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.
It is 2002 and the sound on the radio is now very different. Pop bands rule the world. Heck, even Bon Jovi had turned more to a Pop band with an album called ‘Crush’. Def Leppard chased the trend with this album and have moved completely away from their known rock sound to a more melodic pop record. They even brought some of the Swedish pop writers to help like Andrew Carlsson and Max Martin. Also included in on the writing was famed writer Marti Frederiksen who had worked with Aerosmith on the song “Jaded”. Phil remembers hearing this song and wanting Leppard to have a song like that. All these changes are huge and we probably thought this is not an album we were expecting from the band, but as it turns out, it was one we needed.
The album ‘X’, (or Ten), is the band’s 8th studio album, but its 10th album release if you count ‘Retro Active’ and ‘Vault’. The album was released on July 30, 2002, but only reached #11 on the Billboard charts. The album had 3 singles and never did well on the charts, I don’t remember hearing them on the radio. Heck, ‘X’ didn’t even get certified anything by RIAA…might be the first album of theirs to not get at least Gold. This album was a big change in more ways than one.
There wass one constant with Def Leppard and that was the line-up. It was still Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. 10 years with this line-up and we are now 12 years after this and they are still the same line-up. Kudos to them. Maybe the band was in a good place at this time because this does seem like a happier album at times. I have even heard this album called the ‘Love Album’ as it has a lot of ballads and a lot of pop songs. I don’t have a problem with them doing a pop album…even Kiss did with ‘Unmasked’ and I like that album. So why not Def Leppard. Is this as bad as everyone says it is…maybe I’m the contrarian here, but I think it is awesome. I am a huge pop music fan, so this satisfies that side of my taste quite nicely. Let’s get in to it.
The first track and single off the album is the song called “Now”. The song 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.
On July 30, 2002, Def Leppard released their album ‘X’. Which is either “X” or “Ten” depending on what you want to call it. It was the band’s 8th Studio album, but 10th album released to date. It saw the band take a lighter side to their rock and had some people calling it “The Love Album”. It went to #11 on the charts and spawned 3 singles, but failed to ever garner Gold or Platinum status.
The Tour started in June of 2002 and went until November 2003 where the band performed 163 shows which is quite impressive for an album that didn’t do that well. It was the last really BIG tour the band has ever done. Since that time, the longest a tour has lasted was around 100 shows. My Tour Book is from the 2003 leg of the Tour
Since this was 2003, it was not a good year for me to see shows since my wife and I had our first child that year. There was no way I was getting out to see a show as the schedule was too hectic. I hate I missed it, but I survived. Since I have no ticket stub to show you this time around, let’s get right to the book.
For My Sunday Song #35, I chose “Gravity” by Shawn McDonald. The song is off his debut album, Simply Nothing, which came out back in 2004. The song is about how we let our problems and the weight of the world pull us from our faith in God.
With all the craziness going on in the U.S. right now, I am sure we are all guilty of letting our faith slip. I see it everyday on the internet and TV. Since the Presidential election, people have turned on each other. Dialogue doesn’t exist anymore. Each side feels if you don’t believe what I believe you are a moron or a racist or that you hate women just because they did or didn’t vote for Trump. It is getting ridiculous. I hate going on Facebook for this very reason. It is so sad.
The rudeness everyone is showing to each other is unreal. My niece’s husband was in Home Depot the other day and a woman came up to him and said he was going to hell for his decisions to get Tattoos. He was there minding his own business and she just came up and voiced her unsolicited opinion. I can’t believe the nerve of this woman. It makes me angry (and you wouldn’t like me when I am angry). BTW…his tattoos are awesome and he is a loving husband, father and a hard working man. Nothing but respect for him.
The world seems to be letting the “Gravity” of life pull them away from their faith and from God. I am sure that lady thought she was being a good Christian, but it was the most unchristian like behavior.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 