that
each consequtive album was mellower than the predecessor helped the
band's success with women). In the process, the band lost Willis
(kicked out for alcohol / drugs), Clark (died of alcohol and
drugs), and Allen's left arm (car accident). They were replaced,
respectively, by Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell of Dio
glory days, and a very unusual drum set. The band toured heavily, selling stadiums,
drinking thousands of bottles of Jack Daniels, and screwing
thousands of chics. As pop metal died out, Def Leppard started playing
a weird blend of their previous style, electronic
sounds, and Brian Adams-style pop, producing a totally hideous result, as I could judge from the
song "Work It Out" and popular reaction to it. As glam metal began
resurrecting in late 90s, they released "Euphoria" (1998), which
showcased their return to their signiture sound. They keep releasing albums and touring, with
no intention to stop.
HIGH AND DRY (1981)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "Another Hit And Run," "Bringin' On The Heartbreak,"
"Mirror, Mirror (You Look Into My Eyes)."
A solid work, although the production may seem a bit weak. All
three best songs are also my three favorite Def Leppard songs. All
songs are dedicated to the complicated relationships of the band
members with their multiple girlfriends, except for "Mirror,
Mirror," which isn't. Instead it has a great groove to it (and the
line "You look into my eyes!" was destined to be one of the
catchiest lines in DL catalog). So does "Another Hit And Run" (a
fast song with a killer main riff). Other neat songs include "Let It
Go," "You Got Me Running," and "Lady Strange." Although Elliot's
voice is reminiscent of a pig about to be slaughtered and guitar
solos are also quite mediocre, but the energy of the whole thing
makes up for these flaws. A good album; too bad they were never
quite able to repeat it (quality-wise, not
commercially).
PYROMANIA (1983)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Rock, Rock (Till You Drop)," "Foolin'," "Too Late
For Love"
After two weeks of owning this CD, I sold it. It's not really
that horrible, but I saw a copy of High And Dry in the
used section, decided that two Def Leppard albums is one too many,
and exchanged it. It's got a couple of nice rockers ("Rock, Rock"
and "F-F-F-Foolin'"), with their groovy riffs, a couple of pretty
and emotional tunes ("Too Late For Love"), but the rest of it is
lame and uninspiring. Everyone's favorite, "Rock Of Ages" is IMHO
the last song that can pretend to be the "rocker of ages," and its
cheesy bridge, "What do you want? I want rock'n'roll! You
betcha!" gives me unnecessary migraines. Not many songs
mention fire, so the title "Pyromania" doesn't really reflect
anything. Aside from that, it's a decent piece of pop
music.
HYSTERIA (1987)
RATING: **1/2
BEST SONGS: "Hysteria"
Finally, being the 80s hair band caught up with quality of Def
Leppard's music. Colorless melody, boring riffs, stupid lyrics, slow
beat (OK, THAT I can forgive, taking into account the one-arm
drummer Rick Allen), lack of energy, girlish looks, Winger,
Nelson, Great White, Poison. The title track is the only song
I enjoy, mainly because it's simple and doesn't pretend to be
"metal" (I also dig the video). "Rocket" is sort of cool, but is
also too poppish for me. Everything else, including worldwide hits
"Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Love Bites" (bites indeed), "Animal," all
those ear-pleasing soft-ass tunes should be buried in the 80s with
the stake driven through them. And, no, I don't own this album,
although I've heard virtually its every song on the radio before
borrowing a cassette from a friend and returning it back very
quickly. The only thing about this album that is worthy of
admiration is the fact of a one-arm Allen was not fired, as it would
have happened with any other band, but found the way back behind the
drumkit, which is quite honorable (though limiting the quality of
drumming in Def Leppard, but with the AWESOME production, Rick Allen
sounds better with one arm than he did with two on all previous
albums). The fact that this album sold million after million of
copies makes me feel good I was back in Russia in the late 80s. OK,
THAT's an exaggeration. :)
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