Poll : Best Def Leppard Album ?

Pyromania for me

Hysteria, really. A couple of really strong tracks on "Pyromania", but "Hysteria" is the best one overall.

A lot of people swear by the 1st 2 albums.

pyromania. (also my answer on the mutt lange poll.)

exhibits A through D.

Phoooooooootograph.

Those first two are so awesome but I have to be honest, and vote with my age bracket.

PYROMANIA

Everything that came after is utter garbage.

A few years ago, Def Leppard played a fairgrounds here in Oregon. Apparently they were so quiet that a ton of people got their money back. How fucking embarrassing is that for a former NWOBHM act?

Gotta go with High 'n' Dry.

They played at a fairgrounds? I figured Def Leppard would avoid that type of oldies circuit.

Anyway, it's either Pyromania or Hysteria for me. The former is more raw and vital-sounding; the latter is more melodic. Probably Pyromania. I'm not really familiar with DL's early albums. Am I missing out?

Pyromania. And by now, bizarrely, I'd probably take the first album and maybe even the second over Hysteria. After that, shrug....though Yeah! was actually really good, honest!

I'm going to vote for Adrenalize, since I don't know if anyone else will rep for "Let's Get Rocked."

High 'n' Dry. It was one of the first albums I ever bought. Played it to death and never tired of it, which I can't in all honesty say about the two after.

I too am voting with my age bracket, so Hysteria. I remember, in sixth grade, realizing that the entire first half of the record (and one song on the second side!) had been singles. I played the shit out of that album. I like to think, in retrospect, that Appetite for Destruction was my "epiphany" album from that era, but the truth is I listened to Hysteria a helluva lot more.

". I'm not really familiar with DL's early albums. Am I missing out?"

Totally missing out. High and Dry is particularly awesome.

My problem with Hysteria is not the songs. It's the production.

That's what everyone on ILM likes about it!

Maybe I need to re-evaluate it then. It's been a long time.

It is a bit dated obviously.

Wal Mart bonus EP

1. "American Girl" (Petty)
* Originally recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2. "Search and Destroy" (Pop, Williamson)
* Originally recorded by The Stooges
3. "Space Oddity" (Bowie)
* Originally recorded by David Bowie
4. "Dear Friends" (Brian May)
* Originally recorded by Queen
5. "Heartbeat" (Jobriath Boone)
* Originally recorded by Jobriath

pyromania by a nose over hysteria

What song was it Mariah Carey recorded?

The first half of High 'n' Dry smokes all comers, although the second half isn't quite as strong. However, that's my vote.

What song was it Mariah Carey recorded?

Bringin' On The Heartbreak. Should have been grebt on paper, right?

I admit to loving Pyromania.

What song was it Mariah Carey recorded?

Bringin' On The Heartbreak. Should have been grebt on paper, right?

Hmmmm

Ugh I just heard it again

high n' dry all the way

High 'n' Dry, too, here. Just put "Switch 625" on a mix cd, in fact.

Funny, figured the dividing line would be Pyromania vs. Hysteria. Least in my high school, both albums were THE album of the school year, their individual years. Me, Pyromania, and sis, Hysteria.

Been borrowing later Leppard from the library in the last few months, and finding some good tracks among the toned-down albums I wasn't familiar with. Haven't heard Yeah! yet, but "Heaven Is" and "Promises" (which could have gone on "Hysteria") were iPod keepers.

Without question, High 'n' Dry. Pyromania had some very fine moments on it, but IT ALL TURNED TO SHIT IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER. Accept the truth.

Def Leppard, moreso than, say, the Scorpions, were victims of The Rock Ballad Dilution Effect.

The Scorpions tend to get remembered for ballads. People only know that one ballad.

Chuck's abandonment of Hysteria is a BUMMER.

People only know that one ballad.

"Still Loving You"?

Whabbout "Winds of Change"?

What I've heard of the first two Def albums is ok wannabe AC/DC, but I've got the real thing that-wise and Hysteria is its own fucking shiny beast. And I prefer its filler to Pyromania's.

2nd is more wannabe Thin Lizzy no?

Chuck's abandonment of Hysteria is a BUMMER.

-- da croupier, Tuesday, January 8, 2008 2:31 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Yeah, what's up with that, Chuck? Time for a new edition of your metal book, methinks!

I'll second that.

Thirded, with the addendum: Good thing his (700 page!) Hysteria book was never published!

On Through The Night for me, btw.

The first three albums all have fine tracks. OTTN mostly demonstrates them finding their sound and Pyro can sometimes get a little slickered down. High 'n' Dry has the the best combination of craft and rawness from the early days. Never listened to anything after that - but given the hi-rotation bombast of plodding tracks like "Pour Some Sugar On Me", methinks most of the rest of the catalog would be dud.

Are they just another poster child for success killing a perfectly fine music group? Maybe a new category could be started: "Amputation, the dreaded killer of Rock!)

"Pour Some Sugar On Me" is great!!

Oh I thought this finished today.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

What size venues do Def Leppard play now?

Their latest tour (with REO Speed Wagon and Styx!) is booked into a bunch of arenas, but it looks like it's mostly Midwest and cities slightly off the beaten path.

Are you going?

they'll sell out if they black out entire sections a la Arena Football games...

How big are these arenas?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Well that was conclusive. Good showing for the 1st two albums at least.

xxps to

Hey, you guys try writing a failed 700-page book on an album and see how much you like it ten (or however many it's been) years later. Honestly, it's been a real long time since I played the thing. And I doubt I like Hysteria that much less (I always thought it had plenty of bloat, despite its awesome parts); it's probably just that I like the first three albums more than I used to (like NWOBHM in general). Though yeah, I get how Hysteria is way more innovative than the earlier records -- it was a whole new thing, I always said so, even if that was mostly Mutt's doing (which it may or may not have been); I just don't want to listen to as much. At least in my head, the first three have better filler (also less), and with more crunch to it. So yeah, another edition of my metal book! I'm totally up for it! Want to find me a publisher?

I wonder how many albums from the original book would make it into the new one.

My local library still has the book.

Glad the covers album scored some votes. It's pretty good.

Someone on ILX must know a publisher somewhere. I would totally buy another edition of your metal book. I'd say you could self publish, but that isn't the most financially rewarding way to do it.

How well did the book sell?

Let's just say it never recouped its advance, assuming the publishing company wasn't lying to me. And I didn't get all that big an advance. (Though some people have told me they are convinced it did better in England, which is sure as hell news to me.)

Actually, what I'd really like to do is compile a best-of-my-writing book, to be honest. Trying to research publishers for that now, so if anybody knows somebody personally, by all means...(I'm way more clueless about such stuff than I should be.)

ILX System is fucking with us, isn't she?

Well, the book made it to a library in a decent sized town in Scotland at least. I did buy a fair few albums because of it. This was of course pre-internet days.
It had funkadelic, redd kross, miles davis, and husker du in it so it was right up my street.

Derek and the Dominoes, Miles Davis, Run-DMC and Sir Lord Baltimore on a single two-page spread = AWESOME

Poll?

You're like the Velvet Underground, Chuck -- your book didn't sell too many copies, but it inspired everybody who bought it.

haha - that's no lie.

Hey! This reminds me of a joke! What has 9 arms and sucks shit? Can you guess?

You?

Chuck is Lou Reed?, who wouldve thunk it