Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.79 You Save: $12.19 (61%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
Free Music Review: It's a good problem to have-not getting every cool Leppard song on here
Hit: 5 Stars
I echo the sentiments of many in here in saying that 'Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection' gets it right with the double-disc expanded treatment.
This album is a fantastic one for the die-hard Leppard fan as well as the casual fan,who now have a chance to check out how diverse and solid these guys are as a band and as songwriters.
Every album is represented and the mixing-up of the tracks (as opposed to going chronological) works and works really well.
Such as the cheeky linking of 1980's "Rock Brigade" followed by 2002's "Now".. I like that. That's pretty cool..
Or the 1-2-3-4 punch opening disc two with "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)"('Pyromania' '83),"Let It Go","High 'N Dry (Saturday Night)" (both from their second album,'81's 'High 'N Dry') and "Too Late For Love"(also from 'Pyromania'). Killer; simply killer...
As for disc one bring a "rehashed" 'Vault' with two extra tracks to pad it out ("Heaven Is" from '92's 'Adrenalize' and the brilliant "Switch 625" from 'High 'N Dry'): 'Vault',their original greatest hits album from 1995 is being discontinued. 'Rock Of Ages' is the better of the two best-of's anyway...
Def Leppard has withstood the test of time and the reason for that is that they are a great band who writes killer songs,they sing like a dream and this best-of is a testimony to that.
True; roughly 60 or so percent of this album is culled from their first four albums (1980's full-length debut 'On Through The Night' and their Mutt Lange-produced trilogy of 'High 'N Dry','Pyromania' and 1987's mega-huge 'Hysteria') . The "Steve Clark years",as it were. It still saddens me that this gifted riff-meister/immensely-charismatic presence is no longer with us (Steve passed away in January 1991.)
But,in true Leppard fashion,they carried on and are still at it. What can keep them down at this point? They bandied around their brother Rick Allen (drums) when he suffered an amputated left arm in a driving accident on 12/31/84,they endured and triumphed with the arduous sessions for 'Hysteria' and found the strength to carry on with the great Vivian Campbell on guitar after the untimely passing of Steve Clark. Their story is in itself rather heroic.
As is the music.
As their are only approx. 150 or so minutes on two discs,so some songs are going to be overlooked...
Being a huge,lifelong Leppard fan,I wouldn't have minded the inclusion of "Me And My Wine"(a surprise hit in 1984 that originally was a b-side to the "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" single in 1981; the original 'High 'N Dry' version as well as the re-released remixed version that was a single and included on a now out-of-print '84 edition of 'High 'N Dry'...),"Stagefright" from 'Pyromania',as well as the simply-epic and all-too-prescient "Gods Of War"(being played live on their current co-headlining tour with Bryan Adams...) from 'Hysteria' . Or the original '87 b-side version of "Tear It Down" , which later cropped up on 'Adrenalize' in re-recorded form.
Other than that,the song-selection is spot-on and goes to show how diverse and criminally-underrated these guys still are even after selling two back-to-back ten-million-albums-sold in the U.S. alone with 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria'.
The material from '96's radical departure 'Slang' holds up well. Especially the title track. "Promises" from the follow-up 'Euphoria' is a great Mutt Lange co-written gem and "Now" (from their last album,2002's 'X') is a grower... A rather spry cover of Badfinger's "No Matter What"(the new track on this best-of) is a real treat. Rather stripped down joys going on there.
Indeed; the inclusion of "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" once again followed by the superb Steve Clark showcase "Switch 625" is everything a fan could want! Great to see such songs as 'High 'N Dry''s "Mirror,Mirror(Look Into My Eyes)" and "Another Hit And Run" as well as the way-cool 'On Through The Night' numbers "Rock Brigade" and "Wasted" being included in here as well,along with practically every charting Leppard song going. A great compilation and better than its UK counterpart 'The Very Best Of Def Leppard'.
Def Leppard is a band that has survived trends and the music has held up.
A satisfying compilation,for sure.
Def Leppard rocks,man.
Do yourself a favor eventually and at least check out -or buy- any of the first four albums and take it from there. Having 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria' are musts for any self-respecting fan of music; rock or otherwise...
Enjoy.
Free Music Review: excellent, its the lepp's but could have been improved
Hit: 5 Stars
I am a def lep fan of the highest level. I have been a fan since the days of Pete Willis (which is the most under rated player) credit has not been given to him which in my opinion is a total rip off. He was a major part of the guitar work that built def leppards sound (i.e. On Through the Night, High n Dry, Pyromania). It was he along with the great Steve Clark that wrote all those great guitar tracks.
I'm not trying to disrespect Phil Collen(who later replaced him) but Collen has always been given credit for the pyromania album, which he did not do, it was Willis and Clark that did the writing and guitar work not Collen. Collen replaced Willis after the recording had been done because of alcohol problems. He went on the Pyromania tour but was never responsible for the recording of Pyromania or writing any of the songs. In saying that I do want to point out that Collen is a very good guitar player and has played a major role in def lep, but Willis deserves credit where credit is due.
Ok now for the review of the album, all in all this a very good compilation of this great band Def Leppard. My only complaints are some of the song choices. I will outline where I disagree
ON Through The Night (the choices of songs I agree with are rock brigade which I feel is one of their best songs, but wasted I would not have included, I would of instead added satellite and maybe even overture.
HIGH N DRY (this I agree for the most part, only thing I would have done different is I would have added Lady Strange and Me and My Wine. I find it really weird they wouldn't of added Lady Strange, which in my opinion is one of leps best songs ever.
PYROMANIA (my only disagreement here is why in hell would they not add COMIN' UNDER FIRE or ACTION! NOT WORDS. Like hello guys, what were you thinking. Those songs were among their best.
HYSTERIA (here I agree with their choices, although including edited versions of songs instead of the originals is very puzzling to me. Why would you put edited version of songs on a best of? I can understand this with Pour Some Sugar On Me cause its a better version but with Rocket why?
ADRENALIZE (here they omitted some songs that was quite puzzling, why is their no Making love like a Man or I wanna touch you, not to mention TONIGHT or WHITE LIGHTNING. Their choice of omitting those songs is quite weird to me.
RETRO ACTIVE (here my only problem is to not have the electric versions of TWO STEPS BEHIND and MISS YOU IN A HEARTBEAT which in my opinion are better then the acoustic. I would have also added RING OF FIRE and I WANNA BE YOUR HERO.
VAULT (here I have no complaints)
SLANG (I do have complaints for this one, although I feel this is probably one of def leps worst albums it did have some classic songs that are no where to be found. Songs like, BREATHE A SIGH and also 2 of their best songs, BLOOD RUNS COLD and WHERE DOES LOVE GO WHEN IT DIES.
EUPHORIA (I didn't really like this album that much, the best song in here is Promises which they did include.
X (now here is where I really disagree with what allot of def lep fans say. Allot don't like X, I disagree I feel it did have some great ballad songs on it, I definitely wouldn't have put NOW which should have been avoided, but to omit LONG LONG WAY TO GO, LET ME BE THE ONE, UNBELIEVABLE, GIRL LIKE YOU, these songs in my opinion should have been their.
The only other thing I really don't agree with is why didn't they throw us any thing new? Like other versions of songs like live versions or something, something with a new twist would have been nice. Other than that it is a very good collection of def lep at their best. The best collection out there. Welcome to the best hard rock band ever.
Free Music Review: R.I.P. Steve Clark!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was really disappointed with Vault and the import of Best Of not having Switch 625 which is done by the legendary guitarist, Steve Clark! Steve Clark is one of the best guitarists in history and I do miss him! Out of all the instrumental songs I've heard I must say that Switch 625 is my all time favorite because Steve Clark really shows talent and I am so thrilled to have a greatest hits with this masterpiece!
Def Leppard is my favorite band of all time and they were also the first metal/hard rock band that I got into in the very early 90's. The very first song that got me into them was Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad and now it's my 2nd favorite rock ballad of all time next to Love Bites. Def Leppard are such a unique band and no album of theirs sounds exactly alike. Even between Hysteria and Euphoria, you can hear differences. And I love how Def Leppard do these epic songs like Gods Of War, Die Hard The Hunter, White Lightning with 2 guitar solos, and Paper Sun! My all time favorite song from them is Pour Some Sugar On Me and I always find myself dancing and singing along to it, it's so awesome! I love both versions of the song, the video edit and the album version, it would have been so cool if for this greatest hits 2 CD set for the Leps to have both intros from both versions before the actual song began. Like you would hear "Step Inside, Walk This Way, You And Me Babe, Hey Hey" and then right after hear that part in the intro to the video edit and then the song would begin. I know it would take some editing but it would be cool to have a special version of the song but of course the "Step Inside" part would have to be first! But the video version which is on this CD is awesome and since I own almost all the Leps CD's including Hysteria, I'll live.
I have heard every single song from this CD, and there's not one song that I don't like. There are a few like Slang which I might not like as much but I still like it. This is the ultimate collection of Def Leppard songs you could ever want, especially because of Steve Clark's masterpiece, Switch 625! I love that song so much that I'll put it on repeat and listen to it over and over again. Now don't get me wrong, I do like Vivian Campbell as well but I got to admit, I hear a lot more uniqueness in the songs with Steve Clark. Another favorite of mine is Women, I totally love the way Joe Elliott sings in this song!! I just totally love Joe's vocals! I know he's not an opera singer but I love his voice and I will be honest, he's got the best voice out of all the rock/metal vocalists ever!!! His voice is so sexy, another reason Def Leppard is my favorite!!
Another thing that I love about every greatest hits compilation they have put out is they don't put the songs in any particular order and I love it that way! I find that when they're all mixed up, it's a surprise as to what song comes next, you never know what's coming! And I love the album cover with the U.K. flag on it, gotta love those Brits! This whole collection is awesome and any true Def Leppard fan or rock fan should not leave this masterpiece out of their collection!
Free Music Review: One Of The Best Anthology's Yet
Hit: 5 Stars
In reviewing the 25 year history of Def Leppard it was quite the treat to listen to this Anthology piece. Entitled "Rock Of Ages" after one of their biggest hits this 2 CD set contains 35 tracks from their long and prosperous musical career. In an instant I felt that you cannot go wrong with a CD that gives you this much music for the dollar. Especially when many bands place these items on the shelf and load them with new songs or the selection of real hits is limited. I feel that the fans that have followed the group from the very beginning will enjoy this the most for there is a large amount of emphasis placed on the bands first three releases. Most prominently figured and almost an expectation is the album "Pyromania". The record broke ground for Hard Rock music and back in 1983 it achieved a chart position of #2. This is impressive since we were just coming off the Disco craze and Rock music was again taking hold based on that new thing we were calling "MTV". Seven tunes from this album are present but there are also many of the staple tracks from "High & Dry" and "Hysteria". It seemed you could not turn on this music video channel (as it really did play videos once) and not see Def Leppard in every half hour of broadcast.
Included is a full-color booklet which is loaded with photos from over time but also each track has a commentary from the band on what was on their mind at the time. I really liked the addition of this, as it gives you a clearer look into the workings of this great band. There is also many tracks from the later albums but by that time I had moved on from Leppard and left it to newer fans, I stuck with the first 4 CD's (which were vinyl albums at the time) as their newer music delved too much on the commercial for me. However, it did not stop the band as legions of supporters still came out in droves to see them. There is also a new track from the forthcoming "Covers" CD, which while good, should have been left for another classic piece perhaps from "On Through The Night" like "Hello America".
The lineup has remained Joe Elliot, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Vivian Campbell and Rick Allen for many years now and it seems as though there is no sign of letting up yet. Two new releases are planned and a US Tour with Bryan Adams is in the works. I think there is something for everyone on the CD, and especially those who want to return to a time of no downloaded music, or personal computers, simple dividing lines of the musical genres and no American Idol to watch. Reality TV was the news and the 80's were getting set to be taken over by Metal and Hard Rock. It was an interesting time and this CD helped me recall a lot of that. Thanks guys.
Free Music Review: Best career spanning mix of Britain's Def Leppard
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BAND: Joe Elliot (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Steve Clark (R.I.P. - guitar), Pete Willis (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), Rick Allen (drums & percussion).
THE DISC(S): (2005) 35 tracks on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 155 total minutes (disc-1 at 77:08 minutes, and disc-2 at 77:58). Included with the discs is a 22-page booklet chock full of band photos, brief statements on each song by one or more of the band members, a 2-page intro from writer Dave Ling (Classic Rock & Metal Hammer magazines), song titles/credits/times, what songs came from which albums and the year released, and thank you's. This compilation follows the band's career from 1980-2005. All songs written by Def Leppard members (with Mutt Lange on several), except "No Matter What" by Bad Finger's Pete Ham. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Mercury Records / Island.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: On Through The Night (2 songs), High And Dry (6), Pyromania (7), Hysteria (7), Adrenalize (3), Retro-Active (2), Vault (1), Slang (2), Euphoria (2), X (1), Oh Yeah (1: pre-released).
COMMENTS: Great collection of songs from one of Britain's all-time best rock bands (perhaps their best during the 1980's). "Rock Of Ages" makes their prior best of "Vault" obsolete (every song from "Vault" is here). There is another compilation called "Best Of (a 2004 import) which is also very good, but hard to find. "Pyromania" was the band's global break through in 1983 and 7 of it's 10 songs are here on "Rock Of Ages". Next best is "Hysteria" with 7 of 12 songs represented. Song selection for the most part is dead on. The staple hits are ALL here - including "Bringing On The Heartache", "Photograph", "Love Bites", "Animal", "Rock Of Ages", "Foolin'", "Too Late For Love", "Hysteria", "Two Steps Behind", etc. Only a few tunes are missing... most notably one of their concert/fan favorites, "Gods Of War". Lesser songs were perhaps deserving - like "Ride Into The Sun", "Stagefright", "Run Riot" and even the more recent pop hit "Four Letter Word" from "X"). I also feel their debut "On Through The Night" was cheated with only two songs here (where is "Hello America"?). Looking for one of their studio albums - go with "Pyromania" first, then "Hysteria". Looking for a great Def Leppard overview - look no further than "Rock Of Ages". Classic set of discs (5 stars).