RE-REVIEW: Def Leppard – iTunes re-recordings (2012-2013)

Part Forty-One of the Def Leppard Review Series

Original reviews: 

DEF LEPPARD – iTunes re-recordings (2012-2013)

It began in 2010.  After a long absence from the digital platform, Rick Savage of Def Leppard announced that their music would soon be available to buy on iTunes.  Due to a long dispute over dollars and cents with the record label, Leppard’s albums were not yet available on the platform.  Then, due to “some twat at the label” (according to Joe!), somebody reneged and the deal never came to be.  As a short-term solution, Def Leppard decided to record new versions of old hits exclusively for iTunes.

The first of these new versions, affectionately called “forgeries” by Joe, came in 2012.  It was a double-A sided single (to use ancient terminology) for “Pour Some Sugar On Me (2012)” and “Rock of Ages (2012)”.

Beginning with “Sugar”, the opening guitar figure is virtually indistinguishable from the 1987 original.  Only the “Hey!” vocals really hint this is not your old “Sugar”.  Joe Elliott sounds a teeny bit rougher around the edges, but just a smidge.  This is the same version used on the Family Guy / Simpsons crossover episode, for Peter and Homer’s “sexy car wash”.  Only serious fans will know immediately this is a forgery.  Everyone else should be happy thinking they’re listening to the same recording they had on their Walkmans in highschool.

From the “Gunta Gleeben Glooten Globen”, it’s clear “Rock of Ages” is also pretty close.  Being more reliant on the vocals, it becomes more evident early on this is a re-recording, but it is an admirable job.  The backing music and even the mix is eerily similar.  It’s just impossible for anyone to scream as if it’s 1983.

The next re-recording released in 2012 was a single track, but a medley of acoustic hits.  This is less a forgery and more a re-imagining and re-framing of some big and lesser known songs.  The abbreviated tracks performed in order are:

  • 0:00 to 1:01: “Where Does Love Go When It Dies”
  • 1:02 to 2:06: “Now”
  • 2:07 to 3:22: “When Love and Hate Collide”
  • 3:23 to 4:36: “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad”
  • 4:37 to 7:32: “Two Steps Behind”

Joe’s in fantastic form on this medley and even though it’s an acoustic performance, there’s care and production value, not just acoustic guitars.  They obviously spent time arranging this medley, because it flows incredibly well from song to song, focusing on the best parts.  It also includes the complete “Two Steps Behind” as the closer.

The final iTunes re-recording came early in 2013.  One more ballad, but not acoustic:  this was “Hysteria”, which coincided with their Viva! Hysteria shows in Las Vegas.  This one might be the closest of all the forgeries.  Joe worked hard to get his voice in vintage shape again for those shows, and “Hysteria” shows it.  Easily the most satisfying of all the tracks.  The backing vocals are so bang-on, you’d think Mutt Lange himself stepped into the room to record them all, a note at a time.

Today, only the 2012 acoustic medley is still available to buy on iTunes.  The other three tracks have disappeared.  One of those cases of “you snooze you lose” in the digital world!

4/5 stars

Previous:  

  1. The Early Years Disc One – On Through the Night 
  2. The Early Years Disc Two – High N’ Dry
  3. The Early Years Disc Three – When The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Live at the New Theater Oxford – 1980
  4. The Early Years Disc Four – Too Many Jitterbugs – EP, singles & unreleased
  5. The Early Years Disc 5 – Raw – Early BBC Recordings 
  6. The Early Years 79-81 (Summary)
  7. Pyromania
  8. Pyromania Live – L.A. Forum, 11 September 1983
  9. Hysteria
  10. Soundtrack From the Video Historia – Record Store Tales
  11. In The Round In Your Face DVD
  12. “Let’s Get Rocked” – The Wait for Adrenalize – Record Store Tales
  13. Adrenalize
  14. Live at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
  15. Retro-Active
  16. Visualize
  17. Vault: Def Leppard’s Greatest Hits / Limited Edition Live CD
  18. Video Archive
  19. “Slang” CD single
  20. Slang
  21. I Got A Bad Feeling About This: Euphoria – Record Store Tales
  22. Euphoria
  23. Rarities 2
  24. Rarities 3
  25. Rarities 4
  26. Cybernauts – Live
  27. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (bonus disc)
  28. X
  29. Best Of (UK)
  30. Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection
  31. Yeah!
  32. Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews
  33. Yeah…Nah!  (Record Store Tales)
  34. Songs From the Sparkle Lounge
  35. “C’Mon C’Mon” (picture disc)
  36. Taylor Swift & Def Leppard – CMT Crossroads (DVD)
  37. B.Sides
  38. Yeah! II
  39. Yeah! Live
  40. Mirror Ball: Live & More (Japan bonus track)

Next:

42. Viva! Hysteria

Sheik Week Day 5: Ending Sheik Week With Hilarious Tweets

Thanks for joining me this week for Sheik Week, a collection of the Iron Sheik’s funniest tweets.  Reader Brian Richards said “hell yeah!” when I suggested this as a week of “filler” posts.  Unless you’re a jabroni, then you have enjoyed these past five days of the Sheik’s most hilarious tweets.  From song lyrics to current events to pop culture, the Shiek has capslock commentary on them all.  Follow the Sheik on Twitter and check out some of his classic WWF matches.

SATURDAY SHEIK FACT:

Less than a year after the cocaine incident with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the WWF deemed the public’s memory short and the Sheik made a triumphant return defeating “jobbers” (the guys who always lose to the bigger names).  He bounced around other wrestling organizations, came back to the WWF in 1991, and then wrestled the independent circuit for almost a decade.  Today he enjoys a pop culture status as a minor icon.  In 2013 he challenged then-Toronto mayor Rob Ford to a match.  Both men were caught doing cocaine during their professional careers.  He has even appeared on the Canadian television program Kenny Vs. Spenny, attempting to sodomize Spenny with a bottle when he mentioned Hulk Hogan as one of his favourite wrestlers.  We love ya Sheiky!

Sheik Week Day 4: The Iron Sheik Still Hates Hogan

When I said “should I do a Sheik Week?” reader Brian Richards said “hell yeah!”  It’s Sheik Week at mikeladano.com bubba!  This week, we are enjoying some of the Sheik’s most hilarious tweets.  From song lyrics to current events to pop culture, the Shiek has capslock commentary on them all.  And he haaaates Hulk Hogan to this day.  This series will run Tuesday to Saturday this week.  Let’s hear it for the Sheik!

FRIDAY SHEIK FACT:

It was kind of a big deal when the Iron Sheik was caught doing cocaine while rival Hacksaw Jim Duggan was smoking weed in a car on the way to a match.  For the WWF, an impact of this was that the Sheik was caught partying with his supposed enemy.  This destroyed the illusion.  The WWF let the Sheik go, and Duggan also temporarily left the organization.

Sheik Week Day 3: The Sheik Suplexes Your Thursday Into Submission

With the support of reader Brian Richards, it’s Sheik Week at mikeladano.com!  This week, we are reading some of the Sheik’s most hilarious tweets.  From song lyrics to current events to pop culture, the Shiek has capslock commentary on them all.  His grudge against Hulk Hogan is just as heated as ever.  This series will run Tuesday to Saturday this week.  Let’s hear it for the Sheik!

THURSDAY SHEIK FACT:

Fans of 80s wrestling know the Sheik best for his tag team partnership with Nikolai Volkoff.  Under the management of “Classy” Freddie Blassie, the Sheik and Volkoff took the WWF Tag Team Championship from the U.S. Express on March 31, 1985.  The U.S. Express took the title back on June 17 of that year.  The angle here was the US/Iran/Russia political rivalry, played out in the ring,

Sheik Week Day 2: Hilarious Sheik Tweets Aplenty

You can thank long time reader and recent pal Brian Richards.  It’s Sheik Week at mikeladano.com, you jabroni!  This week, we are examining some of the Sheik’s most hilarious tweets, bubba.  From song lyrics to current events to pop culture, the Shiek has capslock commentary on them all.  He really seems to hate Hulk Hogan.  This series will run Tuesday to Saturday this week.  Let’s hear it for the Iron Sheik!

WEDNESDAY SHEIK FACT:

The Iron Sheik’s real name is Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri. Unlike many “foreign” WWF wrestlers, Vaziri was actually born where he was billed from: Iran.  In his early years, he worked as a bodyguard for the Shah of Iran.

Sheik Week Day 1: The Best of The Iron Sheik’s Twitter

Thanks to long time reader and recent pal Brian Richards…welcome to Sheik Week at mikeladano.com, bubba!  For the next five days we will be looking at some of the Sheik’s most hilarious tweets.  From song lyrics to current events to pop culture, the Sheik has capslock commentary on them all.  And he really, really, really still has a grudge for Hulk Hogan.  This series will run Tuesday to Saturday this week.  Let’s hear it for the Iron Sheik!

TUESDAY SHEIK FACT:

The Iron Sheik won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Bob Backlund on December 26, 1983 due to Backlund’s manager throwing in the towel during a vicious camel clutch.  Sheik lost the title January 23, 1984 to Hulk Hogan and his atomic legdrop.  Hulkamania had begun.

RE-REVIEW: Def Leppard – Mirror Ball: Live & More (2011 Japan bonus track)

Part Forty of the Def Leppard Review Series

Original review:  Mirror Ball (2011)

DEF LEPPARD – Mirror Ball: Live & More (2011 Marquee Japanese import with bonus track)

It took Def Leppard until 2011 to release finally their first standalone live album that you could go out and buy on a CD.  Chronologically speaking, we have already reviewed seven Leppard live “albums” from earlier sources.  Mirror Ball is still technically considered their “first” live album.   And they really leaned into doing live albums since then, as you’ll see going forward.  Most of the content of this series will be live in nature post-Mirror Ball.

One cool thing about Mirror Ball is that there is no long lead-in.  It starts immediately with the opening to “Rock! Rock!” with no fade-in.  Cut to the chase, get on with the rock.  It’s Screamin’ Joe Elliott in fine form right from the start.  Brilliant, hard version going top speed.  Leppard shift gears into “Rocket” from there, certainly a sudden change in direction.  This is a short 4 1/2 minute version compared to the longer jam on the “C’Mon C’Mon” single.  As second track on a live album, it’s probably a good thing it’s not a 10 minute workout.

Just as on Hysteria, “Animal” follows “Rocket”.  Joe’s voice is more gentle here, and the song offers some different guitar touches that are fresh and interesting.  Next, it’s the aforementioned “C’Mon C’Mon”, the first new track presented from Songs From the Sparkle Lounge.  You’d think it would be a live highlight, but it’s just a tune.  Onto the next.  Unfortunately the next is “Make Love Like a Man” which really…how is this still in the set?”  Not a good version either.  Fortunately, the trajectory is reversed with the Pyromania classic “Too Late For Love”.  Always underappreciated, this apocalyptic burner has it all.  Cool, atmospheric slow opening, wicked guitar parts, and Screamin’ Joe!  Not screaming as much, but just enough.  Keeping with the Pyromania, a decent version of “Foolin'” follows.  Decent but not quiet incendiary.

The much maligned “Nine Lives” from Sparkle Lounge clicks live only when we get past that silly twangy intro.  With that out of the way, it’s just rock and roll.  Better than the album counterpart.  At this point, we’ve come a long way without a ballad.  “Love Bites” is the first, and it’s a good version, even if it feels a touch understated.  Unfortunately, the cover tune “Rock On” from the Yeah! album closes this disc, and I wish Def Leppard never played it again.

Disc two opens with the acoustic ballad “Two Steps Behind” which the audience goes nuts for.  There are a lot of versions of this song out there in the Leppard oeuvre, so here’s another one!  From there, it’s a surprising acoustic version of “Bringing on the Heartbreak”, an unexpected variant.  It would be nice if there weren’t choruses where the audience sings, but it’s live.  Whatcha gonna do.  That’s part of the experience that doesn’t translate well to album.  Eventually it goes electric, and right into “Switch 625” which is automatically an album highlight.

A brilliant “Hysteria” is another album highlight.  It’s a hard song for this band to mess up.  They never do.  Always powerful, as ballads go.  A guitar-packed “Armageddon It” follows, and it’s a solid string of nothing but hits.  “Photograph”, “Sugar”, “Rock of Ages”, and “Let’s Get Rocked” continue the golden oldies.  Even “Let’s Get Rocked” cooks, which it doesn’t always.  Really cool guitar stuff happening here.

That’s the end of the main set, as there is a fade and an audio change.  It’s weird to get the Sweet cover “Action” at this stage of the game, but it does rock.  And that goes into “Bad Actress”, a really fast smoker from Sparkle Lounge that was a true return to form for the band.  These songs sound like an opening from another concert, but that’s it for the live stuff.  Onto the new!

This album features three new studio cuts, with one bonus track in Japan.  The first of these is the tepid “Undefeated”.  Yes it rocks, and yes it has some groove…but that “Cha!” vocal hook?  I dunno.  I just don’t know.  The Rick Savage ballad “Kings of the World” has a Queen-like sound.  We know Sav likes Queen.  This piano ballad is quite nice if a bit long.  The Queen-like qualities and bombast are its strengths.  In Japan, you also get the “different version” which is shorter and stripped down.  Not as impactful though.  The final new song, “It’s All About Believin'” has an upbeat staccato opening but then turns into a stock rocker.  Nothing special or particularly memorable.

Mirror Ball is somewhat disappointing as the “first” Def Leppard live album.  A few tracks sputter, and several could have been axed.  Worth buying, as there’s enough good here, but it might not get frequent spins in your deck.

3/5 stars

Previous:  

  1. The Early Years Disc One – On Through the Night 
  2. The Early Years Disc Two – High N’ Dry
  3. The Early Years Disc Three – When The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Live at the New Theater Oxford – 1980
  4. The Early Years Disc Four – Too Many Jitterbugs – EP, singles & unreleased
  5. The Early Years Disc 5 – Raw – Early BBC Recordings 
  6. The Early Years 79-81 (Summary)
  7. Pyromania
  8. Pyromania Live – L.A. Forum, 11 September 1983
  9. Hysteria
  10. Soundtrack From the Video Historia – Record Store Tales
  11. In The Round In Your Face DVD
  12. “Let’s Get Rocked” – The Wait for Adrenalize – Record Store Tales
  13. Adrenalize
  14. Live at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
  15. Retro-Active
  16. Visualize
  17. Vault: Def Leppard’s Greatest Hits / Limited Edition Live CD
  18. Video Archive
  19. “Slang” CD single
  20. Slang
  21. I Got A Bad Feeling About This: Euphoria – Record Store Tales
  22. Euphoria
  23. Rarities 2
  24. Rarities 3
  25. Rarities 4
  26. Cybernauts – Live
  27. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (bonus disc)
  28. X
  29. Best Of (UK)
  30. Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection
  31. Yeah!
  32. Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews
  33. Yeah…Nah!  (Record Store Tales)
  34. Songs From the Sparkle Lounge
  35. “C’Mon C’Mon” (picture disc)
  36. Taylor Swift & Def Leppard – CMT Crossroads (DVD)
  37. B.Sides
  38. Yeah! II
  39. Yeah! Live

Next:

41. iTunes re-recordings
42. Viva Hysteria