On June 11, 2021, Def Leppard finally released The Collection, Vol. 3. It had been 2 years since the released of Vol. 2 in part probably due to Covid-19. By 2021, things were slowly starting to get back to normal. This was a crucial collection because these albums were not available on vinyl prior to this. So, it is is a must have set for you vinyl collectors. Ok, not really because they are available now individually…well…except for the bonus material. This is the only place for those. And we are going to talk about one of them here now called ‘B-Sides’.

I love the cover is they made it look like the cover for ‘X’ which most of these tracks are from (well – bonus tracks and radio edits from. The back cover also has a cool drawing of the band as well. All a simple white and black shade. “Now”, here is a little gripe that would not have that “Long Long Way to Go” to make this a perfect set. This is a 2LP set and there are two things wrong. One, no gatefold as that would’ve been a sweet add to give us more info or pictures of the band. Two, no slick album sleeves with pictures. It is just basic white paper sleeve. A little more effort would’ve been great. I get there is a cost issue, but come on…give us a little.

SIDE 1:

Now we are to the good stuff, the bonus material. This songs are all Single Edits, the B-Sides and the rare songs from both ‘X’ and ‘Songs from the Sparkle Lounge’. The first two tracks are the radio edits of the singles from ‘X’ which are “Now” and “Long Long Way To Go”. They are not dramatically different, in fact, they are just as good as the originals. “Now” was written by the band with the help of Marti Frederiksen who we mentioned earlier. If Phil wanted a song like “Jaded” with the classy, perfect production, well, he got it. “Now” is as slick of production as it comes. The opening acoustic guitars, the beautifully lush keyboards, a crazy cool bassline and a great snare beat, “Now” opens as great as any song they’ve done and when that chorus hits, the song is huge, with delicious harmonies and a great energy that drives the song. There is a rock element to the song, but let’s be honest, it is pop in all its glory. It is modern, but still has the Leppard tone to it that shows the band is still in there somewhere.

“Long Long Way To Go” which was written by Wayne Hector and Steve Robson. Wayne has worked with Nicki Minaj and One Direction (What???). This is yet another ballad and might be my favorite on the album. More acoustic guitars and Joe’s vocals are perfection. Emotive and heartfelt, slow and gentle. The layers or harmonies on the chorus and the beauty of the string arrangements makes this one of the best ballads they have done. I would put it up there with “Love Bites”. That’s right.

The final track on the first side is the Bonus Track on ‘X’ called “Kiss the Day”. It was the Bonus on the UK Edition of the album. It is credited to all the band members and I see why it was left off the original album as it is a much darker song and a little heavier too. It would’ve felt more at home on ‘Slang’ probably. There is a really killer guitar solo and Rick’s drumming on this one is great. As far as bonus tracks go, this is up there as one of their more stellar ones and they have a lot of those.

SIDE 2:

“10 X Bigger Than Love” kicks off Side 2 and it is pure Leppard Glam Rock. It is a song Joe and Marti Frederikssen both loved, but the rest of the band was a little lukewarm about and so they left if for a B-Side. But the song didn’t go unused as the band Vega later covered it and even had Joe guest on the song. Another cool track and I love then they go glam as they do it so well.

Next up is the demo to the song “Love Don’t Lie”. It was used as a B-Side to “Now”. And it is very different from the final version. It is not as full and lively. A little more sultry with a hint of Seal’s “Crazy” (per the band). It is more electronic then guitar drive as I believe Joe did most of this himself. A different, but still pretty cool version.

The next demo is for “Let Me Be The One”. Joe did this one with the help of the late, great Dick Decent (he was in the Cybernauts with Joe). The song has a big Bowie inspiration. It is a piano, some synths and Joe on vocals and some electronic drums added for good measure. It isn’t much different then the final version, only stripped down to its bare essence here.

SIDE 3:

“Gimme A Job” kicks off Side 3. This one is all Joe as no one else in the band was fond of this one. Joe took it upon himself to do a demo and it was left for scrap…well, until it was used as the B-Side to “Long Long Way to Go”. As Joe says in the book in the box set, it is rather one-dimensional. It needs a lot of work to be a real Leppard song, but for a B-Side, I’ll take it. Give me anything that isn’t on the album as a B-Side and it is cool to me.

We get another version of “Now” and “Long Long Way To Go” and both are full on acoustic. And both a full on fantastic. A good song really shines when played this way and both are really good. “Now” is a live version recorded in 2003 and has Phil on the backing vocals in the chorus and he adds a lot to the mix. “Long Long Way To Go” is a stripped down version of the studio track. This one might even be better than the album version and that is saying a lot because it is a damn fine track the way it was originally presented. One of their best ballads stripped down like this. Really cool.

SIDE 4:

Flipping over to the final side, Side 4, we get the Joe Only Vocal Version of the song “Nine Lives”. The original version on “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” had country singer Tim McGraw accompanying Joe. I prefer this version of the song as Leppard is Joe, he doesn’t need to be duetting with anyone. The song is so cheesy and feels a lot like it could’ve been on ‘Adrenalize’ which to me is not a good thing. However, with no Tim, I like it a little more.

One cool song to have is “Perfect Girl” which was only available on their website so this is the first time you can get on a physical release. The song is a Phil Collen demo which the band thought was too soft and after a lot of re-work it wound up being called “Gravity” on the album ‘X’. “Gravity” is a better version, but this is so cool to hear where that song started out. So that makes this one a real treat for me.

The final track on here is a piano version of the ballad “Love” from ‘Songs From the Sparkle Lounge”. That song is one of the best on the album and presented in this format, well, it is as good or better. A haunting ballad that really showcases Joe’s vocals. You can hear the Queen influence in this one as it is so dramatic, so…Queen. Damn, it is such a cool track.

Track Listing:

1. Now (Radio Edit) 
2. Long Long Way To Go (Radio Edit) 
3. Kiss The Day (UK Special Edition)  
4. 10 X Bigger Than Love (B-Side to Long Long Way To Go) 
5. Love Don’t Lie (B-Side to Now)
6. Let Me Be The One (B-Side to Now) 
7. Gimme A Job (B-Side to Long Long Way to Go) 
8. Now (B-Side to Long Long Way to Go)
9. Long Long Way To Go (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
10. Nine Lives (Joe Only Vocal Version) 
11. Perfect Girl (Website Exclusive) 
12. Love (Piano Version) 

No Track Score for this as it is a collection of rare tracks and doesn’t need to be score that way.  I wanted to include the list so you can see where each is from.

There are so many cool tracks on there that you would have to buy so many different singles to get you might as well but the whole set so you have it all in one album.  I can happily pull this album out and listen to it pretending it is a brand new Leppard album.  It is worth it for “Kiss The Day”, “10 X Bigger Than Love”, “Perfect Girl” and the versions of “Long Long Way To Go” and “Love”.  Really killer stuff. Great job Def Leppard.  My Overall Score is 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars.  Not all songs are perfect, but what is here is a sweet treat to savor and an enjoy!

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘YEAH! II’ (2021)

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. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (2001)
49. X (2002)
50. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
51. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
52. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
53. Yeah! (2006)
54. Yeah! Bonus CD with Backstage Interviews (2006)
55. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
56. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
57. B-Sides (2021)
58. Yeah! II (2021)
59. Yeah! Live (2021)
60. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
62. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
63. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
64. Def Leppard (2015)
65. The Lost Session (2018)
66. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
67. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
68. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
69. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
70. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
71. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
72. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
73. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
74. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
75. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
76. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
77. Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)
78. “Just Like ’73” – 7″ Single (2024)

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!