Def Leppard "Retro Active (Japan, Bludgeon Riffola, PHCR-1221)"

Retro Active is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

After releasing only five albums over the course of a twelve-year period, Def Leppard used Retro Active to break that habit, provide a treat for diehard fans, and close the door on the "Steve Clark" era of the band. Many of the tracks had previously been released as single B-sides.

According to singer Joe Elliott, the concept behind the album was envisioned after the success of the "Two Steps Behind" single. The song had originally been demoed solely by Elliott as an electric version in 1989, and was subsequently recorded by the band as an acoustic ballad at the suggestion of guitarist Phil Collen. When the producers of the film Last Action Hero contacted the band in 1993 to provide a new song for the soundtrack, the band were unable to record new material due to touring schedules and instead sent over the multitrack tape of the acoustic version of "Two Steps Behind", which was given strings by conductor Michael Kamen in April 1993 and included onto the film soundtrack. It would become the band's last Top 20 single in the US, reaching No. 12, and inspired the band to put the album together and re-record the electric version of the song.

"She's Too Tough" and the electric version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat" were both B-sides included as bonus tracks on Japanese pressings of Adrenalize. Written in 1985, "She's Too Tough" first appeared on the Helix album Wild in the Streets in 1987. "Miss You in a Heartbeat", meanwhile, was first written and demoed by guitarist Collen in 1991 and was originally recorded by the Law, a band featuring Paul Rodgers and the Who drummer Kenney Jones, for their self-titled album in 1991. Def Leppard later recorded their own version in April the following year, which they released as a B-side on the "Make Love Like a Man" single. After the band had recorded the new vocal, bass and drum parts for the electric version of the song, Collen overheard Elliott experimenting with the song on a piano. This led Elliott to record a piano and vocal version of the song, after which Collen, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen added acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar and drum parts in June 1993, creating the acoustic version that would be released as a single.

Two unfinished songs from the Hysteria recording sessions, "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love", were completed exclusively for the album. The album also features several covers, namely Sweet's "Action" (which charted higher than the original in the UK) and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark".

The version of "Ride into the Sun" on the compilation is not the same as that which appeared on The Def Leppard E.P., but rather the 1987 re-recording. It differs slightly from the original B-side from the Hysteria era; the B-side featured a Rick Allen drum solo intro, whereas the version on Retro Active has a piano intro provided by Ian Hunter.

Retro Active features a hidden (final) track: a piano/vocal version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat", which also features an alternate acoustic guitar solo by Collen.

This is the first Def Leppard album to feature songs recorded with newly added guitarist Vivian Campbell.

The album cover, by Nels Israelson and Hugh Syme, is a photograph of a lady sitting at a dressing table, looking in a mirror. However, if the cover is viewed at arm's length or from a distance, it takes the form of a skull (a type of vanitas art), the woman's head forming the left eye socket, and her reflected head in the mirror forming the right eye socket. The mirror itself forms the shape of the skull and the accessories on the dressing table form the nose, nostrils and teeth. It was inspired by Charles Allan Gilbert's most famous work, All Is Vanity (1892). An alternate version of the album cover exists, only released for promotional use. The only difference is the Def Leppard logo is represented in the most traditional style seen on Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize. The band felt that, given Retro Active's sonically darker tone, that it would be best to shelve the bright colours of the logo.

In a 3.5 out of 5 review, Sputnikmusic wrote that while the compilation "cannot be rated super highly, it is extremely rare for a compilation album such as this to do so. With that in mind, this is indeed a pleasant surprise which will at least please some of Def Leppard’s longtime fans due to the relatively organic production levels used here. Importantly, a wise balance of song types is included within the 46 minute (60 if the three alternate versions are counted) duration, meaning that the accessible tracks resulted in this album still selling well and deservedly going top 10 in both the U.S & U.K."

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave particular praise to "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love", citing them as Retro Active's "most distinctive tracks, harkening back to the band's early (pre-success) days with their rough power chords." He concludes by saying that overall, "this is an interesting release which marks the end of a long chapter in the band's history, following the death of guitarist and guiding force Steve Clark. While casual fans might find it confusing, Leppard fanatics will revel in its diversity and informative liner notes."

Rating the compilation 4 out of 5, Paul Evans of Rolling Stone notes that the band's "chief strength has always been the songs they write, and Retro Active underscores that appeal. From the Zeplike "Desert Song" to "She's Too Tough" and its feisty rock & roll, from the power ballad "Two Steps Behind" to "Ride Into the Sun," a raver from their 1979 debut, this is premium pop-metal - sharp hooks and engaging thunder."

Track listing

1. "Desert Song"    Steve Clark/Joe Elliott/Rick Savage  5:19
2. "Fractured Love" Clark/Elliott/Savage   5:08
3. "Action" (The Sweet cover) Andy Scott/Brian Connolly/Steve Priest/Mick Tucker  3:41
4. "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic version) Elliott 4:16
5. "She's Too Tough" Elliott 3:41
6. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (acoustic version) Phil Collen 4:04
7. "Only After Dark" (Mick Ronson cover) Ronson/Scott Richardson  3:52
8. "Ride into the Sun" (1987 re-recording) Elliott/Savage   3:12
9. "From the Inside" (with the Hothouse Flowers) Elliott 4:13
10. "Ring of Fire"   Clark/Collen/Elliott/Robert John "Mutt" Lange/Savage   4:42
11. "I Wanna Be Your Hero" Clark/Collen/Elliott/Lange/Savage  4:29
12. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (electric version) Collen 4:58
13. "Two Steps Behind" (electric version) Elliott 4:29
14. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (piano version) (hidden track) Collen 4:09

Time:  01:00:09

After track 13 there is 21 seconds of silence, then the piano version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat" follows as a hidden track, duration of the last 13th track: 08:59

• "Desert Song" was a previously unreleased outtake from the Hysteria album sessions (1984–87).
• "Fractured Love" was also a previously unreleased outtake from the Hysteria album sessions.
• "Action" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single; this version has re-recorded snare drums.
• "Two Steps Behind" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single. The acoustic version here is the same version released on the Last Action Hero soundtrack and has added strings compared to the original. The electric version of the song had never been released previously.
• "She's Too Tough" was originally released on the "Heaven Is", "Tonight", and "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" singles, and was also a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Adrenalize; this version has re-recorded drums.
• "Miss You in a Heartbeat" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single and was a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Adrenalize. The electric version (track 12) is based on the original B-side but with re-recorded drums and some additional previously muted guitar parts during the final chorus from Phil Collen's original demo. The newly-recorded acoustic version (track 6) contains piano played by both Joe Elliott and Pete Woodroffe, along with other members of the band on acoustic instruments, while the hidden track piano version (track 14) features just Elliott on vocals and piano, along with some acoustic guitar by Collen.
• "Only After Dark" had previously appeared on the "Let's Get Rocked" single; extra guitars were added for this release.
• "Ride into the Sun" first appeared on the band's first commercial release, The Def Leppard E.P.. The song was later re-recorded and released on the "Hysteria" single in 1987, as well as some editions of "Love Bites" in 1988. The version on Retro Active is based on the re-recording but features new drums and a new piano intro.
• "From the Inside" appears as it did in its original release on the 1992 single release of "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" and some single releases of "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)".
• "Ring of Fire" was originally released on the 1988 singles "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in the US and "Armageddon It" in the UK. This version has an alternative intro that no longer fades in as well as re-recorded drums and new lead vocals mixed in with the original lead vocals.
• "I Wanna Be Your Hero" was originally released on the 1987 singles "Animal" in the US and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in the UK. The version here features a slightly different intro, re-recorded drums and omits the false ending found on the original.

Recording information:

Produced by Def Leppard.

Pete Woodroffe – engineer, mixing, co-producer on tracks 2–4, 6 and 14

Janfred Arendsen – engineer

Albert Boekholt – engineer

Giles Cowley – mixing

Freek Feenstra – engineer

Nigel Green – engineer

Steve McGaughlin – engineer

Erwin Musper – engineer

Nial O'Sullivan – mixing

Ronald Prent – engineer

Robert Scovill – engineer

Mike Shipley – engineer

Def Leppard "Retro Active (UK, Bludgeon Riffola 518 305-2)"

Retro Active is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

After releasing only five albums over the course of a twelve-year period, Def Leppard used Retro Active to break that habit, provide a treat for diehard fans, and close the door on the "Steve Clark" era of the band. Many of the tracks had previously been released as single B-sides.

According to singer Joe Elliott, the concept behind the album was envisioned after the success of the "Two Steps Behind" single. The song had originally been demoed solely by Elliott as an electric version in 1989, and was subsequently recorded by the band as an acoustic ballad at the suggestion of guitarist Phil Collen. When the producers of the film Last Action Hero contacted the band in 1993 to provide a new song for the soundtrack, the band were unable to record new material due to touring schedules and instead sent over the multitrack tape of the acoustic version of "Two Steps Behind", which was given strings by conductor Michael Kamen in April 1993 and included onto the film soundtrack. It would become the band's last Top 20 single in the US, reaching No. 12, and inspired the band to put the album together and re-record the electric version of the song.

"She's Too Tough" and the electric version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat" were both B-sides included as bonus tracks on Japanese pressings of Adrenalize. Written in 1985, "She's Too Tough" first appeared on the Helix album Wild in the Streets in 1987. "Miss You in a Heartbeat", meanwhile, was first written and demoed by guitarist Collen in 1991 and was originally recorded by the Law, a band featuring Paul Rodgers and the Who drummer Kenney Jones, for their self-titled album in 1991. Def Leppard later recorded their own version in April the following year, which they released as a B-side on the "Make Love Like a Man" single. After the band had recorded the new vocal, bass and drum parts for the electric version of the song, Collen overheard Elliott experimenting with the song on a piano. This led Elliott to record a piano and vocal version of the song, after which Collen, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen added acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar and drum parts in June 1993, creating the acoustic version that would be released as a single.

Two unfinished songs from the Hysteria recording sessions, "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love", were completed exclusively for the album. The album also features several covers, namely Sweet's "Action" (which charted higher than the original in the UK) and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark".

The version of "Ride into the Sun" on the compilation is not the same as that which appeared on The Def Leppard E.P., but rather the 1987 re-recording. It differs slightly from the original B-side from the Hysteria era; the B-side featured a Rick Allen drum solo intro, whereas the version on Retro Active has a piano intro provided by Ian Hunter.

Retro Active features a hidden (final) track: a piano/vocal version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat", which also features an alternate acoustic guitar solo by Collen.

This is the first Def Leppard album to feature songs recorded with newly added guitarist Vivian Campbell.

The album cover, by Nels Israelson and Hugh Syme, is a photograph of a lady sitting at a dressing table, looking in a mirror. However, if the cover is viewed at arm's length or from a distance, it takes the form of a skull (a type of vanitas art), the woman's head forming the left eye socket, and her reflected head in the mirror forming the right eye socket. The mirror itself forms the shape of the skull and the accessories on the dressing table form the nose, nostrils and teeth. It was inspired by Charles Allan Gilbert's most famous work, All Is Vanity (1892). An alternate version of the album cover exists, only released for promotional use. The only difference is the Def Leppard logo is represented in the most traditional style seen on Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize. The band felt that, given Retro Active's sonically darker tone, that it would be best to shelve the bright colours of the logo.

In a 3.5 out of 5 review, Sputnikmusic wrote that while the compilation "cannot be rated super highly, it is extremely rare for a compilation album such as this to do so. With that in mind, this is indeed a pleasant surprise which will at least please some of Def Leppard’s longtime fans due to the relatively organic production levels used here. Importantly, a wise balance of song types is included within the 46 minute (60 if the three alternate versions are counted) duration, meaning that the accessible tracks resulted in this album still selling well and deservedly going top 10 in both the U.S & U.K."

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave particular praise to "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love", citing them as Retro Active's "most distinctive tracks, harkening back to the band's early (pre-success) days with their rough power chords." He concludes by saying that overall, "this is an interesting release which marks the end of a long chapter in the band's history, following the death of guitarist and guiding force Steve Clark. While casual fans might find it confusing, Leppard fanatics will revel in its diversity and informative liner notes."

Rating the compilation 4 out of 5, Paul Evans of Rolling Stone notes that the band's "chief strength has always been the songs they write, and Retro Active underscores that appeal. From the Zeplike "Desert Song" to "She's Too Tough" and its feisty rock & roll, from the power ballad "Two Steps Behind" to "Ride Into the Sun," a raver from their 1979 debut, this is premium pop-metal - sharp hooks and engaging thunder."

Track listing

1. "Desert Song"    Steve Clark/Joe Elliott/Rick Savage  5:19
2. "Fractured Love" Clark/Elliott/Savage   5:08
3. "Action" (The Sweet cover) Andy Scott/Brian Connolly/Steve Priest/Mick Tucker  3:41
4. "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic version) Elliott 4:16
5. "She's Too Tough" Elliott 3:41
6. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (acoustic version) Phil Collen 4:04
7. "Only After Dark" (Mick Ronson cover) Ronson/Scott Richardson  3:52
8. "Ride into the Sun" (1987 re-recording) Elliott/Savage   3:12
9. "From the Inside" (with the Hothouse Flowers) Elliott 4:13
10. "Ring of Fire"   Clark/Collen/Elliott/Robert John "Mutt" Lange/Savage   4:42
11. "I Wanna Be Your Hero" Clark/Collen/Elliott/Lange/Savage  4:29
12. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (electric version) Collen 4:58
13. "Two Steps Behind" (electric version) Elliott 4:29
14. "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (piano version) (hidden track) Collen 4:09

Time:  01:00:09

After track 13 there is 21 seconds of silence, then the piano version of "Miss You in a Heartbeat" follows as a hidden track, duration of the last 13th track: 08:59

• "Desert Song" was a previously unreleased outtake from the Hysteria album sessions (1984–87).
• "Fractured Love" was also a previously unreleased outtake from the Hysteria album sessions.
• "Action" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single; this version has re-recorded snare drums.
• "Two Steps Behind" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single. The acoustic version here is the same version released on the Last Action Hero soundtrack and has added strings compared to the original. The electric version of the song had never been released previously.
• "She's Too Tough" was originally released on the "Heaven Is", "Tonight", and "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" singles, and was also a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Adrenalize; this version has re-recorded drums.
• "Miss You in a Heartbeat" was originally released on the "Make Love Like a Man" single and was a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Adrenalize. The electric version (track 12) is based on the original B-side but with re-recorded drums and some additional previously muted guitar parts during the final chorus from Phil Collen's original demo. The newly-recorded acoustic version (track 6) contains piano played by both Joe Elliott and Pete Woodroffe, along with other members of the band on acoustic instruments, while the hidden track piano version (track 14) features just Elliott on vocals and piano, along with some acoustic guitar by Collen.
• "Only After Dark" had previously appeared on the "Let's Get Rocked" single; extra guitars were added for this release.
• "Ride into the Sun" first appeared on the band's first commercial release, The Def Leppard E.P.. The song was later re-recorded and released on the "Hysteria" single in 1987, as well as some editions of "Love Bites" in 1988. The version on Retro Active is based on the re-recording but features new drums and a new piano intro.
• "From the Inside" appears as it did in its original release on the 1992 single release of "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" and some single releases of "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)".
• "Ring of Fire" was originally released on the 1988 singles "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in the US and "Armageddon It" in the UK. This version has an alternative intro that no longer fades in as well as re-recorded drums and new lead vocals mixed in with the original lead vocals.
• "I Wanna Be Your Hero" was originally released on the 1987 singles "Animal" in the US and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in the UK. The version here features a slightly different intro, re-recorded drums and omits the false ending found on the original.

Recording information:

Produced by Def Leppard.

Pete Woodroffe – engineer, mixing, co-producer on tracks 2–4, 6 and 14

Janfred Arendsen – engineer

Albert Boekholt – engineer

Giles Cowley – mixing

Freek Feenstra – engineer

Nigel Green – engineer

Steve McGaughlin – engineer

Erwin Musper – engineer

Nial O'Sullivan – mixing

Ronald Prent – engineer

Robert Scovill – engineer

Mike Shipley – engineer

Def Leppard "Hysteria (Germany, Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury, 830 675-2)"

Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987, by Mercury Records. The album is the follow-up to the band's 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania. Hysteria's creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of drummer Rick Allen's accident that cost him his left arm on 31 December 1984. Subsequent to the album's release, Def Leppard published a book titled Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story, written by Rolling Stone magazine senior editor David Fricke, on the three-year recording process of Hysteria and the difficult times the band endured through the mid-1980s. Lasting 62 minutes and 32 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date.

Hysteria was the band's third and final album to be produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The title of the album was conceived by Allen referring to his car accident, the amputation of his arm, and the ensuing worldwide media coverage surrounding it. It is the last album to feature guitarist Steve Clark before his death in 1991, although songs co-written by him would appear on the band's next album, Adrenalize (1992).

Although initial sales stalled outside the band's devoted fanbase, it soon became a worldwide commercial success, reaching number one on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. It is Def Leppard's best-selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US alone, and spawned seven hit singles. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.

In 2018, Collin Brennan of Consequence included the album in his list of "10 Hair Metal Albums That Don’t Suck".

Soon after completing the Pyromania tour in February 1984, the band commenced writing and pre-production for what became Hysteria in Dublin, using Fostex 4-track cassette recorders to capture ideas. Early sketches of "Animal", "Gods Of War" and "Armageddon It" were developed during this period. Lange joined them to help with writing and arrangements, but at late notice informed the group he could not commit to producing the album due to burnout from a gruelling schedule from the past few years. Thus, they had to find another producer who was available and they went with Jim Steinman.

Sessions with Steinman began at Wisseloord Studios, Holland on 11 August 1984, with Neil Dorfsman as engineer. However, it became clear that Steinman was not the right producer for them, that his standards were not as high as Lange's: Steinman's intention to make a raw-sounding record that captured the moment conflicted with the band's interest in creating a bigger, more pristine pop production. As singer Joe Elliott observed, "[Steinman] wouldn't adapt and we wouldn't compromise", and by October 1984 Steinman was ousted from the project. Dorfsman could not see the album through as he had commitments to work with Dire Straits on what became Brothers in Arms – he would later mention that they "barely [had] drums and bass on seven songs" after three months of work.

After parting ways with Steinman and scrapping the material from those sessions, the band tried to produce the album themselves with Lange's engineer Nigel Green. However, as Steve Clark recalled, "it was very slow work because we didn't have any sort of headmaster there, and we had to try everything five different ways."

On 31 December 1984, Rick Allen lost his left arm when his Corvette flipped off a country road. Following the accident, the band stood by Allen's decision to return to the drum kit despite his disability, using a combination electronic/acoustic kit with a set of electronic pedals that triggered (via MIDI) the sounds that he would have played with his left arm. The band slowly continued production until Lange returned in the summer of 1985 for vocal sessions in Paris. However, Lange soon felt that the material recorded so far (which sounded close to Pyromania) needed work, leading to another 18 months in the studio in total. After six weeks Paris, the remainder of the record was completed between Dublin and Holland, primarily in a cheap jingle studio at Windmill Lane in Dublin. However, the sessions were further delayed by Lange's own auto accident (sustaining leg injuries from which he quickly recovered) and a bout of the mumps suffered by singer Joe Elliott in late 1986.

Hysteria was recorded in a piecemeal way like the previous two albums, with individual parts (or notes, even) being recorded and overdubbed separately. The guitars were recorded first to a LinnDrum click track, which gave Lange and the band the flexibility to re-write and re-record parts of the song as they went along. Then, once the arrangements were finalised, the bass and drums were added towards the end of the recording.

The final recording sessions took place in late January 1987 for the song "Armageddon It" and a last-minute composition "Pour Some Sugar on Me", though Lange spent another three months mixing the tracks. The mixing took place at Lange's private studio in Hindhead, Surrey with engineers Nigel Green and Mike Shipley. In the meantime, the band completed additional recordings in February for B-side material, including "Tear It Down", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "Ring of Fire" amongst others. The album was finally released worldwide on 3 August 1987, with "Animal" as the lead single in most countries except for the US and Canada where "Women" was the first single.

The album's goal, set out by Lange, was to be a hard rock version of Michael Jackson's Thriller, in that every track was a potential hit single. Songs were therefore written with this concept in mind, disappointing heavy metal fans who clamoured for a straight sequel to the band's previous album, Pyromania. One song, "Love Bites", was already mostly written in the vein of a country ballad by Mutt Lange when he brought it to the band's attention.

While Pyromania contained traces of Def Leppard's original traditional heavy metal sound found on their first two albums, Hysteria removed them in favour of the latest sonic technology available at the time (best displayed on "Rocket", "Love Bites", "Excitable", and "Gods of War"). As with Pyromania, every song was recorded by every member in the studio separately instead of the whole band. The multiple vocal harmonies were enhanced by Lange's techniques, even pitching background vocals on all tracks. Guitar parts were now more focused on emphasising melody rather than hard rock riffing.

The band used a custom-modified version of the Rockman amplifier, developed by guitarist Tom Scholz from the rock band Boston, to record the album. Engineer Mike Shipley described the Rockman as "a shitty little box" with "a godawful sound" that "had no real balls to it", but it was used because the other amplifiers used had an excessively "crunchy" sound ill-suited to layering guitars and which Lange did not think was "commercial" enough.

In addition, all of the album's drum sounds were samples recorded by Lange and the engineers, then programmed & sequenced on the Fairlight CMI. In a 1999 interview with Mix magazine, Shipley noted, "Pyromania was done the same way, on cheesy 8-bit Fairlight technology where we had to figure out how to record everything at half speed into the Fairlight to make it sound like it had some tone to it, and we'd be stacking up a bunch of snares and bass drums." Shipley also noted that the drum sounds were dealt with last because each song's structure could change so radically. This unique approach sometimes led to painstaking lengths of time in the recording studio.

The smash single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me", was the last song written but was quickly finished within two weeks. In sharp contrast, the final version of "Animal" took almost a full three years to be developed but was not as successful as other singles, only reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hysteria received generally positive reviews. AllMusic's Steve Huey awarded it five stars, stating, "Pyromania's slick, layered Mutt Lange production turned into a painstaking obsession with dense sonic detail on Hysteria, with the result that some critics dismissed the record as a stiff, mechanized pop sell-out (perhaps due in part to Rick Allen's new, partially electronic drum kit)." Huey characterized the album as "pop metal" rather than heavy metal, with reference to the production of Mutt Lange, and called it "arguably the best pop-metal album ever recorded".

In 2005, Hysteria was ranked number 464 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Hysteria got the same placement on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 best albums of all time, the magazine also ranked the album atop its list of the 50 greatest hair metal albums, and they placed the album on their list of "50 Rock Albums Every Country Fan Should Own". Loudwire placed the album at number two on their list of the top 30 hair metal albums. Hysteria was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. L.A. Weekly and Consequence of Sound both ranked the album number eight on their Hair Metal album lists. Metal Rules put the album on their list of the Top 50 Glam Metal Albums, at number 30. The Ringer called Hysteria "the greatest hair-metal album ever made".

"I can say objectively – because I wasn't in the band then – that Hysteria is one of the greatest records of all time," remarked Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell.

David Simone, managing director of Phonogram Records at the time, said the album might have been the most expensive record made in the UK. According to guitarist Phil Collen, the album had to sell a minimum of 5 million copies to break even.

The popularity of Def Leppard in their homeland had significantly grown over the previous four years, and Hysteria topped the charts in Britain in its first week of release. The album was also a major success in other parts of Europe. In the US, however, the band initially struggled to regain the momentum of Pyromania that was lost from such a prolonged absence. The leadoff track, "Women", was selected as the first single for the US and Canada, instead of "Animal", in July 1987. Then-manager Cliff Burnstein reasoned that the band needed to reconnect with their hard rock audience first before issuing more top 40-friendly singles. "Women" became a top ten hit on the rock chart, peaking at number seven, but as predicted, did not make a large impact on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 80.

The success of the album's fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" would propel the album to the top of the US Billboard 200 albums chart on 23 July 1988, nearly a year after its release – topping the chart three separate times for a combined total of six weeks. Seven singles were eventually released in the United States, with "Love Bites" reaching number one, and three others reaching the top ten. The singles earned similar success in the United Kingdom. In the Billboard issue dated 8 October 1988, Def Leppard held the number one spot on both the singles and album charts with "Love Bites" and Hysteria, respectively.

Hysteria went on to dominate album charts around the world for three years. It was certified 12× platinum by the RIAA in 1998. The album currently sits as the 51st best selling album of all time in the US. It spent 96 weeks in the US top 40, a record for the 1980s it ties with Born in the U.S.A. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Speaking to Kerrang! in May 2008 about the album's success, Joe Elliott remembered:

For us the first album showed promise, the second showed the true reality of where we were going, the third album worked better in America than it did in England simply because there was no exposure radio-wise over here but by the time we did Hysteria, everything had fallen into place. Airplay and hit singles were one aspect of it but there was also all the hard work we put into the album – we literally did slave over it to get every sound on it right. There was also Rick's accident, of course, and to be honest, I'm sure there was the initial wave of sympathy but I'm equally sure the album would have still worked anyway. None of the other stuff – the touring, the promotion, the videos – none of that would have meant anything if the songs hadn't been there and I'm still really proud of all the songs on Hysteria.

On 24 October 2006, a 2-CD "deluxe edition" of the album was released, including a remastering of the original b-sides and bonus tracks from the album's period. These songs include "Tear It Down", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "Ride Into The Sun" (originally released in 1979 on The Def Leppard E.P.) and "Ring of Fire". Many of these songs, alongside two other Hysteria compositions "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love", had been featured on Retro Active, albeit with remixes, revamps, and new parts added. The deluxe edition Hysteria CD included the original b-side versions of these recordings without alterations.

Another song, "Tonight" was originally recorded on 5 May 1988 during a break in the Hysteria World Tour as a possible b-side to one of the album's upcoming singles. The song was shelved and later re-recorded for the Adrenalize album (along with "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)", which was deemed too similar to the album's title track. The 1988 demo version, which includes Steve Clark on guitar, was eventually released on various CD singles, album deluxe editions and box sets.

Finally, a very tongue in cheek cover of "Release Me" which was made famous by Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967 was released as a b-side under the guise of Stumpus Maximus and the Good Ol' Boys. Stumpus Maximus was Malvin Mortimer, a member of the band's road crew who later became their tour manager. The Good Ol' Boys were the members of Def Leppard, singing backup on what is essentially a parody version of the song.

During their 22 March to 10 April 2013 residency at The Joint, Def Leppard performed the album in its entirety, from start to finish. This was followed up with a live album Viva! Hysteria, recorded during the residency and released on 22 October 2013, which includes all of band's fourth studio album being played live.

This would be followed up seven years later as Hysteria: Live at the O2 was released on 29 May 2020, as part of the London to Vegas box set. The live concert was filmed at The O2 Arena in London, England on 6 December 2018, as the band once again played the album in its entirety. Various releases have included a stand-alone edition of this concert have featured combinations of audio, DVD and blu-ray discs.

In the liner notes to the album, the band apologised for the long wait between albums, and promised to never force fans to wait that long between albums again. However, later events, particularly the death of lead guitarist Steve Clark, delayed the next album, Adrenalize, by almost five years.

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Phil Collen, Steve Clark and Robert John "Mutt" Lange.

1. "Women" 5:42
2. "Rocket" 6:37
3. "Animal" 4:04
4. "Love Bites" 5:46
5. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" 4:27
6. "Armageddon It" 5:24
7. "Gods of War" 6:37
8. "Don't Shoot Shotgun" 4:26
9. "Run Riot" 4:39
10. "Hysteria" 5:54
11. "Excitable" 4:19
12. "Love and Affection" 4:37

Total length: 62:32

Recording information:

Recorded at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Holland.

Robert John "Mutt" Lange – producer

Nigel Green – engineering, production assistance, mixing

Ronald Prent – engineering

Erwin Musper – engineering

Pete Woolliscroft – engineering

Mark Flannery – tape operation

Philip "Art School" Nicholas – Fairlight CMI programming

Mike Shipley – mixing

Bob Ludwig – mastering

Howie Weinberg – mastering

Ross Halfin – photography

Laurie Lewis – photography

Andie Airfix (Satori) – illustration, artwork and design

All backing vocals by The Bankrupt Brothers (Def Leppard, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Rocky Newton)

Def Leppard "On Through The Night (2008 Reissue, Remastered, Japan, Limited edition, Mini-LP, SHM-CD, Universal Music K.K., UICY-93450)"

On Through the Night is the debut studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 March 1980. The album was produced by Tom Allom. It charted at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 51 on the Billboard 200. The album features re-recorded versions of "Rocks Off" and "Overture", tracks from the band's original independently released EP, The Def Leppard E.P.. Other tracks are re-recorded versions of early demos, some of which later appeared on the 2020 box set The Early Years 79–81. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on 18 November 1983 and platinum on 9 May 1989.

"Wasted", "Hello America" and "Rock Brigade" were released as singles. However, the version of "Wasted" that appears on the single is a different recording from that of the LP, as is its B-side, "Hello America".

The spoken word intro to "When the Walls Came Tumbling Down" was performed by Dave Cousins of Strawbs. Joe Elliott had done the spoken portion in earlier live performances and demo recordings that showed up on some early bootlegs. In his biography, Cousins claims that he did his best Laurence Olivier impersonation for the song's intro.

Tracklist:

1. Rock Brigade 03:09
2. Hello America 03:27  
3. Sorrow Is a Woman 03:54  
4. It Could Be You 02:33   
5. Satellite 04:28  
6. When the Walls Came Tumblin' Down 04:44
7. Wasted 03:45   
8. Rocks Off 03:42   
9. It Don't Matter 03:21  
10. Answer to the Master 03:13  
11. Overture 07:44   

Time:  44:00  

Replica "mini-LP" released with inner sleeve with lyrics, numbered card, inlay with liner notes in Japanese and lyrics in English, SHM-CD info sheet and OBI-strip in cardboard sleeve.

Recording information:

Recorded in December 1979 at Startling Studios, Ascot, UK.

(Colonel) Tom Allom – producer

Louis "Snook" Austin – engineer

Dick Plant – engineer

Alan Schmidt – artwork