Before Hysteria came Pyromania. I have no idea what those crazy cats were thinking when they came up with album titles in the ’80s, but I assume they were mostly under the influence when it came down to it.
Regardless, the deluxe edition of Pyromania is another hastily remastered version of a classic Def Leppard album. If anything, the overall hike in volume and top-end has done the album more of a disservice than a favour. Why? Because the original recording of the album seems to have undergone a few recording hitches (e.g. the level of Joe Elliott‘s vocal on ‘Rock! Rock! (Til you drop) rises and clarifies on ‘Photograph’). With the widely panned backing vocals The Leps emphatically employed for choruses, an overall clean-up is simply not enough to justify this being labelled ‘deluxe’.
Rick Allen’s drums are persistently overbearing with Elliott’s vocals drowned out by surrounding music frequencies far more tweakable than those of his individual vocal. The gap leading to ‘Stagefright’ has not been cleaned up resulting in the fade out of ‘Photograph’ being jerked into rising crowd noise. How difficult would it have been to include a two-second gap?
Certain tracks such as the rocking ballad ‘Foolin’ have undoubtedly benefited from the treatment, sounding more alive and angular than the original but one size does not fit all.
Thankfully, a bonus disc featuring the lightening bolt of a concert recorded at the LA Forum in 1983 saves this otherwise meagre offering. Performed before Allen lost an arm in a car accident and with both guitarists firing on all cylinders, if ever there was evidence to justify The Leps’ rep, then this is absolutely it: a must-own for anyone interested in the band.
Pyromania is out on June 8th (Universal)
1. Rock Rock (Till You Drop)
2. Rock Brigade
3. High ‘N’ Dry
4. Another Hit And Run
5. Billy’s Got A Gun
6. Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
7. Foolin’
8. Photograph
9. Rock Of Ages
10. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
11. Switch 625
12. Let It Go
13. Wasted
14. Stagefright
15. Travellin’ Band