Def Leppard - Rock Of Ages (2005)

With fleeting trends ruling the destiny of popular music, sometimes history becomes obscured by time. It may be forgotten by many, but back during the rough-n-tumble decade of the ‘80s, no band was bigger than England’s favorite sons, Def Leppard. Cruising into the era on the heels of the “New Wave Of British Metal,” Def Leppard masterfully blended ‘70s glam-rock with metallic overtones and pop sensibilities to create a sound that would be heard around the world. No other band, it could be argued, utilized the music video format and the fledgling MTV network with more savvy than Def Leppard. However history is written, however, the truth is that the band’s immense fortunes are tied with those of producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange

The band was formed in 1977 by a group of untried musicians barely out of high school. From the beginning, Def Leppard eschewed the punk aesthetic prevalent in the UK at the time in favor of a throwback sound that updated the influence of mid-70s acts like Mott The Hoople, Queen and Led Zeppelin. The band’s 1980 debut album, On Through The Night, climbed as high as number 51 on the Billboard Top 100 album chart on the strength of hard-rocking cuts like “Wasted” and “Rock Brigade.” High ‘N’ Dry, Def Leppard’s sophomore effort and its first with producer Lange, would place the band on the brink of superstardom. The video for “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” which introduced the American mainstream to the photogenic band, received ultra-heavy airplay on MTV and launched the album into the Top Forty.

It was the band’s subsequent collaborations in the studio with “Mutt” Lange that would write Def Leppard’s legacy. Lange had produced AC/DC’s monster breakthrough album Back In Black, and he brought the same artistic vision and console skills to the unassuming band from Sheffield. Smoothing out Def Leppard’s rough edges in favor of a glossier, pop-metal sound, Lange might have alienated some of the band’s purist headbanger fan base but he opened the door to the entire world. Pyromania, the band’s Lange-produced 1983 release, would sell over 10 million copies in the US alone. Hit songs fell from the grooves like shooting stars in the sky: “Photograph,” “Rock Of Ages,” “Too Late For Love,” “Foolin’” and “Billy’s Got A Gun.” Pyromania spawned four top ten singles, with two hitting the number one spot on the charts.

Def Leppard was on top of the world in rock & roll. Entering the studio to record the anticipated follow-up to Pyromania, the band fell prey to various missteps and tragedies. Sessions with bombastic producer Jim Steinman (Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler) went nowhere, resulting in little usable material. Halfway through the sessions, drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in an automobile accident; it would be over a year before Def Leppard would recover. Allen learned to play a custom drum kit with one arm and producer Lange was brought back in to clean up Steinman’s mess. After the blockbuster success of Pyromania and the band’s various trials and tribulations, nobody expected what would come with the release of Def Leppard’s fourth album, Hysteria.

Released in the spring of 1987, Hysteria was slow out of the gate, but picked up steam as the year wore on, eventually dominating the charts, radio and MTV and the world of popular music for the next two years. Hysteria eventually sold over 12 million copies in the US, charting an amazing seven singles and becoming the band’s first number one album. Fueled by MTV and constant touring, the biggest hits – “Animal,” “Rocket,” “Armageddon It,” “Love Bites” and the ubiquitous “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – were omnipresent from ’87 until 1989, when Guns ‘N’ Roses broke through commercially and toppled Def Leppard from the top of the hard rock heap.

Expectations were high when Def Leppard released Adrenalize in 1992 and the band’s fortunes flagged only slightly with its fifth album. Adrenalize topped the charts upon its release and yielded hit singles in the songs “Let’s Get Rocked” and “Have You Ever Wanted Someone So Bad.” Lange’s role in the studio was greatly diminished with Adrenalize, the band working mostly with its longtime engineer Mike Shipley. The band had been shocked by the death of guitarist Steve Clark, and perhaps a decade of heavy touring and ever-increased stardom had taken its toll. Although the hits still showed glimpses of the old energy, Def Leppard’s time in the spotlight was clearly coming to a close.

Although the musical tides had turned, Def Leppard soldiered on well into the ‘90s. Although “grunge” bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden – the latter obviously influenced by Def Leppard – now rode atop the charts, the band would release fine albums in Slang (1996) and Euphoria (1999). With a dwindling but loyal fan base, the band enjoyed minor hits with “Work It Out,” “Promises” and “Paper Sun,” and both albums charted in the top twenty. Def Leppard entered its fourth decade together as a band with its tenth album (including two compilation discs), 2002’s X, which showcased a more adult-oriented, pop-rock sound with its lone hit, “Now.”

All of the above-mentioned songs, and many more, are represented on Rock Of Ages, the two-CD “definitive” collection of Def Leppard material. Pulling songs from the band’s entire twenty-five year recording history, Rock Of Ages is the best place to start for the uninitiated listener curious about the biggest of ‘80s-era bands. The collection pulls heavily from Pyromania and Hysteria, and rightfully so, but also includes integral songs from the band’s first and last two albums, as well as a newly recorded version of Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” from an upcoming “covers” album.

Although Rock Of Ages offers little for the hardcore faithful that already own all the studio discs, it is a solid collection for the fair-weather fan that may have forgotten the charms of Def Leppard. At one time, vocalist Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, guitarists Steve Clark and Phil Collen and drummer Rick Allen were rock & roll royalty, each album better than the previous one, every hit single bigger and badder than the last. Rock Of Ages documents this magic, the two discs accompanied by a great booklet that includes song-by-song notes from the band, rare photos and liner notes by writer Dave Ling. Now, perhaps, since Universal has revisited the band’s past glory, perhaps they can dig into the vaults and find that live Def Leppard album that fans have been thirsting after for twenty-five years now? (Island Records/Universal)

(Click on CD cover to buy Rock Of Ages from Amazon.com)

Blue Oyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune (2001)

There may be heavier bands, louder bands, more obnoxious bands walking the earth these days like so many ill-fated, doomed-to-die dinosaurs, but none of them can hold a candle to Blue Oyster Cult. In their day, with their glorious first four albums, BOC brought intelligence to heavy metal, rooting the music firmly in rock’s past while creating an invaluable blueprint for rock’s future to follow. With the FM radio hits “This Ain’t The Summer Of Love” and “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” Blue Oyster Cult broke through to the mainstream with 1976’s Agents Of Fortune LP. Reissued by Legacy with cleaner sound courtesy of digital remastering, as well as bonus tracks and liner notes by Lenny Kaye, Agents Of Fortune is unarguably one of rock’s classic albums.

Everybody knows the hit singles from Agents Of Fortune, but only fans understand the depth of talent that BOC brought to their material. The band had three primary songwriters in guitarist Buck Dharma, bassist Joe Bouchard and keyboardist Allen Lanier. They introduced the world to Lanier’s girlfriend, Patti Smith, who co-wrote the haunting “The Revenge Of Vera Gemini” and “Debbie Denise” with drummer Albert Bouchard. Producers/managers Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman functioned as members of the band, adding to the songwriting chores and creating a unique sound that is instantly identifiable on any song as BOC.

The material on Agents Of Fortune runs the gamut from the hard-rock fantasy “Tattoo Vampire” to the radio-friendly musing on the afterlife, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” Alone among '70s-era heavy metal fiends, BOC had an enduring love and intimate knowledge of music and the artistic credibility that allowed them to add flourishes from influences as disparate as soul, jazz and pop music. What other hard rock/heavy metal band could get away with adding the Brecker Brothers’ horns to their songs as they did with the soulful “True Confessions”? The rollicking “Tenderloin” features gentle vocals and a fluid riff from guitarist Dharma and while “Morning Final” has a slight jazz feel behind a sordid story of fear and murder.

This new version of Agents Of Fortune also includes four bonus tracks, among them Dharma’s original 4-track demo for “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” A sparse, ethereal alternative take of “Fire Of Unknown Origin” was recorded for the album but not used and an original demo for an Allen Lanier/Jim Carroll lyrical collaboration, the winsome “Dance The Night Away,” later recorded by Carroll. Although Blue Oyster Cult would maintain their popularity well into the '80s, they are always recognized as one of the seminal bands of the '70s. If not for the ground broken by BOC with Agents Of Fortune, much of today’s hard rock heroes could not exist. As such, it’s an album worth revisiting. (Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Agents Of Fortune from Amazon.com)

Faith No More - King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime (1995)

I first saw Faith No More around the time of their first disc, when We Care A Lot was on its way to becoming steady college FM radio fare. They played in Nashville at a well-known club on a Thanksgiving night, opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The two bands rocked the small club, a mosh pit was in full force, and Brother William and myself, bolstered by several pitchers of cheap beer, tried to pick up a couple of leather-clad female beauties who were stationed smack dab in front of the right speaker column. Turns out that the lovely duo had their eyes on the band, however, and dragged Faith No More to their West Nashville abode for an evening of Nyquil intoxication and who knows what else. I ended up going to work the next morning with a dreadful hangover and significant hearing loss, but also, strangely happy.

Faith No More made a name for themselves by cranking out a funky blend of hardcore and hard rock on stages in small clubs a couple of hundred nights a year. Their albums, no matter how good they might have been, took a back seat to their awesomely intense live performances. With King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime, Faith No More head into a slightly different musical direction. They don't entirely turn their backs on the chunky metallic hooks, roaring six-strings and manic vocals that earned them a solid rep, but rather add an exciting bit of experimentation to the pot alongside their traditional rock frenzy. The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies mixes a hard Peter Gunn-styled guitar undercurrent to what is almost a jazzy, big band arrangement with swinging vocals while Evidence is a low-key ballad with a soulful, slightly funky backing rhythm. Cuts like Cuckoo For Caca, with its random syncopation and wild vocals, or Digging The Grave, chockful of harried guitar riffs and shouted lyrics return the band to their traditional roots. Overall, however, King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime represents an important musical departure for Faith No More, one that serves them well, showcasing a more mature and more polished outfit. Bet the material would sound great live, too! (Warner Reprise Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy King For A Day from Amazon.com)

Living Colour - Vivid (2002)

When they came along in the late-90s, Living Colour was an anomaly among hard rock bands. First of all, the members were all young African-American men with musical backgrounds in jazz, R&B and improvisational avant-garde music. Rock & roll at the time was sheer whitebread, dominated by longhaired white boys, the cultural diversity of the late-60s/early-70s overthrown by corporate homogenization. Living Colour didn't fit into MTV's nerf metal demographic, but damned if they didn't rock harder than half a dozen Motley Crue clones. The band seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the summer of 1988 with the release of its debut album, Vivid, but New York City fans knew differently. Living Colour had been banging around town for a couple of years, refining their sound and stage presence with residencies at clubs like CBGBs.

The release of Vivid would break through the barriers of race in rock, opening the door for multi-cultural '90s hard rock bands like Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down. This breakthrough was accomplished mostly on the strength of a single song, the blistering Cult Of Personality, the accompanying video dominating the MTV playlist well into 1989 and breaking the band with a white audience. It was apparent from the video for Cult Of Personality that Living Colour wasn't kicking out the same old shit. Vernon Reid wasn't just another heavy metal guitar god, but a world-class six-string wizard who had earned his bones as a member of the experimental Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoder Society. The rhythm section of bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun provided as big a beat as a band could ever want while frontman Corey Glover – largely untrained and with little experience as a singer – perfectly complimented the band's funky, unpredictable groove with his rough-hewn, soulful vocal style.

Listening to the remastered reissue CD of Vivid shows that the album held much more great music than the celebrated hit single. Living Colour incorporated many styles and influences into the band's sound, placing disparate elements of freeform jazz, funk, soul, heavy metal and guitar pyrotechnics into a hard rock framework. While songs such as Open Letter (To A Landlord) and Funny Vibe showcased the band's social consciousness, visiting themes of poverty, homelessness and race, songs like the hedonistic Glamour Boys or I Want To Know were pop-influenced rockers with an almost new wave sound. (This was the '80s after all!) When the band hit a metallic groove, however, as with Cult Of Personality, Middle Man or What's Your Favorite Color? there were few other bands around who could match Living Colour's powerful and innovative sound.

The CD reissue of Vivid includes five bonus cuts culled from 12" singles; most of which have never appeared on compact disc before. A hip-hop remix of Funny Vibe by Prince Paul includes cameos from rappers like Daddy-O and Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. A red-hot cover of the Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go and a live version of Middle Man appeared previously on the Biscuits collection. A Keith LeBlanc remix of What's Your Favorite Color? adds to the funk quotient while a live performance of Cult Of Personality closes Vivid and blows the roof off the mutha! One of the most important albums in rock history, Vivid sold over a million copies and earned the band a Grammy™ Award. More important, though, is the influence the album and Living Colour would have on those that would follow. With Vivid, Living Colour literally changed the face of rock & roll. (Sony Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Vivid from Amazon.com)

Whitesnake - The Definitive Collection (2006)

It's a common misconception that Whitesnake was just another '80s hair metal band. Before you dismiss David Coverdale's pride and joy in the same breath as Ratt, Poison or even... shudder... Motley Crue, consider Whitesnake's impressive pedigree. Upon leaving his post as Deep Purple's mid-70s frontman after a trio of overlooked and often underrated albums (Burn and Stormbringer from 1974 and Come Taste The Band from 1975), Coverdale launched a short-lived solo career. Produced by former bandmate Roger Glover for Deep Purple's Purple Records boutique label, Coverdale's 1977 debut album, titled Whitesnake, and its follow-up, Northwinds, provided the blueprint for the singer's future musical direction.

Coverdale subsequently formed the band Whitesnake to pursue his creative vision of hard-edged R&B and blooze-rock anthems. The band's first full-fledged album, Trouble, dropped in 1978, but it wasn't until 1984's Slide It In went platinum that Whitesnake climbed to the top o' the arena-rock heap. After that album's release, Coverdale shed himself of founding guitarist Mickey Moody (from his solo album days), eventually replacing the entire band and even re-recording a large part of Slide It In to feature the more photogenic guitarist John Sykes and his explosive fretwork.

Coverdale's ambitious machinations worked, as the band's self-titled 1987 set -- fueled by sexy MTV videos, hit singles in the form of "Is This Love" and "Here I Go Again," and a poppier, ballad-driven sound -- launched Whitesnake into the stratosphere. There was still trouble in paradise, however, and by the time of 1989's Slip Of The Tongue, which featured new guitarist Steve Vai, it was pretty much over. Although the album sold well and eventually went Platinum, changing musical currents ushered in the grunge era and Whitesnake -- wrongly or rightly tossed under the bus with what colleague Chuck Eddy terms "nerf metal" bands, was consigned to rock & roll history and classic rock radio formats. Although Coverdale attempted to resurrect the band in 1998, America wasn't listening.

Whitesnake's The Definitive Collection follows on the heels of half a dozen similar "greatest hits" compilations, but this one succeeds where most of the others failed. First of all, the single-disc set offers up 18 classic tracks -- not too much, not too little. Secondly, it includes harder-rocking material from the band's first three albums, European hits like "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" and "Ready An' Willing" that offer the perfect fusion of soul, dirty blues and blustery hard rock that Coverdale originally envisioned. Finally, MTV-era hits like "Is This Love," "Still Of The Night," "Fool For Your Loving" and "Judgement Day," among others, still sound good almost twenty years later. Based in the R&B and soul music that Coverdale loved as a young pup, vintage late-80s Whitesnake had a musical foundation that contemporaries like Skid Row, Poison, et al didn't share, a timeless appeal that has held up through the passing years.

While Whitesnake was never the most original of bands, nor very influential in the long run, the band's run of hits and its flamboyant frontman came to epitomize '80s rock star excess. Coverdale's tale of sex, drugs, fast cars and loud guitars would make a great movie screenplay, but the music speaks for itself. Released to coincide with a live DVD/CD set from a 2005 London performance, The Definitive Collection offers up the best that Whitesnake had to give from a truly crazy decade. (Geffen Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy a copy of The Definitive Collection from Amazon.com)