I can’t believe it’s been 30 years of Def Leppard’s landmark album ‘Hysteria’ (because it’s such a fresh record). In fact, there’s a ton of metal anniversaries this year. 1987 was a great year for heavy music. Albums from Whitesnake, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Faster Pussycat, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Dio, Dokken, Aerosmith, Kingdom Come, KISS, Testament and countless other bay area thrash bands. But none of those band’s albums (Exception: Guns N Roses) would go on to achieve the legendary, commercial and genuine success of Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’. Sure there are some major contenders in there: Motley’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’, Aerosmith’s huge comeback ‘Permanent Vacation’, and of course, Whitesnake’s legendary self-titled album. But Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’ triumphs as a record that broke down walls and cemented a genre for the rest of the ages.
Similar to Guns N Roses’ ‘Appetite for Destruction’, ‘Hysteria’ was not an over night success. In fact, it took about a year for the album to explode. And the band was worried as all hell. They spent an unheard of four to five million on the album. Spent four years writing, producing and perfecting with nothing commercially to show for it (two million in the hole). Admittedly releasing ‘Woman’ as the first U.S. single was not the smartest move. But even after releasing three more singles the album still wasn’t moving. Not until ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ started playing in strip clubs and discos. Then BAM! It was the catalyst that the band needed for others to buy and recognize the brilliance of the album. And the people bought, and bought and bought until certified triple Diamond by the RIAA.
I remember getting the album 15 years ago at the age of 13. It was absolutely my favorite album at the time. It sort of went by the wayside along with other bands from the era as I began to explore progressive and heavier forms of metal. But unlike many other albums, it was always still there. In fact, I’ve bought the album three times. Mostly because Def Leppard are smart business men. The album has been re-released twice now. And the first time around when they did the 2007 Delux remaster I was a little disappointed. I wanted a full audio of the ‘Live…In the Round, In Your Face’ concert recorded in Denver when the album blew up in 1988. The audio has never been released as a live album. Which I never understood because it would have solidified the band as not just a studio group. A stigma that’s always lightly been on their shoulders. Instead there was a bonus disc with some live tracks from the European comeback tour of ’86, extended versions of the singles and little taste of the audio from the Denver concert with ‘Woman’. Which are great. And the super long version of ‘Rock of Ages’ with their little breakdown of their favorite songs in the middle section is sublime.
But nothing in the Def Leppard story holds a candle to that hot, magical night in the foothills of the Rockies. And now it’s been released with the 30th Anniversary of ‘Hysteria’ in it’s entirety. The live album itself is totally worth the 30 dollars. You can feel the triumph of the tour and the triumph of the record. All the hardships that they went through in the previous four years leading up to the explosion of ‘Hysteria’. It’s all there. And they deliver each song with passion, excellence and class, putting ‘Live…In the Round, In Your Face’ in my top ten live albums of all time. You’ve never heard ‘Gods of War’ and ‘Die Hard the Hunter’ delivered like this folks. IT JUST FUCKING ROCKS!! Enough to raise every hair on your body. And then you go, ‘Shit, this is the first tour when Rick Allen totally only has one arm behind the drums!’ It’s just such a special live album. Absolutely worth picking up. Especially if you’re a live album freak like me.
What are some of your favorite tracks from the ‘Hysteria’ album?
Even this song alone is worth purchasing the 30th anniversary.
The return of the thunder god!!
