On June 21, 2019, Def Leppard released the second set in their four volume The Collection box set. There is a CD and a vinyl version of the set and my set is the vinyl version. It is 10 LPs and contains the albums, ‘Adrenalize’, ‘Retro Active’, ‘Slang’ and ‘Euphoria’. It also contains 2 Rarities collections called Volume 2 and Volume 3. Since we have already discussed the albums in this set, it is time to start with the rare tracks now and first up is ‘Rarities Two’ of the set. It is a 2 LP release and contains some rare tracks and rare live performances as well. All the songs are from the years surrounding these four albums.

LP 1:

It kicks off with a demo of the song “Tonight” from the ‘Adrenalize’ album. The song sounds like the final version with minor exceptions. Musically, it isn’t fully flushed out, the “oohs-aahs” aren’t full gang style yet and pretty simple sounding. Still a lot to get it to the final stages, but cool to hear an early version of the song.

Next, we get a demo of “When Love & Hate Collide” from the greatest hits album “Vault”. Is another stripped down version of the final song. I don’t like the guitar tone on this one as there is this little high pitched riff throughout that annoys the crap out of me. They definitely improve on that for the final version. Joe’s vocals are not high in the mix and have a weird echo, but the essence of the song is there.

“From The Inside” is the bonus track version from the 1992 B-Side of “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad”. I love this song as the perspective of it is from the drugs (in this case heroin). It tells of the damage it will do in destroying you. Another version is on ‘Retro Active’ and I like that one too. This version is performed by The Acoustic Hippies From Mars which is basically members of Leppard as well as Hothouse Flowers. This acoustic version is simply hauntingly beautiful.

The final song on Side A is “Two Steps Behind”. This version is not ‘The Last Action Hero’ version. This is the B-Side version from “Make Love Like A Man”. It is a nice acoustic version of the song and the first time I had heard this track so I really like it a lot. There is a couple versions on ‘Retro Active’ as well and all are great.

On the flip side, it kicks off with Joe’s Demo of “She’s Too Tough” from 1987…wait that is not the same era as these albums. No, however, the song didn’t get released until later as a B-Side to “Heaven Is”. The song is raw and rough and cool as hell. Joe screams this one and it is rowdy song and needs that delivery. If you think you’ve heard this song before you wouldn’t be wrong as the band Helix has covered it, but not as good as Lep does it obviously.

Next is a really cool demo of “Miss You in a Heartbeat” but this one is sung by none other than the writer of the song, Phil Collen. This song was a B-Side in one version and another that ended up on ‘Retro Active’ and still another covered by Paul Rodgers with his band The Law. Musically, it is all there. Phil is the big difference and it is quite a different vocal style from Joe, but really cool to get a different perspective on the delivery. Phil’s voice isn’t the best, but it ain’t bad either. It is rough and a little gritty and I like that.

Now it is time for another “Tonight” song and this one is acoustic. The acoustic version was a B-Side on the single for “Tonight” and this one might actually be as good or better than the official release. Yeah, no joke. It is very understated, played with such purpose. Joe’s vocals have a little grit that actually adds a lot to the performance. Very nicely done.

The final track on the first LP is an instrumental called “S.M.C.” which stands for Steven Maynard Clark and pays homage to the late great Leppard guitarist. It is a brilliant piece with only Phil and Vivian on guitar and no one else. A forgotten track at times, but a wonderful tribute to their friend. Phil stated he had this acoustic piece he noodled around with and it reminded him of Steve so they recorded it. Short and sweet and oh so cool.

LP 2:

Side C is a little club show the band did back in 1992 in Bonn Germany on May 29th. Before their big tour for ‘Adrenalize’, they played these club dates to warm up, but also a chance for them to play with Vivian Campbell as he was new to the band. It was a chance for him to get comfortable as well. Can you imagine catching one of these shows? How cool would that be. So intimate for a band of that stature. The four songs we have here are “Hysteria”, “Photograph”, “Pour Some Sugar on Me and “Let’s Get Rocked”.

“Hysteria” is first and it is played to perfection by the boys. The band sounds tight, Joe sounds fresh and the solo is stellar. The energy in that room had to be electric. They move on to a more upbeat track with the ‘Pyromania’ classic, “Photograph”. It is exactly as you would suspect. Even the background vocals are spot on. Still love hearing this song live and will never tire of it.

The crowd joins in an sings along to the “heh, heh’s” on “Pour Some Sugar on Me” before the song kicks in and you can hear them singalong with Joe on that first verse. They are eating it up and loving every second. Another live classic that the fans never seem to tire of nor do I. The final track is the new hit “Let’s Get Rocked” and although the lyrics are cheesy and it is a rather childish song, live seems to work well and the crowd certainly does love it so I guess it works.

The flip side of this LP is a part of a live show at The Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore on October 26, 1995. This sounds familiar to it as we have reviewed the Bootleg DVD of that show earlier and it was amazing. “Armageddon It” is up first and not one of my favorite songs by the band, but acoustically, it is actually a great, fun track and I enjoyed it a lot. Surprise.  And as acoustic shows they do around this time, they play “Two Steps Behind” and wow, the crowd was in to this one and started singing immediately along with Joe. Crazy. A very popular Lep song I guess. That energy made for a fun song and great performance from the band. Phil got the solo on this one and then the crowd helped them sing it out.

They then go in to one of my favorite Leppard tracks of all time from ‘Retro Active’ and that is “From the Inside”. The guitar work is fantastic, the tone is as dark as the lyrics. Viv also has a nice little solo in it. A brilliant track that I so wish they still played live.  “Animal” is the next track and I’ll admit this one is little dull compared to the studio track which has so much going on musically. They still do a good job don’t get me wrong.

Then they played a song from their greatest hits album “Vault” which is the ballad “When Love And Hate Collide”. Joe sounds great on this one and when the boys assist on the backing vocals, they really hit it out of the part with this one. They actual show kicked it off with a high energy performance of “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. The band is having fun and the crowd is loving it. However, here they use it as the ending track. Doesn’t make a difference, still worth hearing wherever it is in the set.

And that is it for ‘Rarities 2’ from the Def Leppard box set The Collection: Volume 2 and what a set it is. You get 18 tracks spread over 2 LPs. Those tracks are some great demos and bonus tracks that are actually rare, but not impossible to get. Plus you get pieces of 2 incredible shows with the Germany set and the Singapore set…too bad they aren’t the full shows as that would’ve been even cooler. I already have the Singapore show on DVD, but it is a boot and not an official release. Come on boys…get that out to us in some form!! My overall score on this one is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars…and it isn’t perfect because the shows aren’t full…picky I know. Still a great package to have.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘RARITIES VOLUME 3’ (2019)

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 Sheffield 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!