REVIEW: Def Leppard, Retroactive
- Bob Gajarsky
It has been said that the true sign of a band's talent can be traced to the quality of their "throwaway" songs. Def Leppard make their claim for greatness with their latest release, Retroactive, a collection of B-sides and previously unreleased tracks.
The album starts out with "Desert Song", a track originally written during the Hysteria sessions. With some Indian influences throughout the song, and sounding similar to a slower version of "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", Joe Elliott and the band open this latest release with a musical nugget inspired by the late Mick Ronson's battle against cancer.
Ronson is also the reason for one of two cover songs on the album, "Only After Dark". One of Joe Elliott's favorite songs, it was recorded as the B-side to "Let's Get Rocked", and has been re-recorded for this album. Not as loud as one would expect from the typical Def Leppard song, but a solid track nonetheless.
The other cover to appear on Retroactive is glam-rockers Sweet's "Action". Although not as good as the original, this song won't make a listener shut off his stereo.
The first single, which has been tearing up the airwaves, is "Two Steps Behind". Two versions of this track appear on the compilation; the radio-version and a full-fledged electric version. The latter version is a nice twist from the already-familiar acoustic version.
Another ballad, and a likely second single, is "Miss You In A Heartbeat". I got goosebumps when I heard the opening to this song, and expect it to be a monster smash in either its acoustic or electric form. It also is included in an electric version, and as part of a "hidden track" at the end of the disc.
There are a total of 11 different Def Leppard gems, ranging from 1978 to 1993, on Retroactive. Listeners won't find themselves asking "What happened to the songs that didn't make the albums?" Instead, the common voice will echo on the power of an album filled with unreleased songs and B-sides.
Buy this album. Now.
