Kahuna Files: POST-PYRO

     Def Leppard circa 1981 is one of my favorite bands of all time. There was something truly magical about the combination of those five kids from Sheffield: Joe Elliott, Steve Clark, Pete Willis, Rick Savage, and Rick Allen. The three records they made together in just a few short years, as different as each is from the others, comprise a brilliant body of work, they are three of my very favorite records. I include Pyromania because those songs were written and recorded with Pete Willis, as far as I know Phil Collen did little more than overdub a couple of guitar solos and take his shirt off in the videos.

     But what about Post-Pyro? Pete Willis was history and so was Rick Allen's arm. Def Leppard lost the magic. Hysteria might have been the band's most commercially successful album, but it certainly wasn't the most creatively successful. The tragic loss of Steve Clark was just the final nail in the coffin of the magnificent chemistry that the band members once shared. Def Leppard's output after Pyromania is spotty at best, but there are still moments of greatness. Below are my top ten favorite Def Leppard songs that were recorded after Pyromania, or...

Post-Pyro

     

      

       

10. DEMOLITION MAN from Euphoria (1999)

When Euphoria came out it was marketed as the return of Def Leppard, the album title even ended with the iconic -ia suffix! While you can tell that the band were trying to recapture past glories, the absence of Pete Willis and Steve Clark made it a hopeless endeavor. "Paper Sun" came reasonably close to recreating the Hysteria sound, but seems forced. The first song on the record, "Demolition Man," is a decent upbeat rocker. It might have worked as a Hysteria b-side. 

9. RUN RIOT from Hysteria (1987)


The band debuted this song at the Monsters of Rock show in 1986, a year before the album came out. Rick Allen has professed to hate the song. I like it. Probably the closest to Pyromania that Hysteria gets.

8. PROMISES  from Euphoria (1999)

This is the first single and best song from the Euphoria album. It was written by Phil Collen and some guy who calls himself Mutt, but it's not much of a return to the Def Leppard of old. It's a simple, poppy hard rock tune. Hey, works for me.

7. FRACTURED LOVE  from Retro-Active (1993)

"Fractured Love" was one of the first songs written for the Hysteria sessions, way back in 1984, but the song was not fully completed until 1993 when the band finally finished it for inclusion on a compilation of b-sides and outtakes called Retro-Active. Apparently the song was seriously considered for Hysteria but just didn't fit with the rest of the material. It's a moody, brilliant song that builds ominously and explodes. It's hard to imagine the song fitting well on any of Def Leppard's albums, which I suppose is why they couldn't figure out what do with it for the ten years it took to finally release it. 

6. GIFT OF FLESH  from Slang (1996)

"Gift of Flesh" is a Phil Collen solo composition. Phil has stated that the song was inspired by hearing Rick Allen starting to play "real drums" again. Phil was sitting there listening to Rick bash away and he started playing along and "Gift of Flesh" was born from that jam session. It would be nice to hear the songs from Slang produced differently, I think "Gift of Flesh" could be even better but it's a great song as is.

5. TEAR IT DOWN  from "Women" single (1987)

"Tear It Down" sounds stranded somewhere between Pyromania and Hysteria, but it wouldn't fit on either album. It's a pretty straightforward rock song, a lot of fun but somewhat insubstantial. The first time I ever heard it was when I saw the band surprise everyone with a "new song" on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards:

What I didn't know at the time was that the song had already been released as the b-side to the first single from Hysteria, "Women." The band re-recorded the song for Adrenalize, castrating it in the process. If you want the real thing you have to buy the "Women" 45.

 

4. STAND UP (KICK LOVE INTO MOTION)  from Adrenalize (1992)


Such a big deal was made at the time of how long it took for Hysteria to come out after the massive success of Pyromania, but it took even longer for the band to release the follow up to Hysteria. Of course tragedy struck the band during the recording of each record, but when Adrenalize finally came out it only contained ten songs, one of which, "Tear It Down," had already been released as a Hysteria b-side. Nine new songs in five years, and what a pathetic batch of songs it was. The first single from the album, "Let's Get Rocked," is criminally bad, a pitstain on the band's legacy. Apparently every drop of heavy metal had been wrung from the sponge. Most of the songs on Adrenalize are not far removed from the work producer Mutt Lange would soon do with his wife Shania Twain ("Make Love Like a Man" = "Man I Feel Like a Woman"). The writing of "Stand Up" dates back to the Hysteria sessions when, as Phil Collen remembers it, he and Steve Clark wrote the song in the studio. They decided not to include it on Hysteria because it too closely resembled the title track, and they were right. It's not quite as good as "Hysteria," but close. The song was released as the fourth single from Adrenalize. They should have released it as the first single.

3. HYSTERIA  from Hysteria (1987)

I think "Hysteria" is a wonderfully crafted pop song, and I can appreciate a wonderfully crafted pop song for the true work of art that it is, cynics be damned. The interplay of the guitar melody and vocal melody on this song is sonic perfection. I don't believe in "over-produced." What matters is what serves the song, and this song was written to be coddled and polished. The song was born in 1985, based around a Rick Savage riff. Rick and Phil Collen wrote the rest together but they were stuck on the chorus. The song remained untitled and in limbo until Rick Allen came up with the name for the record and it fit the song as well. Presto! Title track!

2. ANIMAL  from Hysteria (1987)

The working title of Hysteria was Animal Instinct and I suppose this song may have been destined to be the title track of that record. It was one of the earliest songs the band began working on after coming off the Pyromania tour in 1984. It was released as the second single from Hysteria and barely cracked the top twenty. It wouldn't be until the release of the fourth single from the album, "Pour Some Vomit On Me," that Hysteria would really take off in the states. In my opinion "Animal" is the best song on the album. Listening to this song you can almost understand why it took the band four years to make the record. A great deal of work went into writing and recording a song like this. Every detail was micromanaged, and it shows. The song is flawless.

1. RING OF FIRE  from "Armageddon It" single (1988)

This was the last song to be cut from Hysteria. Joe Elliott had a creative burst and barfed out "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and just like that "Ring of Fire" was relegated to being a b-side. What a travesty, inclusion of the song would have made Hysteria a much stronger record. "Ring of Fire" sounds the most like Pyromania of any of the band's Post-Pyro output. Joe Elliott credits Rick Savage with writing the bulk of the song. Kudos, Rick. The song wound up on the b-side of the "Armageddon It" single and would also be included on Retro-Active but the band apparently re-recorded the guitars and drums. I hate it when bands do that.

Def Leppard's two most recent albums, X and Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, are not represented on this list because unfortunately neither album is very good and none of the songs made the cut, but I'll make "Hallucinate" from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge an honorable mention.

Kahuna Files: 10 Most Overrated Albums That I Like

Disclaimer: these are B.J. Kahuna's not-so-humble opinions and in no way reflect the opinions of anyone else affiliated in any way with the Decibel Geek podcast, or their extended families, or their friends on Facebook.

Also please note, these are albums that I like, I just think they are overrated. But I like them!

10. AC/DC - BACK IN BLACK


Bon Scott was an incredibly charismatic guy. He was a natural on stage, the guy oozed personality. His omnipresent smirk was endearing and contagious. He was a one of a kind frontman and lyricist and a perfect fit for a one of a kind band. It's a harsh reality, but when Bon Scott died much of what was AC/DC died with him. I enjoy Brian Johnson, but he's no Bon Scott. I can only imagine how great the next AC/DC album would have been if Bon had lived. I like Back In Black, I like most of the work AC/DC has done with Brian Johnson, but there is really no comparison to me between the Scott years and the Johnson years. Back In Black has some great songs, but all of the albums the band recorded with Bon Scott are better, a lot better, and for a variety of reasons. Johnson delivered some great melodies but the lyrics on Back In Black are terrible, often embarrassingly so. Bon Scott dabbled in wit and subtlety. "Let Me Put My Love Into You" is the antidote to wit, the opposite of subtlety. Much of the personality that made the previous AC/DC records so original and so much fun shuffled off this mortal coil with Bon. The fact that Back In Black is AC/DC's most successful, acclaimed and appreciated album is offensive. Consider this: how many of the millions of people who at one time or another purchased Back In Black did not even know who Bon Scott was? That's a problem.

9. NIRVANA - NEVERMIND

The fable reads thusly: the noble, virtuous knights of Nirvana rode in on grungy steed and saved us damsels in distress from the dreaded hair metal dragon. The problem is they left the damn gates open and the "modern rock" and "nu metal" hordes that stormed through in their wake were far worse than the worst "hair metal." I mean, you tell me, Roxy Blue or Seven Mary Three: which band sucked more ass? I'll take Heavens Edge over Three Doors Down any goddamn day of any goddamn week. Google "Sister" by The Nixons or "The Freshman" by The Verve Pipe and tell me that those piece of shit bands were any better than Sleeze Beez or Bad 4 Good. Nevermind is a good album, but world changing? Hardly. A temporary cultural shift occurred but pretty soon everything reverted back to shit. The lemmings switched fads is all, from pop metal to grunge. But a fad is a fad, what makes one fad superior to another? It was just the NEXT fad, and as soon as all of the Alternative Revolution bullshit hype fizzled out we got the return of the boy bands. So what changed? Hairstyles.

8. SEX PISTOLS - 
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS...

The Sex Pistols did not invent or even perfect punk rock. I like this album a lot but if it is the sum total of your punk rock knowledge then that is exactly why I am listing it here. For example, there was an American band called the Dead Boys who were doing the same thing at the same time except they were way freakin' cooler and had better songs. Never mind the Sex Pistols, here's "Sonic Reducer."

7. LED ZEPPELIN II

Okay, they were an inventive and influential band and given the time frame they were making some important headway here in terms of rock and roll past and future but "Whole Lotta Love" is mostly stolen and that's not the only steal on the album. Half this album is junk. I love a couple of the songs but is it really the holy grail of rock and roll? Nah.

6. IRON MAIDEN -
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

This album was sandwiched between far superior releases, I mean there's absolutely no comparison, I like Killers and Piece of Mind a whole lot more. This is one of my least favorite Maiden albums (the Blaze years don't count), I really cannot fathom why it is always ranked so high. I once read Steve Harris say that if he could do it over again he'd replace "Invaders" (the first song and it sucks!) with "Total Eclipse" (relegated to a b-side). That would improve things but not enough. Everyone loves "The Prisoner" but it annoys me for some reason. "Run to the Hills" is great and I like the slow numbers but coming on the heels of the band's best album, Killers, and right before their second best album, Piece of Mind, this album just doesn't hold a candle.

5. PINK FLOYD -
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

This album is fine but far from the band's best. I find it odd that one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums, Obscured By Clouds, is completely overlooked. A quick glance at their Wikipedia page and you'd think the album didn't even exist! Is it just me? Am I a contrarian by nature? Not really, I love The Wall. I'm sure in an alternate universe I'd enjoy putting on Dark Side of the Moon before bed, but it's virtually impossible for me to listen to it objectively since classic rock radio destroyed it for me in my formative years with the constant fucking airplay. Yet I'm certain that even if I hadn't heard "Money" ten million times I still wouldn't like it, that song is annoying. Obscured By Clouds is a better album.

4. METALLICA - METALLICA

I own every Payola$ album and even the Rock & Hyde record, but Bob Rock needs a talking to. Metallica were one of those chosen few bands that accomplished an extremely rare and monumental feat: they created a new genre of music. Metallica made music so different, so compelling, so goddamn good that other musicians heard it, loved it and immediately formed bands so they could do it too. Metallica were a truly inspirational band. Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets were revelatory records, epochs in rock history. Even after suffering the catastrophic loss of Cliff Burton the band still forged new ground. And Justice For All was an ambitious, forward-thinking work. So what the fuck happened? Why did they decide to dumb it down to such a startling degree? Is it fair to blame Bob Rock? Not entirely, but mostly, yeah, I think so. I feel certain that Bob Rock convinced James Hetfield to change the way he sings, not only in a lower register, that goddamn growling shit, but also that extra syllable! One of the main reasons I have a hard time listening to anything the band recorded after Justice is the extra fucking syllable James has to add to the end of the last word of every line, it drives me nuts, and I blame Bob Rock. I can see him now, brushing his hair back and coaching James, teaching him how to ruin Metallica. This album is Metallica minus the heart, minus the passion, minus the ingenuity, minus the originality, minus the sheer creativity, minus minus minus. Did they take the easy way out? Cash in? I don't know why they did it, but if Cliff Burton had lived he never would have allowed it. Well, he either would have talked Lars and James out of it or quit the band. Cliff Burton's death significantly impacted rock and/or metal history, that's what I think. It's difficult to fathom the fact that the band that made Ride The Lightning went on to make Load and ReLoad, aptly titled since they're loads of shit.

3. SLAYER -
REIGN IN BLOOD

I admit it: I don't get it. What exactly is so great about this platter of noise? I simply do not hear any melodies. Sure, as musicians they are playing some insane shit. If you listen to music to appreciate how hard it is to play, good for you, but I like songs, with melodies. A barking dog could have delivered these vocal "melodies." I'm the weirdo that prefers Metal Blade Slayer. And as long as we're talkin' overrated: RICK RUBIN. Take that beard and shove it.

2. LED ZEPPELIN IV

This album is always near the top of the "best ever" lists, but why? It was sandwiched between far superior albums (III and Houses of the Holy) and "Stairway to Heaven" is completely ridiculous. Much of this album is pretentious and/or self-indulgent and "When the Levee Breaks," which is the coolest song on the record, was mostly stolen. The album title is four nonsense symbols! To paraphrase Dee Snider: trite and jaded.

1. GUNS N' ROSES -APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

The nearly universal praise this album gets confuses me. Guns N' Roses were a sunset strip glam band, a good one but there were many other good ones, yet for some reason Guns N' Roses are the only "hair metal" band that snobs and hipsters are allowed to take seriously. Every other "hair metal" band is shunned and ridiculed but Guns N' Roses get invited to all the parties. Don't forget, Axl's hair was just as high as anyone else's in that first video. I agree that Slash's guitar style and tone set the band apart, but how much did Mike Clink have to do with that? I will also concede that Izzy had some songwriting chops and his many solo albums contain some quality tunes. As for Bill Bailey, he lifted most of his schtick from Dan McCafferty, Richard Black, and Michael Monroe. I simply do not think the songs on this album are as great as everyone else seems to, half the songs are mediocre at best. (Remember, these are my opinions, and mine alone: blame Kahuna). I never liked "Welcome To The Jungle," not since the first time I saw the video, and I always hated "Paradise City." Those songs just don't do it for me, I don't like them. It's this simple: I don't hate this album but I literally NEVER want to put it on. The craftsmanship of the songwriting just does not match up with the acclaim as far as I'm concerned, and that is the definition of overrated. Somehow this album became a pan-genre phenomenon, one of those albums imbued with greatness by the universality of its appeal, but what exactly is behind the ubiquity of its coolness? Was it a domino effect? This friend and that friend and every friend and then everyone agrees, because it must be true, because everyone agrees? Guns N' Roses were a gritty rock band with an outlaw image, smug and dismissive of their peers, and people love that shit. Believe me, I dig a good band dynamic, but in the end what it comes down to for me is the songs. Sure, it's a matter of taste, but what bugs me is that Guns N' Roses pretended to be above the genre of music they rose out of even though of course there was a time when they used just as much hairspray and wore just as much make-up as any other band on the strip. Look, I think the rest of the guys are pretty cool, but as far as I can tell Axl is a pretentious and childish douchebag and Chinese Democracy is all the proof you need that this band was the sum of its parts and Axl ain't shit without the rest of 'em. Footnote: "Sweet Child O'Mine" is exempt from everything previously stated, I love that song and think it is a masterpiece (well, except for the lyrics, which are dumb as shit--thanks again Axl).

                                                                                                 

Kahuna Files: Top 10 Metal Songs Called "Night Stalker"

1. WOLF - "Night Stalker" (2002)

Wolf formed in Sweden in 1995 but their first album didn't come out until 2000. "Night Stalker" is on their awesome second album, Black Wings, which was one of my favorite metal albums of 2002. The band's sixth album, Legions of Bastards, came out in 2011.

2. CLOVEN HOOF - "Nightstalker" (1984)

See my previous Cloven Hoof article: http://dbgeekshow.blogspot.com/2013/03/now-hear-this-cloven-hoof.html

3. PEGAZUS - "Night Stalker" (2002)

Pegazus is an Australian heavy metal band that formed in 1993 and signed with Nuclear Blast in 1998. After a nine year wait their fifth album, In Metal We Trust, finally came out in 2011. "Night Stalker" is from their fourth album, The Horseless Horseman.

4. MATAKOPAS - "Night Stalker" (1987)

Matakopas formed in Rome, New York in 1985 and released an album called Coming Out Ahead in 1987. It contained a song called "Night Stalker."

5. ANTHEM - "Night Stalker" (1988)

Anthem is a Japanese metal band that formed in Tokyo in 1980. They released sixteen albums between 1985 and 2012. "Night Stalker" appears on their fifth album Gypsy Ways.

6. STORMWITCH - "Night Stalker" (1985)

Stormwitch are a German metal band formed in 1981. Their first album, Walpurgis Night, is a classic. "Night Stalker" is from their second album, Tales of Terror.

7. HADES - "Nightstalker" (1987)

Hades formed in New Jersey in 1978 and their first single was released in 1982. They were one of the first east coast thrash metal bands, alongside Anthrax. "Nightstalker" is from their classic 1987 album Resisting Success.

8. VALHALLA - "Night Stalker" (1984)

Valhalla formed in Pittsburgh in 1978 as a covers band. Influenced by the NWOBHM they released a six song EP in 1984. A CD compilation of their early material called Return of the Mystic Warrior was released in 2001. Singer David Fefolt went on to sing for Metal Method guitar virtuoso Doug Marks' L.A. band Hawk on their 1986 album (also featuring Matt Sorum) and later joined Fifth Angel.

9. BRIGHTON ROCK - "Nightstalker" (1991)

Brighton Rock were a Canadian hard rock band that formed in 1982. Following a self-released EP they signed with WEA and released their first album, Young Wild & Free, in 1986. They released two more albums before breaking up in 1991. "Nightstalker" is from their last album, Love Machine.

http://www.vbox7.com/play:d7cf5e4578

10. BEWITCHED - "The Night Stalker" (1997)

Bewitched are a Swedish black metal band formed in 1995. 

Honorable mentions:

AC/DC - "Night Prowler"

JUDAS PRIEST - "Night Crawler"