Joe Elliott

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Slang (Deluxe Edition 2014)

NEW RELEASE

DEF LEPPARD – Slang (Deluxe Edition, 2014 Bludgeon Riffola)

This is the second time I’ve reviewed a version of Def Leppard’s ill-fated Slang CD.  As Joe Elliot says in the booklet inside, the band were considering calling it Commercial Suicide, such were the changes in sound.  The mid 90’s was not a kind time for rock bands of Def Leppard’s ilk.  Everybody had to adjust, and Leppard chose to do so by making their sound darker and more organic.  That was fine with me.  I’ve already reviewed Slang; a 4/5 star album in my books.  For your convenience I’ll talk about the original Slang album at the end of this review.  For now I just want to talk about the “Deluxe Edition” and the bonus tracks.

Like many Def Leppard albums before it, Slang produced a number of excellent B-sides. Some are on this CD.  Some are only available on the iTunes version.  I have all the singles anyway, but iTunes also have two exclusive unreleased tracks of their own.  (You can buy these songs separately; you don’t have to buy all of Slang again to get them.)   These two songs are early demos of “All I Want Is Everything” and “Move With Me Slowly,” the latter with Phil singing.   While “Move With Me Slowly” is similar to its incarnation on CD 1, “All I Want Is Everything” is drastically different.  It’s a much more standard “power ballad” at this stage, little resembling the song it would become.  This take is not to be confused with the “first draft” of “All I Want Is Everything” on CD 2, which sounds a lot more like the album counterpart.

That’s one issue with the Deluxe Edition of Slang.  There is a lot of repeat.  Songs you will hear three times in one version or another include “All I Want Is Everything”, “Gift Of Flesh” (previously known as “Black Train”) and “Deliver Me” (previously known as “Anger”).  Especially when you include all the different bonus tracks, the Deluxe can be a hard slog to listen to in entirety.  I had to split it up over two nights.

But it is worth it.  Although some demos barely differ from the album counterparts, some have different lead vocals by Phil or Vivian.  There are some unreleased songs that I have never heard before.  “All On Your Touch” is a nice ballad that was only finished in 2012.  Then there’s Vivian’s funky-Zeppelin song “Move On Up” which is quite adventurous.  Some of the demo versions, such as “Raise Your Love” (an early version of “Slang”) differ quite a bit from the album versions.  Although listening to the Slang Deluxe is a long journey, it’s also a very interesting one in terms of hearing how Def Leppard wrote and recorded it.

SLANG DELUXE_0004Almost all the B-sides for Slang were included on one version or another, except for live B-sides.  Songs included are the old-school sounding “When Saturday Comes,” and the instrumental “Jimmy’s Theme” which are only on the iTunes version.  (See below for complete track listing including all iTunes bonus tracks.)  “Move With Me Slowly” is a bluesy, ballady number that could have been a single in its own right.  Ditto “Can’t Keep Away From the Flame” which could have been an acoustic single.  “Burn Out” and “Worlds Collide” are also B-sides, but these two were not released until 1999 on the singles for “Goodbye”.  Both are heavy, heavy rockers.

Let’s talk about the packaging.  I’ve heard a lot of surprise and complaints when this CD arrived inside a big fat “double” CD case.  That is kind of a surprise; you don’t even see these with 3 CD sets anymore let alone a double.  The booklet inside is nothing to write home about.  There are some words from Joe and lots of live photos, but nothing in the way of specific liner notes.  If you’re wondering where these songs were recorded or released before, info inside is vague.  There are track listings for all the Slang singles, but that only covers part of it.

As our friend the Heavy Metal OverloRd says, this probably doesn’t deserve the title “Deluxe Edition”.  In fact, I asked HMO if he’d like to weigh in on this, since he has some strong opinions about it.  For fun I asked him to comment in Scottish slang:

Def Leppard ur a bunch a fannybaws by the way. They hink the new edition of Slang is a “deluxe edition”. But it isnae. This widnae even huv been deluxe in 1995, never mind noo.

When it turned up I wis pure gutted. I thought the booklet had better be snazzy but it wisnae either. Just a wee hing where Joe tried tae mind stuff fae back in the day. Nae liner notes. Nae lyrics. Nuhin. Just some shite photies. My old copy had two discs, a slimmer case and lyrics. And some photies an aw! Gid wans. One of them oan a bus like they were aw goin doon the toon or somethin. How wis that no deluxe but this is deluxe? If they’d called it a “2CD Edition” that wid huv been awrite but they didnae. This is “deluxe”… cept it isnae. I don’t have a Scooby whit they’re playin at. Eejits.

Well said.  Lastly, I want to leave you with a look at the actual original album, Slang.  Here’s all the pertinent text from my previous review in case you’re too lazy to click the link.  It’s a great album and I’m glad it’s getting a second look today.

SLANG FRONTDEF LEPPARD – Slang (1996)

“Truth?” is a thunderous opener, laden with modern sounding samples and rhythms.  Even better is the hypnotic “Turn to Dust”.  Although it moves slow, it has loads of exotic atmosphere and instrumentation.  Neither of these songs sound like old Def Leppard.  There are major changes, including acoustic drums, darker tones and a noticeable lack of shout-along gang vocals.

It’s still the same spirit though.  There’s an obsessive attention to detail, layers of backing vocals, and tasty choruses.  It’s just 1996’s version of those things.  Listen to the title track, “Slang”, for example.  It doesn’t sound like anything Leppard have done before, but you can see it as “Sugar” a decade later if you like.

“All I Want Is Everything” is another personal favourite, a great ballad but again unlike what Def Leppard has done before.  It has a certain power to it, without being loud and obnoxious.  It has a plaintive quality and a fantastic chorus.

WORK IT OUT 1Next is “Work It Out” , a contribution from “new kid” Vivian Campbell.  It is absolutely loaded with cool guitar squeeks and squonks, no wankery, but a new kind of guitar heroism.  These little adornments are there in the mix waiting to be discovered, under suitably thick drones of rhythm guitars.  I love this song, which really proved to me that Leppard had successfully adapted their sound to the mid-90’s.  A shame it didn’t sell.

Phil’s “Breathe A Sigh” is one that threw a lot of people for a loop.  Either Spin or Rolling Stone (I forget which) compared it to TLC.  Indeed, loops make up a large part of the percussion parts, and the band seem to be trying R&B on for size.  What keeps it Def Leppard are the layers of droney guitars in the back of the mix, and the immaculate vocal choirs.

BREATHE 1 FRONTInterestingly, Slang was stacked with four singles in a row, “Breathe A Sigh” being the final single.  This does not mean the album is out of ammunition.  “Deliver Me” brings back the heavy.  Leppard In Chains?  Def Temple Pilots?  Not one of the best songs, “Deliver Me” at least balances some of the softer material.  Better is “Gift of Flesh”, a driving riff rocker with some slammin’ drums from Rick Allen.  Phil wrote this one.  I bet it would have been smokin’ live if they ever played it.

This fades directly into a lush but quiet ballad called “Blood Runs Cold”.  I could imagine some old-timey fans running away in fear that their nuts would shrivel, at the sound of this one.   I love this song, but I’m not sure it needed to be followed by yet another ballad, “Where Does Love Go When It Dies”.  Although not a single, “Where Does Love Go When It Dies” was recently dusted off by the band as part of their recent acoustic medley.  It is more upbeat than the previous song, and has a folky campfire quality.  It also gives the album a sense of flow: an upturn before the dramatic closer.

“Pearl of Euphoria” is that dramatic closer, which returns the listener to the dark, powerful tones that we began with.  Leppard don’t often reflect a strong Led Zeppelin influence, but you can definitely hear some “Kashmir” here.  Not only is Rick Allen laying down a Bonham-esque groove, but some of the guitar bits flying in and out of the speakers remind me of the sound collage section in “Whole Lotta Love”.  It’s a great closing song.

4/5 stars

iTunes bonus tracks:

1. “Truth?” (Demo Version) – Previously on “Work It Out” CD single.
2. “Work It Out” (Demo Version) – B-Side from “Work It Out” with Viv singing and completely different from the other versions on the Deluxe. Viv referred to it as his “Crowded House” version.
3. “All I Want is Everything” (Demo Version) – Exclusive.
4. “Move With Me Slowly” (1st Draft) – Exclusive.
5. “When Saturday Comes” From the film When Saturday Comes and “All I Want Is Everything” single.
6. “Jimmy’s Theme” From the film When Saturday Comes and “All I Want Is Everything” single.
7. “Cause We Ended as Lovers” (Solo track by Phil)  From the Jeff Beck tribute album Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle and “All I Want Is Everything” single.
8. “Led Boots” (Solo track by Viv)  From the Jeff Beck tribute album Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle and “All I Want Is Everything” single.

Part 234: Wild in the Streets

For Aaron.

Original CD
Original CD

RECORD STORE TALES Part 234:  Wild in the Streets

1987’s Wild in the Streets was one of the harder Helix albums to acquire on CD. Cassette and LP were no problem at all, but relatively few CDs were produced in comparison. In 1992 I found a used cassette, (at a filthy music store in Port Elgin, Ontario) which came in a neat glow-in-the-dark cassette shell. It was the only glow-in-the-dark cassette I’ve ever seen or owned. Cassettes being what they are, I later desired a more permanent copy, CD being my preferred medium. This proved frustratingly difficult to find, even after being hired at the record store in July 1994.

This was important to me, because Helix were my first rock concert, on the Wild in the Streets tour. Johnny Cash was my first concert, but I saw Helix in October of 1987 in the Center in the Square, with Haywire opening, and they were awesome. The album wasn’t one of their best, but it did have classics such as “Dream On”, “Kiss It Goodbye”, “She’s Too Tough” and the title track. That old cassette wasn’t going to last very many plays.

Once starting at the record store, I discovered that Capitol/EMI had long since deleted the album. Brian Vollmer was still years away from reprinting and selling the albums himself, so my only option was to find a used copy. Since we sold used CDs, I hoped that one would eventually float my way. In the meantime I checked the “H” section of every record store I could find. No luck. Years, I looked. Like a woe begotten sailor searching for Cthulhu and the lost city of R’lyeh, I sailed the seas of music, searching.

Our first store didn’t have a computer, just pens and paper. We worked without a computer for years. All of our CD orders and reservations were done manually, in binders and note books. We had several pages of used CD reservations: many people looking for copies of the Beatles’ Red and Blue albums, T-Rev looking for Saga and Steve Earle rarities, and my hunt for the elusive Helix CD. This system wasn’t very efficient, as you basically had to remember what albums people were looking for, and go and check the book for the person’s information. If you saw, for example, a Traveling Wilburys CD in stock, you’d check the book because you knew someone was waiting for it.  It wasn’t an exact science but we did the best we could.

In 1996, when I was given my own store to manage, we finally got a computer!  The software had a computerized reservation list.  When you were entering new arrivals, you’d manually type in a title.  So, “MOTLEY CRUE” – “DR. FEELGOOD”.  A little note would pop up saying “reservation found”. You would then go to a different screen, find the person looking for the CD, write down their contact info, and delete the reservation.  This system was extremely vulnerable to human error.  They later refined it, making it smoother and more automated.

I entered my name in for Helix – Wild In the Streets right from the very beginning. With this new computerized system, I figured my chances of finding the CD had improved.  Not so.

The months went by, the seasons changed, still no Helix. My friend Len, who was a customer I met via the store, put himself in reserve for the Helix CD as well. I would have had first dibs on it if it came in, but as time went on two or three more people added their names to the waiting list. The likelihood of everybody getting a copy was nil, considering the years that I had been working there and never seeing one.  (In good enough condition, anyway.)  There was always a hope that one day, a copy or two would float our way. Len eventually found a copy at another store and removed his name from our reservation list. I congratulated him on his excellent discovery. He refused to sell it to me, however, even though I offered him $15 which was more than he paid.

A few months later, Len stopped in for one of his regular shopping visits. A pawn shop named Cash Converters had opened up in our plaza, causing us a little bit of unwanted competition. They too bought and sold used CDs. Usually they took whatever crap we didn’t, but occasionally people brought their good stuff to Cash Converters first.

This time, Len had an exciting piece of news for me.  “Do you still need Wild in the Streets?” he asked with a smile. “Because they have one at Cash Converters right now. 12 bucks.”

My eyes popped!  Excitedly, I handed Len some cash and asked him to pick it up for me. He returned a couple minutes later, with my own personal copy of Wild in the Streets. Mission accomplished! Finally! It was in like-new condition. All it needed was a fresh jewel case, which I provided as soon as possible. That night I finally had the chance to hear the album, in CD quality sound.

That original CD was in my collection for a long time.  In fact only recently did I find the Rock Candy remastered edition with expanded artwork and liner notes, used at Encore Records. I then handed my original to (former customer now friend) Aaron, which he received at Record Store Excursion 2013!

The lessons from this are two-fold:

1) When Record Store Guys befriend their customers, they get CDs out of the deal!

2) When customers befriend their Record Store Guys, they get CDs out of the deal!

Glad tidings for all around.

Rock Candy reissue
Remastered & Reloaded

WTF Search Terms: Iron Meiden edition

WTF Search Terms X:  Iron Meiden edition

It’s time for THE TENTH installment of WTF!  Like the others, this is a collection of strange/humorous/whatever search terms that somehow led people to mikeladano.com.  If you missed the last one, “Top ten edition”, click here!

  • who was the hunchback on the vban halen pretty woman video (It was David Lee Roth himself)
  • joe elliott kissing phil collen (No.)
  • iron meiden son so seven son yu tube 
  • mike patton quiet riot (I have no idea what these two things have in common.)
  • gene simmons rib removal (No.  Everybody knows that was Marilyn Manson)  :)
  • helix vedio tatoed guy (Snake the Tattoo Man)
  • beatles fan that send themselves in a box (?)
  • eddie “fingers” ojeda who odd is he in 2013
  • what did yall think of the movie machete (I liked it, how about you?)
  • why did steve hire blaze bayley (This is a question all Maiden fans still struggle with.)

See you next time!

Gallery: Def Leppard – Pyromania (India import cassette)

Aaron finds the weirdest stuff!  In a recent Box of Goodness that he sent me (including an awesome Thin Lizzy Thunder and Lightning reissue on vinyl) I found this.  It’s Def Leppard’s Pyromania (review here) on cassette, but not just any cassette.

The weird extra-thick and bendy clamshell case was the dead giveaway that this was something unusual.  A quick look at the sleeve reveals it’s an actual Vertigo release, but also an import from India!  Does anyone know if cassettes in India always came in these odd cases?  The cassette actually snaps into the case, and is held by two tabs.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  This version even has an oddly coloured Def Leppard logo, that I’ve never seen on anything else.

Pyromania had a max. retail price of 60 rupees. That’s approximately one US dollar today.

Even though the yellow price tag on the side says $2.99, Aaron got this for the princely sum of one Canadian dollar!  And now here’s the gallery of this strange oddity.

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “Breathe A Sigh” (2 part CD single)

Part 5 of 5 in my series of Def Leppard Slang reviews! I do listen to feedback and this series basically came from Heavy Metal Overload wanting to know more details about what these singles had.  Ultimately I choose to write about what I want to listen to at that moment, but if you have any requests don’t be shy and leave a comment! 

Part 1:  “Slang”

Part 2:  “Work It Out”

Part 3:  “All I Want Is Everything”

Part 4:  Slang (2 CD edition of the album)

DEF LEPPARD – “Breathe A Sigh” (2 part Mercury CD single)

Regardless of its perceived lack of success, Slang did spawn four singles.  The fourth and final single was 1996’s “Breathe A Sigh”.  I remember seeing this at HMV Toronto with T-Rev back in 1997.  I looked at the singles, which were not cheap (around $15 each).  I analyzed the track lists and said, “All the bonus tracks are live.  I’ll come back for this another time.”

It took me 15 years to finally get these!  What I failed to take into account was how cool the selection of live tracks is.  Pyromania‘s “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” is up first on disc 1, less screechy than the beloved original but still on fire.  “Deliver Me” from the Slang album is next, which remains its only release as a live performance.  It’s a very 90’s sounding song, soft/heavy/soft/heavy.  The tremendously fun “Slang” itself is last, a song that has been revived for their Viva! Hysteria & More show in Las Vegas.

The second CD (available separately of course) had three more live tracks.  I believe I am well on record as holding the High N’ Dry album in very high esteem!  “Another Hit & Run” from that album is one of Leppard’s all time best heavy tracks, and it’s always welcome in the setlist as far as I’m concerned.  What’s amazing is that the Def Leppard that recorded High N’ Dry had two completely different guitar players and a drummer that had both arms.  They still own it when they play it, and it smokes.  Joe’s voice is noticeably lower.  Two Slang singles finish off the CD:  the ballad “All I Want Is Everything” and the rhythmic “Work It Out”.   Both songs are hit quality, although the energy level is noticeably lower here than the old classics.

I wonder if one of the big issues with Slang was that its darker sound didn’t translate well in concert.  With the exception of “Slang” itself, I wouldn’t describe these live versions as joyful affairs.

As for the song, “Breath A Sigh” itself?  At this point it was easily the softest song that Def Leppard had ever done.  They would later go even softer on the dreadful X album.  I enjoy its tasty R&B flavourings.  It was a cool choice as a single even if it didn’t go mega.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Slang (2 CD edition)

Part 4 in my series of Def Leppard Slang reviews!  

Part 1:  “Slang”

Part 2:  “Work It Out”

Part 3:  “All I Want Is Everything”

SLANG FRONT

DEF LEPPARD – Slang (1996 Mercury 2 CD edition)

One day in the early 2000’s, I was at work, and had this album playing.   This guy was in the store, that actually worked at the HMV.  As soon as “Truth?” came on, he approached me.

“I can’t believe you’re playing this album.  This is great.  I don’t know anybody else who really knows this album at all.”

That’s the way Slang went for Def Leppard.  It came out to disappointment from the types who want to hear the same album over and over again.  (They were obliged on Euphoria).  I really dug Slang, then and now.  If anything, today I think it might be  a tad ballad-heavy.  I still love it, and I am excited that Def Leppard plan on releasing a deluxe edition with bonus tracks soon.  In the meantime, I have my original limited edition 2 CD set that came with a bonus disc called Acoustic in Singapore.

“Truth?” is a thunderous opener, laden with modern sounding samples and rhythms.  Even better is the hypnotic “Turn to Dust”.  Although it moves slow, it has loads of exotic atmosphere and instrumentation.  Neither of these songs sound like old Def Leppard.  There are major changes, including acoustic drums, darker tones and a noticeable lack of shout-along gang vocals.

It’s still the same spirit though.  There’s an obsessive attention to detail, layers of backing vocals, and tasty choruses.  It’s just 1996’s version of those things.  Listen to the title track, “Slang”, for example.  It doesn’t sound like anything Leppard have done before, but you can see it as “Sugar” a decade later if you like.

“All I Want Is Everything” is another personal favourite, a great ballad but again unlike what Def Leppard has done before.  It has a certain power to it, without being loud and obnoxious.  It has a plaintive quality and a fantastic chorus.

Next is “Work It Out” , a contribution from “new kid” Vivian Campbell.  It is absolutely loaded with cool guitar squeeks and squonks, no wankery, but a new kind of guitar heroism.  These little adornments are there in the mix waiting to be discovered, under suitably thick drones of rhythm guitars.  I love this song, which really proved to me that Leppard had successfully adapted their sound to the mid-90’s.  A shame it didn’t sell.

Phil’s “Breathe A Sigh” is one that threw a lot of people for a loop.  Either Spin or Rolling Stone (I forget which) compared it to TLC.  Indeed, loops make up a large part of the percussion parts, and the band seem to be trying R&B on for size.  What keeps it Def Leppard are the layers of droney guitars in the back of the mix, and the immaculate vocal choirs.

Interestingly, Slang was stacked with four singles in a row, “Breathe A Sigh” being the final single.  This does not mean the album is out of ammunition.  “Deliver Me” brings back the heavy.  Leppard In Chains?  Def Temple Pilots?  Not one of the best songs, “Deliver Me” at least balances some of the softer material.  Better is “Gift of Flesh”, a driving riff rocker with some slammin’ drums from Rick Allen.  Phil wrote this one.  I bet it would have been smokin’ live if they ever played it.

This fades directly into a lush but quiet ballad called “Blood Runs Cold”.  I could imagine some old-timey fans running away in fear that their nuts would shrivel, at the sound of this one.   I love this song, but I’m not sure it needed to be followed by yet another ballad, “Where Does Love Go When It Dies”.  Although not a single, “Where Does Love Go When It Dies” was recently dusted off by the band as part of their recent acoustic medley.  It is more upbeat than the previous song, and has a folky campfire quality.  It also gives the album a sense of flow: an upturn before the dramatic closer.

“Pearl of Euphoria” is that dramatic closer, which returns the listener to the dark, powerful tones that we began with.  Leppard don’t often reflect a strong Led Zeppelin influence, but you can definitely hear some “Kashmir” here.  Not only is Rick Allen laying down a Bonham-esque groove, but some of the guitar bits flying in and out of the speakers remind me of the sound collage section in “Whole Lotta Love”.  It’s a great closing song.

The Acoustic in Singapore disc was a limited edition run, but since the album didn’t sell well you can find them quite easily.  This six song disc was recorded in late ’95.  Both discs were co-produced by Pete Woodroffe.  Some songs work really well acoustically.  “Armageddon It” works surprisingly well, a fresh summery version.  Some were acoustic originally, like “Two Steps Behind”.  It’s cool to have but certainly not essential to your enjoyment of Slang.

As for my enjoyment of Slang?

4/5 stars!

REVIEW: Def Leppard “Work It Out” (2 part CD single)

Part 2 in my series of Def Leppard Slang reviews!  If you missed the first part, click here for “Slang”.

DEF LEPPARD – “Work It Out” (1996 2 part CD single, Mercury Records)

The second single from Def Leppard’s ill-fated but cult-favourite album, Slang, was the modern, powerful “Work It Out”.  This immediate winner had drony 90’s qualities and organic, acoustic drums in addition to Rick’s electronics.  It sounded like a breath of fresh air for this band, a clever reinvention that kept them fresh, melodic, guitar-oriented and layered, without resorting to stigmatized 80’s sounds such as squealing solos and shout-along choruses.

The cool thing is that the song was originally very different!  This was Vivian’s first serious contribution to the band, and he brought it in completely demo’ed with him singing.  It’s a much brighter, poppier version, some have compared it to Crowded House!  It’s very 90’s pop-rock.  That version is included on the CD 2 of this set!

“Move With Me Slowly” is a non-album track, maybe you’d call it a ballad, I dunno.  It’s soulful, and there’s some really elegant guitar work going on here.  I don’t know what’s Viv and what’s Phil, but all the playing here is soulful, bluesy and perfect.  It’s songs like this — a B-side! — that prove what awesome songs this band can write.  If this song had come out in, say 1990 instead of 1996, it would have been hallowed Def Leppard, another hit for the record books.  According to the liner notes, this would have been the Japanese bonus track on their edition of Slang.

“Two Steps Behind” is the typical acoustic arrangement, live at the BBC Radio One Studios, in 1995 while the band were out promoting Vault. “Truth?” is a very different version from the album.  Initially it starts the same, but goes into a completely different, much heavier set of verses.  It’s bass heavy, less exotic, and more thunderous than the album version.  All told, the album version is superior, but it’s basically a different (but related) song.  It has some riffs and melodies in common but otherwise it may as well have a different name.  This is a good example of how Def Leppard’s work ethic can turn a good song into a great one.  This early version was not quite there.

The second CD came with a really cool set of post cards, of the first four album covers.  The next four covers came with the next single, which was “All I Want Is Everything”.  Coincidentally, that will be the next review in this series.  Stay tuned.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “Slang” single (Souvenir Pack)

SLANG SINGLE

DEF LEPPARD – “Slang” (1996 Souvenir Pack, Mercury)

I think Slang is a great album, and I think I’m going to talk about it soon , as I’m on a bit of a Def Lep kick these days.  Yesterday I ripped this CD single, a 1996 “souvenir pack” with two bonus tracks and four post cards commemorating the band’s “Three Continents in One Day” concerts.  Vancouver was the last stop — look how tired Rick Allen must be in the photo.

CARDS 2

Slang, in many respects, was as forward-looking from Hysteria as Hysteria was from Pyromania.  It was a reset, a brand new way of doing things, more organic and modern.  Yet at the same time, even though it sounds nothing like classic Leppard, it still retains the impeccable attention to detail.  Production-wise, it’s not the same beast, but it’s still a beast.

“Slang” itself was a brave choice for a single, and it did alienate many old-school fans, at least where I was working.  Others dug it and got it.  It’s a fun song verging on rap-rock, but really, isn’t that OK?  Didn’t Def Lep kinda-sorta probe those waters with some of the singles from Hysteria?  Bottom line, it’s catchy, fun, has the Def Leppard vibe without sounding like anything they’d done before.  It’s a good song.  The fact that they played it live during Viva! Hysteria in Vegas is proof!

The B-sides on the single include a “strings and piano only” version of “When Love & Hate Collide”, perhaps the most overrated Def Leppard song ever.  I have so many versions of it, I really am not certain if this version is on anything else.  It does have vocals, and even a guitar solo despite the description!  This is just a remix with most of the instrumentation stripped off.

The other B-side is a really cool non-album track called “Can’t Keep Away from the Flame”.  It’s acoustic but upbeat and cool.  Production-wise, this is very basic compared to Slang:  acoustic guitars, vocals, shakers.  But it’s also really good, with a cool guitar part, totally memorable.  Since then, Leppard’s recorded a lot more acoustic music but for 1996 this was definitely a standout.

According to the price tag, I bought this at Dr. Disc in Kitchener Ontario in May 1996, for the princely sum of $13.99.  Money well spent, I have enjoyed these songs a lot over the years.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “Hysteria 2013” (iTunes single)

HYSTERIA 2013

DEF LEPPARD – “Hysteria (2013 re-recorded version)” (iTunes single)

Just in time for their Viva! Hysteria & More tenure in Vegas, comes another re-recorded “forgery” (Joe’s words).  This one is really good.  It takes a bit to figure out which version it is, in fact.  Musically, you can barely hear any differences, although the production sounds slightly less shimmery and saturated.  A few guitar parts (probably Vivian) sound mildly different.  Vocally, you can slightly tell it’s not the same version, but what’s incredible is how much Joe Elliott 2013 sounds like Joe Elliott 1987.  I read that Joe spent a lot of time getting his voice into that shape again.

“Hysteria” has long been one of my favourite Def Leppard songs, probably since I first heard it.  I think it’s an incredible song, one of the best from this commercial phase of Def Leppard’s career.  Time stands still when I hear it.  An original version is always going to mean more to the real fan.  That’s just the way it is, that’s psychology.  These forgeries were designed so Leppard could sell their music on iTunes on their own terms (ie; make more money than the label was offering them).  It’s business — I have no problem with it.  For $1.29, I have an alternate version of this track.  I didn’t have to, I wasn’t tricked into it, and the song is clearly labelled as a 2013 re-recording.

Necessary for those who “have to own it all”, or those who want a quick easy cheap way of getting a studio version of the song online (like, say people downloading it for a wedding).  This will be of little value to anyone else.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “Wasted” / “Hello America” (1979 single)

Part 4 of my 4-part series on early Def Leppard singles!

DEF LEPPARD – “Wasted” / “Hello America” (1979 Vertigo/Phonogram single)

My initial thinking regarding this single was that I didn’t need it; both songs are available on On Through the Night.  Then I found out that these single versions of “Wasted” and “Hello America” are earlier, non-album recordings.  Rick Allen was in the band by this time but On Through the Night had yet to be recorded.  This immediately put the single on my radar as a must-have.

On Through the Night was produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest) but before settling on him, Leppard tried out Nick Tauber due to his history with Thin Lizzy.  (He also produced Sheer Greed by Girl, the band that featured future Leppard alumnus Phil Collen.)  Tauber worked on the earlier, folksier Lizzy, not the later version of the band that rocked out such classics as “Jailbreak” and “Bad Reputation”.

The story goes that the record label was unhappy with Nick Tauber’s results and put a halt to his work on the album.  He had finished four songs:  These two, plus “Rock Brigade”, and “Glad I’m Alive” which both remain unreleased.  The label released “Wasted” as a single while recruiting Tom Allom to start over on the album.

“Wasted” boasts one of Leppard’s all time greatest riffs, if not the greatest.  You can see how this song has remained a cult favourite all these decades later.  This earlier version isn’t as adrenalized (pardon the pun) as the later album version, but there’s otherwise nothing wrong with it.  I think Allom’s album version is safely still the definitive one.  The two tracks are not that dissimilar, just Allom’s more in tune with the current heavy metal sounds.

The B-side, “Hello America”, would become a single in its own right the following year, in its guise as an Allom track.  This might be one that I prefer in its Tauber version.  Allom added a synthesizer riff to the chorus of “Hello America” that I always felt dated the tune.  While this version is not as manic or electrified, it does have the bare unadorned chorus.  There are bonuses to both versions.

It’s kind of funny to hear how shaky Joe Elliott’s voice was back then.  He grew into a powerful screamer by the High ‘n’ Dry album, which is my favourite period of Def Leppard.  They were all young back then, but Joe was clearly not as confident nor in his control of his voice in 1979.

Still, as a purchase, as a single, as a collectible, I am very happy with this.  My only regret is that I didn’t find one with a picture sleeve.

4.5/5 stars