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As Def Leppard gears up for its summer tour with Journey, the hard rock heroes have announced a new series of career-spanning box sets. Volume One of the series will arrive on June 1 from Bludgeon Riffola, Mercury, and UMe. This first installment of the band's complete recorded output will arrive in both limited edition 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and CD box sets, each featuring Def Leppard's first four studio albums -- along with bonus live and studio tracks --spread across 8 LPs and 7 CDs, respectively.
The Volume One box presents the albums On Through the Night (1980), High 'n' Dry (1981), Pyromania (1983), and Hysteria (1987). Joining those four albums is a selection of bonus material including Live At The LA Forum 1983, originally released as a bonus disc in the CD version of Pyromania. The vinyl edition will be the the first-ever vinyl offering of the complete show. This 2-LP version comes with a new sleeve and inner bags. The box also includes Rarities Volume 1, newly compiled by Joe Elliott. This disc contains ten rare B-sides and recordings from Def Leppard's early years, all in a new sleeve. Volume One also boasts a replica 7-inch single or 3-inch CD of the band's original independent EP, the self-titled The Def Leppard E.P.
A hardback book is included in the set, with rare photos by Ross Halfin and liner notes by Classic Rock's Paul Elliott. Def Leppard members Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, and Phil Collen have all contributed their personal introductions to the collection. Each album in the box set was mastered by longtime band producer/sound master Ronan McHugh and cut for vinyl by Greg Moore.
In the press release, Joe Elliott notes, "The way we did our harmonies was based on the multi-tracking abilities of a band like Queen, but we took what they did to the next level. Queen maybe tripled or quadrupled their backing vocals -- but we did it like 20 times! We wanted it to sound like the quality of Queen but have the size of Slade. The way we did it gave us a unique sound. And that's the whole point of an album, really -- capturing a band's unique dynamics." Phil Collen adds, "The American bands had beautiful vocals, with all those wonderful harmonies. But we added a bit of a punk ethos in there with ours, where it became a bit more charming and anthemic with screaming and shouting. And that was a very British thing, I think, that made us different from a lot of the American bands."
The birth of the Def Leppard sound can be revisited on Volume One, due on June 1. You'll find the full track listings and pre-order links below!
CD/Vinyl Collection Volume One (Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe, 2018)
7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
8LP/7": Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD/LP 1: On Through The Night (Vertigo 6360 180 (U.K.)/Mercury SRM-1-3828 (U.S.), 1980)
CD/LP 2: High 'N' Dry (Vertigo 6359 045 (U.K.)/Mercury SRM-1-4021 (U.S.), 1981)
CD/LP 3: Pyromania (Vertigo VERS 2 (U.K.)/Mercury 810 308-1 M-1 (U.S.), 1983)
CD 4/LP 4-5: Hysteria (Bludgeon Riffola/Phonogram HYSLP 1 (U.K.)/Mercury 422 830 675-1 Q-1 (U.S.), 1987)
CD 5/LP 6-7: Live At The L.A. Forum 1983 (bonus disc from Pyromania: Deluxe Edition - Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury B0013028-02, 2008)
CD 6/LP 8: Rarities - Volume One
- Wasted (Single Version)
- Hello America (Single Version)
- Good Morning Freedom
- Bringin' On The Heartbreak (Remix)
- Me and My Wine (Remix)
- Tear It Down
- I Want To Be Your Hero
- Ride Into The Sun (1987 Version)
- Ring Of Fire
- Release Me - Stumpus Maximus and The Good Ol' Boys
Track 1 from Vertigo single 6059 247 (U.K.), 1979
Tracks 2-3 from Vertigo single LEPP 1 (U.K.), 1980
Tracks 4-5 from Mercury single 818 779-7 (U.S.), 1984 and U.S. CD pressings of High 'N' Dry (Mercury 818 836-2 Y-1, 1984)
Track 6 from B-side to "Animal" - Bludgeon Riffola LEP 1 (U.K.), 1987
Track 7 from B-side to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Bludgeon Riffola LEP 2 (U.K.), 1987
Track 8 from B-side to "Hysteria" - Bludgeon Riffola LEP 3 (U.K.), 1987
Track 9 from B-side to "Armageddon It" - Bludgeon Riffola LEP 4 (U.K.), 1988
Track 10 from B-side to "Rocket" - Bludgeon Riffola LEP 6 (U.K.), 1989
CD-3/7": The Def Leppard E.P. (Bludgeon Riffola MSB-001, 1979)
- Ride Into The Sun
- Getcha Rocks Off
- The Overture
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Wow. This is awesome news. I've been waiting for remasters of On Through the Night and High N Dry FOREVER. Are these early releases in the set indeed remastered? I was very happy with both of the Pyromania and Hysteria remastered 2-Cd sets. Sadly, having those sets already really makes it tough to shell out the $75 for essentially the EP and the first two albums. I wonder what the chances are that they finally release individual remastered versions of OttN and HnD?
For me, Def Leppard quickly went downhill with their change in sound introduced by Mutt Lange, after "High And Dry". The exciting, raw power introduced in the first 2 albums went too far to the left with the overly slick studio production, and they lost me. I'm certainly happy to have those first 2 remastered finally, and have waited 30+ years to finally hear the earlier EP and Rarities (well, the first half anyways!), but am not interested in the other stuff and have to weigh whether I really want to pay that much for the early stuff or wait and see if they get released later on their own. Just my 2 cents..
I never knew the Leps before Hysteria - that was my first introduction. They lost me with 'Slang' which I can't remember having anything good on it.