REVIEW: Def Leppard – When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (The Early Years Disc 3)

Part Three of the Def Leppard Review Series

DEF LEPPARD – When the Walls Came Tumbling Down – New Theatre, Oxford 1980 (The Early Years Disc 3) (2019)

Of Leppard’s many live releases, When the Walls Came Tumbling Down is the most ferocious.  The early Leppard including Steve Clark and Pete Willis was a different kind of predator.  This particular setlist, captured after the release of the debut album On Through the Night, is extremely valuable to fans.  The band performed all 11 albums tracks, a clutch of early singles, and unreleased material.

“When the Walls Came Tumbling Down” is played first, full speed ahead.  Joe playfully changes one of the choruses to “When Oxford Came Tumbling Down”, and without pause they barrel right into the adrenalized “It Could Be You”.  There are no touch-ups or fixes done to these recordings.

The single “Rock Brigade” has a different flavour, more focused on the melody, with the foot less on the gas pedal.  Joe Elliot demonstrates confidence.  Rick Allen is a monster on the drums and Rick Savage is audibly holding it down.  Keeping to a similar tempo, “Satellite” swaggers all over the stage with determination, and Pete Willis absolutely slaughters on the solo.

There’s only a brief respite.  “Medicine Man” is an unreleased song that was later reworked into “Rock Rock (‘Til You Drop)” from Pyromania.  The quiet opening only lasts a moment before that now-familiar riff kicks in.  There’s no question that “Medicine Man” benefited from its later evolution, but many elements of the song were already, joyfully, in place.

“Answer to the Master” is rolled out with that snakey riff, and Joe is extra-engaging.  A trend is now apparent:  virtually all these songs are better than they are on album.  Another unreleased gem called “When the Rain Falls” might be more familiar under its later name, “Let It Go” from High N’ Dry.   Some elements including the riff survived to the final track, but what a serious riff that is!  When Leppard had both Willis and Clark in the band, they were a riff factory.

Back to On Through the Night, “Sorrow is a Woman” is more lively than it is on LP.  Same with the non-album single “Good Morning Freedom”.  From the drums to vocals to sheer energy, it’s better than its studio counterpart, with an intense solo to burn.

“It Don’t Matter” has a cool groove, and more drive than it does on album.  This version is evidence that Joe already had ample frontman abilities.  This takes us to “Overture”, the Leppard epic with the soft opening and big arrangement.  This is where Leppard’s two lead guitarists get to show off in dramatic fashion.

The last unreleased song is “Lady Strange” from High N’ Dry, which is in more complete shape than the other two.  As it is on album, it’s one of Leppard’s most impressive songs so far.  Riff, verse and chorus are combined in perfect form.  Only minor tweaking would be needed before it was album ready.

The final batch of album songs for the night are laid out.  “Getcha Rocks Off” is a blast.  “Hello America” is looser than album.  And “Wasted”?  Total blitzkreig.  Unstoppable and unbelievable.  Finally the very last track, “Ride Into the Sun” is the timeless beloved B-side, originally from the Def Leppard EP making it three for three EP tracks.  It’s over before you know it, two and a half minutes are gone and that’s all folks!

Even though it is completely lacking in hit singles, it might not be going out on a stretch to say that When the Walls Came Tumbling Down is a strong contender for Best Live Def Leppard album.

4.75/5 stars

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  • The Early Years Disc Four – Too Many Jitterbugs – EP, singles & unreleased

 

30 comments

  1. Def Leppard were much more hungrier and intense in those early years with Pete and Steve. Unfortunately, they were never the same again when Pete was let go and it got worse when Steve passed away. I still love the band, but man they could’ve been huge (bigger that ‘Hysteria’ even). I love hearing tracks like “Medicine Man” and “When the Rain Falls” in their early stages before they were released because it shows how far the band has come and how the hard work would pay off when those tracks were finally released.

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      1. Yeah, but maybe they weren’t reaching for the right people with the ‘Hysteria’ album. If the band aimed for a different audience, maybe those guys would’ve dug their heavy rock sound they had going in the earlier years and made the band big without going too commercial.

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        2. Ok yes, aiming for the mainstream helped the band make big money. But come on, I’d pick ‘Pyromania’ and ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ over ‘Hysteria’ any day! They were more mean back then and they kind of went soft with the ‘Hysteria’ album.

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  2. Great review sir. There is no argument from me on any of this because as you say, this could quite possibly the best live show they’ve ever released. They are crazy hungry, aggressive and the guitar duo of Willis and Clark is the what makes this shine. Amazing stuff.

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  3. Nice one Mike – this was a RSD release on vinyl this year and it sounds absolutely amazing. I prefer my Lepps rockier and this really does just hit the spot.

    oh and ‘Joe is extra-engaging’ – it’s just a Joe thing Mike, its what we do.

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  6. I saw this tour at Manchester Apollo on the 8th April 1980 (apparently) which was about three weeks after the first album came out, I think. I had had the EP a few months by then (repress, not the original). I was actually further away from the band then, up in the circle, than when I saw them for the second time, three days ago, from about 15 metres in highish wind at the Lytham Festival. Those further back must have had terrible sound! If I keep seeing them this regularly, I’ll be aged 104 next time.
    My friends I was at Lytham with were slightly luckier than me back in 1980, catching them up at the Norbreck Castle hotel in February, albeit with a shorter set, but in a club that held two to three hundred people at most. Anyway, my point was going to be that I agree that this is the best live recording I have of them, and I got as bit side-tracked. Great reviews of their stuff though Mike. I am working through them all. Cheers etc. A

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    1. Thank you for reading and commenting! Having a repress EP is still pretty cool, it’s the best most of us could do. When I was a kid, finding a repress was impossible. There were always kids who claimed to have heard it.

      Hopefully I will finish this series one day!

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  7. sadly I got rid of all my vinyl about three years ago as I was never going to play any of it (too lazy and too many CDs queued up unopened) so I no longer have the EP or Hello America single or my Sex Pistols singles or whatever. The main annoying thing was that about a year after I got rid of it all, my son decided suddenly that he was now into “vinyls” having disparaged it for about 17 years, and then moaned at me because it had gone, despite me asking him at the time if he was interested – he was not. Kids eh?

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    1. I can relate to this. I never got rid of my “vinyls” as I intended to keep what I call “hard copies” – to me that means stuff that isn’t on vulnerable magnetic tapes. But I did get rid of all my tapes. I threw many of them into a dumpster and gave the rest to an ex. Only a small box survives, that I recently found in my parents’ basement. (alphbetically – Journey through to Niacin.)

      Now here I am on youtube and everybody’s showing off their cassette collection! And I started buying them again. Madness. Sheer madness!

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