Hysteria - Def Leppard (CD 1987)

There are things a band really can t get away with these day s, they range from sounding like a distinctive band to having the style of a particular era which can only be acceptable if it is that era. More often than not people will say that the eighties were cr@p for music, which is a usually a load of bullsh!t. I can think of a many great albums that were released in the eighties ranging from AC/DC s Back In Black to U2 and the Joshua Tree all the way to Metallica and Master Of Puppets .

These bands unlike a lot of stuff from the eighties have versatility as to how it is played though. On the other hand Def Leppard is different. The very sound from them is proto type eighties hair metal, or just the proto type eighties sound. Most of it has a distinguishable essence; it s perfectly produced in the way which people might say over-produced and it s very cheesy. Yet Def Leppard has a very lucky charm on their side, you are aloud to like them because they aren t a cover band and they are aloud to be dated.

To lead things off as usual, Def Leppard like many many bands thrown into the classic category obviously have a classic album. Well actually they have two. When the band started they managed to get some spotlight because they had some very successful singles on their first two albums and they played it smart. Like many bands ranging from TooL to Weezer, Def Leppard made brilliant videos which set them apart from others, gave them a lot of the airwaves and also gave them an extremely high rotation of their videos on MTV. These tactics made them into stars for their next album, 1983 s legendary Pyromania. Selling over ten million copies and scoring them 2 absolutely huge singles Photograph and Rock of the Ages.

After that they must have had one of the longest most tedious recording sessions because it took them up in till 1987 to finally release the album that would set them in history as one of the most popular artists of a decade, and of all time.

After switching producers a few times the band gained the smack that while is now seen as one of the coolest musical accomplishments of all time, it must have been annoying. About a month into recording, drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a guitar accident and things seemed uncertain. Def Leppard didn t have a drummer .or did they? It s possibly the coolest novelty of all time to say that you have a drummer with only one arm, and using a custom made part electronic kit involving a lot of pedals, he was able to. And that s like a having a guitarist without fingers except cooler! Once this album came out things kicked into action slowly, the first single didn t get much attention. But when the others singles came out Def Leppard had an obnoxious presence because you just couldn t escape them in the late eighties.

Certain bands have their names in history as being classics, or just being really good. Ranging from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Def Leppard has their faces in stone for this reason. They sound dated if they are amongst the mainstream of today s music, but as a side project listen you can appreciate them for being cheesy, you can appreciate them for having the coolest riffs and some of the catchiest vocals. Saying a classic is always worth checking out; I can quite easily say that for those with openly sub rock genre tastes will find some merits in here. But then again, Def Leppard aren t as good as any of those classics, nor are they timeless wonders.

Members Of Def Leppard in 1987
Joe Elliot - Lead vocals
Rick Savage - Bass
Steve Clark - Guitars
Phil Collen - Guitars
Rick Allen - Drums

The thing I noticed first about this baby was the quality of the non singles; my favorite song of here isn t even recognized as being one of the greats. Yet the singles are usually of high quality and easily noticeable success explanations. Most are cheesy, yet for a band who has never tried to be dark and never even try to be misfits, you can see them as doing what comes best, and they are pretty damn good at crafting their songs. The singles are a mixture of ballads and quite cool rockers. Ballads are about love, rockers are about other things as you could guess.

The singles that really get me into the spirit to grow an eighties mullet and put on tight pants are the ones like the extremely amusing yet irresistibly catchy Rocket. Featuring tons of vocal overdub and opening with guitar (starts) drums (starts) it s quite obvious that this song is very eighties, very very. The vocals swirl around here like spacey mist in many places, and the vocals on here combined with the overdub works really well, as does the structuring of the verses and choruses. The slightly more riff orientated Animal is another song with an easily explainable success. It has a classy production this time, more genuine vocals without the overdub, and it sounds great. With an excellent bunch of guitar riffs and solos, then mixed with a catchy pre chorus and a sweeping main chorus full of catchy melodies, you can t not like this.

The other hard rockers are maybe not as good but still excellent none the less. The sex crazed Pour Some Sugar On Me is another song that has been widely loved be Def Leppard fans, I like this one a lot too. It s cheesy but it s very entertaining with its chunky riffs and awesome main riff and cleverly crafted lyrics to show the bands gift for what they do, with a chorus of pour some sugar on me in the name of love . Armageddon It is another famous clip from here, very retro, yet made up of many of the coolest riffs ever. Perhaps the best example of a prototype Hysteria cut, it s groovy for sure. The first single Women could be the worst cut on here, it s an example of something being a little too over produced in the verses. And it s a shame as the chorus is actually pretty awesome, the riffs in it and the flow are some of the best on the album. It s enjoyable but a little too flawed to be up amongst the ranks of the other rockers.

The ballads are typical in a way, as the quite over rated Love Bites seems to get annoying to stage where it sounds dated without being amusing or very entertaining. For starters the opening of very little happens besides Elliot s vocals trying to emotional. That being said, it does have a very good chorus, but more cheese than Switzerland and France combined if we re talking stereotypes. Perhaps it s a little un-acceptable saying I like many others that are full of the stuff too, but this one is when it just isn t amusing or very entertaining. The title track is a little better, a lot better actually; solid lyrics and good vocals combined with some good entertainment from the vocal over dub in the chorus make it a grand sing along. It also has a leveled sound that makes it the right speed for a ballad but the right sound to make it not get boring like Love Bites.

Beyond the singles are some of the best songs on here, many of them have become better in my mind that even Rocket, Animal and PSSOM. A good example of the consistency without much filler are entertaining cuts like Excitable and Run Riot. The first being an incredibly fun song, one which will make you laugh but appreciate for its catchiness and groovy riffs, cheesy lyrics and loose attitude. The second track mentioned is one which will actually please the average rock fan, its way faster and riff based than most of the songs on here, a guitar song essentially, full of cool riffs and much rougher vocals than usual. Using a nifty bass riff as a basis, the song works its way up the levels in till the great chorus.

The amusing intro of Don't Shoot Shotgun brings you in with a laugh that the whole song will keep up, a chorus made up mostly of don t shoot shotgun and a pre chorus of run for cover she s so dangerous, under cover she s so shameless you see where I m coming from.. Well, this one is essentially another track with a bunch of catchy melodies and some totally grooved out riffs, essentially what makes this album good. Half ballad half rocker, Love and Affection is a song which brings the two worlds together as a fulfilling closure to this album with it s spacey guitar and proto type feeling to it. It even has the accessibility of single, cool guitars too to back that up and another sweeping chorus to wash it all down. Gods Of War was the first Def Lep song I heard from the album, and a lucky stroke to as it is the most accessible for someone who normally listens to straight forward rock. Opening with the sonic waves of psychedelic electric guitar and some sound effects of bombs dropping and other war things, this song is obviously a slightly political cut. Possibly the song that they thought about the most, yet it doesn t actually sound like a bunch of idiots trying too hard to sound intelligent. With the fat bass riff then hit with the coolest guitar riff EVER! This track is, with the sweeping chorus, bridge, other things, the best on the album.

So here you have it, a classic album that while isn t as good as say, Led Zeppelin IV, is still an album that almost defines the eighties. This is an album which had dignified excuses for being hated, but is very good for those who can appreciate something new. Do you like metal? If so with a passion for artists who heavy metal then go somewhere else. This isn t heavy metal, it s pop music with metal riffs at it s core. And Def Leppard have the coolest riffs on their riff based tracks. But of coarse judging by four star rating, this ain t a perfect album because of having two tracks that aren t quite my cup of tea, I ll let this loose a star. But that doesn t mean much, this album is still a five star album in history s book. A highly recommended listen for those who like the occasional taste of what this review portrays, leave this alone if you have a very opinionative taste. That being said, if you do buy it, listen to it with your headphones on as it may make you look like a dork if you play it loud.

Well that s my branching out for 2004, lets hope that one day you can do the same. And don't you ever say that 14 year olds can't branch out. immaturity, please! you bloody old people!

Track listing and ratings
01. Woman * * *
02. Rocket * * * * *
03. Animal * * * * *
04. Love Bites * * *
05. Pour Some Sugar On Me * * * * *
06. Armageddon It * * * *
07. Gods Of War * * * * *
08. Don't Shoot Shotgun * * * *
09. Run Riot * * * * *
10. Hysteria * * * *
11. Excitable * * *
12. Love and Affection * * * *

Final Ratings - 4/5