Disco de Def Leppard: “Hysteria: Deluxe Edition”

Def Leppard's Hysteria was their first album after the tragic car accident which left their drummer Rick Allen with one arm. Before this unfortunate incident, the band was riding high on the success of their first #1 album Pyromania which vaulted them to superstar status and made them the unquestioned kings of hard rock. But Def Leppard would not be denied. Using a custom made electronic kit, Rick Allen would continue to not only drum for the band but also become their inspiration. With producer Mutt Lange manning the boards, the band would alter their sound more towards a pop direction while still maintaining some of their metallic crunch. Lead singer Joe Elliott also toned down his vocals and began singing in a more intelligible and softer tone than his previous raspy voice ala Brian Johnson from AC/DC. As a result, the band did the near impossible. They released an album that would be even more successful than Pyromania spawning 6 huge hit singles. Also, worth noting is that this album helped revolutionize the music industry with both its glossy production and its album length at 63 minutes at a time when most albums were still around 45 minutes long. These aspects would lead to longer and more polished albums in general for most popular music.

The songs presented here are nearly all top notch with the best featuring catchy hooks that were instantly recognizable and stayed in your head for years upon hearing them. The tracks "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and the ballads "Love Bites" and "Hysteria" were huge hits and still sound great. "Armageddon It", "Animal", and "Rockit" were also top 20 hits and feature memorable riffs and catchy choruses. What really makes the album work though is that the some of the remaining songs were on the same level as the hit singles. "Don't Shoot Shotgun", the heavy rock of "Run Riot", and the catchy "Excitable" are all very strong tracks. Truth be told, the mid-tempo ballad "Love And Affection" was a better song than "Love Bites" or the title track and could have been another huge single if they chose to release it. "Gods Of War" is also a strong track featuring several memorable riffs and never gets repetitive or boring despite its 6 1/2 minute length. The opening track "Women" is also very good although it's carried more by its stellar production than its content. While I believe that Def Leppard peaked early on with the High N' Dry and Pyromania albums, this is still a prototype for pop-metal and the band would never come close to reaching these heights again. Highly recommended.

I've been a Def Leppard fan since their "Pyromania" album was released in 1983, but they've one-upped themselves with "Hysteria. This is by far their best album. Every song on the disc is great, and there are five songs, "Rocket", "Animal", "Love Bites", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", and the title track, that went on to be major hits for the band.

Led by Joe Elliot's great lead vocals, Def Leppard delivers a hard-driving style of rock and roll that the listener won't soon forget. It is remarkable that Def Leppard's drummer only has one arm, because you would never know it by listening to the great drum solos on each song.

I highly recommend this great cd. Listen to "Hysteria" and hear the absolute best from Def Leppard.

Def Leppard's Hysteria is probably the best rock album ever. And there is a reason for that; each and every one of the songs is a possible hit (maybe with the exception of Excitable) and the production could not be better. Six of the seven released songs were chart bending hits.

The songs hit home on the first listen and that is the point. The album opens with the moody classic 'Women' and then launches into the loud and bombastic, yet equally melodic, 'Rocket'. 'Animal' with its gloriously singalong chorus is followed by an incredibly touching and emotional ballad: 'Love Bites'. Def Leppard have never, and probably never will, write a ballad as timeless and mournful as 'Love Bites'.

Probably the biggest highlight of the album is the perfectly executed 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' which became an MTV favourite. The anthemic 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' is as loud and tongue-in-cheek as it gets. The lyrics are humorous and are delivered in an unparalled style by Joe Elliott ("You got the peaches, I got the cream" or "Do you take sugar? One lump or two?"). The loud drums, the throaty vocals on the verse and the musical interlude with its guitar solo all drip of pure sexiness.

The effervescent 'Armageddon It' never loses its sparkle. Neither does the energised 'Don't Shoot Shotgun'.' Run Riot' is just about the fastest rocker on the album and reminds us that Def Leppard are a metal band.

'Gods of War' is more a piece of music than a hit single. Although just as melodic and tuneful as anything else on the album, it really is a different kind of animal in comparison with the rest of the songs. The chorus is an absolute storm of vocal harmonies which could shake the very foundations of your house if played too loud! The title track is definately one of my favourites here. It's windswept verse and slightly anxious chorus make it incredibly compelling.

Overall, the album doesn't let the listener go for one minute. It certainly is a must have in any rock collection because the longer you wait before acquiring this album, the more time you are spending missing out the the great music that makes Hysteria.

I've always felt that Def Leppard peaked with their 1983 album Pyromania and that Hysteria, while a remarkably solid album, saw a tiny bit of a slide start to happen in the playing/songwriting department that would bottom out quickly by 1992's horrible Adrenalize.

When Hysteria originally came out in 1987, Def Leppard lost a lot of their older fans at the time who decried the band abandoning their metallic roots from the Pyromania days in favor of a more contemporary pop/rock sheen that they went in on Hysteria. I was initially disappointed with the album when it came out. But over the years, I have grown to like it. While I don't think it represents the band at the pinnacle of their songwriting/playing levels like on Pyromania, on its own, it is a really good selection of songs with only a few being filler-ish.

The actual album was composed of 12 tracks and at the time turned a lot of heads since it clocked in at 63 minutes. Vinyl was still pretty much the standard at this point (along with cassettes) so it was kind of unheard of to see someone cram so much music onto a record without sacrificing any sound quality. Record still usually only clocked out at 40 minutes max.

This album also spawned 7 singles in the U.S. with 6 of those going top 20 (Animal, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bits, Hysteria, Armageddon It, Rocket) and the 7th lead off single Women only breaking the top 80. It ended up selling 10 million copies just in the U.S. alone. This topped the 6 million that they sold with their prior album Pyromania. Hysteria will always stand as their commercial, if not critical, peak.

The tracks that haven't quite worked for me over the years are Love Bites, Don't Shoot Shotgun and Excitable. Pour Some Sugar on Me isn't that strong of a track in my opinion as well. They're not actually bad songs, they just don't seem to really go anywhere or do anything that jumps out at the listener in comparison to the rest of the tracks. The standout track for me actually is Rocket which in its original album form clocks in at 6 1/2 minutes and has a really cool extended jungle groove/drum break down in the middle in which the band has some fun with a style that was new to them at the time.

So as a whole, I still give the album 4 stars as it does feature mostly extremely strong material.

As for this 2 disc deluxe edition, I give this a resounding 5 stars.

On disc 1 you get the original 12 album tracks in crystal clear remastered sound. They also tacked onto disc 1 the 4 studio B-sides that were recorded/released at that point.

Disc 2 sees the band putting 5 live B-sides at the start followed up by 5 remixes of some tracks finishing up with a joke cover B-side that truly has to be heard to believe.

It comes with a deluxe booklet with tons of great vintage photos and a long and very insightful essay about the making of the album.

I really wish that they end up doing the same treatment with their 1983 album Pyromania and their 1981 breakthrough album High 'n' Dry at some point.

A must have for all Def Leppard fans.

First of all, I am turning 20 in march so this is not really a kid's review. This is my favorite cd, the best cd in the world, played by the greatest band in the world.

Women

(10/10)

The song is about women, much like the title suggests.

Rocket

(9/10)

This is the real version, not the crappy short version from the vault cd. The words that they say every now and then in the song are actually played BACKWARDS! They are saying "Fighting the gods of war" and recorded it backwards, sounds rather strange. Interesting song.

Animal

(9/10)

Pretty good song, especially the chorus.

Love Bites

(10/10)

This is one of def leppard's most popular songs. It can easily make an emotional person cry if they listen carefully to the deep meaning hidden in the lyrics. Good for slow dancing too, I might add.

Pour Some Sugar On Me

(10/10)

If you have never heard this song before, then you must have been asleep for the past 20 years because this is THE def leppard song, cuz everyone has heard it at one point or another, and almost everyone likes it. Lyrics are a bit R-Rated, but who cares? The guitar work here is incredible. Oh, and this is the original version, not the one from the vault cd. The only real difference between the two is that this one has a line spoken in slow motion before the song starts "step inside, right this way, you and me, hey hey".... and the one from the vault version does not have that.

Armageddon It

(10/10)

Awesome song! It can get you in a good mood within seconds. Random name, but do not judge a book by its cover or a song by its name!

Gods Of War

(10/10)

Incredible song, I have no idea why it did not make the cut on the rock of ages compliation, oh well. It talks about fighting wars, and it is hard to listen to this song without feeling good and confident afterward.

Don't Shoot Shotgun

(9/10)

It has a strange into, but then it gets good. A little weak compared to other songs on the disc, but it is still very good.

Run Riot

(10/10)

Now the cd picks up again. Fast paced and fun to listen to.

Hysteria

(10/10)

Oh my gosh, what a relaxing song! Def Leppard were musical geniuses (heck they still are!), they make music like this, and you think to yourself what the heck happened to music, it just does not sound this good anymore with newer groups! This is definately one of the best songs on the cd.

Exciteable

(8/10)

The weakest song on the cd. I never really liked it much, but it's not that bad. It just does not stand up to the rest of the disc.... and hysteria (the song) is a tough act to follow. Still great tho!

Love & Affection

(9/10)

Brilliant closer. Not as relaxing as Hysteria (the song), but a good way to end the greatest cd ever made.

Overall grade: A+

This cd is a masterpiece. It will truly stand the test of time, being almost 20 years old and still so popular. If only the great Steve Clark was still alive, then Def Leppard would have become even bigger rock legends than they already are. That aside, they are still the greatest band in the world.

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