It's really rare for me to love just about every single song on any album. I really do cherry pick most of the time and so when something is good all the way through, I remember it. I'm currently working on something that requires quite a bit of research on the mid-80's so I ordered a bunch of old magazines off of Ebay to take me back in time. The best way to get into the right mindset seems to be a combination of forgetting what I think I already know and reading what was actually written way back then. Yesterday I was flipping through a copy of Rolling Stone from 1987 and came upon a piece on Def Leppard.
Now, flash forward 30 years and we already know that their Hysteria album is considered to be one of the best rock albums in history. It went 12x platinum and spawned 7 singles over the course of about 18 months. To this day, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" remains a rock party anthem that nearly everyone seems to know the lyrics to. Ironically, the album's producer, Mutt Lange set out to help the guys create the rock equivalent of Michael Jackson's Thriller, meaning that nearly every track on it could be released as a successful single. Mission accomplished.
But back in 1987 when Hysteria was first released, Def Leppard had no clue of what was really to come. Instead all that the guys knew for sure is that it took them three years to complete the album and that no one deserved the amount of bad luck that they had to persevere through in order to complete the record. It was during this time that drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm after a car accident and had to learn how to play all over again, using his left foot and pedals. That crisis was the clincher and from it the title Hysteria was born. The media was all over the group at the time of Allen's accident and it was the one word that seemed to sum up their lives.
I still love nearly every song on this album and at least half of them have a specific memory attached. While Hysteria is not my favorite track, it is a great one, especially knowing a bit of the back story.
Here's what's included on the new reissue!
Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’ Super Deluxe Edition
CD One (Remastered Hysteria)
“Women”
“Rocket”
“Animal”
“Love Bites”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Armageddon It”
“Gods Of War”
“Don’t Shoot Shotgun”
“Run Riot”
“Hysteria”
“Excitable”
“Love And Affection”
CD Two
“Tear It Down” (B-side)
“I Wanna Be Your Hero” (Retro Active)
“Ride Into The Sun (Retro Active)
“Ring Of Fire” (B-Side)
“Women” (Radio Edit)
“Rocket” (Lunar Mix) (Radio Edit)
“Love Bites” (Radio Edit)
“Hysteria” (Radio Edit)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Radio Edit)
“Armageddon It” (Radio Edit)
“Release Me” (Stumpus Maximus)
Classic Album – Hysteria (BBC Radio Documentary)
CD Three
“Rocket” (The Lunar Mix – Extended Version) (B-Side)
“Armageddon It” (The Nuclear Mix) (12″ Single)
“Animal” (Extended Version)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Extended Version)
“Excitable” (The Orgasmic Mix) (B-Side)
“Rocket” (Lunar Mix) (B-Side)
“Rock Of Ages” (Live) (B-Side)
“Love And Affection” (Live) (B-Side)
“Billy’s Got A Gun” (Live) (B-Side)
CD Four: In The Round, In Your Face (Live)
“Stagefright”
“Rock! Rock!” (Till You Drop)
“Women”
“Too Late For Love”
“Hysteria
“Gods Of War”
“Die Hard The Hunter”
CD Five: In The Round, In Your Face (Live)
“Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”
“Foolin'”
“Armageddon It”
“Animal”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Phil Solo”
“Rock Of Ages”
“Photograph”
DVD One
“Rocket” (TOTP)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (TOTP)
“Animal” (TOTP)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Brit Awards)
“Women” (Promo Video)
“Animal” (Promo Video)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Promo Video)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (US Version Live)
“Hysteria” (Promo Video)
“Love Bites” (Promo Video)
“Rocket” (Promo Video)
“Armageddon It” (Live) (Promo Video)
DVD Two (Classic Albums)
“Introduction”
“Animal”
“Hysteria”
“Rocket”
“Love Bites”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
Bonus Material
“Initial Recordings of Animal”
“Rick Gets Hysterical”
“Hysteria” (Acoustic Performance)
“Drumming – Return to The Status Quo”
“The Album According to Joe”
“Sugar Stripped Down”
Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’ Super Deluxe Edition
CD One (Remastered Hysteria)
“Women”
“Rocket”
“Animal”
“Love Bites”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Armageddon It”
“Gods Of War”
“Don’t Shoot Shotgun”
“Run Riot”
“Hysteria”
“Excitable”
“Love And Affection”
CD Two
“Tear It Down” (B-side)
“I Wanna Be Your Hero” (Retro Active)
“Ride Into The Sun (Retro Active)
“Ring Of Fire” (B-Side)
“Women” (Radio Edit)
“Rocket” (Lunar Mix) (Radio Edit)
“Love Bites” (Radio Edit)
“Hysteria” (Radio Edit)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Radio Edit)
“Armageddon It” (Radio Edit)
“Release Me” (Stumpus Maximus)
Classic Album – Hysteria (BBC Radio Documentary)
CD Three
“Rocket” (The Lunar Mix – Extended Version) (B-Side)
“Armageddon It” (The Nuclear Mix) (12″ Single)
“Animal” (Extended Version)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Extended Version)
“Excitable” (The Orgasmic Mix) (B-Side)
“Rocket” (Lunar Mix) (B-Side)
“Rock Of Ages” (Live) (B-Side)
“Love And Affection” (Live) (B-Side)
“Billy’s Got A Gun” (Live) (B-Side)
CD Four: In The Round, In Your Face (Live)
“Stagefright”
“Rock! Rock!” (Till You Drop)
“Women”
“Too Late For Love”
“Hysteria
“Gods Of War”
“Die Hard The Hunter”
CD Five: In The Round, In Your Face (Live)
“Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”
“Foolin'”
“Armageddon It”
“Animal”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Phil Solo”
“Rock Of Ages”
“Photograph”
DVD One
“Rocket” (TOTP)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (TOTP)
“Animal” (TOTP)
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Brit Awards)
“Women” (Promo Video)
“Animal” (Promo Video)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Promo Video)
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” (US Version Live)
“Hysteria” (Promo Video)
“Love Bites” (Promo Video)
“Rocket” (Promo Video)
“Armageddon It” (Live) (Promo Video)
DVD Two (Classic Albums)
“Introduction”
“Animal”
“Hysteria”
“Rocket”
“Love Bites”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
Bonus Material
“Initial Recordings of Animal”
“Rick Gets Hysterical”
“Hysteria” (Acoustic Performance)
“Drumming – Return to The Status Quo”
“The Album According to Joe”
“Sugar Stripped Down”