Uncool Music Appreciation ~ Episode 4 ~ Def Leppard Appreciation Thread

[Zoots]

um... Rock Brigade is in the first post!

Is anybody even reading the first post?

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Is anybody even reading the first post?

Hell No!

 

[gvox]

Confession: I have listened to Hysteria no less than 10 times in the last 24 hours.

Didn't realize how much a song could bring back. wow. I could easily put this song in my top 50 or so.

This was one of those songs you couldn't figure out whether to dance fast or slow to.

High school dance..there was this brunette Greek girl...we started sortof mid-fast which became awkward so then I just grabbed her and we kinda just held on tight and did the classic tiny-foot-shuffle + slow-rotation dance....holy fuck life turned out great I guess but those days man...I wish we had cell phone cameras and tiny video recording devices. All there is to look at is some faded blurry photos from shitty compact 35mm cameras and school yearbooks...

 

[Zoots]

Gabe!

I've been listening to that album too! Sooo good!

 

[LemonMelon]

I really enjoy Def Leppard's work from 1983-1993 or so. I'm one of the few people on earth who like Adrenalize. For whatever reason, I can't get into their early stuff. Not as catchy as they were later on, and not as rocking as a lot of really great metal from that time. The newer stuff is just lame pop cheese. X sounds like a Backstreet Boys album with guitars.

Otherwise though, yeah, pretty great band. Fantastic harmonies and a number of memorable riffs. Hysteria is one of my all-time favorite albums.

 

[Zoots]

I'm one of the few people on earth who like Adrenalize.

For whatever reason, I can't get into their early stuff.

Surely you like Rock Brigade, Bringin on the Heartbreak and Switch 625 at least??

The newer stuff is just lame pop cheese. X sounds like a Backstreet Boys album with guitars.

Yeah I listened online to samples from that X album once or twice. That's exactly how it sounded! Like Def Leppard had turned into the Backstreet Boys. The covers album Yeah was not bad though. I wonder if Sparkle Lounge is any good.

 

[LemonMelon]

Surely you like Rock Brigade, Bringin on the Heartbreak and Switch 625 at least??

I do, actually. The singles are really enjoyable, but I don't know if I could listen through an entire album of that. Bringin' On The Heartbreak is one of their better ballads, even if Mariah Carey did her best to ruin it for me.

Oh, and you forgot High 'N' Dry. That's a good song.

 

[Zoots]

Holy crap! I did not know that Mariah Carey covered it!

Yeah.. other than those singles, the first 2 albums are really not great. But I think it's kinda amusing to hear the obvious Priest influences in Wasted and just the overall metal flavor of that first album.

 

[phanan]

Hysteria is one of my all-time favorite albums.

I support this statement.

 

[Lila64]

um... Rock Brigade is in the first post!

Is anybody even reading the first post?

Hell No!

 

[Zoots]

 

[corianderstem]

I was never a big Def Leppard fan, but a few years ago I woke up one gray Seattle morning and thought, "You know, they have some really great choruses."

So I bought their greatest hits CD and cranked it up. Even the songs I don't really like that much - "Armageddon It," "Rocket" - those are some killer choruses. I love a chorus with some groovy harmonies.

Still don't like the power ballads.

 

[Zoots]

I know they have many ballads but I associate them with the rockers cos they have so many good ones! Here's my Underrated Songs list:

1. Switch 625
2. Billy's Got A Gun
3. Gods Of War
4. White Lightning
5. Tear It Down
6. Paper Sun
7. Disintegrate
8. Kings Of Oblivion

 

[VintagePunk]

From the mid 80's to the mid 90's, I was a huuuge fan of this band. Had every cd including some bootlegs, every video, bio books, books with music/tabs, Def Leppard comic books, tour shirts galore, camped out and got front row tickets for their '92 tour, I have a numbered special edition Photograph single where the sleeve pops up to make a viewer/camera, and when you look inside you can see Marilyn Monroe, a bunch of Sheffield newspapers that were published around the time of Steve Clarke's death, and also a t-shirt where the entire front of it has Joe's face airbrushed on it, made for me by an artist friend of mine.

Obsessed much? But yeah, they weren't your typical hair band. Catchy, melodic songs, Steve Clarke and Phil Collen were/are great guitarists, great harmonies, amazing production due to Mutt Lange. It was admirable what they did for Rick Allen after his accident, keeping him on, and enabling him to be an adequate drummer. To this day, Hysteria remains the ultimate in rock recordings.

They kind of lost me around the time of Slang, and I haven't really listened to much since then. Maybe I should look up the newer albums and give them a listen.

Happy, Zoots? And btw, when did it become uncool to like Def Leppard, huh?

 

[Zoots]

From the mid 80's to the mid 90's, I was a huuuge fan of this band. Had every cd including some bootlegs, every video, bio books, books with music/tabs, Def Leppard comic books, tour shirts galore, camped out and got front row tickets for their '92 tour, I have a numbered special edition Photograph single where the sleeve pops up to make a viewer/camera, and when you look inside you can see Marilyn Monroe, a bunch of Sheffield newspapers that were published around the time of Steve Clarke's death, and also a t-shirt where the entire front of it has Joe's face airbrushed on it, made for me by an artist friend of mine.

Obsessed much?

Wow I didn't know you were a fan of them till the mid 90s! Man, it must've been fucking awesome to see them on the Adrenalize tour! :so jealous: "Photograph single where the sleeve pops up to make a viewer/camera" - that is too funny! Yeah I have to agree that I've always considered them of higher caliber than the typical hair band. There is a Joe Elliot quote I vaguely remember when a reporter asked them about hair metal, I think he said jokingly something along the lines of "Ohh don't drag us down to that!" lol.

They kind of lost me around the time of Slang, and I haven't really listened to much since then. Maybe I should look up the newer albums and give them a listen.

You need 1999's Euphoria. It was this "back with a bang to the 80s sound!" album and it really shows. Sure there is some cheese but there is also some great rock in there... Demolition Man, Promises, Paper Sun, Disintegrate (Satriani style instrumental), To Be Alive, Day After Day, Kings Of Oblivion (ironic title but great fucking song!). I can upload the album and send it to you if you want to try it. I remember sending it to Reg once.

And btw, when did it become uncool to like Def Leppard, huh?

They are the least uncool in this series! I actually may not even have included them had you and a few others not mentioned their name in anticipation.

 

[Lila64]

I have some old import 45's, Zoots, if you are looking to buy any

And VP, I remember that single of Photograph. I think I have it as well. No idea where it might be, but I know I had it back in the day. Helped that I worked in a record store in the early 80s that imported all the new cool stuff (U2 included, though I never bought or took home either of the 4-paks )

 

[VintagePunk]

I'm pretty sure that I have Euphoria, but I'll check and let you know if I need it. Honestly, I only gave that and Slang a half-hearted listen or two, and then I moved on to greener musical pastures. We had a good run, but I felt like I outgrew them.

I really wouldn't mind going back and revisiting the newer albums and giving them another chance. And if you have anything past Euphoria, I'd happily accept that. I think Reg sent both of us links to the covers album, but by the time I went to download it, the link had expired.

Here's some Def Leppard video trivia - Jerri Manthey, villainess of the second season of Survivor stars in the 8 minute "epic" version of the When Love and Hate Collide video:

YouTube - Def Leppard - When Love And Hate Collide (8 Mins Version)


eta - I just watched the full video for the first time in years. God, it's goofy and pretentious. Their attempt at artiness, I guess. It's still a great song, though.

 

[Ifeelnumb84]

I bought a greatest hits of theirs about a year ago, and now consider myself a fan....
I used to only know Pour some sugar..., but now realize that Animal is clearly their greatest work.

 

[AussieU2fanman]

Im 22 and for 6 years U2 was my favourite band until one day I was listening to internet radio and I heard the main riff to what I now know was "Have you ever needed someone so Bad." For some reason that riff just took me. I loved everything about the song, the harmony, the INCREDIBLE backing vocals (which def leppard are known for, and believe me it's not all production, they pull it off live leaving you with disbelief), the perfect guitar tone, and the drum sound. I guess the bass was okay but nobody really comments on that lol (sorry Sav).
I then got the greatest hits album. I loved every single song, they all blew me away as Def Leppards music is everything I wanted in a band. I then got their entire backcatalouge and didn't look back, the first 6 albums up to Slang were brilliant. Especially, of course, Hysteria, which IMO is the worlds most perfect album, where there is simply not a filler in it, you can't skip any song as they are all equally brilliant and memorable. I thought loving Def Leppard's music was just a phase, but 4 years later I still love them just as much as I ever did, and I never get tired of their songs.

They are a great influence to me in my band, where we are bringing back guitar orientated melodic rock with soaring guitar solos.

My favourites include, but are certainly not limited to! :

Tear it down : Pure rock and roll, one of the most simplest songs, but the rythym and guitar sound I love. Check it out live at the 1989 MTV music awards, and feel the pure energy that music today lacks.
Ring of fire : My favourite track and my most listened to, I would love to hear it live ( they've only played it once)
Desert Song : A hard rocker with an incredible atmosphere to it, I really feel like I'm in the Desert when I listen to it! And the solo is just , hearing this live would blow me away

I saw them live in Adelaide in November 2008, I was right in front of Phil Collen. It was the best concert of my life, and I've seen many 80's acts, including U2, but Def Leppard rocked the house down, they definately can still play live. I would do anything for Phil collens guitar and his tone.
Def Leppard is simply a band that I can't get tired of. And for all those who can't look past the admittedly chessy novelty song Pour some sugar on me..............SHAME ON YOU!!!!!

 

[mandy1973]

Def Leppard is a band very close to my heart - I still have - on tape - Pyromania, copied by the boy I was in love with through the whole of high school - he'd hand written all the song titles, and done the little Def Leppard logo for me too.
Love Bites can still bring me to tears to this day, thinking about what might have been....

ETA...AussieU2fanman I am SOOOO jealous!! I desperately wanted to go see them last year, but absolutely NO ONE would go with me

 

[toscano]

They got out of their comfort zone with 'Slang', but I really like it, typical Lep fan didn't though so they quickly reverted back to formula .

This was way better than any single that came later

Title track was great too.


YouTube - Def leppard - Work It Out


YouTube - Def Leppard - Slang