vivian campbell

REVIEW: Dio – Intermission (1986 EP)

IMG_20150129_173910DIO – Intermission (1986 Warner EP)

Intermission was Dio’s live EP, bridging the gap between Sacred Heart and Dream Evil. At the time it came out, Dio was very busy with the Hear N’ Aid project as well as replacing Vivian Campbell on guitar. Maybe that’s why he opted for just a Dio EP to tide fans over.  For a long time this unavailable on CD; it has recently been reissued in its completion as bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of Sacred Heart.  Good news, I’m sure, for those fans without the equipment to play vinyl.

The band was in a transitional period.  They had recorded the five live tracks with Vivian, but replaced him with Craig Goldy in the middle of the tour.  For years, fans were wondering who played on Intermission.  Goldy’s picture is on the back, but the solos are clearly Vivian.  There were no credits either, but today we know that Vivian is indeed the guitar player on the live tracks.  And so is Craig!  They overdubbed Goldy over Campbell on the live rhythm guitar parts!  Why he decided to do this, aside from spite, I have no idea, but I strongly dislike tampering with live recordings. (Yes, that makes me a hypocrite since I rated Kiss Alive! a 6/5!)

Goldy plays all guitars on the soul newbie, “Time To Burn”.  This new studio cut was a really excellent one; a mid-tempo burner (no pun intended).  He co-wrote it, probably contributing that cool riff.  The song has melody to spare and is definitely a diamond among Dio’s early solo material. It sounds similar to the Sacred Heart era, but with a higher level of songwriting quality.

As far as I’m concerned, they may call it an EP, but this is essentially an album, clocking in at 32 minutes.  That makes it slightly longer than Van Halen’s Diver Down.   It may only have six tracks, but one is a 10 minute medley of Dio and Rainbow classics.  “Man on the Silver Mountain” sounds incredible; Ronnie was singing powerfully on this tour, and despite the tampering the band does sound great.

The Dio songs sampled here include obvious choices like “We Rock” and “Rainbow in the Dark”, but the two biggest hits (“Holy Diver” and “Last in Line”) are absent.  Diligent fans already had live versions of those two on the last Dio single B-sides. The more puzzling inclusion is “King of Rock and Roll” which was already released live on the last album!  Ultimately though I’m satisfied with the songs selected on this EP.  The vinyl used to be frequently played around these parts, though it has no been collecting dust since the reissue of the songs on the deluxe Sacred Heart.  It remains a great sounding mini-album, if you will!

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Adrenalize (deluxe edition)

DEF LEPPARD – Adrenalize (1992, 2009 Universal deluxe edition)

Ahh, Adrenalize. I remember first buying it on that cold spring day in 1992, and noticing right away, “Where are the riffs?” After Steve Clark died, Def Leppard lost the guy who wrote some of their best riffs, and I miss him.  His absence is most palpable on the album that the band had just started working on when he died.

I was always willing to cut Def Leppard some slack on Adrenalize.  I remember sitting by the radio with my sister waiting for the premiere of “Let’s Get Rocked”.  “It sounds the same as Hysteria,” she said.  I responded, “Well, it had that part with the violins,” but my sister accurately observed that they were only in a section to parody classical music.  If you’re going to enjoy Adrenalize, you have to remember that it was recorded by 4/5 of a band, gutted of their riff writer and performer.  4/5 of a band following the biggest hard rock album of all time isn’t going to reproduce their best work, and we knew that.

Indeed, “Let’s Get Rocked” is pretty limp.  The main thing was just getting Def Leppard back.  Getting them back on the radio was a bonus.  “Heaven Is” was a better song, but it could have been a Bryan Adams outtake.  Sure it has a catchy melody and lush Leppard vocal part, but it doesn’t really rock.  The lyrics won’t be winning any awards:  “Heaven is a girl that I got to have, she makes me feel better when I’m feeling bad.”

IMG_20141116_095810Worse is “Make Love Like A Man”, which is a chorus that I do not want to sing and shout along to.  I give Phil Collen points for the experimentation of putting in a “cockney rhyming rap”, but it’s not enough to save the song.  This sounds like a hard rock version of a Shania Twain hit or something.  The first bonafide Def Leppard classic on Adrenalize is a friggin’ ballad, called “Tonight”.  This one finally captures the magic.  It’s perfect top to bottom, a classy tune that could have fit on Hysteria.

“White Lightning”, a “Gods of War” remake essentially, is a tribute to the fallen Clark.  “White lightning” refers to one of the substances that took him down, but it can also refer to Clark’s appearance on stage, with that big white Gibson guitar throwing shapes.  It’s an apt tribute, and a kick in the ass that this album desperately needed.

The second bonafide classic here is side two’s opener, “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)”.  If you don’t count this slow pop rock song as a ballad, then it’s definitely close, but that chorus kills!  So do the delicate guitar layers, all done by Phil Collen.  It’s too bad this song had such a weird video, and that it was released as a single so late.  It could have been massive.  It’s worth pointing out that both “Stand Up” and “Tonight” were co-written with Steve Clark before he died, which is perhaps why both have memorable guitar parts.

“Personal Property” is one of the harder rock song, but unfortunately it blows.  Another ballad with the agonizing title of “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” was a hit, but it’s inferior to the other two.  “I Wanna Touch U” is catchy and cute, but not hard enough.

That leaves us at the final song, “Tear It Down”, which is a re-recorded version of a B-side from “Animal” (1987).  The B-side version is better.  Predictably, the Adrenalize re-recorded track doesn’t rock nearly as hard.  In one of those “shoulda woulda coulda” moments, maybe Def Leppard should have just polished up the B-side and put it on the album.

Adrenalize went to #1, and millions of copies were sold, so if you’re a Def Leppard fan, you probably knew all that.  So what about this deluxe edition?

ADRENALIZE_0001

This reissue, part of a series of Universal deluxe editions including Hysteria and Pyromania, is a very welcome addition to anybody’s Leppard collection due to the quality of the bonus material. The sound has also been improved significantly enough to warrant an upgrade. As expected with a deluxe such as this, the packaging and liner notes are perfect, including many tales that even the most diehard of Leppard fans have never heard before.

Bonus tracks abound. They include the four live tracks from Leppard’s very rare club tour EP (Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face, 1992), as well as two of the three acoustic sessions with Hothouse Flowers (covers of “Little Wing” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, replete with piano and tin whistle).  (The third Hothouse Flowers track, an original called “From the Inside”, was released in remixed form on the next Def Leppard album Retro-Active.)  These are some of the first tracks recorded to feature Clark’s replacement, Vivian Campbell.

There are two takes of “Tonight”, one being a stunning 1993 acoustic take, and the other being a 1988 demo with (yes!) Steve Clark. The original version of “Two Steps Behind” (before Michael Kamen added the strings) and a live track with Brian May (“Now I’m Here”) from the Freddy Mercury tribute concert are two more rare highlights. The set is rounded out with two live B-Sides also released on the In The Round – In Your Face home video, from Denver in 1988.  These Denver tracks are here because they were originally released in audio format as Adrenalize B-sides.

IMG_20141116_095843But so much material is missing! The 34 empty minutes available on CD one of this set could have housed many more missing treasures.  The Hysteria and Pyromania reissues really packed on the bonus material, Hysteria in particular, which included virtually every rare bonus track and B-side. Adrenalize is missing quite a few: “Only After Dark”, “Miss You In A Heartbeat”, “Action”, “From The Inside” and “She’s Too Tough”. All of these were originally available on long out of print singles, and are excluded here. Why? I can only guess because they are available in remixed form on the Retro-Active CD. However, the Hysteria reissue that came out earlier did not exclude similar tracks.  This leaves the original mixes of these Adrenalize B-sides frustratingly unavailable to collectors.

This deluxe edition of Adrenalize is such a mixed bag. On one hand they have given us some truly rare material such as that 1988 demo of “Tonight”, but on the other they have shorted us original mixes of many key Def Leppard B-sides from this era. I am certain most if not all would have fit. I find this dissapointing and frustrating.

3/5 stars

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (Japanese import)

For Aaron’s KMA review of this same album, click here!

DEF LEPPARD – Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008 Deluxe edition, Japanese version)

Could it be? The band who I once wrote off with the Euphoria album, followed by the dismal X, actually came back with something approximating a rock album! And not a bad rock album at that!

The band say that doing the covers album Yeah! revitalized them. Maybe. Personally I thought the covers album sucked, and that the dozen or so bonus tracks available elsewhere were way better than the actual album they released. Whatever. That was then and this is now, inside the Sparkle Lounge.

Terrible title, although I liked the single-disc cover art quite a lot. We know Def Leppard are more of a glam band than a metal band. The problem is, they were such a great metal band! High ‘n’ Dry is a masterpiece of riff-rock. Anyway, if you can forget High ‘n’ Dry, On Through The Night, or even Pyromania, you can get into Sparkle Lounge for what it is: A strong ballad-free return for one of the most beloved rock acts of the last two decades. Even Joe Elliot decided to show up this time, and sing to the best of his ability.

Very few weak tracks, lots of strong ones. “Go”, “Love”, “Hallucinate”, “Tomorrow”, “Only The Good Die Young”, “Bad Actress”…there is some serious fire happening here on these tracks! But the band saved the best new song for last. “Gotta Let It Go” has a riff and melody that fit right in with Def Leppard’s earlier sound. Only the occassional drum programs betray the thunder.

One song that I would call a weak track is the single “C’Mon C’Mon”.  In my review from the 12″ vinyl single, I called it a “crap song”.  It’s a shameless T-Rex rip-off, and also a Def Leppard rip off.  Next!

Japanese bonus tracks are disappointing in the sense that they are not different songs, just different mixes. “Nine Lives” appears without Tim McGraw (this is my preferred version as nu-country is like kryptonite to me and would probably kill me if I was overexposed). “Love” appears as a powerful piano version, in some ways superior to the original, but turning it into a ballad dilutes the purpose of this album.

I have no comments as to the SHM-CD. It sounded the same to me. I guess these things are supposed to last longer? The DVD includes the music video for “Nine Lives” (yuck), an album commentary and a “behind the scenes” feature.  For me, the all-region NTSC DVD contents and the lacklustre packaging don’t really  justify the existence of a “deluxe edition”.

So, whatever went right, this is the best Def Leppard album since the criminally underrated Slang in 1996. It could be the heaviest album since Pyromania. It’s far from perfect, but the good news is you can play it in the car with the windows down and nobody will laugh at you.

3.25/5 stars

DVD REVIEW: Classic Albums – Def Leppard – Hysteria (DVD)

Part 2 of a 2 part Def Lep extravaganza


DEF LEPPARD – Classic Albums – Hysteria (2002 Eagle Vision DVD)

Of all the Classic Albums DVDs that I own, this is one of the most frequently played. And I own a lot. In case you didn’t know, Classic Albums is a fantastic series of discs. Go back into the recording studio where the album was made, with the producer or engineer who recorded it, and the band themselves. You get to hear the original multitrack tapes deconstructed, and we get to hear the band talking about the genesis of the songs and what happened in the studio. Best of all, we get to see the band listening and discovering parts that even they forgot.

Hysteria is such a rich, textured, thick album with a long story so this DVD is an obvious slam dunk. The only thing it lacks is Mutt Lange’s knowledge (a notorious recluse). Otherwise, the band go back to the beginning with the early demos. “Animal” was sparse but remarkably recognizable while still in demo form, down to the false ending. Something like “Rocket” is deconstructed so you can hear the drum orchestra that was laid down, while Joe Elliott talks about how it was inspired. The backing vocals of “Gods of War” are laid out bare, virtually every single word sung and recorded separately! That’s the kind of album this is.

Along with that, Joe, Phil and Sav also perform bits live in the studio. This helps to illustrate the individual parts further.  It is revealed to “Love Bites” was brought to the band by Lange as a country song; you can hear the roots on this DVD.  Rick Allen is there to discuss his accident, an obviously emotional moment. Steve Clark is discussed too, and Vivian Campbell is on hand to talk about the numerous guitar parts that he inherited and has to play live.

JEFF RICHMy favourite feature of this DVD is actually in the bonus material.  It’s the chapter that covers the first shows that Leppard played after Rick Allen’s accident. Originally, Jeff Rich from Status Quo was tapped to play a second drum kit alongside Allen on stage, just in case Allen got tired, slipped out of time, or couldn’t finish the show. There were so many variables that nobody knew what would happen during what really amounted to Allen’s comeback shows. Well, for one show in the middle of nowhere, Jeff Rich was late.  If he had turned up on time, maybe Rick Allen would never have found out that he could play a full Def Leppard show on his own.  Allen did the show with no help on the drums, and he nailed it.  Rich told Allen that he didn’t need any more help, and that was it!   Jeff Rich is there to talk about that day, which was a nice touch.

Of the whole Classic Albums series, this one is certainly my favourite.

5/5 stars

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.

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “C’Mon C’Mon” (12″ picture single)

It’s the end of the WEEK OF SINGLES 2! Hope you enjoyed! I thought I’d save a recent and expensive acquisition for last.

Monday: Dream Theater – “Lie” (CD single)
Tuesday: Jimi Hendrix – “Valleys of Neptune” (7″ single)
Wednesday: Them Crooked Vultures – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)
Thursday: Megadeth – “Creepy Baby Head” (“Crown of Worms” CD single)
Friday: CD Singles (of every variety) featuring T-Rev

DEF LEPPARD – “C’Mon C’Mon” (2008 12″ Mercury picture single)

This one was a gamble. It was not cheap to ship. All I had to go by was the non-descript B-side “Rocket” (Live). No indication of where or when. It could have been the live version previously released on the “Rocket” single back in ’88. Or more likely, it could be the live version later released on the Mirrorball CD. On that disc, recordings are noted as “Recorded at various points around the world, in the not so distant past.” Thanks for the specifics guys.

I don’t know what prompted me to hit the “buy” button given the uncertain B-side and price.  Maybe it was instinct.  Maybe it was that Mrs. LeBrain was out of the house.  Either way, in a couple weeks I had this rare 12″ picture single in my hot little hands.

Unfortunately it’s not much to look at: a Def Leppard logo on a black background.  On the other side…the track listing on a black background with a grey clover leaf!  Somebody at Mercury Records had no concept of what a picture disc can be!

Anyway, music trumps packaging. I don’t care about the A-side. It’s a crap song, let’s be honest. It’s Def Leppard trying be T-Rex for the umpteenth time. I care about the B-side. Upon first listen it was immediately obvious that this is an otherwise unreleased live version of “Rocket” and a great one at that. Unlike the mere 4:29 version on Mirrorball, this one is the fully extended version that Def Leppard sometimes play.

This extended performance of “Rocket” features an excellent Vivian/Phil guitar duel. At one point, Viv is positively in “Holy Diver” territory. It’s brief but it’s there and it’s unmistakable. This series of solos demonstrates one of the things I love about the guitar players in Def Leppard: they can shred when they want to! Then, after a brief segue, Joe Elliot breaks out “Whole Lotta Love” just as he did on the ’88 live version.

For the B-side:  5/5 stars
For the A-side and picture disc: 2/5 stars
Average: 3.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Whitesnake – 1987 (Deluxe edition)

Whitesnake reviews at mikeladano.com:

Snakebite – Come An’ Get It – Slide It In – Live at Donnington – Good to be Bad – Forevermore

1987WHITESNAKE – 1987 (2007 20th Anniversary Deluxe edition)

I remember sitting at home watching MuchMusic in July of ’87. The Power Hour was on and they played “Here I Go Again”. It was my first time hearing Whitesnake and I hit “record” on the VCR.

This was and still is a great album, although it was a lot heavier than I expected back then. Also, if you’re from the 80’s you’ll remember this, the cassette was so tight that it always played slow in my tape deck. So it always sounded frickin’ awful for me and it wasn’t until I picked it up on CD sometime in the 90’s that I really gave this album a chance.

It’s overproduced all to hell, even excessive by the standards of the time. But my God it does some crunch to it. John Sykes on guitar saw to that. Neil Murray remains on bass, but buried inaudibly beneath a very dense mix. Aynsley Dunbar subbed in on drums, a very busy drummer, but it actually works. There are a few moments, particularly during “Crying In The Rain”, where he overdoes it, but in general he was exactly the kind of drummer needed to elevate the album to this caliber.

If you’re looking for the radio hits, they are pretty much all on this album, so just click “buy” on whatever site you choose.  Or visit your local brick-and-mortar and see if they carry it.  In any case this album goes beyond just the four hit singles. The aforementioned “Crying In The Rain” (a re-recording from Saints An’ Sinners, same as “Here I Go Again”) is a crucially important album track, as is “Don’t Turn Away”, a rocker/ballad closer that has some of Coverdale’s best singing. But wait, there’s more. The album has included the addition of the two songs that are usually only available on the UK version: “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” (awesome fast rocker, totally album worthy) and “Looking For Love” (ballad). I like what they did here — they maintained the track order of the US version (my preferred version) and put in the two UK tracks within the tracklist (tracks 7 & 9). It just works better in my opinion to have “Don’t Turn Away” at the end of the album.

Then I hate what they did next. Instead of giving you era B-sides or live songs, they stick on four live versions by a later version of Whitesnake, readily available on a common live album. (Live versions of the four big singles.) What could have been included instead: the “single version” of “Here I Go Again” which is a completely different mix! The single version of “Give Me All Your Love”, the only recording to feature guitar playing from Vivian Campbell (the solo)!  Or hell, even live recordings from the era?  Anything but these live duplicates from a much later time.

There is a bonus DVD included. The four music videos and then, again…the same four damn live songs!  Also by a later Whitesnake, from a common live DVD. Jesus Murphy!  Booklet and liner notes are decent at least, but not enough to justify me owning this any longer.  My recommended edition: Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection (2CD). This contains the US versions of all three Geffen-era Whitesnake albums, all the pertinent B-sides except one*, the two UK bonus tracks from this album, and the aforementioned single mixes.

4/5 stars. Great album, but this reiusse could have been so much better.

CD track list				DVD video list
1. Still of the Night			1. Still of the Night
2. Give Me All Your Love		2. Here I Go Again 87
3. Bad Boys		                3. Is This Love
4. Is This Love				4. Give Me All Your Love
5. Here I Go Again 87			5. Give Me All Your Love (live)
6. Straight for the Heart		6. Is This Love (live)
7. Looking for Love		        7. Here I Go Again (live)
8. Children of the Night		8. Still of the Night (live)
9. You're Gonna Break My Heart Again
10. Crying in the Rain
11. Don't Turn Away
12. Give Me All Your Love (live)
13. Is This Love (live)
14. Here I Go Again (live)
15. Still of the Night (live)

* Still missing on any CD is the 1987 remix of “Standing in the Shadow” from the “Is This Love” single.

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