Def Leppard "Hysteria"

manny wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I totally agree with the review. I can't stand this album and this is where I jumped off the Def Leppard train. I had been hoping that Pyromania was an aberration and the band would return the style of High N Dry or On Through The Night. Sadly, the opposite was true; Pyro was merely the transitional album between the metal Def Leppard and the radio pop stars Def Leppard.

I understand where you are coming from and ULT, I did not discover Def Leppard til 'Pyromania' and I am probably the least metal guy on this board, but I liked 'Hysteria' and to a certain extent still do, IMO it was a natural progression from the Pyromania album.

"High n Dry' is my fav Def Leppard album also, but the band has shown little (which is a shame) to no interest to returning to that style, lot of early Def Leppard fans hate their post Pyromania material, I am just not one of them.

It's funny Manny because "Pyromania" was my first experience with the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene, yet when I heard "Hysteria" for the first time, I was kind of mortified. That is coming from someone who was a pretty big pop fan in the 80's. I liked Madonna, Hall & Oates, Chicago, Heart, Flock of Seagulls, Survivor, Night Ranger, etc...

It was a natural progression from Pyromania, just not in a direction I enjoyed.

And I bet I'm less metal than you MimV; after all, you have metal in your veins. I have sleaze in mine.

tohostudios wrote:

It was a natural progression from Pyromania, just not in a direction I enjoyed.

And I bet I'm less metal than you MimV; after all, you have metal in your veins. I have sleaze in mine.

The booklet on the Rock Of Ages:Best Of Collections tells some interesting details on Hysteria, Pour Some Sugar On Me apparently came about one day when the band were just messing around on they're instruments, Mutt Lange liked what he heard and convinced the band to stop working on they're current song, and had he had them come up with Pour Some Sugar On Me, so that song was more or less a complete accident.

Anyways Hysteria was my first exposure to Leppard, so I have a certain fondness for it, Gods Of War and Run Riot are two of the bands most underrated songs, while I would definitely not be caught dead singing Pour Some Sugar On Me, it's still pretty damn catchy(plus it was used for a great dancing sequence in the movie Coyote Ugly) as is Excitable. Animal was the first Lep song i ever heard, and was what ultiamtely convinced me to check out the bands discography. Don't get me wrong, I love On Through The Night as well, but I'm not bitter about the band selling out.

I think I actually like Slang better than Hysteria.

ultmetal wrote:

I think I actually like Slang better than Hysteria.

Remind me to punch you in the face next time I see you.

007 wrote:

Slick,glossy,over-produced garbage ? Yes indeed but very well done slick ,glossy,over-produced garbage. I like it alot and for me it's the last great thing Def Leppard ever did.

I agree 100%.

Back in 1987 I was huge into thrash and I had a few rocker friends. When we would hang out, we had a compromise: For every thrash album I played, they could play a rock album. So I would play Overkill "Taking Over", they would play "Appetite For Destruction". I would play Testament "The Legacy", they would play "Hysteria". I HATED IT!! This was not the Def Leppard I grew up to. I even skipped their show when it came to town in 1988 (kinda regreting it now). However, over the years it slowly grew on me (with a 15 year break in between of not hearing it at all). I just broke out the LP about a week ago and it sounded great, although I dont love every song on it and the "c'mon baby's" and the "rock it, oh yeah"'s get really old really fast, I dig the sound and still love those Def Leppard guitars.

Shawn D. wrote:

your review is spot on. generic songwriting and performance covered up by layers of studio gloss and a huge advertising budget. About as substantial as a .99 cent bag of Cheetos.

Have you mailed that CD yet? I want to insult you.

manny wrote:

Also unlike Bon Jovi and other artists that I am huge fans of such as KISS, Aerosmith, and Alice Cooper, they never hired a turd like Desmond Child to help them become more commerical and co write their songs.

Until X.

Eyesore wrote:

manny wrote:

Also unlike Bon Jovi and other artists that I am huge fans of such as KISS, Aerosmith, and Alice Cooper, they never hired a turd like Desmond Child to help them become more commerical and co write their songs.

Until X.

I try to forget that CD

manny wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

manny wrote:

Also unlike Bon Jovi and other artists that I am huge fans of such as KISS, Aerosmith, and Alice Cooper, they never hired a turd like Desmond Child to help them become more commerical and co write their songs.

Until X.

I try to forget that CD

Me too. Haha. Although there are a couple tunes I dig.

The only tune I truly love on "X" is Scar. It's a gem! The only other song I can stand is Now, and the rest suck balls.

metalinmyveins wrote:

The only tune I truly love on "X" is Scar. It's a gem! The only other song I can stand is Now, and the rest suck balls.

Those are the two I really like. I once described those songs as the bread of a shit sandwich. Haha.

I wonder if the album would have had a different sound if rick allen hadnt lost his arm in that tragic accident. For one, without the accident they likely would have began recording in 1985 (for a late 85-early 86 release) when studio trickery wasnt THAT advanced as of yet, and secondly, the synthesized drum sound wouldnt really be neccesary as he had both arms. Interesting thing to think about.

Hadley wrote:

I wonder if the album would have had a different sound if rick allen hadnt lost his arm in that tragic accident. For one, without the accident they likely would have began recording in 1985 (for a late 85-early 86 release) when studio trickery wasnt THAT advanced as of yet, and secondly, the synthesized drum sound wouldnt really be neccesary as he had both arms. Interesting thing to think about.

I've always thought about that.

He was never a great drummer, so I doubt much would have changed. Of course, Hysteria wouldn't exist if he hadn't lost his arm.

I got laid for the first time to the song Hysteria so that song resonated with me for that reason alone.

Otherwise, it, along with Rocket are the only songs I like from that album. It's a great example of a record that spent too much time in the pipes being overproduced to the point where it sounds like smurf poo and the songs were restructured and rewritten so many times that they lost their feeling.

If I want Def Leppard, I still reach for On Through The Night, High 'N Dry, and Pyromania.

Andy wrote:

It's a great example of a record that spent too much time in the pipes being overproduced to the point where it sounds like smurf poo and the songs were restructured and rewritten so many times that they lost their feeling.

This sounds like a great example of someone assuming.

Another interesting fact, originally Jim Steinman (producer of Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf) was the original producer, but they didnt mesh together. I wonder if any rehearsal material from those sessions still exist.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Much of my disdain for this album is based solely upon the audience that Def Leppard began to cater to. It is what is, as Def Leppard aren't the only ones to travel down this particular path within the industry. This type of album made the band multi-millionaires ten times over, and has allowed them to put out average/bad albums the rest of their career.

I think your right and completely agree. As an album of music it is good stuff. As far as metal, that's where all the sparks start to fly. Labels we put on music is pretty crazy, really. As far as studio trickery, well that's really open to interpetation. The drummer lost an arm and instead of replacing him they dove into figuring out how they were gonna pull it off. My hat is off to the band for doing this album. A bold move. I liked it back then and still do. A bit overexposed and rarely gets a spin.

Quote :

The drummer lost an arm and instead of replacing him they dove into figuring out how they were gonna pull it off. My hat is off to the band for doing this album. A bold move.

I agree...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

The drummer lost an arm and instead of replacing him they dove into figuring out how they were gonna pull it off. My hat is off to the band for doing this album. A bold move.

I agree...

yeppers

...and I would really dig tryin to play his kit with my left arm taped at my side or something just to see how hard it really is to play.

Re-listening to the album, and i wonder if Gods of War was written during the steinman sessions as its got that Jim Steinman "feel" to it, even if mutt rearranged it.

Hysteria is one of my all time favorite Def Leppard albums