- Music
- 25 Apr 18
The British Rock Icons unleash a new round of raucous, retro-active complete collections, starting with 'Volume One' box set on both LP and CD, via Bludgeon Riffle/Mercury/UMe on June 1
On June 1st, Bludgeon Riffle/Mercury/UMe fires the first salvo in Def Leppard's projected four volume career-spanning box set series, when the appropriately dubbed Volume One appears in multi disc LP and CD collections. The collection arrives just in time for this summer's highly anticipated De Leppard co-headline U.S tour with Journey.
The Volume One collection will include bonus material including 'Live At The LA Forum 1983', originally released as a bonus disc in the deluxe CD version of 'Pyromania,' making this the first ever vinyl offering of the complete show. This 2LP version comes with a new sleeve and inner bag.
This fiery first collection contains all of Def Leppard's iconic 1980/s recording with reproductions of the original packaging in both formats, play the added bonus of a replica 7-inch single and 3-inch CD of the band's original independent EP, the self-titled 'The Dep Leppard E.P'.
Each album in the box set was mastered by longtime band producer/sound master Ronan McHugh and cut by Greg Moore.
Housed in rigid boxes, the Volume One collection also contains a hardback book with rare photos by longstanding band confidant Ross Halfin and liner notes by Classic Rock’s Paul Elliott.
Def Leppard bandmembers Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen, and guitarist Phil Collen have all also contributed their personal introductions to the collection.
Volume One is an extraordinary early chronicle of a band whose global impact only continues to grow. Def Leppard have a cumulative sales tally of over 100 million albums worldwide, not to mention putting on consistently sold-out world tours. Def Leppard recently authorized their entire recorded catalog for access on streaming and download platforms, a move that resulted in a nearly 400 percent surge in catalog sales on the first day alone, as well as appearances in the iTunes Top 10 charts in over 30 countries worldwide.
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Volume One kicks off with Def Leppard’s 1980 debut album On Through The Night, which immediately put the rock world on notice that the band were destined for big things, having charted at No. 15 in the U.K. and No. 51 in the U.S. Produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest, Black Sabbath), On Through The Night features many of the band’s live favorites (“Rock Brigade,” “Hello America”), along with updated versions of early singles (“Rocks Off”). The album achieved platinum status in 1989, and the version included here is the rare Australian gatefold-sleeve version.
Def Leppard’s collective vocal prowess is but one of the many things that helped cement their unparalleled standing in rock history, as Joe Elliott explains: “The way we did our harmonies was based on the multitracking abilities of a band like Queen, but we took what they did to the next level. Queen maybe tripled or quadrupled their backing vocals — but we did it like 20 times! We wanted it to sound like the quality of Queen but have the size of Slade. The way we did it gave us a unique sound. And that’s the whole point of an album, really — capturing a band’s unique dynamics.” Adds Phil Collen, “The American bands had beautiful vocals, with all those wonderful harmonies. But we added a bit of a punk ethos in there with ours, where it became a bit more charming and anthemic with screaming and shouting. And that was a very British thing, I think, that made us different from a lot of the American bands.”
Get your paws on these exclusive one off box sets here: us.udiscovermusic.com