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 ‘Yeah! II’.

‘Yeah! II’ is a collection of cover songs throughout Leppard’s career including all the bonus tracks from ‘Yeah!’ so no need to buy 3-4 different versions of that album as you get them all here in one set. The set includes some B-Sides and other rare tracks from Leppard and there are a total of 19 songs in this splendid collection. I love how they used a variation of the cover of ‘Yeah!’ and added the ‘II’. It is also a 2LP set and includes a gatefold with some great shots of each of the band members, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. This is a lot of cover songs that is for sure, but what an awesome treat to have them in one collection.

SIDE A:

The album kicks off with a cover for the Mick Ronson song, “Only After Dark”. Originally this song appeared as the B-Side to “Let’s Get Rocked” and it is a raw, headbanging rock song from the band. It has a great, catchy groove, a swing to it and it basically kicks ass. They did a different version for ‘Retro Active’ that added more guitar parts, but this version might be better.

Next up are two tracks from The Acoustic Hippies From Hell. Yeah, that is the band name. But don’t worry it is still Def Leppard but it also includes members of the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. They were all over at Joe’s house jamming and we get these two splendid acoustic tracks. Both of the songs appeared as the B-Side to “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” off ‘Adrenalize’. First is a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and the second is the Jimi Hendrix cover of “Little Wing”. Both are stripped down and with an Irish flare. You hear instruments not typical for a Lep song and it is a pleasant, unexpected surprise. Both versions are pure perfection.

And what would a Leppard cover’s album be with some David Bowie. This time we get “Ziggy Stardust”. You get can tell Joe and the band are massive fans of Bowie as the song is done with such love and skill. They keep to the styling of the original, but Joe’s vocals make it sound like Leppard. Brilliant cover.

SIDE B:

An Alice Cooper cover of “Under My Wheels” kicks of Side B. It was recorded in 1999 for a tribute album called Humanary Stew. Phil and Joe had seen Alice perform the song on The Old Grey Whistle Test decades earlier and they were blown away. When asked to do the tribute, they knew this was the song for them. And they take the rock anthem and give it a Lep treatment. They make Mr. Cooper proud.

Next up is the Ian Hunter song “Who Do You Love?”. This one was the B-Side to the song “Goodbye” off ‘Euphoria’. Joe has also recorded this song with his band Down ‘N Outz. This is a fun, energetic version. Not the best song on the release, but still enjoyable enough as it is a Ian Hunter song.

Then we get “Rebel Rebel” which was a B-Side on the song “Now” from the album ‘X’. This is the second Bowie cover (they love their Bowie). I love the guitars on this one as they give the song a little more umph! Joe attacks this song like he owns it and they give us another great Bowie classic. But the song does drone on a little and ends up lacking some energy.

Now we get a couple instrumentals. Both are a tribute to Jeff Beck and first up is the song “Led Boots”. Vivian chose this song to do for a Beck Tribute album as he had performed this one a lot when he was in Dio when they were jamming around. For a Beck tribute, the bass on here is killer but it is the guitars that shine. It is a jazzy little piece. The second song was chosen by Phil and is the Stevie Wonder written track from Jeff’s 1975 album and the song is “Cause We Ended as Lovers”. This is a more haunting song and the guitar work is really brilliant. It is a chill moment and probably a good headphone piece.

SIDE C:

Side C kicks off with a cover of Iggy Pop’s “Search & Destroy”. This one is sung by Phil Collen and he plays all the instruments. Phil loves his punk and he brings it in full force with this one. His vocals are great. I love his angst and attitude with his vocals. Iggy fits him nicely. One of the cooler tracks on the bonus disc.

“How Does It Feel?” is up next and this is a Joe pick of a Slade song. It is a piano based song and Joe liked it because it showed a different side of a band known for their anthems. I probably would’ve never guessed this was a Slade song if I didn’t know it already. Joe does a great job with this one, vocals and piano.

Then we get a really cool cover of The Police’s “Roxanne”. Phil is on vocals and he doesn’t copy Sting at all and gives a totally different track. Yeah, it has that Reggae stylings, maybe turned up a notch. He approaches the vocals very differently and the guitar work has a jazzy, smoky filled bar room feel. Really cool!.

One of the cool tracks on here is “Dear Friends” by Queen. The reason for the coolness of it is that it is sung by Rick Savage. He never sings. He also does all the instrumentation on it. He is no Freddie Mercury, but who is, yet he does a fantastic job. A short song at a little over a minute, but really a standout track as we get Sav on vocals. Coolness factor of 10!

One of my favorite cover songs the band has done is “Winter Song” by Lindisfarne which is a British Folk group. The song is an acoustic duo with only Joe and Sav and one of the best vocal performances by Joe on any of the Yeah! albums. A beautiful song, simply stunning.

SIDE D:

Side D kicks off with the Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker cover of “American Girl”. This one has Joe on vocals, but it is Vivian Campbell on all instruments except Marc Danzeisen on drums. Additional backing vocals with Jesse Sheely. This is a demo and the song captures the energy of the original, the guitar sound like they should and the harmonies are great. A fun, energetic song and a great choice.

The next track is a cover of Jobriath’s “Heartbeat”. I don’t know Jobriath, but this is a beautiful piano ballad with Joe on vocals. One of his best vocal performances on all the Yeah! songs and another one of my favorite covers they have done. Joe’s vocals bring the feels. For those that don’t know, Jobriath was one of the first openly gay artists to be signed to a record deal. He was also one of the first musicians to die from AIDS in 1983. I think picking this track was a nice celebration of him as an artist.

Next up is a David Bowie cover of “Space Oddity”. Joe Elliott handles all the singing and all the instruments on this one. If this is a demo, DAMN! It is a great one. It is fully flushed out with all the sound effects, the cool drum roll and Joe sounds amazing. This is a brilliant cover and sticks with the essence and vibe of the original. A great job by Joe.

Another song that I really didn’t know was the McGuinness Flint song “When I’m Dead And Gone”. It is more acoustic work, yet very upbeat with a nice shuffle. Joe outdoes himself again with this one. This song would work so well in their acoustic breaks during their live shows. Now, it isn’t all acoustic as the solo is electric, short and sweet and a nice surprise.

The final track is strange as it is on the original ‘Yeah!’ album. It is the Faces’ cover of “Stay With Me”. what makes it cool is it is sung by Phil Collen. I love his voice and you are about to get familiar with it when I review his Man Raze projects. A high energy rocker sung with passion. Phil gives it a punk like feel vocally. Really cool to get him on vocals and cool way to close it all out. Not sure why it is on here as well as the original album as both are sung by Phil.

Track Listing:

1. Only After Dark – Keeper
2. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Keeper
3. Little Wing – Keeper
4. Ziggy Stardust – Keeper
5. Under My Wheels – Keeper
6. Who Do You Love? – Keeper (1/2 Point)
7. Rebel Rebel – Keeper (1/2 Point)
8. Led Boots – Keeper
9. ‘Cause We Ended as Lovers – Keeper (1/2 Point)
10. Search and Destroy – Keeper
11. How Does it Feel? – Keeper (1/2 Point)
12. Roxanne – Keeper
13. Dear Friends – Keeper
14. Winter Song – Keeper
15. American Girl – Keeper
16. Heartbeat – Keeper
17. Space Oddity – Keeper
18. When I’m Dead And Gone – Keeper
19. Stay With Me – Keeper (1/2 Point)

The Track Score is 16.5 out of 19 Tracks or 87%.  You know, I might like this one better than the original ‘Yeah!’ album…which is still great.  I think it is because I love the two songs with The Hothouse Flowers and I really love “Winter Song” and there are some cooler rare tracks.  Some of the bonus tracks from the ‘Yeah!’ album are better then the songs on the original album so there is that too.  All-in-all, I’m not a fan of covers albums, but I guess for Leppard, I make an exception.  My Overall Score is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars mostly because it is cool to have all the bonus tracks and B-sides and rare tracks all in one spot.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘YEAH! LIVE’ (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!