Day 0589 - Hysteria

Def Leppard "Hysteria" (1987)

An interesting one... I mean the music itself is just catchy, bombastic, glammy rock with a touch of studio sheen to it, but there's a bit of a story to the album's creation.

The album was originally to be produced by Mutt Lange (he's produced everything from AC/DC and Foreigner through to Maroon 5 and Britney Spears) who had produced their previous album 'Pyromania', but Lange bowed out due to exhaustion.  The band tried to make things happen with Jim Steinman (of Meatloaf fame), but he wanted to make a raw, stripped-down rock record, clashing with Leppard who wanted to go with a more glossy and pop-metal sound.  Eventually Steinman departed and the band tried to produce themselves.  These sessions were eventually scrapped when Lange came back into the fold.

Of course, as is well known, Leppard's drummer lost his arm in a car accident.  The band stood by him and his decision to keep drumming, using a mix of traditional drums and some automation tricks to fill in the gaps left by his missing arm.

The long wait, the time put in, and all the studio work paid off.   At its peak, the album was moving around a million copies a week.

Day 0517 - Pyromania

Def Leppard "Pyromania" (1983)

The book tries to claim that the only thing that's dated about this album is the cover (showing sniper sights on a burning building, which probably wouldn't go down well in these days of modern terrorism) but I'd disagree.  This music sounds about as 80s as it possibly could; from the shiny production to the programmed drums, that apparently annoyed drummer Rick Allen so much that he threw a drum stick at the wall, where it embedded itself.

This is a big slab of glossy 80s stadium rock with all the epic-scale reverb the music could handle, flashy lead guitar breaks, and wailing harmonised vocals.  I can understand the sentiment of the guy saying it hasn't aged, because to me, most the albums of my youth still sound as fresh to me as they did when I first heard them... though I can still hear all of the hallmarks of their (usually) 1960s and 1990s backgrounds.

Day 0445 - Entertainment

Gang of Four "Entertainment!" (1979)

 
A band from (my one-time home) Leeds named after a group of Chinese Communist Party officials... hinting at the band's left-wing sympathies.

Another one of those bands that mixes the attitude and melodic minimalism of punk with a bit of white-boy funk (though here the funk element seems to have been ramped up considerably). Another of those bands that most likely stylistically inspired some of the early 00 indie rock bands like Bloc Party or Gossip.

Listening to the angular funk sounds here, I wouldn't be surprised if the Gang were listened to by Les Claypool or his band Primus.  They were certainly an influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who drafted the Gang's guitarist Andy Gill to produce their first (self titled) album on the basis of the "Entertainment!" album.

Day 0399 - Dub Housing

Pere Ubu "Dub Housing" (1978)

 
Pere Ubu with another really great album. They had set up a crazy sound on 'the Modern Dance' which they could have easily continued exploring over the next few album; but instead set about revamping their sound.

A lot of the punk elements are gone, but the noisy experimental song forms remain. An interesting album that still hints at the origins of 00s indie music. Love the album cover too.