Def Leppard-Classic or Dud

Brilliant. A weird-ass fusion, as indicated, that ended up working just right because they never forgot the pop hooks and had Mutt Fucking Lange as their ueberauralskulptor. Which is why _Pyromania_ and _Hysteria_ are Goddamn Brilliant and everything else after that isn't, at least from what I've heard of it. What made sense in 1987 didn't need a rerun in 1992, but at least they tried. Take _Hysteria_ and _Appetite for Destruction_ and you've got late eighties mainstream metal covered, pretty much.

Are you all kidding me? I mean, if you like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" because you liked it in the ninth grade, then fine. Doesn't mean that it's a good song now. I liked "Disco Duck" when i was a kid, but you don't hear me praising it now.

I was a hescher. Hell, I'm the one that started that Skid Row thread a few weeks ago. But Hysteria sucked. "Love Bites". Oh, good grief.

Everything else leading to that point was fine. Just me and my wine. Thank you!

This summer I visited him at work, where he was rockin' Hysteria. I don't know what happened but what once held as an example of the mainstream's baffling taste was now the inspiration for EXTREME AIR GUITAR ACTION.

That said, Def Leppard's been a crap factory for the last 15 odd years.

I think that's every Def Leppard song I've ever heard. It seems that the majority of their songs with the word "rock" in the title were usually not their best.

While most 80s hair albums are unlistenable today, "Hysteria" and "Pyromania" still hold up.

And the "Günter Glieben Glauchen Globen" intro on "Rock Of Ages" (later sampled by Offspring for "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" is classic too :-)

Def Lepard 'Hysteria': C/D?

Gimme all of your lovin'
Gimme all that you got
Gimme all of your lovin'
Never want it to stop

If by "10" you mean "unlistenable," then yes.

Don't listen to anything they recorded after Pyromania, I implore you. You'll make Satan cry.

The thing about Def Leppard's hits that I think is interesting, and I assume this is Lange's doing, is that all of them have a verse, and a 2 part chorus (or a prechorus and a chorus) and the interplay between those two parts (the build up to the second part) is always the best part of the song. Maybe because that's a relatively novel song structure for the 80's. I have pointed this out to friends and have named it the grand unified theory of Def Leppard hit songs.

Examples:

Photograph:

PC: (Whoa) Look what you've done to this rock and roll clown...
C: (Photograph) I Don't want you...

Armageddon It:

PC: Give me all of your lovin', gimme all that you got...
C: Are you gettin it? (Armageddon it)...

Hysteria:

PC: I gotta know tonight...
C: I get hysterical...

Animal:

PC: I got to feel it in my blood...
C: And I want, and I need...

Pour some sugar on me:

PC: Take the bottle, shake it up...
C: Pour some sugar on me

Love Bites (I can't believe no one mentioned love bites)

PC: I don't want to touch you too much baby...
C: Love Bites, love bleeds...

This is probably the dorkiest thing I have ever written, in a long history of writing severely dorky things.

also, Foolin':

PC: "Oh, I just gotta let go .. etc"
C: "Cuz baby I'm not! F-f-f-foolin'"

Rock Rock 'Til YOu Drop:

PC: "Anything goes! Anything goes!"
C: "Rock Rock 'Til You Drop"

Saturday Night (High and Dry):

PC: "I'm not a loner, I'm not a fool, don't need a reason, reason to be cool"
C: "Saturday night! I'm high! Saturday night! High and dry!"

i love their melodies. 'hysteria', 'armageddon it', 'photograph' et al.

The point about the dual refrains is interesting enough to make me want to listen to this band for the first time since probably 1988. I was just a wee lad in the '80s (born in '79) so I can't imagine how much I would've hated them if I had been a little older. But since I was so young then, I can look back at "hair metal" and appreciate it.

Mainly because it's not as bad as the likes of Creed, Matchbox 20, Linkin Park.

But Joe Elliott comes off like a tool when you see him on VH1 Classic spouting nonsense like, "This is rock n roll. You're not a jazz band!" This sort of lumpen-proletariat bullshit is the kind of anti-intellectual nonsense that in the long run ruined mainstream Rock. Seems that the "second wave of British heavy metal" bands think of themselves as more punk than Punk, truly working-class, but of course in such a line of thought they had missed the point entirely.

Hmmm, never thought of Def Leppard as commies. I'll have to ask xhuxk about that. Were they commies, xhuxk? There covers CD last year was good. I even liked the selections on the Wal-mart bonus EP.

That would be "their" -- oop.

Def Leppard, why are you doing this.

To celebrate the summer of "Rock of Ages" Def Leppard has recorded new versions of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Rock Of Ages". The songs will be available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and all other digital music retailers June 4th! — Wall Photos

I never listened to the first two albums (beyond the hits) until the past month. On Through the Night is fantastic! I think it's my favourite. Much heavier than the later more popular material but the hooks are all still there. It kind of makes me think of Judas Priest crossed with Slade and Sweet, maybe a bit of Purple in there.

the first two are amazing.

Yeah, I enjoyed High and Dry too, no slight intended. My friend said he hears the root of every Dirty-era Lee Ranaldo lead on there. Not sure I hear it myself.:P

Hmm. I'd have to listen back-to-back.

Hysteria is great. So huge on every level; awesome intertwining guitar textures, massive memorable hooks, pounding drums and perfect melodies. Just a fun record all around, I still listen to it a few times a year.

Anyone seen the current tour? I'm somewhat curious.

Not the current one, no, but I did watch them on axs.tv or Pandora or something performing Hysteria in full from a year or two ago and—despite the fact that Phil Collen still freakishly looks exactly like he did 25 years ago—they seem to be doing okay. Good show, decent energy, Joe's voice is only about half-shot.

"Rock rock til you drop!....rock rock never stop!...nope, you know what, I think that's enough rockin'. let's do some songs from Adrenalize!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZsZGUBTGpE

surm i love you and you know I love mariah but that is a bannable offense

;_;

yeah but Make Love Like a Man.

I SAID A WELCOME TO MY SHOW

A good band imo.

lets get rocked sucks SO much

lol

I legit don't understand this joke. Can someone explain it to me? (This is not a bit.)

pic.twitter.com/MZfw0TxGIH

— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) March 15, 2022

also, i don't follow that guy, just for the record ... fuckin' social media serving him up to me as "stuff you might like"

It's a reference to the intro of 'Rock Of Ages'

"It was actually Mutt Lange who came up with that," Allen said via a video posted to the band's official account. "He was getting so tired of saying '1,2,3,4' whenever we counted in. He wanted to inject a bit of humor in there." As for the specific language, Allen says that it was also Lange's creation. "I guess 'Gunter gleiben glauchen globen' is some Germanic-sounding language. I wouldn't put it past Mutt because he actually speaks Dutch."

oh, ok. thanks! i never went backward from Hysteria. or forward, for that matter.

Neither did Def Leppard.

Pyromania has the only Def Lepperd song I unequivocally love (Photograph)

Just had to listen to Photograph again, how fucking great is it? It's Thin Lizzy-level good, that's what

Lyrics are a bit stalkery though tbh

To be clear, i don't love that i love a song thats ostensibly from the POV of a crepey sexpest, but shit me - that chorus, those harmonies. fucking guitar solos kill too, god damn.

It's kind of sad when the one song worth loving has to be a qualified endorsement on moral grounds.

Anyway, I gave it a shot and the guitars and chorus do remind of the things I like about, say, Van Halen, but I really hate the elementary synth part that precedes the chorus.

Also, is it often written that it sounds like Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" stole its chorus (the only thing I've ever enjoyed from Bon Jovi - not even a whole song but just the chorus) from "Photograph"?

the chorus of "Photograph" totally rules

and "Living on a Prayer" totally rules, too ... though I don't think it rips off "Photograph"

i love this band

i even like adrenalize and retro active. drape me in def leppard ballads idc.

High N Dry ! “Me & My Wine” <3

I've never thought of the lyrics as creepy or stalkery, per se. I just figured they're part of the long if not necessarily proud tradition of songs about falling in love with a centerfold. "Pictures of Lily," "Centerfold," "I'll Wait," even "Anything She Does" by Genesis. Now, "Turning Japanese," that song's fucked up, and not even just for the most obvious reason.

yeah i think re Photograph i listen to too much “rawk classics” it didnt really register as objectionable to me bc as Josh notes its such well worn ground in this genre :/

I only learned recently that he's singing "look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown," If I ever noticed that before I probably just assumed I was mishearing it. And now that I know what it is, it's so weird and stupid. Maybe it's a "Mutt" contribution.

Mutt: Hmm, maybe you should sing "look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown"?
Joe: Rock 'n' roll clown? What does that even mean?
Mutt: What does it matter, I think it sounds cool.
Joe: Well, I'm not singing that shite.
Mutt: Suit yourself. But if you sing it, you'll sell 10 million records.
Joe (singing): "Ooooh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown!"
Mutt: Good. Now do it a hundred more times.
Joe: OK.

Almost sounds like a Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter line.

I knew that line because I used to read the printed lyrics in Hit Parader magazine

Isn't it straightforward self-deprecation? Falling in love with a pinup is a pretty clownish thing to do, let alone for a rock star.

"Passion killer" otoh...

Ha, doesn't really warrant close scrutiny, but if he is singing "look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown," that implies he *started* as a rock and roll clown. Otherwise it would have been something more like "look what you've done, *now* I'm a rock 'n' roll clown."

Haha, well, he had to be a clown in the first place to do something clownish, or at least have had clown potential. He's owning his clowning.

New album is titled Diamond Star Halos. My first impression of the single Kick is that it's not bad, but not particularly great. Instead of Bolan, it brought to mind late 80s Joan Jett or something as a hair metal take on glam. I'm definitely going to be interested in hearing the rest though. The idea seems like a good match for them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeWFvZX2lkI

Sometimes when I listen to Let's Get Rocked I intentionally mishear the chorus (where possible, i.e. the parts where 'rocked' is muffled) as 'Lexicon Lexicon Lexicon Lexicon of Love'.

It also always occurs to me that 'Slang' sounds far more like a 1992 lead single than a 1996 one.

In "Let's Get Rocked" I pretend he sings, "I guess Iraq's out of the question".

Sorry, my scrupulous integrity compels me to correct: "I suppose Iraq's out of the question".

let's get rocked has to be one of the stupidest songs ever recorded. the classical music part is pretty amazing though

yeah that song def started my decline in fandom

it was on the radio alllllll the time & the stupid animated video was everywhere too
i still hate it

That and they played it at the Queen tribute concert. I mean Spinal Tap's "The Majesty of Rock" was more appropriate.

I'm not the sadness police, but I was put off that this was how they decided to re-introduce themselves to the public after the death of a core band member.

the classical music part is pretty amazing though

Hell yeah it is. Also I love the video, mostly for in-jokes that would make no sense to anyone but me and my school-era best friend.

me and my friends made fun of that song so much it became part of our lexicon, especially saying "let's get the rock out of here" when we were going to leave someplace

your lexicon lexicon lexicon lexicon

lol

I'm not the sadness police, but I was put off that this was how they decided to re-introduce themselves to the public after the death of a core band member.

Def Lep's knack for mighty rhythm riffs vanished when Clark died, that's for sure.

MOW THE LAWN

I was just a wee lad in the '80s (born in '79) so I can't imagine how much I would've hated them if I had been a little older.

Born in '65, I despise them. Although, Pyromania takes me right back to the numerous keg parties of my senior year in high school.

The popularity of this band has always been bewildering to me, mainly because I never hear anyone mention them or play them. Obviously people in this thread have heard them, but for a band that's sold over 100 million records worldwide and has two diamond-certified albums in the U.S., I feel like I should hear them as much as, say, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac or Nirvana, but they never come up.

(in real life that is, not on a forum thread like this)

idk this is a capt obvious observation but maybe it depends on who you hung out with and the kind of music you consumed?

they were hugely popular to me as a kid & teen into early 90’s, i knew lots of people who liked them growing up especially in Hysteria times: less so in college when brash glam rock got deeply uncool really quickly

the genre they operated in never exactly had the support of the rock crit establishment

They're all over classic rock radio, I listen to them with a decent amount of frequency. Loads of kids in the middle school are wearing their tees, which may have more to do with successful licensing (for some reason it's mostly Adrenalize tees) and parents trying to keep up with the throwback styles but it's not nothing.

xxp Oh I don't mean then, I meant more like the past ten years or so. I actually haven't listened to classic rock radio ("The Drive" in Chicago) in a decade, but that's a pretty seismic shift if they're on there now.

"The Drive" LOL

In Atlanta, it's "The River."

In Denver, it's "The Mountain."

I would think "The Drive" would be more appropriate for L.A.

Lake Shore Drive! I think it made perfect sense if you lived around Chicago, but yeah I know what you mean.

Someone in another thread mentioned "The Blimp."

The Hub

But Boston seems to snob-provincial to do it. Ain’t lived there in 30+ yrs so I don’t know who is playing Peter Wolf deep trax

also “too”

(tbf i dig the right j geils and cars, so, eh… jam on Hub FM if u exist)

i leave aero to aero, i don’t know

I hear at least eight or so of their songs all the time.

I was playing some of their early NWOBHM-era stuff recently, you could see how they got big when most of their contemporaries didn't. Even back then they were way more professional and charismatic than, say, Praying Mantis (sorry lads), and also willing to write blatant efforts at making inroads into the US market like this -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTwEfAwX3ig