Which is where the first kick in the nuts took the wind out of them: Mutt Lange had just completed work on The Cars’ Heartbeat City, and was forced to decide that he was too emotionally exhausted to work on Def Leppard’s album. With a stack of songs in their pocket, the band moved to Hilversum, Holland, in August to begin the recording. Guitarists Collen and Steve Clark demolished the concept of the big riff, replacing the solid rock face with a complex construction of fine brickwork.Īs soon as the management and label heard “Animal”, they knew everything was going to be okay. And it set out the band’s stall big-time. The first song to be written to anything like completion was “Animal”. In classic ‘sixth member’ mode, Lange had already become part of the organisation and was happy to work on co-writing. Fortunately, they had Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange on board, the producer who had got so much out of them in their two previous studio epics, High’n’Dry and Pyromania. We’d learned we couldn’t write on the road”. “We had absolutely nothing in the way of ideas. “We were scared,” singer Joe Elliott recounts. Waking up after another drunken night in the city, drummer Rick Allen observed: “This is hysteria!” And, boom, they were off…
#Def leppard albums how to#
But no one can tell you how to achieve that. The pressures of success come from all directions – fans, management, your label, all need whatever you do next to be better than what you did last. To say they were worried would be an understatement. The band that started out in a spoon factory in Sheffield had a respectable count of massive US gigs and six million sales of 1983’s Pyromania to their name when they settled into a shared house in Dublin to start the grand cycle all over again. But it’s a good thing they didn’t, because the album that resulted from their very real battle against extinction turned out to be one of the classic British rock albums.īy February 1984 Def Leppard were already a big deal – well, in the USA anyway. Perhaps if they’d known exactly how much ‘whatever it took’ would turn out to be, they’d have knocked it on the head and got a job at B&Q.
You can never imagine the Sheffield quintet doing anything rushed, but given the weight inherent in recording at Abbey Road Studios and the company they were keeping there, the whole must have been overwhelming on first listen, and that feeling is present with every note.Def Leppard were under no illusions about what they wanted to do: they wanted to become the biggest band in the world, and were prepared to do whatever it took to achieve their ambition. With the boldness of Diamond Star Halos, a loud and proud declaration that Leppard were back, they’ve come to this with a sky-high confidence that sees them riding that wave and pushing ever forward.ĭespite the position they find themselves in now, there is still an edge here that balances their knowledge of their skills with that first, shared gasp as strings swell to confirm that they’ve pulled it off. Ranging from the aching Love to the gloriously bombastic Switch 625, this is a career-spanning set that’s light years away from the nascent rough-edged thrill of Wasted and Getcha Rocks Off but equally as compelling. What makes this special is not just the blending of these two worlds but the faultless skill shown here, the arrangements and playing dovetailing into something that reaches beyond the expected.Įschewing the temptation to shoehorn orchestral instruments into their back catalogue, Drastic Symphonies sees cherry-picked favourites and deeper cuts morphed with tender care and a subtle understanding of the dynamics of the material. Of course, the mix of hard rock and classical music is something that’s been around for decades, Deep Purple having led the way with their 1969 album Concerto For Group and Orchestra, the gauntlet picked up by Metallica, Scorpions and KISS, amongst others. Def Leppard – Drastic Symphonies (UMC – Mercury)
After having come back on top form with the blazing Diamond Star Halos last year, Def Leppard follow it up with Drastic Symphonies, this new release with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and it may even top that 2022 triumph.
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