I bought ‘The Story So Far…The Best of’ back in 2018 and at the time not realizing it was only Volume 1. I also bought the CD Deluxe to get all the music as the vinyl didn’t have everything. Well, now it does. For Record Store Day 2019, Def Leppard released Volume 2 for those suckers, like me, who will buy everything they put out.
Now Volume 1 has all the songs from their 3 biggest albums (Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalice). Volume 2 covers pretty much everything else. And for that, it has a much better selection of songs than Volume 1 for me. It covers the band’s history better and is a lot more diverse and entertaining.
But before we get on about the set list, let’s talk the album cover. It is styled the same as volume 1 with some alterations to color. The biggest pet peeve for me is the picture when you open up the gatefold (oh yeah, 2 LP set with gatefold). It is the same DAMN concert picture as the first!! Really, you couldn’t come up with a different picture. At least the pictures of the individual band members are different.
The vinyl sleeves are nice and glossy and filled with a lot of pictures of the band…and yes, they are different from the the first one.
Now, here are my gripes with this set. Let’s go with bullet points:
- Nothing from ‘On Through the Night’…Really!! Did that album not exist??
- Why not one of the songs off the debut EP??? That would really be the Story so far!!
- One song from ‘High & Dry’…are you fucking kidding me! What might be your most rocking album and all we get is the ballad. Why no “Switch 625” at least.
- “Rock On” – please, stop playing it so much and including it in everything. I would have rather had something off the first album.
- “Nine Lives” song sucks Tim McGraw’s ass. Not one of your best.
Do I have any highlights? Maybe the fact you do get songs that happened after 2005 when their last and Best compilation came out “Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection”. I like how well Slang is represented and the songs off the Mirrorball live disc are great. I have to say Side Four might be my favorite side, and Side Three is a close second. Side One loses points for “Rock On” and Side Two loses it for “Nine Lives”.
Here is the track list and it is much better than Volume 1 at least…
- Let’s Go
- Promises
- Slang
- Bringin’ On the Heartbreak
- Rock On
- Nine Lives (with Tim McGraw)
- Work It Out
- Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)
- Dangerous
- Now
- Undefeated
- Tonight
- C’mon C’mon
- Man Enough
- No Matter What
- All I Want is Everything
- It’s All About Believin’
- Kings of the World
That first disc is unimaginative and lazy. Plus, you aren’t covering all the albums sufficiently to be complete. But it got points for at least the 2 new tracks (but lose points for making us have to buy 2 sets to get all tracks – smart business move though). The second volume is a way better variety of Leppard and it really is more of a story since it covers most of the band’s history. However, for the casual fan, this won’t have all the songs you know which is why you would need to buy volume 1 as well.
For me, I will probably play this set more than the first and I will give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars when compared to the first (which only got a 2 for total lack of imagination), but it loses points for the lack of a new picture on the gatefold. Plus, there are no new songs or remixes, etc… Nothing to offer the true fan an incentive to buy it. I already have these songs…many times over. There you have it. I hope you enjoyed!
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
They’re really topping up the pension pot, eh?
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Pretty much. With the greatest hits and now the box sets (which I will buy also) maybe they are getting ready to lie back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
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I’m with you John, Why is the first album always ignored by these guys…I don’t get it.
This set does look cool but I get it as you wanted something a little more added since you already had it…
They need an actual fan like yourself or anyone of us to put one of these trackless together. We would show em how it’s done. The right way!
My first order of business would be for once and for all to get rid of Rock On! That song keeps appearing on all there stuff….dump the cover tune Joe…
Put another track from SLANG on it…
Great fair writeup sir!
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If they would have taken Vol 1 and 2 and blended them together I think it would be a much better result. Vol 2 is way better as a result. Yes, I would love the task of putting a greatest hits together. I would definitely throw in a couple live songs and either some rare cuts or remixes of something just to change it up and I would remove Rock On!!!
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This is my favourite of the two. It’s very similar to a CD I made for a girl I liked back in 2001.
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Are you sure you didn’t consult on this like with the Volume 2 Box Set????
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Absolutely certain! I’m old but I’d remember that.
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shall we cue up some mood music perhaps “Pour Some Sugar On Me!??”
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Oddly enough, their big singles, such as “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” “Now,” “Slang,” “Let’s Go,” “Nine Lives,” and “Man Enough” are the songs I hate the most. It’s a shame there’s not much from ‘On Through the Night’ or ‘High ‘n’ Dry.’ Not even “Saturday Night (High ‘n’ Dry)” made the cut, and that’s my favorite song from that album! ‘X’ had some good songs too though, but that’s just me.
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Oh my! We hate different songs…except Man Enough…I do hate that one. They do cater too much to Hysteria and Pyromania thought which is why I will only seem them probably one more time in concert (their farewell tour) or maybe if they do Vegas again I’ll go to get the good songs.
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Ok fine, “Let’s Go” is growing on me, sort of. But we have different opinions and that’s a good thing because there’s variety. Too bad they can’t do a poll on which songs fans want to see them perform live. I was watching the Vegas Residency DVD just now and was just thinking, “I’m not even sure if they know how good they are because they can do so much more than what they’re doing now.”
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With a band like Leppard it is easy to like different things as they do have so much music. It’s a good thing. I think they know how good they are which is why they do the Veags shows. The regular touring is strictly for the money and they have to cater to the live show buying public which is really just you run of the mill fans, the diehards don’t make up that much of the crowd…sadly.
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Yeah they’re catalog has so much to choose from; that’s why I like them. At least they did the Vegas shows, that was an improvement from the ordinary. That makes sense though that they tour for the money. Just saying more diehard fans would go to their shows if they changed things up a bit. I’m sure they have enough to fill their concerts with just them. How many times can the “so-called” fans handle listening to “Two Steps Behind” anyway?
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