Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/13/2008
Def Leppard was untouchable in the '80s. Over the course of four albums, the band established itself as one of the best and most popular
hard rock/
heavy metal groups of the decade, scoring a long list of hit singles.
Vault compiles the biggest of those hits, as well as selections from their first album of the '90s,
Adrenalize, and the outtakes collection
Retro Active. Essentially,
Def Leppard's legacy rests on two albums: 1983's
Pyromania and 1987's
Hysteria. On both records, the group created a sleek, shiny brand of
hard rock powered by huge, catchy melodies and guitar hooks that owed more to
Mott the Hoople and
T. Rex than
Deep Purple and
Black Sabbath. It was a polished but potent sound, whether the band turned out rockers (
"Photograph," "Rocket") or
ballads (
"Bringin' on the Heartbreak," "Love Bites").
Vault has all of the necessary items, from
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" to
"Rock of Ages." It's not a perfect collection -- it's not sequenced chronologically, it includes too much material from
Adrenalize, and the new
"When Love & Hate Collide" is simply average -- but that doesn't stop
Vault from being a great greatest-hits collection. [The 2007 Circuit City exclusive edition came packaged with a free album cover iPod skin.]
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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