In 2018, the Def Leppard camp released their first of what should become a 4 Volume Collection. This first one was simply called “The Collection, Volume One”. It was released on June 1, 2018 and contained the first four albums on vinyl (or CD depending which you bought). You also received ‘Live at the L.A. Forum” (which we’ve reviewed) and a 7″ Single of the debut Def Leppard E.P. Another bonus album in this collection is a compilation of Rare releases called ‘Rarities – Volume One’.  Some were single versions of album songs or remixes and some were B-Sides of single releases.  I have everyone of these in CD version, but did not have on vinyl so this set made me very happy.

The collection of songs ranges back to the beginning in 1979 with the band’s first two singles and goes all the way up to the B-Sides from the band’s Diamond released album in 1987 called ‘Hysteria’. It is a great selection of songs and to have them all on one LP is really cool and something that will get played quite frequently as I love all these songs. Let’s get in to the meat of it and talk about the music as that is why we are here.

SIDE A:

The album kicks off with a couple singles and a B-Side. First is “Wasted”, but this single is different than the album version which is odd. It had never been released on an album until the release of The Collection, Volume 1 (2018). It sounds more raw and like an early demo of the studio track or something. It is still great though. The same with “Hello America” as it is a single version too as opposed to the album version. I like having the single versions so I’m all good.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3pK2Prqbjk%3Fsi%3DUfU1ykJH9CW9xo_O

The next track is the B-Side to “Hello America” and was never released on album until the Volume 1 of The Collection as well. “Good Morning Freedom” opens with some great drumming from young Rick Allen. His drumming throughout is fantastically slamming. Another rocker and another gem from this band. It is more razor sharp guitars cutting through those Elliott vocals.

The final two tracks on Side A are the Remixes of “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” and “Me and My Wine” that were on the 1984 re-issue of the ‘High & Dry’ album. The remixes were done with added synthesizers and piano overdubs to make it sound more like what was done on ‘Pyromania’. which was out at the time of the re-issue. The remix doesn’t make them better, but they are already great songs so fine, whatever they felt was necessary. It did cause the album to sell a lot more copies so all good.

SIDE B:

The B-Side is something Leppard would excel at with the singles from ‘Hysteria’. Really cool, really good singles that most bands would love to have on their album and Leppard has them as B-Sides. Crazy. The first B-Side to discuss is “Tear It Down” which was the B-Side to “Women”.  This song would later be re-recorded for the ‘Adrenalize’ album. The song was written and recorded during a recording session that was done after the album was recorded. This session was for all the B-Sides that were anticipated with the release of all the singles they planned. It was a very thought out process apparently. The song was so good, that it was eventually played on radios a bit and even performed live some time in 1989. The song is a complete banger and a heavy track as well. It opens with some blistering guitar riffs, some heart-pounding drums and really comes out of the gate swinging. Joe’s lyrics are slick and smooth during the verses, but when the bridge and chorus come in, he takes it up a notch. The song is catchy, contagious and simply fantastic. And the solo sounds like classic Phil with his speedy fingers ripping across the strings. Bombastic is an understatement for this song.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iCfqNs6wiRo%3Fsi%3DbDrHz3TKqNWEnnf2

The second one is the B-Side to “Animal” and is a ballad “I Wanna Be Your Hero”. The song speaks to the desire that everyone wants to be someone else’s hero. To protect and comfort the one you love and show them how much they really mean to you. The song is a heartfelt ballad that with such emotion that will tug at your heart and when you get swept up in the melody and that catchy chorus, you will be all in. The tenderness of the guitar picking to the soft, emotional vocals by Joe make you stop and take notice. When the full band kicks in, the power ballad turns up a notch and you get swallowed up in the sound. At the end, the song fades out and you think it is over, but it fades back in for a smaller taste before it ends for real this time. Leppard does the ballad better than most and to think this didn’t make the album…damn!!

This next B-Side is the re-recorded and re-written version of “Ride Into the Sun” that appeared on the band’s debut E.P. way back in 1979. This version is the B-Side to the song “Hysteria”. You can hear the more modern sound of the song. More production than the raw version we saw earlier in their career. The opening is missing the cowbell and then when the lyrics hit you see if they’ve played around with them as well. It is a significant difference. The chorus is the most similar part through the whole song. I do miss the rawness of the original as there is such a wall of noise, it is almost too much in this version. Sometimes, too much production can be a detriment. Now, if this is the only version you’d heard, then you are going to like it as it still a killer track.

“Ring of Fire” is the B-Side to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. The song explores those feelings of love that are so intense that it feels like being trapped in a ring of fire. That intensity can sometimes be great, but sometimes can be dangerous as well. There is a fire burning inside them is so intense that can be overpowering at times. There is intense passion and love where there are high’s and low’s and up’s and down’s. It comes in with an intense exploding heat that explodes in to a big wall of sound. There is a rawness and intensity to it that reminds more of ‘Pyromania’ era songs then ‘Hysteria’ and for that I think it kicks some major ass. It is loud, gut punching and a heavy hard rocking track. Heavier than anything on ‘Hysteria’. It is old school Leppard and that might be my favorite era of the band so this is a true standout for me. The song would go on to be on their compilation album ‘Retro Active’, but in a slightly different version I believe.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=N_zxC5nqXgA%3Fsi%3DLDnTD3jbph0rH-n8

The final B-Side on Side B is a fun little track by Stumpus Maximus and the Good ‘Ol Boys. The Good ‘Ol Boys are naturally Def Leppard, but Stumpus Maximus is not Joe Elliott. Nope, singing on this track is Malvin Mortimer who was a guitar tech/roadie for the band. He later became their tour manager. The guys were just messin’ around with this one as it is bad…really bad…but kind of fun too. Malvin is not the best singer, but he is really hamming it up and the guys are just having a piss with it. The song is cover or is it a parody of the song “Release Me” by Eddie Miller written by Eddie, Dub Williams and Robert Yount. I really can’t describe this properly so you have to hear it for yourself.

And there you have the Rarities from the Early Part of the Def Leppard catalog. Now, this isn’t really everything, but it is nice to have some of these on vinyl which I didn’t prior to this release. I think they could’ve easily made this a double L.P. of rarities and I know that is picky but it is a missed opportunity. My Overall Score is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars as it could’ve been so much more. But for what it is, it is Fantastic!!

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘LIVE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW – AUGUST 17, 1988’ – BOOTLEG DVD

THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES

1. Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
2. First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
3. Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
4. On Through the Night (1980)
5. When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
6. High & Dry (1981)
7. Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
8. Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
9. Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
10. Pyromania (1983)
11. “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
12. “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
13. Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
14. Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
15. Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
16. Hysteria (1987)
17. “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
18. “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
19. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
20. “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
21. “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
22. “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
23. “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
24. Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
25. Rarities – Volume One (2018)
26. Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
27. Historia – DVD (1988)
28. Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
29. Adrenalize (1992)
30. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
31. “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
32. Live Shefield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
33. Retro Active (1993)
34. Visualize DVD (1993)
35. Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
36. Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
37. “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
38. Video Archive (1995)
39. Slang (1996)
40. Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
41. Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
42. Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
43. Euphoria (1999)
44. Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
45. Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
46. Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
47. Cybernauts – Live (2000)
48. X (2002)
49. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
50. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
51. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
52. Yeah! (2006)
53. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
54. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
55. B-Sides (2021)
56. Yeah! II (2021)
57. Yeah! Live (2021)
58. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
59. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
60. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
62. Def Leppard (2015)
63. The Lost Session (2018)
64. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
65. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
66. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
67. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
68. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
69. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
70. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
71. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
72. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
73. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
74. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED:

1. The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
2. Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
3. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
4. Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
5. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” –  5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
6. Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
7. “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
8. “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
9. Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
10. X: World Tour (2003)
11. Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
12. Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
13. Viva! Hysteria (2013)
14. And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
15. Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
16. The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
17. The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
18. Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
19. Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
20. Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
21. The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
22. The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
23. London to Vegas (2020)
24. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
25. The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
26. The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
27. Def Leppard Funko Pop!