Def Leppard-Adrenalize

This is a very enjoyable album-a great follow-up to Hysteria. What were your first impressions of Adrenalize?

 

I had all the Def Leppard releases until that one, so I had to go look it up to see what songs were even on there. Now that I've looked it up I'm actually somewhat surprised how strong that CD actually is. A good chunk of those songs I know from their 2 CD greatest hits as well as MTV. I could see this falling into the category of under-rated.

 

I got the cd upon release. I just saw it as a logical extension of Hysteria. I liked some of it but I still was disappointed at the slick direction they were going in. I've always been more of a fan of their first 3 albums but I understand that bands change and evolve over time. Imo I think had Steve Clark had lived they would have returned to their more raw roots eventually.

 

I bought this on release too. I thought it lacked the strong songs of 'Hysteria', though it was certainly listenable. I sold it a few years later. Perhaps it's time to pick it up again...

While we're (sort of) on the subject, what's the best CD version of 'Hysteria'?

 

I've only heard the stock cd that's been in print for years.

 

Yes, I don't know if that or the 2006 deluxe edition would be better...

 

I found Pyromania and Hysteria in the $5 bin at Walmart recently. It is my understanding that both of these discs are the original masterings.

 

Very mediocre album often flirting with the embarassing (Let' s Get Rocked, Make Love Like A Man). The weight of the Hysteria monster, the damage done by Steve Clarke's death was probably too much to deal with for Def Leppard. Slang should have been the follow up to Hysteria.

 

They are.

Adrenalize has grown on me over the years. Let's Get Rocked is an earworm that was in my head probably all of 1992 as it was everywhere. The album ranks lower then the previous three though so I would place it at # 4 in their catalog. Tonight, Stand Up, and Tear It Down are my favorites on the album.

 

I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this album. I knew the songs were pretty good and I really do enjoy the album a lot, but the fact that it didn't come close to matching its predecessor in quality and quantity always was a bit of a black mark for me.

 

I loved their first three albums and think Pyromania is the last one you can call, with clear conscience, metal. After that MTV pop-metal monstrosity called Hysteria I really hoped for a return to something more solid, so naturally I was extremly disappointed by Adrenalize. But what do I know anyway? Hysteria was #1 in the US and the UK - as was Adrenalize. So success proved them right ...

 

MFSL gold CD; followed closely by the original – which I believe is still in print. The Deluxe Edition is way too loud.

 

I agree.

 

I got it on release, eventually traded it in and recently repurchased it. Its still too slick but i like it.

 

I think it's awful, Hysteria done badly.

 

"Let's Get Rocked" is ridiculous but fun, "Tear It Down" is a great rocker, and "Have You Ever Needed Someone" is one of their best ballads. The rest is pretty forgettable. I really think Slang was a massive rebound, even if it wasn't commercially.

 

My view of Adrenalize is poisoned by the presence of what IMO are two embarrassing songs, "Let's Get Rocked" (Lamo generic fist-waver, something I'd expect from Warrant or Slaughter), and "Make Love Like a Man" (I thing the title says it all).

That's too bad, because the other three singles, "Tonight", "Have You Ever ..." and especially "Stand Up" (IMO, one of their five or so best songs) are quite good.

 

This was a tough one to get into after Hysteria. Taken on its own it's not too bad but definitely the weakest effort from them to date at that time. That said I do really like "White Lightning".

 

I've always loved it, even if not as much as some of their other albums. Given they were dealing with the loss of one of their founding guitarists, the pressure to compete with the success of Hysteria, and that it came out at the height of the grunge movement, it's speaks volumes that the album came out as well as it did - both artistically, and commercially. I have to throw in with those who dislike both "Let's Get Rocked" and "Make Love Like Man", but otherwise, the rest of the album is pretty solid. It also contains one of my favorite Def Leppard ballads in "Tonight".

 

The production values sound like Hysteria on steroids, super glossy rock and ballads. I highly recommend Adrenalize is you loved the songs Love Bites and Hysteria. Tonight and Stand Up are highlights for me on Adrenalize.

 

Was "Tonight" a single? I only recall hearing an alternate version on the radio a couple times. I think the album version would've been a big hit if it were on Hysteria, but things had changed a lot by 1992.

 

For me only their first three album.

But understand the enjoyment of the album. Lots of similar discs that others call mediocre that I just love.

Example: Heartbreak Station by Cinderella.

 

I never bought it. I lost interest between Hysteria and 1992 - it was a different world.

 

This one firmly ended an obsession that I had with a band for almost 10 years.

 

I liked Pyromania and Hysteria but I didn't like Adrenalize. The first single "Lets Get Rocked" just seemed hokey to me. By 1992, I was listening to "Seattle sounding" bands anyways.