1987 - December: Def Leppard “Hysteria”

What the Riff?!?

Hysteria is the album that should not exist. Def Leppard's fourth studio album was plagued with delays and tragedy. Despite this fact, the album would become one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.

The band wrapped up their Pyromania tour in early 1984, and started writing their next album shortly thereafter. Producter John "Mutt" Lange began working with them to arrange the songs, but was suffering from burnout and couldn't commit to producing the album. Jim Steinman (of Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell" fame). The fit was not good, and the band parted ways with Steinman by the fall. They began self-producing, but it was slow work. Then in December tragedy struck, as drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette, losing his left arm in the accident. The band stuck with him as he returned to the drums, using a combination of acoustic and electronic drums and MIDI pedals to trigger sounds for parts ordinarily played with the left arm. Self-production was continued until Mutt Lange was able to rejoin in mid-1985. Final recording sessions occurred in early 1987, and the finished product finally was released in August 1987.

Def Leppard's goal with the album, was amazingly aggressive: they wanted to create a rock album similar to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," such that every track on the album could potentially be a hit single. This goal was largely achieved, as seven of the albums tracks were released as singles, an unpresidented achievement for a rock band at the time. This would also produce controversy with Def Leppard fans, as the group was perceived by some as selling out to commercial "hair metal" sensitivities popular at the time.

Friend of the show Steve Hardin joins us in Bruce's absence, and Lynch brings us this monster album of heavy metal (or hair metal, depending on your perspecitve) for week's podcast.

Hysteria
The title track was the fourth single from the album, and the group's first top 10 single in the US. Drummer Rick Allen came up with the name for this slow rocker. "'Cause it's a miracle, oh say you will, ooh babe. Hysteria when you're near."

Animal
This fast paced song was the second release in the US and the first single in the UK where it broke into the top 10. It was one of the more difficult songs for the group to write, going through multiple iterations with multiple producers before arriving in the style used on the album.

Rocket
This track was almost created as an instrumental, but morphed into a tribute song, referencing many of the influential groups of the 60's and 70's. It also features a backwards masking vocal from another song on the album (Gods of War) which says, "we're fighting with the gods of war."

Pour Some Suger On Me
Often considered Def Leppard's signature song, this track was a last-minute addition to the album. It came out of an acoustic jam developed by lead singer Joe Elliott. Producer Mutt Lange liked the tune and pushed for its development despite the album being behind schedule. It was created in about 2 weeks, and would reach number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

I Get Around by The Beach Boys (from the motion picture “Goor Morning, Vietnam”)
This movie starred Robin Williams as an Armed Forces Radio Service DJ who is popular with the troops, but problemmatic to the bureaucrats.

STAFF PICKS:

Say You Will by Foreigner
Rob starts the staff pick with a song that hit number 6 on the charts. Foreigner evolved their sound in the late 80's to meet the aesthetic of the day, with heavier use of the synthesizer and less guitar riffs. It is the first single from their sixth studio album, "Inside Information."

No New Tale to Tell by Love and Rockets
Wayne's staff pick is an alternative rock sound with an unusual flute instrumentation from a group out of the UK underground. This was their first US hit, going to number 18 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. It is from their third album, "Earth, Sun, Moon," and they would release another four albums before breaking up in 1989,

Big River by the Beat Farmers
Friend of the show Steve Hardin brings an unusual song with a country/rocakabilly slant. The lyrics discuss following a girl down the Mississippi.

Faith by George Michael
Lynch finishes the title track from George Michael's debut solo album. This song with a Bo Diddley beat on an acoustic rhythm guitar went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Michael wrote the song because he needed faith in his own abilities after leaving the band Wham! to go solo.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Complexity by Front Line Assembly
This Canadian industrial band released their first full-length album in 1987.

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