After the Tour in support of their album, ‘Hysteria’, Def Leppard didn’t want another 4 year gap between albums, but nothing was easy for these guys. Something always happened. This time it was Steve Clark. His alcoholism was getting worse. He was in and out of rehab and in September of 1990, the band granted Steve a 6 month leave of absence to try and sobered up. Sadly, it did not help and on January 8, 1991, the world lost an incredible guitarist too soon as Steve Clark passed away in his home.
The band was devastated. However, they didn’t want to stop and kept going, but only as a four-piece. No new member was added for the record. It took months after Steve’s death before their heart was back in to it. The band also ended up having to do the album without long-time producer, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, as he was busy working with Bryan Adams and his ‘Waking Up the Neighbors’ album. Mutt did wind up as the “Executive Producer” on the album. Mike Shipley helped the band as both engineer and co-producer as he had worked with the band for years.
Most of the songs had already been demoed prior to Steve’s death, but they were all re-recorded and Phil mimicked Steve’s playing as best he could for the solos Steve was meant to play. And after months of working on the album, they were finished. The album came out on March 31, 1992 and it debuted at #1 in the UK and a week later was #1 in the U.S. It sold over 4,000,000 copies worldwide and had 6 singles off the album.
I bought the album on the day of release but it was not easy. I was down in Cairo, Georgia working for the State of Georgia on an audit. After work, I borrowed the company car and drove down to Tallahassee, Florida and bought the CD and Tape and listened to it on the trip back to Cairo. It was about a 45 minute drive each way so wasn’t too bad. Did I like it? Well, let us find out.
The opening track, “Let’s Get Rocked”, was the first single off the ‘Adrenalize’ album and did pretty good going to #15 on the Billboard charts and #2 in the UK. The song is a mindless fun track about a teenager disobeying their parents and yet it was filled with sexual innuendo after sexual innuendo. “Let’s Get Rocked” does just that with the heavy guitar riffs, Rick’s pounding drum beat and even filled with orchestration and some nasty violins. The most important thing about this song is the question is asks you at the very beginning…”Do You Want To Get Rocked?”. And the answer is always…YES!
This was one of the last songs written for the album as the band had finished riding the song “White Lightning” which is about the loss of bandmate Steve Clark. After coming off such a dark song, the band needed to cut loose and have some fun and as a result, we got this bundle of joy. Despite my tiring of the song, it is pretty great even if it is overly corny. The video is a CGI filled rocking good time and is the only video the band has ever done as a four piece. Steve had passed and Vivian hadn’t yet come completely in to the picture.
Up next is “Heaven Is” which was the 5th single from the album reaching #13 in the UK, but didn’t chart in the States. The song is about a woman…a very fine woman and you can figure the rest. It is a pop song, no doubt. Massive choruses, probably bigger than they have ever done. It is a little cheesy at times, but it is kinda catchy. Not the best thing they have done, but not the worst…that is coming later.
“Make Love Like A Man” which is actually one of my least favorite songs they have ever done, but not as bad as another one on this album. Yes, it is catchy, has a good beat and memorable, but it is generic and stupid at the same time. Now, Joe Elliott has stated that the song was the band having some fun and it was all a joke. They weren’t trying to be big bad boys, they were only joking. The song was the 2nd single off the album and did fairly well, going to #36 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. The album was starting to sound very generic and a Hysteria 2.0…yeah…don’t like that.
The sixth and final single was for the song “Tonight”. Written back during the ‘Hysteria’ Tour as a possible B-Side, but instead it was held on to for an album years later. The song charted in the U.S. going to #62 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Mainstream Rock chart while it also charted in the UK at #34. The song is a ballad and it sees the singer longing to be with the woman he loves and have some very passionate, satisfying sex. THe band was overdoing it with ballads now, but this one reminds me of “Love Bites” and “Hysteria” which are two of their best and for that I like this one. It is sophisticated sounding with some great melodies and the music is emotive as is Joe on the vocals. This is how you do a ballad.
“White Lightning” was written about Steve Clark and his addiction and his untimely death. Steve’s nickname from the band was White Lightning as he normally dressed in all white on stage and ran around the stage like a bolt of lightning. It is such a heartfelt tribute and you can feel the love and passion the band had for this man. The song opens with a guitar solo by Phil Collen that was played in the style of Steve as a personal tribute to him. The solo starts off slow, with an eerie feel to it…a sadness. In fact, Phil played all the parts and even with the dual guitar parts he played as if it was he and Steve going at it together. It is very touching.
The lyrics spell out Steve’s troubles how he was burning the candle at both ends, always had to have that taste, but always unable to let it go and walk away. He was consumed by his addiction and in the end, the addiction won and took his shining light from us way too early. Sadly, this is a story played out everyday with people of addiction. It is a horrible disease with no end in sight that touches millions around the world.
“Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” was the fourth single off the album and it did really well going to #34 on the Hot 100 and #1 on Mainstream Rock Chart. And there is a reason for it as it is another great ballad by the band. This one was actually written for Hysteria, but it sounded too similar to the song “Hysteria” so it was scrapped and held on to for later use. Another reason why this album feels like ‘Hysteria 2.0’. The song is about a guy that is so in love with this woman and not sure she is feeling it, but he calls out to her to kick this love in to motion and then have some serious sex. He says it better than that though. A great ballad, very sophisticated and able to connect with you emotionally has who hasn’t felt this way at one time or another.
Then we get to the what is probably the WORST SONG the band has ever done (at least up to this point). “Personal Property” is totally utter trash lyrically and musically. The most generic, piece of crap they have ever put to tape (or digital in this case probably). I can’t describe how bad this song is so you just need to go and listen to it yourself.
“Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” is yet another ballad and the third single off the album and the highest charting as well going to #12 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. An album filled with so many ballads they all can’t be good, but you’d be wrong. This is yet another masterpiece. A tale of unrequited love, I mean, the title sums it up nicely. I love how the guitar solo mirrors the emotions and you can feel the sadness he is feeling not having his love returned. The band really seems to connect with this song on all fronts. Brilliant…just brilliant.
Then we get “I Wanna Touch U” which finally gives us a rocker as it has been awhile since a decent rock song on this album. It is still pretty basic of a song and another about sex. I will say the writing on this album lyric has been singularly focused with the exception on anything written about Steve. This has left a pretty boring album at times for the rockers. No depth here whatsoever. But at least the song will get you moving.
The album ends with one of the band’s best rockers with “Tear It Down”. The original version of the song was used as the B-Side to the song “Women” in the U.S. and “Animal” in the UK. So, they re-recorded it, punched it up a little and modernized it a little to fit where they were sonically and you have a great rocking track. But imagine my disappointment when hearing this on the album. I mean come on!! What the hell Leppard? You’ve done this song, give us something new. You have had 5 years since the last album and we get 9 new songs. This completed the disappointment for the album. Don’t get me wrong, this song kicks ass, but I’ve heard it. It was one of my favorite B-Sides they have ever done.
Track Listing:
- Let’s Get Rocked – Keeper
- Heaven Is – Keeper (1/2 Point)
- Make Love Like a Man – Delete
- Tonight – Keeper
- White Lightning – Keeper
- Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion) – Keeper
- Personal Property – Delete
- Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad – Keeper
- I Wanna Touch U – Keeper (1/2 Point)
- Tear It Down – Keeper
The Track Score is 7 out of 10 Tracks or 70%. As you can tell from the review, I am not a fan of this album for many reasons. One…lyrically, the song was lacking. The lyrics were overly cheesy and mostly about sex in some form or another. Two…too many ballads. Yes, the ballads were great that were one here…but it slowed down the album as there were way too many. Three…no real rockers that stuck with me (that were new songs). “White Lightning” being the best song on the album, the rest were stinkers really. Four…the whole thing sounded like ‘Hysteria 2.0’. This is the first Def Leppard album to not completely change their sound from the previous. Go back and listen to the first four albums and you will notice they don’t sound like each other…yet they still sound like Def Leppard. This felt like rehash. Maybe Mutt is the missing ingredient. My Overall Score is 2.5 out of 5.0 Stars. I hate this album today more than I did back then and I dislike it more with each listen as it bothers me so much with what they did with it.
NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – “HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED SOMEONE SO BAD” (1992) – CASSETTE SINGLE
THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES
- Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
- First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
- Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
- On Through the Night (1980)
- When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
- High & Dry (1981)
- Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
- Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
- Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
- Pyromania (1983)
- “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
- “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
- Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
- Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
- Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
- Hysteria (1987)
- “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
- “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
- “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
- Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
- Rarities – Volume One (2018)
- Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
- Historia – DVD (1988)
- Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
- Adrenalize (1992)
- “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
- “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
- Live Shefield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
- Retro Active (1993)
- Visualize DVD (1993)
- Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
- Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
- “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
- Video Archive (1995)
- Slang (1996)
- Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
- Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
- Euphoria (1999)
- Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
- Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
- Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
- Cybernauts – Live (2000)
- X (2002)
- Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
- Best of Def Leppard (2004)
- Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
- Yeah! (2006)
- Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
- Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
- B-Sides (2021)
- Yeah! II (2021)
- Yeah! Live (2021)
- CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
- Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
- Def Leppard (2015)
- The Lost Session (2018)
- Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
- Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
- Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
- Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
- Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
- Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
- Diamond Star Halos (2022)
- High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
- Drastic Symphonies (2023)
- Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
- Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
- The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
- Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
- “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
- Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
- “Pour Some Sugar on Me” – 5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
- Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
- “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
- “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
- Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
- X: World Tour (2003)
- Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
- Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
- Viva! Hysteria (2013)
- And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
- Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
- The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
- The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
- Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
- Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
- Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
- The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
- The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
- London to Vegas (2020)
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
- The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
- The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
- Def Leppard Funko Pop!
Scott Stapp – Higher Power – (Napalm Records)
The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards – (Silver Arrow Records)
Justin Timberlake – Everything I Thought It Was – (RCA Records)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 