I'm just now getting into Def Leppard....Hysteria. Am freaking out at the sheer skill of Steve Clarke and Phil Collen. Did you ever listen to this on headphones?
I don't think I've ever heard a pair of better guitarists in this genre. Absolutely freaking amazing. Contrasting styles too--Collen doing the technical arpeggiated stuff, Clark lending the 'feel'
Sorry had to share.
I think I'm in a time warp or something.....
Moderator: cgarges
Ahhh... to be a teenager again, driving around with the windows down in the winter,
heater blasting, my friend jeff chain smoking, just cranking the FUCK out of that
record. Great memories for sure.
I too am coming back around to realizing the sheer genius of that album.
The mixes are like glorious train wrecks, when I hear them on the radio I just freak
out at the sonic spectacle. There's no way I can't listen! Seriously, as insanely
proposterous as something like "pour some sugar on me" is, it also kicks crazy
amounts of ass. That is some insane record production the likes of which we may
never quite hear again...
....yes, I am a giant ex rocker geek. There, I said it.
heater blasting, my friend jeff chain smoking, just cranking the FUCK out of that
record. Great memories for sure.
I too am coming back around to realizing the sheer genius of that album.
The mixes are like glorious train wrecks, when I hear them on the radio I just freak
out at the sonic spectacle. There's no way I can't listen! Seriously, as insanely
proposterous as something like "pour some sugar on me" is, it also kicks crazy
amounts of ass. That is some insane record production the likes of which we may
never quite hear again...
....yes, I am a giant ex rocker geek. There, I said it.
There is an interesting "Classic Albums" documentary of the making of that record. It's on VH-1 Classic all the time, and available as a DVD at Wal-Mart.
That was sort of where I drew the line with Def Leppard, as that record was so so so so so slick and the guitars had that over-chorused "Rockman" tone that the first 3 records didn't have as much of.
Still, a blueprint of how to make a smash hit rock record in the mid-80's. Check out The Cars' "Hello Again" and Shania Twain's "Still the One" if you want to be able to spot which backup vocal overdubs are probably Mutt.
Roger
That was sort of where I drew the line with Def Leppard, as that record was so so so so so slick and the guitars had that over-chorused "Rockman" tone that the first 3 records didn't have as much of.
Still, a blueprint of how to make a smash hit rock record in the mid-80's. Check out The Cars' "Hello Again" and Shania Twain's "Still the One" if you want to be able to spot which backup vocal overdubs are probably Mutt.
Roger
Rodgre -
agreed on the slickness and the chorusy guitars. Why did chorused guitars have to
ruin the sound of rock guitar back then? EVH is the perfect example to me... man,
what killer tone before the chorus and what shitty tone ever since.
And mutt's vocals are totally obvious once you realize that he's singing on all those
backups and you can pick out his voice. Awesome! There was a crazy thread a
few years ago on gearslutz all about him and his background vocals. They sound
insane partially because of his production techniques, but mainly 'cause his voice
just sounds like that!
agreed on the slickness and the chorusy guitars. Why did chorused guitars have to
ruin the sound of rock guitar back then? EVH is the perfect example to me... man,
what killer tone before the chorus and what shitty tone ever since.
And mutt's vocals are totally obvious once you realize that he's singing on all those
backups and you can pick out his voice. Awesome! There was a crazy thread a
few years ago on gearslutz all about him and his background vocals. They sound
insane partially because of his production techniques, but mainly 'cause his voice
just sounds like that!
Steve Clarke had a nice touch and definitely rates high in the 'feel' department for me.
Slick productions, but clearly some long hours and refinement was put into it...I respect that.
(this is coming from someone who avoided this kind of stuff like the plague when it came out!!)
Oh well. It's kind of like a quick buzz though--not like it's a very deep album or anything. Pretty delicious for what it is.....probably the ultimate antithesis of 'indie rock' I guess
Slick productions, but clearly some long hours and refinement was put into it...I respect that.
(this is coming from someone who avoided this kind of stuff like the plague when it came out!!)
Oh well. It's kind of like a quick buzz though--not like it's a very deep album or anything. Pretty delicious for what it is.....probably the ultimate antithesis of 'indie rock' I guess
-
Jeff White
- ghost haunting audio students
- Posts: 3263
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:15 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Contact:
I read somewhere that Steve was so messed up with alcohol at that time that Phil did a lot of the guitar stuff, and then all of the guitar stuff for the follow up when Steve was no longer with us.
I listened to Hysteria about five yrs ago with engineer's ears and couldn't believe how over-produced it is, even for the 1980s. Holy crap. It's like an aural Twinky.
I can't wait to pick up High and Dry again. That record kicks ass.
Jeff
I listened to Hysteria about five yrs ago with engineer's ears and couldn't believe how over-produced it is, even for the 1980s. Holy crap. It's like an aural Twinky.
I can't wait to pick up High and Dry again. That record kicks ass.
Jeff
-
these_go211
- pushin' record
- Posts: 235
- Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2004 12:53 pm
- Location: san jose, ca
man you brought me back to some great memories. thanks! hysteria came out when i was living in the dorms at ucsd. good times. i remember listening to that cd over and over and over.
i bought pyromania (again) about 6 months ago and high and dry (again) about 5 years ago. used to have them on cassette. hysteria was one of those cds that after my initial love for it wore off i absolutley HATED it for about the last 15 years. but after hearing the title song on the radio again i fell back under it (and mutt lange's) spell. that's on my purchase list for sure.
i'd heard too that steve clark was real messed up by the point. what a waste. he created some tasty rifs, greast songs, and let's face it, he just looked so damn cool wearing his guitar even lower than page did in his prime.
+1,000 on high and dry kicking major booty!
i bought pyromania (again) about 6 months ago and high and dry (again) about 5 years ago. used to have them on cassette. hysteria was one of those cds that after my initial love for it wore off i absolutley HATED it for about the last 15 years. but after hearing the title song on the radio again i fell back under it (and mutt lange's) spell. that's on my purchase list for sure.
i'd heard too that steve clark was real messed up by the point. what a waste. he created some tasty rifs, greast songs, and let's face it, he just looked so damn cool wearing his guitar even lower than page did in his prime.
+1,000 on high and dry kicking major booty!
-
Jeff White
- ghost haunting audio students
- Posts: 3263
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:15 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Contact:
-
drumzealot
- alignin' 24-trk
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:44 am
Re: I think I'm in a time warp or something.....
It's already been said in so many words...Fieryjack wrote:I'm just now getting into Def Leppard....Hysteria. Am freaking out at the sheer skill of Steve Clarke and Phil Collen. Did you ever listen to this on headphones?
I don't think I've ever heard a pair of better guitarists in this genre. Absolutely freaking amazing. Contrasting styles too--Collen doing the technical arpeggiated stuff, Clark lending the 'feel'
Sorry had to share.
Jesus...If you think Hysteria was good, then On Through the Night, High-n-Dry or (a bit less so) Pyromania may inspire you to sell all your gear and purchase a mid-70's muscle car with complementary mirrored shades. A Pontiac Formula Trans Am perhaps.
I always viewed Hysteria as their sell-out album.
-
JGriffin
- zen recordist
- Posts: 6739
- Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:44 pm
- Location: criticizing globally, offending locally
- Contact:
Re: I think I'm in a time warp or something.....
yeah, even Pyromania is better than Hysteria. Pyromania is a freaking good record for pop metal--before it was called pop metal.drumzealot wrote:It's already been said in so many words...Fieryjack wrote:I'm just now getting into Def Leppard....Hysteria. Am freaking out at the sheer skill of Steve Clarke and Phil Collen. Did you ever listen to this on headphones?
I don't think I've ever heard a pair of better guitarists in this genre. Absolutely freaking amazing. Contrasting styles too--Collen doing the technical arpeggiated stuff, Clark lending the 'feel'
Sorry had to share.
Jesus...If you think Hysteria was good, then On Through the Night, High-n-Dry or (a bit less so) Pyromania may inspire you to sell all your gear and purchase a mid-70's muscle car with complementary mirrored shades. A Pontiac Formula Trans Am perhaps.
I always viewed Hysteria as their sell-out album.
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
-
MoreSpaceEcho
- zen recordist
- Posts: 6677
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 11:15 am
Ahhh, yes, Pyromania. I recently replaced my cassette of that one with a vinyl copy that I got for a dollar. I can't find my copy of On Through the Night. My wife and I have a running argument as to which album is better: Hysteria or Pyromania. I was into Hysteria for about 15 minutes after it came out. It was too slick and I got bored with it fairly quickly.
Pyromania is, of course, formulaic. I realized this at 11 years old when it came out. It was actually the first album I heard where I recognized that almost all the songs fit the exact same formula, which is why the singles really stand out on that album. They're the only ones that either don't fit or transcend the formula. I still love the guitar solo on"'Foolin'," especially the way it drops back into the bridge with that arpeggiated part in the background. Good stuff. Plus, "Rock of Ages" had one of the coolest, cheesiest videos of all time. Cheesier even than an Iron Maiden video, if that's possible.
Pyromania is, of course, formulaic. I realized this at 11 years old when it came out. It was actually the first album I heard where I recognized that almost all the songs fit the exact same formula, which is why the singles really stand out on that album. They're the only ones that either don't fit or transcend the formula. I still love the guitar solo on"'Foolin'," especially the way it drops back into the bridge with that arpeggiated part in the background. Good stuff. Plus, "Rock of Ages" had one of the coolest, cheesiest videos of all time. Cheesier even than an Iron Maiden video, if that's possible.
Yes! Or, at least the one I'm thinking of, "Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story" is pretty great. It's a biopic, not a documentary. Anthony Michael Hall plays Mutt. The actors playing the band are actually somewhat less attractive than the real band, which is unusual for any fictionalized docudrama situation.MoreSpaceEcho wrote:is the 'hysteria' classic albums DVD worth watching? i'd be well into it, but some of those DVDs are a joke...'back in black' i am looking in your direction.
One of the best moments in the film:
MUTT: Listen to me guys, you’ve got it. Okay? You don’t know where it is, how to find it, or how to polish it once you do find it, but you got it. Now, I’m the map. I can’t, you know, create the treasure. I'm just gonna guide you to it.
JOE: Crikey!
MUTT: Listen, we can make this real easy, okay. You guys wanna gold record? Lots of people have gold records, man…they’re called one hit wonders. I’m trying to build a career for you guys. We need one big hit single on this record and then 2,3 4, 5 on the next.
SAV: Oh, get real!
MUTT: Guys, its your choice. You can be shooting stars or you can be in it for the long haul. It’s up to you. You can be the Stones or you can be The Knack. (In a British accent) Either way, you can’t tell me this isn’t fun!
ALL: It’s not fun!
All laugh.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 35 guests