1 	Let's Go 	5:02
2 	Dangerous 	3:26
3 	Man Enough 	3:54
4 	We Belong 	5:07
5 	Invincible 	3:46
6 	Sea Of Love 	4:04
7 	Energized 	3:23
8 	All Time High 	4:19
9 	Battle Of My Own 	2:42
10 	Broke 'N' Brokenhearted 	3:17
11 	Forever Young 	2:22
12 	Last Dance 	3:09
13 	Wings Of An Angel 	4:23
14 	Blind Faith 	5:35
15 	We Belong (Alternative Vocal Take) 	5:09
16 	Let's Go (UK Radio Edit) 	3:56

Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Rick Savage
Drums, Percussion – Rick Allen
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Joe Elliott 

There are two ways to look at an eponymous album by a band well into its fourth decade of existence: it's either a rebirth or a summation. In the case of Def Leppard's 2015 album -- their eleventh studio set, arriving a full seven years after Songs from the Sparkle Lounge -- the record is most certainly the latter, a nifty encapsulation of the group's range, obsessions, and ambitions. At 55 minutes, Def Leppard feels nearly as sprawling as the hour-plus Hysteria -- one of the first albums to ever feel specifically designed to fill out the confines of a CD -- but where that 1987 classic pulsates with the arrogance of a band hungering to conquer the world, this 2015 set is distinguished by the casual authority of a band who remain a band solely for the love of it. Unlike many groups with decades of experience under their belts, Def Leppard aren't particularly concerned with maturity, at least not in the conventional sense where they turn in fuzz guitars and heavy-booted stomps for sepia-toned reflections. They're still pledging allegiance to glam and heavy metal, favoring arena-sized riffs, and slathering their productions with vocal harmonies and guitars. While this self-production lacks some of the finesse Mutt Lange brought to the twin towers of Pyromania and Hysteria -- both are titans of the golden age of big-budget studios, while this is a relatively scrappy 21st century digital production -- this record can still dazzle with its pyramid of overdubs, intricate details that never sound fussy. Most of Def Leppard stays firmly within the band's wheelhouse -- muscular descendants of glitter alternating with power ballads -- and the group is confident enough to flirt with disco ("Man Enough," where Joe Elliott asks his object of affection if she's man enough to be his girl) and electronic beats ("Energized"), which is just enough to give this record an appealingly modern kick. This is a summation of where the band is now: they love the past, both their own and their inspirations, but they're not looking back, they're loving the life they live. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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  1. Women
  2. Rocket
  3. Animal
  4. Love Bites
  5. Pour Some Sugar On Me
  6. Armageddon
  7. Gods Of War
  8. Don't Shoot Shotgun
  9. Run Riot
  10. Hysteria
  11. Excitable
  12. Love & Affection
  13. Tear It Down
  14. Ride Into The Sun (1987 Re-Recording)
  15. I Wanna Be Your Hero
  16. Ring Of Fire
  17. Elected (Live July 1987 In Tilburg, Holland)
  18. Love & Affection (Live July 1987 In Tilburg, Holland)
  19. Billy's Got A Gun (Live July 1987 In Tilburg, Holland)
  20. Rock Af Ages (Medley) (Live July 1987 In Tilburg, Holland)
  21. Women (Live In Denver 1988)
  22. Animal (Extended Version)
  23. Pour Some Sugar On Me (Extended Version)
  24. Armageddon It (The Nuclear Mix)
  25. Excitable (Orgasmic Mix)
  26. Rocket (The Lunar Mix)
  27. Release Me (Performed By Stumpus Maximus & The Good Ol' Boys)

Rick Allen 	Drums
Phil Collen 	Guitar
Def Leppard 	Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer 
Joe Elliott 	Vocals 
Rick Savage 	Bass 
Bankrupt Brothers 	Vocals (Background) 

The emo kids who keep bands such as My Chemical Romance in business are probably barely aware of Def Leppard, but it was with the release of this album in 1987 that the Sheffield fashion disasters won the right to be counted among the seminal bands of metal. Idiotic as some of it was (opening track Women conveys the flavour of things: "One part love, one part wild/ One part lady, one part child/ I give you Women! Women!"), Hysteria contended that commercial tunefulness and bludgeoning riffs did not have to be mutually exclusive propositions. With 18m sold already, it has been remastered, and some makeweight B-sides and live versions added, both to capitalise on a surge of popularity in the US, where the Lep are currently on an arena tour, and to induce UK Lep-heads to buy it again. Nineteen years on, it still rocks - loudly and euphorically. ---Caroline Sullivan, theguardian.com

Where Pyromania had set the standard for polished, catchy pop-metal, Hysteria only upped the ante. Pyromania's slick, layered Mutt Lange production turned into a painstaking obsession with dense sonic detail on Hysteria, with the result that some critics dismissed the record as a stiff, mechanized pop sell-out (perhaps due in part to Rick Allen's new, partially electronic drum kit). But Def Leppard's music had always employed big, anthemic hooks, and few of the pop-metal bands who had hit the charts in the wake of Pyromania could compete with Leppard's sense of craft; certainly none had the pop songwriting savvy to produce seven chart singles from the same album, as the stunningly consistent Hysteria did. Joe Elliott's lyrics owe an obvious debt to his obsession with T. Rex, particularly on the playfully silly anthem "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and the British glam rock tribute "Rocket," while power ballads like "Love Bites" and the title track lack the histrionics or gooey sentimentality of many similar offerings. The strong pop hooks and "perfect"-sounding production of Hysteria may not appeal to die-hard heavy metal fans, but it isn't heavy metal -- it's pop-metal, and arguably the best pop-metal ever recorded. Its blockbuster success helped pave the way for a whole new second wave of hair metal bands, while proving that the late-'80s musical climate could also be very friendly to veteran hard rock acts, a lead many would follow in the next few years. ---Steve Huey, AllMusic Review

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1. Hellraiser (3:24) 
2. No Matter What (2:58) 
3. Rock On (2:57) 
4. Hangin’ On The Telephone (2:34) 
5. 20th Century Boy (3:45) 
6. Drive-In Saturday (4:28) 
7. Street Life (3:39) 
8. He’s Gonna Step On You Again (4:11) 
9. Waterloo Sunset (3:46) 
10. Little Bit O’ Love (2:43) 
11. 10538 Overture (4:35) 
12. Golden Age Of Rock ‘N’ Roll (3:36) 
13. Don’t Believe A Word (2:22) 
14. Stay With Me (4:30)
15. American Girl	(3:34)
16. Search & Destroy	(3:27)

Acoustic Guitar – Vivian Campbell (tracks: 1, 6, 8)
Backing Vocals – Phil Collen (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 12), Rick Savage (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 11), Vivian Campbell (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 11)
Bass – Rick Savage (tracks: all tracks)
Drums – Rick Allen (2)
Guitar – Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell (tracks: 1 to 13)
Lead Vocals – Joe Elliott (tracks: 1 to 13)
Saxophone – John "Bro" Campbell* (tracks: 1, 7, 8, 10) 

Def Leppard always had a streak of glam running beneath their heavy rock -- listen to "Armageddon It" or "Photograph" for proof -- so it's no surprise that when the quintet decided to record a covers album in 2006, they devoted it to the '70s glam and hard rock that inspired them to pick up their guitars and play. What does come as a surprise is that the resulting Yeah! is a sheer delight, a roaring rock & roll record that's their best album since Hysteria. Often, cover albums get bogged down in reverence or ambition, as artists either offer interpretations that are straight copies or fussy reinterpretations as they busily try to make a favorite song their own. That's not the case here. Def Leppard alternate between fairly faithful renditions of familiar classics like T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Badfinger's "No Matter What," or David Essex's "Rock On," to subtle reinterpretations where they make seemingly difficult covers seem easy and unmistakably Def Leppard. It's true on their streamlined, muscular take on Electric Light Orchestra's swirling, psychedelic "10538 Overture," but it's most notable on their remarkable reworking of the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," which now sounds like a power ballad from Hysteria without ever once sounding like it's an affront to the immortal original. This take on "Waterloo Sunset" works because it's informed by a palpable love of the original, and that love is apparent throughout this terrific record. But there are plenty of good covers albums that are fun merely because the band is having a good time. What makes Yeah! exceptional is that Def Leppard is reconnecting with the reason why they're even in a band by playing the rock & roll that inspired them in the first place. They're reinvigorated by this material, and by playing these songs, it's easier to appreciate what makes Def Leppard a great rock & roll band. Compare their versions of Free's "A Little Bit of Love" or Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word" to the originals -- they're not as big and bluesy as Free, but the huge riff that drives the song is a direct forefather of Leppard's powerful signature sound, and "Don't Believe a Word" hammers home that few bands built on Lizzy's twin guitar harmonies as well as this group did. But it's not just that these covers put Leppard's music in context; it's that they sound more like a genuine rock & roll gang than they ever have: listen to the truly raw take on the Faces' "Stay with Me," which may not be quite as sloppy as the original (how could it be?), but it's equally greasy and riveting -- plus, it's sung with raw gusto by guitarist Phil Collen, whose turn on the mic emphasizes that this is a sound of a true group. They still sound like Def Leppard -- there are still cavernous drums, huge guitars, and driving harmonies -- but they no longer sound as slick and calculated as they did on their albums after Hysteria; they sound alive and vigorous, making a convincing case that they're now their own best producers. If they could carry this sound and feel onto an album of originals, they would have a killer record, but saying that diminishes the accomplishment of Yeah!. It's a killer record in its own right, and more pure fun than anything yet released in 2006. Few bands could achieve an artistic comeback via a covers album, but as this glorious record proves, there are few bands like Def Leppard. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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1 	Rock Rock (Till You Drop) 	3:52
2 	Photograph 	4:12
3 	Stagefright 	3:46
4 	Too Late For Love 	4:30
5 	Die Hard The Hunter 	6:17
6 	Foolin' 	4:32
7 	Rock Of Ages 	4:09
8 	Comin' Under Fire 	4:20
9 	Action! Not Words 	3:52
10 	Billy's Got A Gun 	5:27

Bass – Rick Savage
Drums – Rick Allen
Guitar – Phil Collen, Steve "Steamin" Clark
Guitar [Backing Track] – Pete Willis
Keyboards [Other] – Booker T. Boffin
Lead Vocals – Joe Elliott 
Backing Vocals – The Leppardettes

While Def Leppard had obviously wanted to write big-sounding anthems on their previous records, Pyromania was where the band's vision coalesced and gelled into something more. More than ever before, the band's songs on Pyromania are driven by catchy, shiny melodic hooks instead of heavy guitar riffs, although the latter do pop up once in a while. But it wasn't just this newly intensified focus on melody and consistent songwriting (and heavy MTV exposure) that made Pyromania a massive success -- and the catalyst for the '80s pop-metal movement. Robert John "Mutt" Lange's buffed-to-a-sheen production -- polished drum and guitar sounds, multi-tracked layers of vocal harmonies, a general sanding of any and all musical rough edges, and a perfectionistic attention to detail -- set the style for much of the melodic hard rock that followed. It wasn't a raw or spontaneous sound, but the performances were still energetic and committed. Leppard's quest for huge, transcendent hard rock perfection on Pyromania was surprisingly successful; their reach never exceeded their grasp, which makes the album an enduring (and massively influential) classic. ---Steve Huey, AllMusic Review

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1 	Truth? 	3:01
2 	Turn To Dust 	4:22
3 	Slang 	2:38
4 	All I Want Is Everything 	5:20
5 	Work It Out 	4:50
6 	Breathe A Sigh 	4:07
7 	Deliver Me 	3:04
8 	Gift Of Flesh 	3:48
9 	Blood Runs Cold 	4:27
10 	Where Does Love Go When It Dies 	4:05
11 	Pearl Of Euphoria 	6:20

Bass Guitar, Guitar [Acoustic], Bass [Synth], Vocals – Rick Savage
Drums, Percussion – Rick Allen 
Guitar [Electric], Guitar [Acoustic], Dulcimer, Vocals – Vivian Campbell
Guitar [Electric], Guitar [Acoustic], Mandolin, Vocals – Phil Collen
Lead Vocals – Joe Elliott 

After the lackluster performance of Adrenalize, Def Leppard realized it was time to abandon their trademark wall-of-guitars sound. Jettisoning producer Mutt Lange -- who, admittedly, was busy producing his wife, country singer Shania Twain -- the group stripped its sound to the basics for Slang. There are very few layers-of-guitar effects on the album, just straight, crunching chords. Most notably, Rick Allen has returned to playing acoustic drums after playing an electronic kit for nearly a decade. The change in approach is apparent and welcome -- Def Leppard hasn't sounded so immediate since Pyromania. Furthermore, they decided to expand their musical vocabulary slightly, working elements of R&B and funk into the rhythms. Not all of the experiments work, but Def Leppard sound revitalized, particularly when they attack a straightforward rocker. Slang would have been even better if they had come up with a set of hooks that sounded as alive as their performance, but the album is a much-needed return to form for the group. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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