Def Leppard Album: “Retro Active”

Wow! I am completely blown away by this album. How I ever missed is it till now I'll never know. It is really, really good. It's one of those albums you put in and right away you know you've got a classic. If your a fan of the Pre-Hysteria Def Leppard you will be thanking yourself for picking this up.

A half a dozen of the tracks rock as hard as any of the music they have ever released. Don't miss it!

Retro active, Def Leppard's compilation album of B-sides totally rocks, the songs are really heavy and the ballads are perfect, Desert song is an awesome opening song with an amazing guitar solo by Steve Clark and cool chorus, the song mostly tells a story about a person trapped in the desert. Fracured love the second song starts off soft but then gets really heavy, really cool song. Action is a song by a band called Sweet and leppard did a cover version and the song really stands out. Two Steps Behind is a really nice acoustic ballad that makes you want to sing along with the chorus. She's Too Tough is another song the band covered and is a fast rocker. Miss u In a Heartbeat is another really nice piano ballad and there is 3 versions of it on the album, GOD WHY SO MUCH!. Only After Dark is another cover song the band did, originally recorded by Mick Ronson it is a catchy melodic song. Ride into the Sun is a epic tune on the album, it was the first song the band ever committed to vinyl on their first ep, all they did was change some of the lyrics,but a really hard driving rock song. From the inside is a folky ballad telling about the pitfalls of herione use, probably the softest song on the album. Ring of fire is a cool heavy rock song with a really awesome guitar riff, (I wonder if the band got the title from Johny Cash?) I Wanna Be Your Hero is a ballad and a rock song mixed in one, alot like Too Late For Love. The last two songs on the album are electric versions of Two Steps Behind and Miss u in a heartbeat,both sound great. Listen for the piano only version of Miss U In a Heartbeat stuck at the very end.

Full points for honesty and integrity on this release. At the time it was put out a sizeable sticker on it proclaimed it wasn't a new album. Which was a nice touch. Also points to the band for having the guts to put this out when many people would of expected just another version of Hysteria - I mean not many bands clear the decks like this. Normally bands foist their 'b' sides and rarities onto fans in some sort of overpriced box set package but the Leps, like Megadeth and a few others, have put out a simple catch all disc.

As to the actual songs I'm not going to do a track by track synopsis but will point out a few salient tracks. Firstly there is the opener Desert Song which is certainly musically the heaviest thing to have come out of the band for a while. Fractured Love moves along nicely and in fact a number of the 'b' sides collected here are pretty handy tunes - Ring of Fire and Ride Into the Sun being two fairly well known tracks among Leppard enthusiasts. Sure, I Wanna Be Your Hero overdoes it on the cheese factor but there are upswings like the cover songs Action and Only After Dark.

Now before we get carried away lets get some perspective in here. And that means being honest and pointing out that yea and verily the ballads are rubbish. Every one of them which is weird given they've written a couple of good ones over the years, evidently the cupboard is bare in this department. Also some of the zest in these tunes would of been welcome on the Adrenalise album.

Brief yet useful liner notes complete this package which along with 1995's Greatest Hits album was a great way for the band to draw a close on the first decade and a half of their career and more ahead with a clean slate. For fans this is good stuff, for casual listeners perhaps the interest won't be there.

I thought most of the other reviwers summed it up really well, this album of B-sides and throw away tracks are better that most bands A-sides. This could have easily been a full length studio album all on its own. 'Fractured Love' is awesome, (what a guitar riff!) 'Desert Song' is fabulous, Steve Clark plays a great guitar solo. 'Ride Into The Sun' starts off with a piano intro and then fades into a roaring guitar riff.(very cool) There is an electric version of 'Two Steps Behind', and 3 versions of 'Miss You In A Heartbeat'. One of them is hidden at the end of the CD. Many of these songs were taken from the "Hysteria" writing and/or recording sessions, and a few are new tracks. I can't say what my fav song is, because I like them all. I've owned this one since the day it came out my senior year in high school. I've spent many, many excellent hours jammin' on this CD. Def Leppard is the band that inspired me to play guitar. This album has never got the credit that it deserves, and one listen will show you why. Joe Elliot & Co. continue to rip it up on this one. Do yourself a favor and get THE best album of 1993. ROCK ON!

I didnt know that these were b-sides until later. This is a good collection, and any Lep fan should already have it in their collection. Great songs on this album include Fractured Love, Action, Miss You In A Heartbeat, Ring Of Fire, and others. This album will rock the pants off you. Take my advice and get this album.