All you faithful Def Leppard fans were rewarded for years of loyalty last year when the band finally released a 2 disc Best of CD called originally enough "Def Leppard Best Of." Unfotunantly, it was only released in Europe and Asia, with promises of a U.S. release with a slightly different track list to follow next year. Well, that day has come with "Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection," so now you're faced with a dilema. Which to buy? You've probably worn out 1995's hits disc "The Vault" and are in desperate need for all things Leppard. I sure was, so last year I bought Best Of online and loved it. When Definitive Collection hit stores in the U.S. last month, do you think I would shell out another $15 for ANOTHER Def Leppard collection, knowing I own all their albums already? You betcha, the day it came out. Here's some insight into the differences of the two collections.
The 2 disc are boken up as so: Disc 1 contains all the huge hits that even people who aren't Def Lep fans love. I't almost a carbon copy of the Vault disc. Disc 2 has other lesser hits and important album tracks as well as 1 new song a piece, both of which will appear on an upcoming covers album. BO (Best Of) has the Kinks Waterloo Sunset while DC (Definitive Collection has Badfinger's No Matter What. Both are great, but a slight nod goes to the Badfinger cover. Now for the track differences.
DC get's a nod for having 35 songs to BO's 34. Both albums have the following songs:
2 From 1980's On Through The Night: Rock Brigade, Wasted
4 From 1981's High 'N' Dry: Let It Go, Another Hit and Run, High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night), Bringin' On the Heatbreak
7 From 1983's Pyromania: Photograph, Rock of Ages, Rock Rock (Till You Drop), Foolin', Too Late For Love, Billy's Got a Gun, and Die Hard the Hunter
7 From 1987's Hysteria: Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Animal, Rocket, Armageddon It, Hysteria, Women
4 From 1992's Adrenalize: Let's Get Rocked, Heaven Is, Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad, Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)
1 From 1993's RetroActive: Two Steps Behind
1 From 1995's The Vault: When Love & Hate Collide
2 From 1996's Slang: Slang, Work It Out
1 From 1999's Euphoria: Promises
1 From 2002's X: Now
Then there's the following songs which only appear on 1 collection or the other.
BO also has Adrenalize's Make Love Like a Man, RetroActive's Action, and X's Long, Long Way to Go.
DC has High 'N' Dry's Switch 625 and Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes), RetroActive's Miss You in a Heartbeat, and Euphoria's Paper Sun
The nod here goes to BO all of whos extra songs deserve to be on this disc, while from DC only Miss You in a Heartbeat is deserving a spot in my book.
The disc's aren't perfect. Too much attention is payed to High 'N' Dry. Slang, Euphoria, and X each desreve more tracks then they get. Where is Stagefright from Pyromania, Breath a Sigh from Slang, Demolition Man from Euphoria or You're so Beautiful from X? These 4 are worthy where some of those early pre-Pyromania songs could've been forgotten. But I'm a fan of 90's Leppard, not just 80's Leppard. I love their newer albums just as much as the hugs 80's hits. So I endorse The Best of Def Leppard, available only in Europe and Asia, and of course, the internet.
I count myself as one of the biggest Def Leppard fans in the world. I still call them one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time, and seen them in concert in 1993 and 1994, and hopefully this summer in Maryland. Bonus points if you can guess the other 4 of my "Top 5."
The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade:
The Best of Def Leppard: A+
Rock of Ages: the Definitive Collection: A
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