Def Leppard - Will we ever see Deluxe Editions of On Through The Night & High 'N' Dry?

Again, not to belittle Steve Clark, but let's not forget that Pete Willis co-wrote half the songs on their first three albums, too. It's also somewhat ironic that Willis got canned for his excessive drinking, yet Clark is the one who ultimately died from it. Although in fairness, as Willis tells it, he would have likely gone that same route if not from getting the wake up call of being sacked by Def Leppard.

 

In his book Phil talks about how when je joined the band in July 1982 and the Pyromania album was almost done, how impressed he was by the sheer quality of the songs and the guitar parts. He seemed really amazed by the job Pete and Steve had done.

 

I think the new album is great and very well rounded. I really like "Man Enough", and could do without Broke N' Brokenhearted and Last Dance. I also really like Sparkle Lounge and don't get the hate for it.[/QUOTE]


"Are you man enough to be my girl"...I get it, but again, I don't. It's a pun on the word "Man" but it goes no where lyrically. On the other hand we have a great Leppard tune that goes like this...."You ain't flash you're talkin' trash
And you hit me like
A caffeine crash
There ain't no doubt
You've been found out
So come on tell me
What it's all about"

A Leppard song that's lyrically good with a catchy riff and hook. I think Collen channeled Clark on this one.

As far a "Sparkle Lounge" is concerned, IMO, their worst effort. You can tell that it suffers from production issues with tunes while some had potential, most go nowhere at all.

 

Sparkle Lounge is by far their worst album, they madeit as quick as possible to get rid of it because they owed one last album for the record company I think. It wasn't made as a band and it's obvious they didn't care. The production is bad but nothing could have saved that one. X is really too poppy for many but still about 10 songs are quite good, but it's not a real Leppard album and the band don't have fond memories about this one either and the outside songwriters. They made a good pop album to try to be popular again with the younger fans but it failed miserably on that front. The band discovered their fire again on the Viva Hysteria shows and made a very good album last year that frankly surprised even their more diehard fans. For me after Slang is where the all killer no filler era ended. Up to that point they made all their albums as a band and did all they could to make the songs the best they could and not put any weak ones on tape.

 

you thought euphoria had filler?

to me sparkle lounge is really good. sounded like a 70's glam rock throwback

 

Euphoria had lots of very bad songs to be more precise. I like Yeah! a lot though some real gems on this one.

 

Love Slang as well always a good listen from start to finish.

 

At least the original producer is on board when it comes to reissuing On Through The Night, although I doubt if he has much (if any) say over if or when a Deluxe Edition will be released.

 

to me euphoria has 2 songs i skip and thats it

 

True. It wasn't really a studio effort where you get in there as a group and throw ideas around with a great producer. A few bright spots don't make up for the album's general lack of immediacy or memorable hooks.

Sorry Pouchkine, can't agree with you on Euphoria. Demolition Man, Promises, Day After Day, Kings Of Oblivion and Paper Sun are great Leppard Tunes. The album also had your typical Leppard ballads (which I loathe), trying for that almighty "hit single" like "Goodbye" which screws up the flow of the album.

YEAH, now, I've grown to really appreciate this effort. I wasn't to keen on it at first but I find myself playing this cd in my rides for a good change of pace. They redid these classic songs very, very well and "leppardized" them very well.

Slang has a lot of well thought out, well written tunes and it's another change of pace Def Leppard album that I really love. It has IMO, the best ballad that Leppard ever recorded in "Where Does Love Go When It Dies". Truth, Turn To Dust, Pearl Of Euphoria, Work It Out, Deliver Me are great, great tunes.

I get what your saying but that's not entirely true. Lange was such a perfectionist he didn't feel like in the studio they were recording in was getting the drum sound he wanted for the songs. So, while Allen still had both his arms then they did take liberties with getting the sound of the drums perfect for the album. In concert on this tour, Rick Allen was a beast on the drums!

I agree with this 100%. Sometimes my thoughts escape me and I wonder why they even recorded these two songs. "Let's Get Rocked could have been a great tune if musically it was a bit edgier and lyrically tweaked a bit. Make Love Like A Man totally sucks big giant donkey______.

 

"Are you man enough to be my girl"...I get it, but again, I don't. It's a pun on the word "Man" but it goes no where lyrically. On the other hand we have a great Leppard tune that goes like this...."You ain't flash you're talkin' trash
And you hit me like
A caffeine crash
There ain't no doubt
You've been found out
So come on tell me
What it's all about"

A Leppard song that's lyrically good with a catchy riff and hook. I think Collen channeled Clark on this one.

As far a "Sparkle Lounge" is concerned, IMO, their worst effort. You can tell that it suffers from production issues with tunes while some had potential, most go nowhere at all.[/QUOTE]


I look at the vocals as more of an instrument than what Joe's lyrics are saying. I'd rather they take the Slang approach and just have abstract lyrics. As far as Deluxe Editions on these early albums, they certainly deserve the Deluxe treatment.

 

I agree with DemolitionMan Promises PaperSun DayAfterDay KingsOfOblivion and I would add Guilty as the good songs on Euphoria but the rest are really average especially BackInYourFace Goodbye AllNight completely destroy the quality and flow of the album, also It'sOnlyLove is so boring same with ToBeAlive and Disintegrate is the definition of a generic and uninspiring instrumental, but having said that I've probably listened to that album from top to bottom at least 50 times... Slang is quality music and quality lyrics from beginning to end they really made a full effort on that one and that 1996 tour was great as well.

If they can find a show for HighNDry we will see a Deluxe edition for sure. The problem is all the early songs they have in the vault would go on the OTTN Deluxe edition and I can't see them putting out a Deluxe of OTTN before HND...

 

Maybe, but they did release Deluxe Editions of Pyromania and Adrenalize together at the same time back in 2009.

 

That would be awesome for sure!

 

i have an issue with guilt, goodbye and back in your face. they are songs that would have killed in the mid 80's when joe still had his range. in the late 90's his vocals did the songs a bit of a disservice

 

Paper Sun and Promises aside, Euphoria lacked great riffs and memorable guitar parts. The sound of the album lacks bite and the electronic sound of the drum is bad( I loved it on Hysteria) and the backing vocals are too much, they sound "fake" and seriously at times it seems it's a cover band doing this album or almost a parody of them...If they had put out a better album with more than one good single as well they could have made a real "comeback" in 1999. Slang Euphoria X gave us great tours though with 20+ songs each night.

Just to be sure the original MeAndMyWine was recorded in 1981 during the HND sessions?

 

Sometimes, songs shouldn't have Big Hooks and Riffs galore. The music has to fit within the context of how the song is being presented I.E., like Paper Sun or King Of Oblivion, or Day After Day. Leppard are masters at writing "Epic Tunes" in this vein. You have them on Most All their albums from "Bring On The Heartbreak" (which does have the Killer riff) to "Billy's Got A Gun", to "Gods Of War", to "White Lightening" to Paper Sun", "Desert Song" from Retro-Active and X even had "Scar" which is totally awesome.

And the Me and my wine" tune was a remixed version of a 1981 B-side.

 

Grovsenor no more, Wapentake no more, Casbah no more......

As many long-time Lepps fans will recall, one of the earliest places to give them stage-time was Sheffield's legendary Wapentake pub. Alas, that fine old rock venue has finally reached the hole in the middle. Managed, through my tears, to get these shots and you can see a 'new' Leppard painting on the back wall. So many of my teenage years were spent propping up the bar and bellowing encouragement. It's a sad day. One of the last acts I saw there was only a couple of years back when it had changed its name to the Casbah; a Ricky Warwick solo show (between his stints with Thin Lizzy and the Black Star Riders).

 

Got tired of waiting for deluxe on both and just got the Japan SHM-CD imports.

 

What's even more amazing is how young Pete & Steve were when they were writing those guitar parts.

 

Going through an old photo album earlier I found these. Forgotten I'd taken them. The 2nd shot's a bit iffy as I took it at distance. Many buses carried the ad around its release date.

 

This song is amazing and shows you a young and very talented hungry band.

 

I hope so as those are there best two albums IMHO.

 

Which CD mix is that from?

 

Check out the RSD list for 2017 - I was shocked to see 1 item on their from DL getting it's first official release, hopefully there's way more of this to come.