Def Leppard, Adrenalize Full Album Zip
Marthe Bernskoetter
"Tear It Down" is a re-recording of a song written during a recording session following the completion of the Hysteria album, and released as B-side for the Hysteria single Women in 1987. The song received radio airplay and was performed by the band live at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.
Def Leppard had faced long delays, and the challenge of drummer Rick Allen losing his arm while making their previous album, Hysteria, and while trying to follow up the success, they also faced the prospect of doing so with a different producer, as Robert John "Mutt" Lange was already working with Bryan Adams. At the same time guitarist Steve Clark had been suffering from alcohol addiction since 1989, spending six sessions in rehab. Clark was involved in writing six of the songs on the album,[8] but was given an ultimatum over his alcoholism in September 1990, and put on a six-month leave of absence. Clark died four months later, in January 1991.
Instead of replacing Clark with a new member, the band recorded the album as a four-piece. "We had recorded demos on multitrack," recalled fellow guitarist Phil Collen. "I was sitting there with him when he played the original parts. I could relay that. But it was like playing along to a ghost."[10]
This was also the band's first album since 1981 recorded without longtime producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Instead, the band took matters in their own hands and produced the album themselves along with longtime engineer Mike Shipley;[7] with Lange credited as executive producer.[11]
The album received mixed reviews: some critics praised its production values and instantly catchy and radio-friendly material, while others called it tired and formulaic.[15] In a four-star review for Rolling Stone, J.D. Considine wrote: "Adrenalize is so relentlessly catchy that it almost seems as if the band is about to abandon its heavy-metal roots for the greener fields of hard pop."[16] Other reviewers also noted the album's less metal sound and pointed out its lack of cohesion. A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said that, despite the slick production, the album doesn't match the standard set by the band's previous two records, which they referred to as masterpieces."[17]
Writing in 2009, after Pyromania and Adrenalize have been reissued, Toby Cook of The Quietus said that, despite Adrenalize's many flaws, "the record buying public of '92 cared not."[18] Indeed, the album would go on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, remaining Def Leppard's last studio album to achieve major mainstream success.[7]
It was released on CD, LP and cassette and featured ten songs including a re-recording of 1987 B-Side 'Tear It Down'. Co-produced by the band a long time engineer Mike Shipley with guru Mutt Lange credited as Executive Producer. Their first album without him in the main role since 1980.
Having spent over three years making their fourth album 'Hysteria', and having dealt with Rick's Allen's car accident, illness and technical problems. The band vowed to make sure their fifth album would not take as long.
Towards the end of the 1988 Hysteria world tour the band stated that they "had a plan". Initially that plan indicated a 'Retro-Active' type album mixing new recordings of B-Sides and some new material with a view to releasing it by Summer 1989 or early 1990, touring more for 'Hysteria' or releasing it and working on a proper fifth album.
As with 'Hysteria', those plans changed with more album delays and the biggest setback of their career to date, the death of band member Steve Clark in January 1991. His illness also hindering the progress of the album in 1989 and 1990 as he was in and our of rehab and battling serious alcohol addiction.
"New Guy" Vivian Campbell would not be unveiled until after the album's release. The band completing and releasing the album as a four piece as a mark of respect to Steve to whom the album was also dedicated.
Read some quotes below that have not been posted before arranged in a diary form. Showing the progress of the album from when it was first mentioned in 1987 and through the recording process which ended in December 1991.
The band talked about a possible B-Sides album to be recorded quicker than 'Hysteria' with a release date of April 1989/Summer 1989 - possible mix of new material and redone songs like 'Tear It Down'. That song was performed live on the 1987 UK tour and introduced as "Here's a song from our next album".
Steve Clark July 1988 Quotes - "Well we're not really sure exactly what we're gonna do yet. On this album what we're doing which we didn't do on Pyromania is were writing on the road and we've already got about five new songs. Which weren't B Side or anything. So they'll definitely be on it. We're gonna take a two weeks break after the tour. Then go straight back into the studio because we wanna try and have a new album out for next April believe it or not. We don't wanna be in the studio again for a long time. And so I suppose if we can write more songs because as I say we've got five or six now. If we can write more that will be the album."
"If there's something that never got used in the past then we'll think about putting that on it. But we're going for a totally different approach on this next record. I think it'll be a lot more spontaneous. As I say Hysteria definitely worked for the time it's out now but that doesn't mean. Just in the same way as Pyromania we don't wanna depend on that sound. So some of it might be slick production but some of it might be a lot more raw than it has been for a couple of albums."
The band started pre-production for a couple of days in Dublin on 4th November according to Joe and went back to Wisseloord on the 20th (or 24th depending on which interview you read) after a three week end of tour break. By Christmas or early 1989 they decided to relocate and to take more time with the album. The Spring/Summer 1989 release was pushed back. A Rick Allen interview suggests initial studio time was to edit the ITR-IYF live video.
Joe Elliott 1988 Quotes - (Change Of Plans) "The original plan was to rush back into the studio, knock an album into shape fast and get back out on the road in time for this summer. But that ideas been knocked on the head now. The thing is, with Hysteria still doing so well in the charts over here (in America) it would be foolish to rush another album out right now. Instead we plan to record the album a little later in the year and have it ready to go by the end of '89, start of 1990. It should be interesting to see exactly what we come up with this time. We've still got quite a few tracks recorded during the Hysteria sessions that never got used for one reason or another - stuff like you just can't put two ballads on one album."
The band spent two days in Sheffield filming for the August 1989 BBC documentary 'Rock Of Ages The Def Leppard Story'. In studio footage of Phil recording new song 'Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)' at Studio 150 with Mike Shipley was featured. The first airing of new material from the in progress album.
Rick Savage 1989 Quote - (B-Side/New Material album) "We write ideas on the road. We never write songs on the road as such, 'cause it's too much of a complex business. But we always come up with ideas that we put on tape, and then when we get off the road, we sit down and listen to all of them and piece the songs together. (new album will have) At least five or six brand new songs that nobody's ever heard. It won't be a legitimate fifth Def Leppard album, but something extra for people to listen to while we're actually doing the proper album."
Joe Elliott 1989 Quote - (B-Side/New Material album) "At this point, your guess is as good as ours as to what this new album's going to be like. It's totally up in the air. We have to listen to the ideas we have on tape and come to a conclusion."
Before resuming recording work the band played at the MTV Awards in Los Angeles. Performing a playback version of 'Tear it Down' which had been recorded earlier that year (Joe on live vocals/music was playback). They also did press for the 'In the Round-In Your Face' live video which came out at the same time. They gave lots of album updates in various interviews. 7 new songs had been written, three fully recorded and the release was now scheduled for Spring 1990.
Joe Elliott August 1989 Quotes - "We're far less paranoid about recording this album than we were recording 'Hysteria'. We're not going to be judging it on sales. So long as we're happy with it, we don't care of it only sells 200,000 worldwide. We've never been money motivated."
"It's definitely a Def Leppard album. It's slightly looser because we've proved to the point of exhaustion that we can handle the technology of recording. We're not sounding like the New York Dolls, but we sound more ragged. We have to have a go on our own. I think our songwriting has come so far. There's one song, a slowy, that I personally think is the best thing we've ever recorded. The album is definitely us, and right now we couldn't be happier with the way it's turning out."
Joe Elliott 1989 Quotes - "We've been dashing about the last few months. We did some work in Amsterdam and then we went to Los Angeles for the MTV Awards. Then we came back and we're writing songs. Everybody is doing their own individual little bits, and I've had my head down over pen and paper. We'll probably start on some more studio work soon. The last lot we did was at Studio 150 in Amsterdam. We went four months there and it's been good - quite a lot faster than the last couple of albums we've done. We are really happy with the results we've got so far."
(Titles of Stand Up/Tonight mentioned along with HYENSSB as 'Have You Ever Needed Something So Bad') - "We have done a re-working of 'Tear It Down' which is the B-Side of 'Animal'. We have got seven more songs but the titles are just like 'Song in E'. Mutt is not producing this album so we are having to do a little bit of this ourselves (producer role). We are keeping in contact with him and we have written some songs together. We didn't particularly want to break up that relationship y'know?. It's a good one. We enjoy working with the guy, but he's not really into production at the moment. And we fancied having a go on our own. We are co-producing it with Mike Shipley who engineered or mixed our last three albums. We know what he can do, and we also know what we can't do. Mutt meanwhile has co-written a couple of songs and we shall do more with him as we get the chance."
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