DEF LEPPARD HIGH N DRY SKIN

Rick Allen, all of 17 years old now, keeps the beat minimal while Rick Savage maintains the pulse on bass. Joe bemoans a girl that he don’t trust, while Steve Clark and Pete Willis do their best Angus and Malcolm.

DEF LEPPARD HIGH N DRY SKIN

So ended side one, but side two commenced with the crash of “You Got Me Runnin'”, a single-worthy number that scorches the skin with its burning tower of riffs. Written solely by Steve Clark, this is one instrumental that is not filler in any way. “Switch 625” is something that would have generated melting heat on that scene. It’s the brilliant instrumental “Switch 625”, paired with the ballad as if to say “don’t worry folks, we haven’t lightened up.” Leppard were, after all, a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. The lyrics are nothing to write home about with, “You got the best of me,” predictably rhyming with “Oh can’t you see.” But then the track ends not with a total fade, but with the urgent pulse of a new bass track. Sad verses are coupled with a chuggy riff at the chorus, which is beefed up by the backing vocals of Mutt and the band, gradually finding that sound step by step. Originally titled “A Certain Heartache”, with Mutt’s help they steered it away from its Zeppelin-y origins and honed it closer to a hit. It was also one of three they recorded in a single session for music video purposes.Īnother video from that session was the hit ballad “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”, although MTV aside, it didn’t really have the intended impact until later. This tenacious track takes its time to blow you away. Don’t try to follow the lyrics - it’s all about how the frontman screams them at you.įinally, Rick Allen is permitted to slow down for the sleek, slower groove of “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”. This time, they could afford a real cow bell - no more tea kettle! With “Let It Go” opening on such a solid, fast note, where do we go from here? No letting up! “Another Hit and Run” is even better, with quiet parts contrasting with the increasingly heady! Joe has found his voice, and uses it to rip and shred. All dynamics missing from On Through the Night.

The guitars cleverly lay back until necessary for the big rock chorus. A better recording, a more confident (and screamy) Joe Elliott, and an incessant bass groove propels it. The sharp opener “Let It Go” makes the changes apparent. It was a winning combination High ‘n’ Dry has no filler songs. It bares the teeth of AC/DC, but the attention to melody and harmony was typical of more commercial bands. Today, High ‘n’ Dry is often cited by diehards as the band’s best record. With Lange on hand to help refine the songs they had written, Leppard had never sounded better. And work they did, with the band members unsure after many takes if they could even play it any better. When he had completed the recording of Foreigner’s 4 (six million copies sold), they got to work on Leppard’s second record. So they waited, and waited, and waited, until AC/DC producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange was available. They knew that the sound they heard in their heads was not captured on tape. Leppard’s pride in their debut album only extended so far. Presented for the first time as a Picture Disc.DEF LEPPARD – High ‘n’ Dry ( The Early Years Disc 2) (Originally 1981, 2019 remaster) Featuring the singles, “Let It Go” and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” it was the album that cemented their status in both the UK and America. High ‘n’ Dry, Def Leppard’s second album was released in 1981 and was the first produced by long-term collaborator Robert “Mutt” Lange. The Volunteers Ĭhicamacomico Ģ0 Centuries Gone įairy Rust The Bouncing Souls: 25th Anniversary Įccentric Deep Soul May Our Chambers Be Full: SB 15 Year Edition Live At Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981 Īfterlife Ĭhronic Town EP: 40th Anniversary Edition įinally Enough Love

Def leppard high n dry