Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Def Leppard-High and dry, 1981

Sometimes it doesn't take long for your opinion of a band to take. My opinion of Def Leppard changed in just over an hour as that is the running time of their 1987 release "Hysteria". I heard "Hysteria" once and that was enough to make think they had lost the special sound that was present in the previous three releases. I didn't completely write them off, but they never have redeemed themselves after that either. However I think that it's quite possible that over the years I have forgotten just how good those early albums were. I was listening to "High and dry" not long ago and it didn't take long for it to sink in that this band really was something special at one time. The first album was good and the next two were great. These guys were once a very good hard rock act, probably one of the best commercial hard rock bands going between 1980 and 1983. Commercial can also be read as accessible which is not a sin if it is done right and I think this band did it right during their first three albums. I often go back and forth between this album and Pyromania as to which is their best. Ultimately I might give "Pyromania" the slight edge, but this album showed a lot of maturity over the debut "On through the night". High and dry might even be their most rock album as it's far more raw than anything else they did. Some people forget that they came out of the legendary New Wave of British Heavy metal(NWOBHM) scene that emerged around 79-80 and stayed fairly strong until say 83-84. This scene also included Iron Maiden, Saxon, Venom, Raven and piles of others. The majority of the bands from that scene were heavier than Def Leppard yet Leppard and Maiden would be the only bands from the scene to really achieve mega success. I remember listening to "High and dry" on my walkman while I was laying on my bed as a freshman in high school and just thinking how great of an album was. I also remember seeing a local band called Spellbound cover "Let it go" from this album and they butchered it. I thought that band should have turned in their equipment for wronging such a great song. After 25 years this album is still solid. It's not perfect because very few albums are, but I can't come up with any major gripes right now. Favorite tracks are Let it go, Switch 625, You got me runnin', On through the night and Mirror, Mirror (Look into my eyes).

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was only one.

7:52 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Winter-Welcome. I was 11 when it was released, but didn't hear the album until I was 14.

4:01 AM  
Blogger David Amulet said...

This is up there as one of the best. I, too, go back and forth between it and Pyromania as Leppard's best.

-- david

4:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You said it all. I agree with assesment of Def Leppard. They were a great band at one time until Hysteria. If you look at the album sales, they did something right but I think most of their early metal fans jumped ship after Pyromania. I also think that their new album, Yeah! is a contender for worst album name and cover of 2006.

5:39 AM  
Blogger On My Watch said...

mainly i love these guys because they were a 'my era' new band. They were talented, good looking, and I wasn't going to hell for listening to them. :)

I go back and forth between Pyro and High, but I like almost every song on High. So, is the mark of a good album pretty good songs overall, or maybe 5 out of 10 great ones? I don't know. But I think I like this one better because they were still semi under the radar. Popularity does strange things to people...Hysteria.

5:49 AM  
Blogger Crazy Dan said...

Def Leppard is making a come back down here in the Amariilo area thanks to Sunday Morning Revival on the Rock 108. It crazy to have high schools drive by jamming out to some old school metal.

7:13 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

David-Normally my favorite is whateve one I listened to last.

Fred-The cover for YEAH! looks like some bad musical soundtrack. I know they couldn't help the four years between Pyromania and Hysteria, but I think a lot of fans moved on during that time and found heavier bands instead.

Onmywatch-I like the new watches on your avatar. They were still under the radar at this time. I would have loved to have seen the Def Leppard/Ozzy tour in 81-82 while Randy Rhoads was still alive.

7:17 AM  
Blogger :P fuzzbox said...

High and Dry was a great album but Pyromania was an anthem for the age.

7:30 AM  
Blogger Mike said...

I got into Def Leppard because of Pyromania and it will always be my favorite Leppard album. I agree that Hysteria was a huge commercial sucess for them in the 80's, but if I hear "Pour Sone Sugar on Me" on more time!!!!

7:48 AM  
Blogger Linda said...

I was a huge Def Leppard fan back in the day. I love both High N Dry and Pyromania, but when I listen to Pyromania, I am instantly taken back to middle school and early high school.

I was okay with Hysteria, but did not like it as much as Pyromania. From that point on their sound became too clean and overproduced.

I had tickets to see them on the Hysteria tour. This was mainly because I was so obsessed with them at the time. Unfortunately, due to the show being postponed, I never got to see them. I was so sad at the time.

They have been in the area in the last few years and I have known people that have gone to see them. I would never go to see them now as they are just not what they used to be. Maybe they count on the original fans wanting to hold on to our early years. For me Def Leppard will always be part of my 80's experience and nothing more.

8:25 AM  
Blogger On My Watch said...

thanks.

I did get to see Ozzy a few times, but not with Randy. I loved Randy the most. Yes, that would've been great.

9:08 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Crazy Dan-That's good to know that some radio stations are still playing good music.

Fuzz-I think they have both held up well too.

Mike-Pour some sugar me turns my stomach.

Linda-They probably still would have put on a good show during the Hysteria tour. You're right that now they are probably just tired and old.

Vicious Steve-That's cool about them playing all of High and dry live.

7:14 PM  
Blogger earlcapps said...

High and Dry was a really good album. All three up to Pyromania were great.

Hysteria was a decent album, but you could tell they were headed in a new direction, away from their hard-rockin' roots.

High and Dry was an all around good album, so it's hard to say I have a favorite song, but I hate that the re-re-issue didn't have Me and My Wine.

7:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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1:39 PM  
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10:48 PM  

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