Tonight I was given an interesting tip from a friend, Kevin Alba of Metal Asylum, concerning a potential next wave of reissues from Def Leppard. According to the story (scroll down a bit more than halfway to read), Japan is getting SHM-CD remasters of the band's first two albums, On Through the Night (1980) and High and Dry (1981). Now of course this kind of stuff happens all the time, but what makes it interesting is that both sets are supposed to feature bonus discs with as-yet-unannounced material.

In 2006, the band's 1987 LP Hysteria was given the classic Universal Deluxe Edition treatment, adding a bonus disc filled with B-sides and other bonus tracks. Last June, similar sets were issued for Pyromania (1984) and Adrenalize (1992). Could these SHM-CDs indicate a pair of deluxe editions of the first two Def Leppard records are coming from UMe?

It would benefit hard rock fans nicely; after all, there is a bit of material relevant to these records that could help flesh out the bonus discs (particularly a handful of single-only tracks and remixes as well as an independent EP), and who knows what else could be lurking in the vaults?

As always, keep reading The Second Disc for more info as it comes.