Since its debut nearly 20 years ago now, this album has been put through every critique possible for a disc. Wildly popular by any industry standards, it sold a ton of copies (something to the tune of 30 million) and spawned an incredible seven hit-out-of-the-ballpark singles, has been the focus of a VH-1 Special and been analyzed on a DVD that's also available for purchase. A lot of people own this album, love this album and most everyone you meet on the street over the age of say, 21, is familiar with at least one song from it. It's a legend. A classic. But is it really any good?
Of course it is.
Everyone knows the story so we'll skip the details and give you just the meat of the matter.
Def Leppard had a pretty big hard rock album on their hands with "Pyromania" back in 1983. "Photograph" found much success awaiting for them in the U.S. and while their music had a radio friendly edge, it was still more crunchy hard rock than commercial pap but with their toes in the water it was time to take over the world and not just toy with it. Drummer Rick Allen lost his arm, a tragedy, yes, but they custom created him a special electronic drum setup that had this fantastic modern sound and he became the world's first (as we know it) one armed drummer.
And they built this album with a lot of love and help from producer Mutt Lange, who was known for his fantastic production, ear for details and so forth. He made the disc sound larger than life. So over polished and ridiculously deep that it holds up even with today's standards. Some have said it's too big. Too slick. Too excessive. I have to disagree, one hundred percent. These songs sound enormous, they are gigantic and just reach right out of your speakers and grab you by the throat. That's the way hard rock should be, with or without the hairband gloss.
Giant was another band that did their best to have the fattest production possible, where even the tiniest bits mattered and no one is complaining about them or "Time to Burn". There's a place for stripped, back-to-the-roots kinda thing but for big hair hard rock groomed for the stadium spot, this is not it.
As for the performances, considering guitarist Steve Clark was an alcoholic, he was still a brilliant string bender and sadly this was his last performance before his alcohol and pain killer mixing death in 1991. With second guitarist Phil Collen on board as well, their two different guitar sounds blended together for optimum aural enjoyment, blending into a concoction of a mighty powerful consistency. Or double the delicateness, depending on the track they are perfecting on.
Singer Joe Elliot had morphed into what could be an almost completely different vocalist than the high note hitting singer that held screams till a normal person would pass out on "Pyromania" and the equally impressive earlier disc "High N Dry", both of which have a more British and harder rock flair than the pop friendly "Hysteria". Here Elliot is crooning in the lower registers but those pipes are distinctive and with the accent the lyrics are sometimes unintelligible but growing up with this cassette constantly looping in my player, it became part of the charm, which his voice is oozing with as well.
The rhythm section has already been half noted with the one armed wonder, Rick Allen pounding the skins with feet and arm alike, for that delicious electronic drum sound that equally annoys the piss out of some people but I think it adds character to the album and makes it stand out even more amidst the other rock bands of the era. A sound that was much copied but never accurately reproduced with the same kind of effect. The other Rick, the Savage one, is on bass and does an admirable job. These two lend the CD a nice bottom end that's important yet sometimes gets lost in all the other theatrics going on that tend to catch the attention and keep it held that way.
So "Hysteria" hit and didn't exactly cause mass hysteria on initial release. The first single out of the box, the stellar produced and slick as anything you're likely to hear with its abundance of studio tricks and embedded hard rock grind,
"Women", kind of did a bellyflop.
But the disc was a modern masterpiece and for once the general public caught on after such singles as the gloriously infectious
"Pour Some Sugar On Me", with that over sexed 80s excess, and carrying on that same animal instinct vibe with the equally rambunctious party tune with more layers than you can possibly dissect with just a couple of listens,
"Armageddon It".
"Rocket" could almost be considered an epic. Almost. It changes and morphs, especially the longer lasting album version that packs more punch with its lengthier appearance giving it more time to simmer, sizzle and ultimately burn than the hyper radio cut. Either way it's good hard rock anyway you choose to devour it. The guitar solo seems to twist out into forever. Lot of
"Ohhhhs" and
"Ooooohs" drive the rhythmic melody, but there's quite a bit of good old fashion rock trapped in here too. While some absolutely swear by this song, it always seemed like the black sheep of the disc. The other tracks just fit so tightly you couldn't pry them apart if you tried, and skipping over one is tantamount to blasphemy, but
"Rocket", well, it seems like you have to be in a special mood to tolerate it, and even rarer, really enjoy it. Sure, it could happen, but maybe this one really did get burnt out with too much radio play and perhaps doesn't have the stuff that the others are made of to withstand that particular kiss of death known as over exposure.
"Love Bites" could be rightfully called a country ballad on steroids since it began life as a hayseed twanger penned by Mutt but was nabbed off by the Leps and saved from obscurity by injecting it with a sound that was unique by all power ballad standards. In fact, it took the textbook for making a power ballad and broke every single rule in it. Except for the most important one: make it emotional. That they did. And gave it depth and this soft, somber sound of sadness and echoing vocals that make it a classic even today. Joe Elliot put through the "robot voice" filter at closing end, shows just how far they were willing to break the barriers and push the envelope beyond what the public was used to. And they got away with it, and succeeded! In this day and age, material like this would not even get past the first step to making it on air, which is a shame.
"I don't wanna touch you too much baby, cos making love to you might drive me crazy."
"Animal" and the plush ballad-esque title track can be mentioned in the same breath. The first tune has this rolling sound, it's just so smooth and lovely, despite being wrapped up neatly in a more uptempo package, that it has the ability to just take the sting out of everyday life and send you into this relaxed state that's unparalleled. It's pure melodic
AOR in the chorus with a little nip in verses and guitars. Just when you think it's over, it's not and keeps pushing with questioning ringing acoustic and answering electric till fade.
"Hysteria" on the other hand is all ballad and proud of it. Still retaining that plush, relaxed quality, but keeping things on a gentler, more delicate level. Which doesn't mean it sacrifices any of the depth. There are so many instruments and vocals here that it's easy to lose yourself somewhere in between, and the play between the two very different sounding electric guitars that bounce off of each other in such an emotive fashion while the acoustic keeps pace in the background, well, it's pure melodic magic.
"Hysteria" as an album is made a masterpiece not because of its hit singles (although that likely helps if you are a rock historian and paid to babble about such "important" things), but it's the other songs that rocket it to stardom.
"God of War" with its dramatic helicopter effects and speaking voice overs
"Today we have done what we had to do." and over the top dramatics make it a hard rock track that's almost metal, oh hell it could be metal if you wish to classify it as such and sentiments that hold true to the world state even today.
There's
"Don't Shoot Shotgun" and
"Run Riot" that are unlike anything else, and definitely different creatures entirely than the chosen ones that made it to rock radio, share similarities, with
"Run Riot" firing off at a break neck speed with this cool lyrical rhythm and perfect pacing and
"Don't Shoot Shotgun" with a climatic chorus.
This one dares to ask the question
"Are you excitable?" Oh and speaking of climax, there's a quite memorable scream after the repeated build up on
"Excitable" which is another chosen one that's dripping wet (with sweat of course) and rockin' ready.
"You got your leather, lace, long and lean, ballistic lipstick dream machine." Who can forget the
"ooohs", the seas of guitars and Joe Elliot's performance that makes him sound on the prowl for someone that's more than willing to get excitable? Hard rock of the heavy pettin' fashion, but still rockin' a classy quality, which is no small feat considering the triple X subject matter.
There's also an ode to caring about love for all the wrong reasons called
"Love and Affection". This has bounced back and forth as sometimes being my favorite song ever, sometimes not, but always close to the top. It doesn't just give
"Love Bites" and
"Hysteria" runs for their money but soundly whoops them in some departments.
"Bites" has more of a dramatic somber feel,
"Hysteria" is more contemplative, but for silken smoothness, there's nothing quite like the generous heaping of melodicness that is the soul of
"Affection". It's wistful yet still retains an upbeat sound, and is not one of those instant grabbers. This one starts off as a tiny seed but with each listen, nurtures itself in your heart, until it grows into an entity of beauty and finally blooming to reveal all of its inner secrets that might have been overlooked by just a single casual listen. Over the years this one has taken quite the beating but even when going back and experiencing it again today, it sounds fresh and vibrant, bursting with life.
"Oh, it's a passion crime with a danger sign, oh can you handle it?"
Even if you aren't aboard the later 80s
Def Leppard bandwagon, this disc still deserves recognition for doing a lot to revolutionize the way CDs were made. Closer attention was paid after this hit to production and disc running times were made longer. This one closed in at around 60 plus minutes when previously you were lucky to get 45 with many releases running with an even shorter length.
Personally I have not been without a copy of this in some form or fashion since its initial release. Two cassette tapes (the first one broke from overuse), two CDs and hundreds of hours of playtime later, "Hysteria" is still a disc I can reach for anytime and play and not be bored with it. Every song, every note, every nuance is forever engraved into my memory banks yet the CD can still be listened to with welcoming glee frequently, a phenomenon that can't be said for too many releases out there. Europe's "Wings of Tomorrow" is likely the only other album I own that has seen such mileage. That truly is the test of a CD, to separate the good ones from the great: the test of time, and "Hysteria" passes it with flying colours.
Written by
Alanna Friday, May 6, 2005
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