1983, for me personally, was an awful year. I thought after I posted last year’s Playlist: 1983, made up of songs from that year I’d put ’83 behind me… Then last week Billy Idol revisited his album from that year with Rebel Yell – Expanded Edition. And now Def Leppard has released Pyromania – 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, a four CD celebration of their landmark 1983 album. I figured when I posted my Playlist: 1984 made up of songs from that year of blockbuster albums, I was moving on from the early-80s and headed to the mid-80s. Now that Def Leppard has put out this Pyromania box I guess to paraphrase Godfather III, “Just when I thought I was out of 1983, they pull me back in…”

I have to admit it was only a small surprise to me that I have never posted about Def Leppard. I still like Def Leppard and have included their songs on several of my playlists, as recently as our Playlist: April Fools, but I’ve never written specifically about them or their music. I do have an awful memory associated with the song “Rock Of Ages,” but that doesn’t explain it. I asked the Rock Chick, who was a big Def Leppard fan back in the day and she admitted she doesn’t listen to them much anymore either. It could be that Def Leppard fell into that category of music I outgrew, like the REO Speedwagon/Styx/Journey we were all force-fed by local radio back in high school (although I still have a fondness for the Steve Perry/Greg Rollie era of Journey, especially Captured). Admittedly, when Def Leppard were at their zenith they were more pop-metal (which I like better than the description “power pop”) or a term I like even better, metal-lite. As I got older, I got deeper into Black Sabbath (the Ozzy years) and Judas Priest and they were so much heavier. And I started getting into punk which was edgier and much more raw than the Leppard’s rock n roll. This 40th anniversary edition of Pyromania has been a nice chance to reconnect with Def Leppard’s music.

I was actually a bit of an early adopter on Def Leppard. Their debut album On Through The Night generated two songs that got a lot of airplay on local radio and that we all loved, “Rock Brigade” and “Wasted.” Of course “Wasted” had the lyric “I’m wasted, stuck in a hole” that was somehow widely misinterpreted at my school as “I’m wasted, smoking a bowl.” All the young pot smokers loved that sentiment and more power to them out behind the school smoking cigarettes. I actually saw Def Leppard live on their tour in support of that album when they opened for Ted Nugent and the Scorpions. What a triple-bill! It was my first rock concert (my first concert was actually comedian Steve Martin). Even though I was in the cheap seats, I could see that these guys were young. They looked liked guys that might have gone to my high school only a few years earlier than me, who had forgone college for rock n roll.

I actually had their second album High N Dry on cassette for a while…but someone absconded with it. I repurchased it on CD many, many years later. It was the first album that saw the Leppard team with uber-producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange who had earlier done AC/DC’s Back In Black. I really liked High N Dry because despite the presence of Mutt, it still maintained a raw, unpolished, hard rock edge to it. “Let It Go,” the title track, and of course “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” were all favorites, especially that last track.

Two albums in and quite a lot of time on the road saw Def Leppard poised for hard rock superstardom by 1983. They went into the studio determined to come out with a hit and Pyromania delivered. The songs on that album had more hooks than a fisherman’s old hat. They generated four hit singles from the album. But in the process of making Pyromania, I’ve always felt that the band let Mutt Lange…well, take over. He got co-writing credits on every song. The band had also gone through a lineup change – guitarist Pete Willis was replaced by Phil Collen… Willis played a lot of rhythm parts before being fired, and Collen overdubbed solos. Collen seemed to be a better foil for Steve “Guitar” Clark, the other Leppard guitarist who later drank himself to death which isn’t as cool as it sounds. Singer Joe Elliott, drummer Rick Allen, and bassist Rick Savage all remained. Lange not only produced the album, you might say he “overproduced” the album. He effectively smoothed out all of the rough edges from these guy’s music. It was so polished you could almost see your reflection in the music.

All of that said, this was a huge album. Everybody liked Pyromania. By smoothing out the rough edges Lange made Def Leppard a rare beast in 1983 – a hard rock band that even the ladies liked. They had become like wine coolers – while I preferred whiskey, I always bought wine coolers because my date would drink them. I know that sounds like criticism but I mean it as a compliment. Listening to this was a great reminder of how great this band was. The singles “Photograph,” the aforementioned “Rock Of Ages,” “Foolin'” and “Too Late For Love” (which I always considered an explicit sequel to “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”) were all great songs. They were everywhere. The tracks on this album were severely overplayed which might also be a reason I haven’t listened to it in a long time.

Returning to this album I was struck by how much I liked the deeper cuts from the album. “Billy’s Got A Gun” and “Rock Rock (Till You Drop)” jumped out at me as classic rock songs. I had a roommate named Tim for a while and he was huge “Die Hard The Hunter” fan, and listening now, I can understand why. I can’t believe “Comin’ Under Fire” wasn’t the fifth single. “Stagefright” actually musters some of that old, raw-boned Def Leppard sound. This album is an absolute classic, from start to finish. There’s not a dud on the album. I think if you played this for any fan they’d be able to identify every track on the record. Only a classic record has that kind of reach.

In the box set for the 40th anniversary, you get the original, classic Pyromania on disc 1. It may come in Atmos or Dolby or some crazy audiophile mix but I’m not an audiophile. Give me a beer and crank up the stereo and I’m fine. Sure, I love something that sounds good, but there’s a limit.

On disc 2 of the box, for the first half of the disc, you get a bunch of – and forgive this phrase – useless demos. They’re all instrumental, early recordings of riffs. There’s an outtake, “You Can’t Do That,” also an instrumental. I like demos and early version of tracks, but I can honestly say I can’t imagine anybody returning to re-listen to any of this. Finally, at the end of disc 2, after suffering thru demo Hell, we get a “rough mix” of Pyromania. It may have been the power of suggestion, but the “rough mix” versions of the songs did sound a little harder edged than the originals and I enjoyed that version of the album. Joe Elliott’s vocals were a little farther up in the mix on the “rough mix,” perhaps he did the rough mix? I don’t think anybody will choose the rough mix versions over the originally released ones, but it’s nice to have.

Disc 3 and 4 are both discs of live material from the tour in support of Pyromania in 1983. Disc 3 is taken from Germany. I was really surprised at how great these guys sounded live. My only complaint is that disc 3 is only six (6?) songs? Where’s the rest of this performance? Why would you only put 6 songs on a disc? Perplexing…

I will say the concert from disc 4 which was taken from a show in L.A. is a great listen. I think it’s been previously released so it’s not really “new” or “recently unveiled” or anything. I’m also sure it was widely bootlegged before it was released in the 30th anniversary edition of this record. With Mutt Lange not standing over their shoulders, the Leppards rock pretty damn hard. Elliott is of fine voice and the band actually does really nice backing vocals. The crowd heartily sings along. Collen and Clark’s guitar rock with abandon. I really like that songs from the first two albums also play heavily on the setlist. They pull great performances of songs from all three of their albums. This would have definitely been the tour to see Def Leppard on. Frankly, I’m not sure why they didn’t release this as a stand alone live album while they were in limbo between Pyromania and 1987’s Hysteria. But then, the 80s weren’t really a heyday for live albums…

If you didn’t pick up the 30th anniversary, I’d have to say the live concert from L.A. on disc 4 is worth the price of admission here. If you’ve never purchased Pyromania, I can only ask if something is wrong with you? This is classic, 80s, metal-lite that literally ruled the world. Turn this one up loud, put on your leg warmers, crack a wine cooler and get down, baby!

Cheers!