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Def Leppard - Hysteria - YouTube It's all subjective to what your mind will allow over influences and opinions of others. |
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Hysteria (the album) is just a masterpiece. I can't believe that an 80s rock band could make something that good. Metallica is my favorite 80s band and for me Hysteria is better than any of Metallica's albums. Of course, Def Leppard have many other good stuff, but this album is just outstanding. After it, I think, due to Steve Clark's death they went down. Among all the same-looking and sounding 80s bands such as Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and many more, there are Def Leppard which surpasses them all.
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Then they became melodic hard rock. By the way an enjoyable kind of. If we think that also radio oriented hard rockers can rock - and I adore this kind of bands - yes they rock, and rock good too :finger: |
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They came out with the same bunch of metal bands that were the milestones of NWOBHM and then, suddenly, their sound became pop/metal. With Pyromania they gained a lot of new fans, but lost the former ones. Both parts have their good reasons, I think :wave: |
I realized yesterday that there are a whole mess of Def Leppard songs I've never heard, such as their cover of "Action" by Sweet. I can't decide which I like better. I like both. :)
Def Leppard - "Action" (Cover) An infectiously energetic and happy song performed well. Def Leppard - Action (1993 Video) - YouTube The original: Sweet - "Action" (Sweet was one of the first bands that turned me on to rock music, but I'd never heard this song until yesterday) Sweet - Action - YouTube ^ Man, they have really nice hair! |
I didn't know that was a cover. Don't like either version, although I learn toward the Leppard version because it's newer and has better guitar.
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What are some reasons you don't like the song? I'm curious, because I'm finding that the more I listen to it, the more I like it! :) The last three days as I've been thinking of other things, in the back of my mind I'll start hearing a beat and realize...hey! That's "Action"! And before long, I'm singing the chorus in my mind, quite happy. One thing I like about the song besides its upbeat sound and curiously frenzied guitar intro (that seems to be in a minor key, giving a disturbed feeling to the song), is that I'm not sure exactly what the song is about. Do the lryics mean "Do you want action" as in "Do you want an intellectual fight? Well, bring it on!" Or do they mean "action" as in, "Babe, do you still want to get it on, even though you've done me wrong?" Or both? I also like the song because it sounds confident, feisty, and kind of cocky. It reminds me of someone I knew. |
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I was going dismissively say, "I don't like it because I don't like it," but I've since come up with a few reasons. Lyrically, "Action" seems low-brow, incomplete, and about something unimportant. I agree that "it sounds confident, feisty, and kind of cocky" - and I generally dislike that in songs and people. Musically, it lacks the Def Leppard's usual great use of melody. For example, from that era, there's the lyrically dumb "Make Love Like a Man," which at least sounds good musically.
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Raven - Hellraiser/Action [The Sweet cover] - YouTube |
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I listened to Kiss' "Love Gun" and feel "Action" is much better, whether played by Sweet or Def Leppard. (I didn't like the punkish Raven cover at all.) I think the repetition of "love gun" over thirty times was a tad too many! :p: Quote:
It's true: "Action" *does* sound low-brow and about something unimportant, and the song does make the singer sound feisty, confident, and kind of cocky, attributes that would make knowing someone difficult if she or he always acted that way. I do like the song's melody, though, and I prefer it to that of "Make Love Like a Man." But the Dr. Seuss-like lyrics of "Make Love Like a Man"...(just looked them up)....HA HA HA HA HA!!!...they are good for a chuckle: "I'm a man. That's what I am." (Sam I am! Green eggs and ham!!) And what in the world does it mean, "Make love like a man"? I mean, if the man *is* a man, then how could he *not* make love like a man. Phhbt. Silly song. Speaking of Def Leppard songs with silly lyrics: I've always liked Def Leppard's song "Animal," even though the "I'm an animal and I lust" theme in rock music is eye-rollingly trite. Part of me looks down on "Animal" because it extols lust as the main source of value in the relationship. But, gosh, I still like the song! Its chorus sounds splendid to me, like a splash of brilliant light. Leppard's "Animal" brings to mind several other "animal" songs in which people embrace their animal side. These animal songs interest me because they suggest that people don't think of themselves as animals in the first place, otherwise they wouldn't make a big deal of equating their lust with being animals. Songs like "Animal" also make me wonder: do some people feel lust is a bad thing, fearing perhaps that lust prevents them from feeling love? What causes people to write songs such as this one that try to break down the false dichotomy between "human" and "animal"? I think embracing our animalness is a good thing...but the equating of animal with lust reflects a lack of human appreciation of our animal cousins, some of whom are very loving (mate for life, for example). I think somewhere on MusicBanter long ago I bemoaned the dearth of romantic songs that mesh love and lust. Most songs I've heard seem to focus just on lust or love rather than treating them as two sides of a single entity (if a relationship can be called an entity). "Animal" -- a song I kind of hate to admit I like. I watched this video for the first time today and realized (probably twenty years late) that...WHOA! THE DRUMMER ONLY HAS ONE ARM!!!! I never realized that before. Now that I have read about Rick Allen, I see I am twenty-eight years behind the times. :p: He's a good drummer. I think I never noticed before that he's missing an arm because I'm always mesmerized by his cool drum set. (Drool.) Def Leppard - Animal - YouTube |
^^^
:laughing: On the one hand, I think you are giving WAY too much thought to Def Leppard's lyrics. They're dumb cause they're dumb, and they don't need any analysis. It's just fun music for fun times. On the other, I find your over analysis endearing. If you were anyone else, I would call you pretentious, but you honestly seem to derive pleasure from giving this much thought to Def Leppard lyrics. After all, what pseudo intellectual tool would even bother to analyze Def Leppard in the first place. Please, don't ever change. |
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I thought the "Green eggs and ham" comment was funnier.
Yeah, analysis can go overboard, but at least sometimes good points come from it. For example, there's probably a general rule that mediocre lyrics cause musically solid songs to sound tiresome much faster than their better written counterparts. But at least "Animal" is more or less a big analogy, so it takes a while to become irritating, at least to me. And its harmonizing is very good. Def Leppard went downhill on Adrenalize arguably because some of the lyrics were too tongue-in-cheek (including "Make Love Like a Man" and the sometimes clever "Let's Get Rocked"). Or because the vocals weren't blended greatly on most of the tracks. I had no idea that Phil Collen played all the lead guitar on the album and that Vivien Campbell didn't play at all - that probably was part of the problem. Regardless, an act can only remain high on the charts for several albums if the music or lyrics evolve, which Def Leppard didn't do - and then couldn't do well, as Slang showed. |
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Your post made me curious about Def Leppard's view of their own lyrics and music. I found what I feel is an excellent and amusing interview with Joe Elliott: Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Can’t Explain the Lyrics to “Pour Some Sugar on Me” | MTV Hive. The interview shows that Def Leppard were mostly trying to make fun songs for fun times...but they also had some serious songs, such as "From the Inside" about addiction. Joe Elliott also didn't want to tell people the exact meanings of their lyrics: "That ruins the fun of it. It’s like playing hide and seek and telling them where you’re hiding. It’s pointless." They wanted people to use their imagination when interpreting lyrics. Isn't that nice? Quote:
Def Leppard has two and a half vegans!!! I never knew that Phil Collen and one-armed drummer Rick Allen are vegans, while Vivian Campbell is a "lactopescovegetarian" (he eats fish but no red meat). Joe Elliott comments about their backstage vegetarian cuisine: "Yeah. Rock and roll, right? [Laughs.] We’re born to be mild." <-- Cute. :) Perhaps Phil Collen's vegetarianism provided a little inspiration for writing the song "Animal" back in the '80s. My view is that there are always reasons for something. We can't always identify the reasons, but I like to try. * * * Quote:
I also appreciate how the message of excitement is supported by the powerful, energized sound of the music. Def Leppard's sound from the '80s and early '90s was very distinctive to me. Joe Elliott writes, "We absolutely apply the science of rock in the recording studio to make our records sound massive and bombastic." Your post made me realize I've never heard any of the songs off the "Slang" album or learned how Def Leppard changed their sound in the '90s. I listened to the song "Slang" and the starts of a few others off the album. They aren't bad but they didn't grip me as much as their earlier songs. I also learned that Def Leppard consider themselves a "British rock band" and not heavy metal or a hair band. I thought you'd appreciate this quote, since it has to do with hair :p:: Joe Elliott: "We’re rock. It’s a vast difference [from metal]. AC/DC are metal, Van Halen aren’t metal. And neither are they a hair band, but they’ve got hair. If it’s the difference between being a hair band and a bald band, yes, we’re a hair band. But musically, we’re a British rock band, end of story." If it's the difference between being a hair band and a bald band, then they're a hair band! :laughing: I like these Def Leppard guys. |
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mmm
I like them especially the first three album
1: forgot the title (looks like apatch targeting a building) 2: Hysteria really really loved it!! 3: the third one so-so but could listen the problem is that here in London, you can not really say 'I love Def Leppard' it is not cool....but I like them !(I still listen to them but with a headphone |
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Pyromania
yeah! is that the one Photograph in right ?? shame brits dont like them much...they are from Leicester England (like Arctic Monkeys) |
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Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. Personally, I think they are one of the best bands from the 80's era.
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But, yeah, there's a certain charm and humor to the band, which seems to come largely from Joe. And the vegetarian stuff is a surprise to me - an article says Rick Allen made the switch right after the accident. Maybe the band members are weirder and smarter than many other rock stars. Working with Mutt Lange (who also produced Heartbeat City by The Cars and 4 by Foreigner) definitely was a great choice - and the decline began when he backed away. The though-provoking lyrics probably is the best point above. Not that Def Leppard ever wrote great lyrics, but in the heyday they were consistently interesting and usually humorous or genuinely emotional. Or, once in a while, philosophical, like "Gods of Wars," which is my favorite post-Pyromania album track. With almost all songs - "Make Love Like a Man" being a silly exception - worded mysterious enough to invite repeat listens. More on that later. |
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NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :( Now that I've looked up the circumstances surrounding their arrest (My Def Leppard and Well-known domestic violence victims), and have read Joe Elliott's account of what happened in both of those cases (Metal Hammer: Def Leppard ), I think with sympathy and sadness that sometimes people don't learn how to express their anger without being physical, and that if the couples were able to patch up the problems and Rick Allen and Joe Elliott fixed their issues and learned how to control themselves, then I'm glad for them and their families. I would not want to hold their past behavior against them now. I also wonder if rock stars are more likely than the general public to resort to physical violence because they are so used to the power of being listened to on stage and expressing their emotions physically. I have always assumed that music supports peaceful human interactions...but maybe, in the case of some music, it riles people's psyches up and makes them *more* likely to choose to act out physically when they feel anger. * * I like the thought of lyrics being worded mysteriously such that they invite repeat listens. If lyrics are too mysterious and they make no sense, then they become uninteresting to me; but if they are too obvious and easy to understand, then unless they are emotionally compelling they might become boring. * * I hadn't realized that a music group's producer could make such a difference in their music choices and success (which reflects that I really don't know what a "producer" does). I just read about John "Mutt" Lange and see that his hand is deep in many musicians' creations besides those of Def Leppard, Foreigner, and the Cars: "He produced albums for artists such as AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Boomtown Rats, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Outlaws, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Billy Ocean, Savoy Brown, The Corrs and Nickelback. He also wrote and produced songs with Canadian country singer and ex-wife Shania Twain. Her 1997 album Come on Over, which he produced, is the all time best selling album by a female artist. Lange's latest project is a song on Lady Gaga's second studio album Born This Way, titled 'You and I.'" Robert John "Mutt" Lange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I wonder what knowledge Mutt Lange has about how the public responds to music that has helped his clients' songs be so successful. The article says he co-wrote most of the songs on Def Leppard's High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria, and Adrenalize. I didn't realize that producers are also sometimes co-writers of the music. I think Mutt must have good knowledge about how to make "hits." Either that, or he is good at recognizing bands that have the music potential already there, and so then he helps them accentuate it. Hey...get this...I also learned that Mutt Lange is a strict vegetarian! :p: (Our slow plot to take over the world is working. ;)) * * * EDIT: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :( I just learned that Def Leppard's former producer, vegetarian Mutt Lange, had a full-out affair with wife Shania Twain's friend, denying the whole thing until they were discovered! On the positive side, Shania later married Fred, the friend's former husband, and Shania and Fred (below) seem very happy. :) http://img2-3.timeinc.net/people/i/2...wain-3-320.jpg |
Strange but true: when I first went online today, a story about Vivien Campbell getting divorced randomly popped up.
I thought the two domestic violence incidents happened earlier, but I correctly recalled they were within a short time of each other. I had no heard any explanations before. Maybe it's because musicians generally are volatile and very stressed at times - or maybe domestic violence is no different in frequency or reasons than for regular people. As for producers' influences, many are musicians themselves, so it isn't rare that they help with lyrics. The problem with Mutt Lange is that he isn't good with lyrics. Maybe he boosted the humor in some Def Leppard songs, but I doubt he increased their depth. On Waking Up the Neighbors, many of the songs co-written with Lange are some of the worst of Bryan Adams' career, though mostly lyrically respectable songs were the album's singles. |
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It's always hard to know when people divorce what is really going on, since there can be stresses unseen by the public such as verbal or physical abuse...but from the *outside* it simply looks like Vivien (love that name!) fell in love with a younger woman and so is dumping his wife. It's strange that Vivien Campbell is filing for full custody of their two children. That doesn't sound in their best interest, and so I'm suspicious of his motives. Well, at least Phil Collen still seems happily married (now)! Relationship breakdowns are hard, so I wouldn't wish them on anyone. I'm curious now about Bryan Adams' songs co-written with Mutt Lange. Ah, "Everything I do I do it for you" and "All For Love" are two. I'm guessing that the frequencing of domestic violence perpetrated by rock stars is no greater than that of the general population, but it just seems to me that it is because rock stars get so much press and attention (like from me, here, in this thread!). About Def Leppard's recent music: I read that Def Leppard rerecorded "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Rock of Ages" to retain control of their hits after a major disagreement with their ex-record label about the digital rights for their back catalog. Have you heard these recent remakes? I felt they were very well done but not quite as good as the original recordings because the remakes sound a little too clean and not quite as powerful, but they are still very interesting to hear (which you can do at this website): Def Leppard's New Versions of 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' and 'Rock of Ages' -- Double Premiere - Noisecreep * * * Quote:
Def Leppard should sing a song about Shania and Fred! A real love song, not one of their contrived ones. http://img.gactv.com/GAC/2011/01/06/...2_crop_v_e.jpghttp://cdn02.cdn.justjared.com/wp-co...-walk-fame.jpg |
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I dredged up some information on how Mutt Lange writes. Or at least how he did with Bryan Adams (who by the way sounds a little like Joe Elliot).
Bryan Adams Interview | Bryan Adams Anthology | Bryan Adams Songs Based on Mutt's work with Adams and Shania Twain, I'd say he maxes out at generic love songs and never makes lyrics great. Anyway, back to Def Leppard specifically, I'd heard of the remakes before, but had not listened to them, because I'm against all that. Joe Elliot's voice has deteriorated, and it's erratic. The "Rock of Ages" remake makes that too clear. The remake also lacks the musical layering that helped make old Def Leppard songs great. |
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