DEF LEPPARD
Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
Mercury Records 2005
www.defleppard.com

Sample it here

What’s the 4-1-1?
Another ‘best of’ compilation by the British rock legends.

Genre
Hard rock / pop-rock / rock and roll / alternative

The Good
Def Leppard’s last compilation CD was 1995 Vault. It was packet with 15 of the group’s biggest hits, but a lot of fans felt short-changed. The band had, for the most part, ignored their early years. There were no songs from On Through the Night, and only one song from High N’Dry. Not to mention there were a lot of fan favorites that weren’t big hits that were excluded as well. Finally with this release, the band or someone at their label has gotten it right.

Rock of Ages puts together 35 Def Leppard favorites on two CDs. The first disc is a complete rehashing of Vault with two songs added. That’s not a bad thing because you have to include such hits as “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Photograph”, “Rock of Ages”, “Let’s Get Rocked”, “Miss You in a Heartbeat”, and “Two Steps Behind” among others. The two added songs are the catchy and harmonious “Heaven Is” from Adrenalize and the multi-layered instrumental “Switch 625” from High N’ Dry”.

The second disc mixes classic fan favorites (leaning a lot on the High N’ Dry & Pyromania years) with singles that were released after Vault. The anthemic “Rock Rock (Till You Drop), the bluesy “Let It Go”, and the metal-sounding “Another Hit and Run” reminds you how versatile Def Leppard is. On the flip side of that, you are reminded how they sold their souls to the commercial music industry on the alternative based cuts “Slang” and “Work It Out”, and the pop-rock ballad “Now”.

That’s just my opinion though. The songs are good, but just not the Def Leppard I grew up with; to each their own I guess. It’s nice to hear “Rock Brigade” and “Wasted” from their first album. You can hear how young and raw they were back then. The group even includes two tracks from their ‘return to form’ album Euphoria; “Promises” (love that riff) and “Paper Sun”. To give you a taste of their next release, the Def Leppard includes their power-pop cover of Badfinger’s “No Matter What”.

The Bad
The sequencing is my only complaint. They should have run in chronologically, but instead it’s all over the place. What better way to get you to listen to they stuff from Slang and X (there I go again).

The Verdict
The most complete Def Leppard compilation…period! You get the hits, the favorites, the rare, and a preview of what’s to come.

Did You Know?
“Love Bites” was Def Leppard’s first number one single anywhere.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne