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. We’ve talked through the B-Sides, Yeah! II and now it is time for the final bonus album in The Collection, Vol. 3…Yeah! Live.

‘Yeah! Live’ is a compilation of 8 live cover songs the band have done over the years. They are B-Sides or recorded from tribute shows they have done and now they are all in one spot. I feel like they have to have more then this, but maybe not. What is cool is Side B as it has Brian May on most of the tracks. I guess he is the 6th member of the band now.. It is not a vast chunk of songs, but it is all quality here not quantity. What is cool is there is a couple recordings on here from the 80’s so we get Steve Clark on a couple tracks. But the rest of the guys are here too with Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.

SIDE A:

The B-Side to the song “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” is a live version of the Alice Cooper classic, “Elected”. It was recorded in July 1987 at Tilburg, Netherlands on the ‘Hysteria’ Tour. The crowd was really in to this show as they are screaming loud. Joe attacks the vocals with that Alice Cooper style, with grit and attitude. I wonder if the crowd noise is pumped in as they repeat some of their chants throughout. Anyway, the band rocks it out and does a fair job at this one. All I know is when it came out and I picked it up with this song as the B-Side I was happy to have something I didn’t have in my collection at the time. I’ll take new stuff any day.

From ‘Retro Active’, we got a really cool cover of The Sweet song “Action” and it is one of my favorite covers Leppard has ever done. This version here is of course live from their 2005 tour. Joe’s vocals are still good and he gives it his all and the guitars are great sounding, but overall, it is a so-so live version as it has lost some of the punch of the studio track. I guess you can’t get all those sounds without backing tracks maybe. But it is still a fun, energetic song.

Also recorded from the 2005 tour is the song “No Matter What” which is the old Badfinger song. This was actually a bonus track on the Best Buy Version of ‘Yeah!’ if I’m not mistaken. They are faithful to the studio version live and I have to say, I might actually like it better live then I did ‘Action’. And yes, that is a surprise to me.

Then we get a live version of the David Essex song “Rock On” which was the big single for ‘Yeah!’. This was recorded in 2006 and I think they have played this one live…A LOT!! Almost too much, but I get why they do it as it gives Sav a chance to shine as the bass groove on this one is killer. Plus, they do slay this one live too!! I’m okay with this song now.

SIDE B:

To end the L.A. Forum show, Leppard did a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Travelin’ Band”. But to make the night even more special then it already was for that show, they brought out an old friend. Out comes Brian May from Queen and he adds his guitar mastery to the song and the show ends as spectacularly as it began. The first three songs on this side all have Brian May which is why the label for Side B says “The Brian May Side (Sort of)”.

The Maxi-Single for “Tonight” had 3 bonus tracks and none from the album. That my friends is how you do a single. The first bonus track is a live cover of Queen’s “Now I’m Here” which was recorded live on April 20, 1992 at Wembley Stadium in London for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and they had a very special guest. That guest would be none other than Sir Brian May of the band Queen. He joined on guitar and rocked it out along with Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. The band love Queen so you know they are going to do the song justice and they don’t disappoint.

The final Brian May featured song is the live version of T. Rex’s ’20th Century Boy’. This one was recorded at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in 2006 in Las Vegas. To say the guitars are on here don’t sound good would be an absolute lie. The riffs from May, Collen and Campbell are killer and they blow this song out of the world. The boys can play that glam rock!

The final track on here is really special to Joe and company. They are huge Ian Hunter fans and he joins them for a cover of Mott the Hoople’s song “All The Young Dudes”. Written by David Bowie and sung by Ian, what a thrill the band had having Hunter join them for this one. It was released in 2000 on Ian Hunter’s retrospective album ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’. Ian does most of the singing, but Joe does get a verse or so, and the Leppards are on the backing vocals. A song that means the world to the band as they got to play with their hero. And a fabulous track it is. Great choice for this set.

Since this is a short set of live songs, I won’t do the track score. We only have 8 tracks and they are all great songs and performances. I do think it is too short and would’ve liked more stuff, but the band hasn’t done a lot of covers live I guess. Still, a cool addition to the box set for sure. My Overall Score is a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars as I’ve said, it is only 8 tracks and I wasn’t thrilled with “Action” although I love the studio version. So, it is a good set, not great though.

NEXT UP: CMT CROSSROADS – TAYLOR SWIFT & DEF LEPPARD – DVD (2009)

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!