Tag: Def Leppard

CMT Crossroads – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009) – DVD Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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CMT (Country Music Television) had a great show called CMT Crossroads. The show would bring together two famous acts, one being a country artist and the other either Rock, Pop or whatever they felt would work together. One of those episodes that aired on November 7, 2008 brought together and a young rising country star named Taylor Swift and a band she grew up listening to thanks to her parents, Def Leppard. A dream come true for her and a strange match-up for me. But it was Leppard so I watched. And when the DVD was released, I bought it.

The DVD came out on June 16, 2009 and was exclusive to Wal-Mart stores here in the States. The DVD contained the entire show that was broadcast as well as some bonus material. That bonus material was three bonus songs that were performed and not aired. You also get a bunch of interviews. In total, you get 75 minutes of Country Rock Crossover. Honestly, I wish there was a CD for the show, I’d like that in the collection. Now, was the show good? Let’s find out.

The show kicks off with “Photograph” from Def Leppard and a good one to start as it is one of their most famous songs. Phil Collen breaks out that famous riff while fully dressed and still some hair; and Taylor sings the first verse. Dang, she is so young here. She has a great voice, but she can’t muster the power needed for this song but she can hit some of those notes Joe can’t. Joe Elliott takes on the second version and that is they way this song should be sung. They share the choruses. The band is all the Lep folks and even Taylor’s band so we get two drummers and numerous guitarists and bass players. I even see a keyboard player in the background there. The bands sound awesome and they do play the song to perfection. Who knew it would actually work so well.

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Def Leppard – ‘Yeah! Live’ (2021) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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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.

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Friday New Releases – October 11, 2024

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Welcome back to Friday New Releases. We don’t have as many as last week, but we have a solid list of new albums for you to try this week. I want to hear the new Myles Kennedy and I have the Def Leppard One Night Only on order. I have the RSD Vinyl release, but need the CD / Blu Ray too! Jelly Roll will probably be the big release this week for most if you like that thing. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!

  • Myles Kennedy – The Art of Letting Go – (Napalm Records)
  • Def Leppard – One Night Only: Live at the Leadmill May 19, 2023 – (Mercury Studios) – CD/DVD/BluRay
  • The Offspring – Supercharged – (Wabi Sabi Worldwid / Concord)
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Def Leppard – ‘Yeah! II’ (2021) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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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.

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Def Leppard – ‘B-Sides’ (2021) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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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:

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Man Raze – ‘Surreal’ (2008) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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Def Leppard’s 2008 album was ‘Songs From the Sparkle Lounge’ and it would be the last studio album from them for around 7 years. In the meantime, we would get some live albums, but mostly we got side projects. And the first one up is from guitarist, Phil Collen. Phil was in a band before Lep called Girl. From that band Girl, he rejoined up with Simon Laffy and the added veteran drummer, Paul Cook from the band The Sex Pistols. I believe you’ve heard of them. The trio started a super group called Man Raze. They actually got together back in 2005, played some live shows, even released a single or two. It wasn’t until June 3, 2008, they released their debut album, ‘Surreal’, in the States.

Now, my copy isn’t the U.S. version. No, I had to have the European version which was released on December 1, 2008. It is the better version for one reason. It contains a 2nd CD of bonus material with 5 additional tracks. I also love that they added the British Flag to the design of the cover. It gives it a slightly cooler look. What you get with this trio is an album that has elements of Phil’s current band, along with Girl, The Sex Pistols and all their influences all rolled in to one. And if you like Phil’s backing vocals in Leppard, well, he is the lead singer here and it is a welcome change of pace. Let’s see what this supergroup brings to the table.

The album kicks off with “This Is” which is a full on ball buster with nothing but angst and speed. The drums pound frantically and the guitar and bass are played at breakneck speed. It brings the punk attitude and the rock sensibility to show us that this band is ready to lay it out all on the table and hold nothing back.

And not to slow things down, they keep up that energy with “Turn It Up” which is more of the same destructive behavior. This one is even a step up with more attitude and Phil sounds even better on this one too. The gang choruses are full like Lep which add even more texture to this one. It is almost a militant drum beat with roaring guitars and a killer solo. A definite highlight of the album.

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Def Leppard – ‘Songs From The Sparkle Lounge’ (2008) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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We are now to the 10th Studio album and you’d think that ‘X’ would’ve been a good title for this one, but they already used that title with their 10th album release including compilations. Nope, this time they named the album ‘Songs From the Sparkle Lounge’. A name in reference to a room at each of their live shows they used for tuning, for writing and overall creativity. It had a Christmas lights strewn about around the room along with some equipment such as a drum kit, some amps and even a tape recorder. Apparently, most of the songs, if not all, were written while on the road touring for the ‘Yeah!’ album.

This album saw the band try something new and have their first song featuring an outside party. They brought in Country singer Tim McGraw to assist on a song and yes ,the song has a country flair and we will bash the hell out of it later. I guess they needed to try something new. The album saw the light of day on April 25, 2008 and went all the way to #5 on the Billboard 200 selling around 55,000 copies out of the gate. They did reach #1 on the Hard Rock And Rock Album charts as well. Def Leppard still has some life left in them even after all these years. Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were still going strong. But is the album strong or does it have any life left in it? We are about to find out.

The album opens with “Go” and it has a massive guitar riff that sounds menacing and powerful. The heavy track explodes with a metal energy and might be one of the best opening tracks the band has ever had. It harkens back to High ‘N’ Dry vibe where the riff was king. It also has a killer guitar solo and shows the talent of these two dynamic guitar heroes. Joe sounds great as well on vocals, but you can’t escape those guitars…damn this is exciting and has me desperate to hear the rest of this album.

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Def Leppard – ‘Yeah! Bonus CD with Backstage Interviews’ (2006) – (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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In 2006, Def Leppard released their 9th studio album, ‘Yeah!’. It was a covers album and had 14 tracks on it. The band, however, recorded a ton more songs that were not used. Some wound up on the Japanese Edition as bonus tracks, others as Best Buy bonus tracks, Target and even iTunes. You would literally need to buy 5 versions of the album to get all the tracks. Well, you don’t really need to buy the Japanese edition because the Wal-Mart edition had the two Japanese Bonus Tracks as well as 3 more songs and a selection of interviews with the band. This version has the most bonus tracks of any of the other offers and is a great buy. It would’ve been released on the same day as the album which was May 23, 2006.

The opening track is the only song that breaks the band’s rule about all being British songs. It is cover of the Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s “American Girl”. I want to say that all these songs are the demos because they aren’t played with all the band members. 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. 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 choise.

The first interview with the band, “Backstage Interview #1”, sees the band talking about the most recent tour with little snippets from each member. They all say it has been great, but Rick Allen says travel was hard. They also talk about how the audience seems to change with each tour.

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Def Leppard – ‘Yeah!’ (2006) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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If you follow Def Leppard at all, you know they really are a 70’s band. Their influences were definitely 70’s and the whole glam rock scene. You can hear it in their songs as well and their side projects like Cybernauts where it is really obvious they have a passion for that style of music. Def Leppard now felt it was time for a covers album. The label brought it up to them, but Joe Elliott had already wanted to do one so it was an easy decision to agree on. Wow! Has a label and band ever agreed on anything before? This must be a first.

They had a few rules, the songs had to be hits and had to have been released prior to the band signing their record deal. And, the songs had to be British. They didn’t stick with that rule entirely as we will see on the next review, but for this album they did. Each band member brought a list of 20 songs each so they had 100 songs to choose from. I imagine they had some overlap which would easily help narrow the selection if more than one person picked it. And what a wide variety of artists they picked and what a great set of songs. I am not a massive fan of cover albums, but there are a few I have liked and luckily this turned out to be one of them. The album came out on May 23, 2006 and the album did okay. It did chart at #16 on the Billboard 200 and the singles charted on these types of charts I am not familiar with but they can say it charted.

One really cool thing about this record is the packaging. Inside you had individual pictures of each band member recreating an iconic image from a 70’s album. They are as follows:

  • Rick Savage – Freddie Mercury from the album Queen II
  • Vivian Campbell – Marc Bolan from T. Rex’s Electric Warrior
  • Joe Elliott – David Bowie from the rear cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
  • Rick Allen – Lou Reed, Transformer
  • Phil Collen – The Stooges, Raw Power

The pictures are down below. I love that you also get the original Def Leppard triangle logo with light shining through it giving the rainbow affect from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I love when some thought actually goes in to the packaging and this one is A+ material. Now, does the music match the packaging? Let’s find out.

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The Collection: Ep. 31 – August Wrap-Up 2024

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As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is August 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs and even some 7″ Singles. So much to go through including not one…not two…but four Noble Record Exclusives and or Label records. And to top that off we have another addition to the Rock Candy, the Kiss collection and now starting a Box Set collection. We even hit up a big $5 CD sale at MNRK Records. So much to show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, September 2, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And here it is for those that won’t watch video…