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Ranking the albums of my three favorite bands (Part 1): #3 Def Leppard

I thought I'd take some time away from the crazy world of politics and write about one of my loves, one of the things which helps keep me reasonably sane despite the before-mentioned craziness - music. I have a wide range of likes when it comes to music. Growing up, my mom preferred to listen to oldies, while my dad opted for classic rock, and my family in Michigan listened to, what else, but Motown. My brother involved himself in jazz band, introduced me to some alternative rock bands. A few friends of mine enjoyed rap and/or country. Through it all, I've come to enjoy at least a few songs from every genre, including country, which is without question my least favorite style of music. Even so, though, I can't help but feel like rock 'n' roll runs through my veins. I loved it when I was a child and my dad played: Boston, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Aerosmith from his record player, and I've been hooked ever since. While I love rock of all stripes, though, my three favorites bands are, without question, Muse, Marilyn Manson, and Def Leppard (with Green Day and Pearl Jam rounding out my top 5). My first rock concert was a Def Leppard in-the-round performance on December 22nd of 1992 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium - a show I'll never forget. Marilyn Manson's thought-provoking quotes, lyrics, and imagery paid dividends for me growing up, and my eyes were opened both before and during a performance of his I witnessed on February 8th of 1998 in Omaha, Nebraska. The mayor of the city at the time told parents to not allow their kids to see Manson live, which prompted two of my friends' parents to refund their tickets, and prompted me to write the mayor and express my displeasure with his attempt of garnering free publicity by spreading falsehoods. He was impressed with my writing skills, and well, the rest is history. As far as Muse goes, as an American, unfortunately, I didn't stumble upon them until 2008 after I moved to Ohio, but I've been hooked on their music for 8 years, have been wowed three times by their one-of-a-kind spectacles, and have done everything I can to spread word about them to others in this country. Yes, 17 years after they released their first album, six records later, and some still haven't heard of them. So, given all of that, I thought I'd rank my three favorite bands' albums in descending order, starting with #3 Def Leppard and closing with #1 Muse:

Def Leppard
11) (2002): This is the least Def Leppard-sounding album to date. Granted, the Leps have included pop in their music long before this album was released, but X is the first time the band went full pop, and it resulted in an album I rarely listen to, if ever. That's not to say the album is awful by any stretch of the imagination. There are some catchy pop songs, like "You're So Beautiful," "Four Letter Word," and "Torn to Shreds," as well as some decent ballads, "Unbelievable" in particular. However, the sound just doesn't gel as well as in other albums. One positive from this record is that it contains arguably the most personal lyrics in the band's history. If you're a Def Leppard fanatic like I am, then I'd recommend giving this record a gander. If you're a newbie to the band, however, it's the last album I'd tell you pick up at Best Buy on your way home from work.

Best tracks: "You're So Beautiful," "Four Letter Word," "Scar"

Worst tracks: "Gravity," "Cry"

10) Slang (1996): This is by far and away the most unique album released by the British rock legends. While X is the least-sounding Leps album in the band's history, Slang is the most experimental-sounding Leps album. You can listen to Def Leppard's six previous albums all the way through, think you have mastered their sound, but then once you start listening to Slang, there's a good chance you're immediately greeted by a WTF expression. Slang comes across as incredibly raw, experimental, with some Indian and industrial influences being heard/felt throughout. While this album feels much more cohesive than X and I respect the band trying to broaden their horizons, 20 years later, and I still haven't warmed up to it a great deal. If anything, I'd say I appreciate this album, and "Deliver Me" is pure ear candy if there ever was such a thing.

Best tracks: "Deliver Me," "Gift of Flesh," "Blood Runs Cold"

Worst tracks: "Truth?," "Where Does Love Go When It Dies"

9) Euphoria (1999): This is a mixed bag if there ever was one for Def Leppard. When '80s hair metal went to the wayside in favor of grunge rock, the Leps, like many other such bands, struggled to subtlely adapt to the times without losing their identity. They went from Def Leppard-esque rock on Adrenalize and Retro Active in 1992 and 1993 respectively, but then followed that up with an experimental alternative album in 1996 entitled Slang, which didn't impress as far as sales numbers go. So they decided to throw all of their ideas in a hat and came up with Euphoria. The album includes everything from electro pop ("Back in Your Face") to instrumentals ("Disintegrate") to old school Leps ("Promises") to arguably one of their best songs of all time ("Paper Sun"). This album has some great tracks, but comes across as more of a transition, identity-finding record than a complete album. There isn't much flow and it's difficult to listen to the whole thing all the way through anymore, but unlike with X, there are some definite standouts on Euphoria, "Paper Sun" in particular, which may very well be my favorite all-time song from the band.

Best tracks: "Promises," "Paper Sun," "Day After Day"

Worst tracks: "All Night," "It's Only Love"

8) Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008): After six long albumless years, the Leps released Songs From the Sparkle Lounge. The album plays like a hybrid of Def Leppard's early '90s work and their post Slang records, with some experimental touches added in for good measure. Songs like "Go," "Hallucinate," and "Bad Actress" bring back sounds from Adrenalize, while "C'mon C'mon" sounds like it may have belonged on Euphoria, and "Tomorrow" would have been fated for X had it been written earlier. In conjunction with that, the Leps add in a little country to the mix with the song "Nine Lives," and pay an ode to Led Zeppelin with the song "Love" - my personal favorite off the album. All in all, the album is superior to their three previous efforts, providing a touch of the band's past, a glimpse of what's in store for their future, but also showcasing a lack of certainty when it comes to identity and direction.

Best tracks: "Love," "Hallucinate," "Come Undone"

Worst tracks: "Cruise Control," "Gotta Let It Go" (sounds too similar to modern-day Bon Jovi for my comfort)


7) On Through the Night (1980): Here's where it all started for Joe Elliott and the gang - 1980's On Through the Night. The older I get, the greater appreciation I have for this album. In saying that, being the fact it's the band's first album, the overall sound quality is lacking when compared to their ten other albums. That doesn't detract from the supreme guitar-playing skills of Steve Clark, however. The intro to "Wasted" gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. As is often the case with debut albums, this is the rawest-sounding record to date for the Leps. It comes across like the band recording a live concert from their garage. It's hard, heavy, and raw through and through, climaxing with the perfect epic close of "Overture," my favorite track off the album. This is where it all started, and I'm so glad it did.

Best tracks: "Rock Brigade," "Wasted," "Overture"

Worst tracks: "Sorrow Is a Woman," "Rocks Off"

6) Def Leppard (2015): Def Leppard's most recent effort, a self-titled record, is their best album in 22 years, and is something they can feel proud about if they decide to stop releasing new material. The first half of the album is decent enough, as it provides throwback sounds of "Hysteria" with "Let's Go," "Dangerous," and "Invincible," along with an experimental song in "Man Enough" and a crowd-pleasing rocker in "Sea of Love." The back half of the album is excellent, though. Outside of "Energized," the other seven songs are some of their best in recent memory. "All Time High" and "Broke 'n' Brokenhearted" are fun rockers. "Battle of My Own" and "Last Dance" are solid ballads, showing Elliott can hit notes not even Lep fanatics knew he was capable of. "Forever Young" shows an edge and contemporary touch I haven't heard from the band in quite some time, if ever. "Wings of an Angel" may be the band's best song in over two decades. Then, like Def Leppard did to close their first album, On Through the Night, with the perfect epic closer, "Overture," the band did similarly here, with the song "Blind Faith." No, this album doesn't rank as one of the band's best ever, but it's their best since 1993, and provides the British rock legends a drop-the-mic opportunity if they want to exit the stage.

Best tracks: "Forever Young," "Wings of an Angel," "Blind Faith"

Worst tracks: "We Belong," "Energized"

5) Adrenalize (1992): This is where the post-Steve Clark version of Def Leppard truly started. Five years removed since their last record, going through Clark's death, as well as drummer Rick Allen's accident, which left him with one arm, the band was ready to come on the scene again and rock the world. Being born in '81 and being only six at the time Hysteria was released, this was the first Def Leppard album I heard, which opened me up to the rest of their albums. This was also the tour where I witnessed my first rock concert in general, let alone Def Leppard concert (I've since seen them three other times). So perhaps I'm slightly biased toward Adrenalize due to all of that. In any case, while it may lag behind some of the band's earlier albums, it's fun, underrated, and features some of Def Leppard's best ballads in history - the epic "White Lightning" in particular. The Leps had been through a lot since the release of Hysteria in '87 and this album made a grand statement that, no matter the quantity or severity of the hardship(s), Def Leppard would persevere. After five long years, Joe Elliott asked the world with the opening track, "Do you wanna get rocked?" Yes, yes we do.

Best tracks: "Make Love Like a Man," "Tonight," "White Lightning"

Worst tracks: "I Wanna Touch U"

4) Retro Active (1993): Here is what I believe to be the most underrated Def Leppard album. This collection of B-sides is A-quality from start to finish, from "Desert Song" to the different versions of two of the band's best ballads of all time, "Two Steps Behind" and "Miss You in a Heartbeat."Outside of those two songs and "From the Inside," the album is upbeat, rockin', classic Def Leppard. If you're a Leps fan and have yet to stumble upon this disc, I can all but promise you won't be disappointed!

Best tracks: "Fractured Love," "Two Steps Behind," "Miss You in a Heartbeat"

Worst tracks: "Only After Dark"

3) Hysteria (1987): From a commercial standpoint, this is the band's greatest album bar none. The first six songs are all ubiquitous on the radio, especially: "Rocket," "Animal," "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," and "Armageddon It." That's not even including the title track, which also became a hit single. Hysteria was the turning point for the band. Prior to this album, Def Leppard was mainly a hard rock band. They combined more pop to their sound in the albums following this one. Hysteria was kind of the center piece to those two directions - between raw hard rock and more commercialized pop-rock. The album is undoubtedly a classic, but perhaps partially due to the seemingly constant replaying of some of its songs on the radio, I rank it below these next two albums...

Best tracks: "Women," "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me"

Worst tracks: "Don't Shoot Shotgun," "Love and Affection"

2) Pyromania (1983): Here's the second biggest smash success for the band, and in my mind, the second best album overall. The only semi-weak track, in my opinion, is "Die Hard the Hunter." Outside of that, Pyromania is stacked full of hit singles like "Foolin'" and "Rock of Ages," and underappreciated tracks like "Too Late For Love" and "Billy's Got a Gun." This is a pure rock album through and through, featuring plenty of grand beats, rockin' riffs, Elliott-esque wails, and no ballads. In my mind, this is one of two perfect 5-star albums by the band, but it falls just a hair short of the top spot.

Best tracks: "Photograph," "Too Late For Love," "Billy's Got a Gun"

Worst tracks: "Die Hard the Hunter"

1) High 'n' Dry (1981): Here it is, my favorite all-time Def Leppard album - High 'n' Dry. The album wasn't as big of a commercial success as either Pyromania or Hysteria, respectively, but to me anyway, that's part of its appeal. This album contains so many hidden gems, the chances of tiring out on one of them due to radio overkill is less than the chances of winning the lottery by playing Candy Crush. The only song off this album you'll hear on the radio at all is "Bringin' On the Heartbreak." Outside of that classic tune, High 'n' Dry is jam-packed full of raw and edgy-sounding rock songs, yet more polished than those heard on On Through the Night. "Let It Go," "Another Hit and Run," and the title track provide a perfect intro to the album, before things slow a touch with the before-mentioned "Bringin' On the Heartbreak." Then comes one of my favorite instrumentals/guitar solos of all time, as Steve Clark provides goosebump-worthy riffs on "Switch 625." The guitar intro on "Lady Strange" is, for lack of a better word, killer, as well. "Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)" is another rocking song, this time with a darker edge. That's not even touching on the rockers "On Through the Night" and "No No No." If it weren't for the less-than-stellar "You Got Me Runnin'," I'd call this a perfect album. Even with that average song, though, it's, without question, a 5-star album, and in my mind, the best Def Leppard record of all time.

Best tracks: "Another Hit and Run," "Bringin' On the Heartbreak," "Switch 625"

Worst tracks: "You Got Me Runnin'"

My Ultimate Playlists
Trying to include at least one song from every album in the playlists, here are my ultimate Def Leppard playlists, listed in descending order, with my very favorites presented last:

Playlist #4
1) "Stagefright" - 3:45 (Pyromania - 1982)
2) "Ride Into the Sun" - 3:12 (Retro Active - 1993)
3) "Tomorrow" - 3:35 (Songs From the Sparkle Lounge - 2008)
4) "Broke 'n' Brokenhearted - 3:17 (Def Leppard - 2015)
5) "Ring of Fire" - 4:42 (Retro Active - 1993)
6) "It Don't Matter" - 3:21 (On Through the Night - 1980)
7) "Action! Not Words" - 3:49 (Pyromania - 1983)
8) "Hallucinate" - 3:17 (Songs From the Sparkle Lounge - 2008)
9) "Invincible" - 3:47 (Def Leppard - 2015)
10) "From the Inside" - 4:16 (Retro Active - 1993)
11) "Goodbye" - 3:36 (Euphoria - 1999)
12) "Run Riot" - 4:39 (Hysteria - 1987)
13) "She's Too Tough" - 3:40 (Retro Active - 1993)
14) "Armageddon It" - 5:24 (Hysteria - 1987)
15) "Answer to the Master" - 3:14 (On Through the Night - 1980)
16) "On Through the Night" - 5:06 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
17) "Hysteria" - 5:55 (Hysteria - 1987)
18) "Unbelievable" - 3:59 (X - 2002)
19) "All I Want Is Everything" - 5:20 (Slang - 1996)

Playlist #3
1) "Rock Rock ('Til You Drop)" - 3:55 (Pyromania - 1983)
2) "Go" - 3:21 (Songs From the Sparkle Lounge - 2008)
3) "I Wanna Be Your Hero" - 4:29 (Retro Active - 1993)
4) "Animal" - 4:05 (Hysteria - 1987)
5) "Scar" - 5:00 (X - 2002)
6) "Rocket" - 6:38 (Hysteria - 1987)
7) "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)" - 3:27 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
8) "Disintegrate" - 2:51 (Euphoria - 1999)
9) "Love Don't Lie" - 4:46 (X - 2002)
10) "Blood Runs Cold" - 4:27 (Slang - 1996)
11) "Miss You in a Heartbeat" - 4:04 (Retro Active - 1993)
12) "Personal Property" - 4:21 (Adrenalize - 1992)
13) "Hello America" - 3:28 (On Through the Night - 1980)
14) "Action" - 3:40 (Retro Active - 1993)
15) "Promises" - 4:00 (Euphoria - 1999)
16) "Four Letter Word" - 3:08 (X - 2002)
17) "Excitable" - 4:19 (Hysteria - 1987)
18) "Tear It Down" - 3:38 (Adrenalize - 1992)
19) "Blind Faith" - 5:33 (Def Leppard - 2015)

Playlist #2
1) "Rock of Ages" - 4:08 (Pyromania - 1983)
2) "Rock Brigade" - 3:09 (On Through the Night - 1980)
3) "Forever Young" - 2:22 (Def Leppard - 2015)
4) "Torn to Shreds" - 2:57 (X - 2002)
5) "Bad Actress" - 3:04 (Songs From the Sparkle Lounge - 2008)
6) "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" - 4:33 (Adrenalize - 1992)
7) "Billy's Got a Gun" - 5:56 (Pyromania - 1983)
8) "Day After Day" - 4:37 (Euphoria - 1999)
9) "Come Undone" - 3:33 (Def Leppard - 2015)
10) "Foolin'" - 4:34 (Pyromania - 1983)
11) "Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)" - 4:08 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
12) "Let's Get Rocked" - 4:56 (Adrenalize - 1992)
13) "Two Steps Behind" - 4:17 (Retro Active - 1993)
14) "Lady Strange" - 4:39 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
15) "Photograph" - 4:08 (Pyromania - 1983)
16) "Wasted" - 3:45 (On Through the Night - 1980)
17) "Gift of Flesh" - 3:48 (Slang - 1996)
18) "Let It Go" - 4:43 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
19) "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - 4:27 (Hysteria - 1987)

Playlist #1
1) "Another Hit and Run" - 4:59 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
2) "Deliver Me" - 3:04 (Slang - 1996)
3) "You're So Beautiful" - 3:31 (X - 2002)
4) "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" - 4:34 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
5) "Love" - 4:18 (Songs From the Sparkle Lounge - 2008)
6) "Make Love Like a Man" - 4:16 (Adrenalize - 1992)
7) "Love Bites" - 5:47 (Hysteria - 1987)
8) "Tonight" - 4:03 (Adrenalize - 1992)
9) "Too Late For Love" - 4:27 (Pyromania -1983)
10) "Wings of an Angel" - 4:23 (Def Leppard - 2015)
11) "White Lightning" - 7:03 (Adrenalize - 1992)
12) "Fractured Love" - 5:08 (Retro Active - 1993)
13) "Women" - 5:42 (Hysteria - 1987)
14) "Switch 625" - 3:04 (High 'n' Dry - 1981)
15) "Paper Sun" - 5:27 (Euphoria - 1999)
16) "Overture" - 7:44 (On Through the Night - 1980)

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