Retro Active - Def Leppard (CD 1993)

Oftentimes, as a band is compiling songs for their albums, there are quite a number of songs that get recorded but don t make the final cut. As a result, some otherwise very good songs never see the light of day. But every now and then, bands will revisit the material that was previously overlooked, and release it under a separate recording effort. Call it laziness or complacency, but when Def Leppard did this very thing with their CD Retro Active, they put out a CD that s almost better than most of their other stuff.

Track Listing:
1. Desert Song
2. Fractured Love
3. Action
4. Two Steps Behind - (acoustic version)
5. She's Too Tough
6. Miss You In A Heartbeat
7. Only After Dark
8. Ride Into The Sun
9. From The Inside
10. Ring Of Fire
11. I Wanna Be Your Hero
12. Miss You In A Heartbeat - (electric version)
13. Two Steps Behind - (electric version)

Breakdown:
This review is part of a good friend s tireless quest to get me to say something nice about his favorite band, Def Leppard. I ve always said that Pyromania is a classic hair-rock album, and pressed, I will admit that I enjoyed Hysteria for about 20 minutes. But mostly my feelings about the band have been one of major disappointment for having sold out their bona-fide hard rock credentials for wussy, pop-rock acceptance. So when I was confronted by the opportunity to listen to a collection of songs that they refused to put on their other albums, I jumped at the chance to see what they were passing up.

Most of the songs came out of the writing sessions for the albums Hysteria and Adrenalize, and are taken right from the demos. They have been mixed and mastered so they do have a professional sound quality. One of the cool things about this album is that the liner notes include short blurbs that share a little bit of the history of the song. I ve seen this done on other albums, and I wish more musicians did it because it provides some extra context for the music. The songs come from various stages in the bands career, and include contributions from the late Steve Clark, as well as current axeman, Vivian Campbell.

Mostly, I was struck by how good a lot of these tracks were. In fact, as I listen to the album, I can t help but think that this album just goes to prove how incredibly stupid Joe Elliot and company are. That they would dump such high quality rocking material in favor of the watered down horsecrap that they released on Hysteria (or Adrenalize, take your pick) just blows my mind. Now, granted, I m not saying that this is a classic album, nor am I about to go start a local chapter of the Rock Squad. But I have to give credit where it s due, that the Lep s leftovers are of much better quality than what they serve as the main course.

Interesting Songs:
Action - Recorded as a B-side, this classic Sweet track has got to be one of the most frequently covered songs of all time. Sadly, this version is less than spectacular. But it s still a good song.

Ride Into The Sun - This is a re-recording of the very first song they put on vinyl (remember that?). As such, it is a solid rocker with a ripping guitar solo that I thought was Campbell, but was shocked to find out was Collen. It starts of which a piano playing a rag, before giving away to a hard rocking jammer.

Two Steps Behind - (electric version) - This is a very catchy pop ballad that would easily be a top radio hit. The album includes an acoustic version as well as a plugged-in edition. But coming at the very end of the album, the 13th track doesn t end the album with the end of the electric version. If you wait about 20 seconds, another version of the song is recorded, this one with Elliot and a piano. It s a great cut, and those tricky, tricky Leppards want to hide it from you!

Desert Song - The opening track lets you know right away that this isn t your little sister s Def Leppard. It s begins with a dark and heavy guitar riff. The guitar plays an eerie solo, and Elliot affects an Alice Cooper style. You won t hear this on MTV.

Only After dark - When it starts, you think it s going to be another heavy rocker, but it actually switches gears and is a bubbly, upbeat pop rocker. It has a pretty cool guitar riff, and Elliot changes his vocal style in some very interesting ways, that almost sounds like a younger Gene Simmons or Billy Idol.

From The Inside - This song sounds vaguely like a David Bowie song. It is an emotional look at drug addiction from the drug s point of view. Great lyrics.

Overall
Retro Active is an appropriately named, pretty good album that provides a depressing look at what this band could have been. One does wonder why they have all but abandoned their hard rock roots in favor of pursuing the glories of pop music. I would recommend this to anyone who likes early Def Leppard, as this is a refreshing walk down memory lane. Perhaps a less-than-serious album like this allows them to get back to doing stuff just for fun, as they don t have the same pressures to produce hit songs. It was obvious that this album was released just to give Lep fans something to hold them over until their next real release (as the band got into the habit of releasing new albums every 4 or 5 years kind of like Boston). But I say that this album could easily replace any post-Hysteria album, and possibly even Hysteria itself. I give this three and a half stars.


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