So why is Def Leppard’s Hysteria on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There’s something so freeing and incredible about letting yourself give in and revel in music that is at once ridiculous and ridiculously awesome at the same time.
These are the feelings that I’m feeling while revisiting Def Leppard’s monster hit (one of many) off of Hysteria, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
But maybe that’s just the ‘80s kid who still lives inside of me expressing himself.
I really like that Steve Huey at All Music refers to Def Leppard’s music as “polished, catchy pop-metal.” It’s a fitting description because Def Leppard really does occupy its own space: they’re certainly not a “metal band” in the tradition of Metallica, but neither are they purely a “hair metal band” a la Poison or Mötley Crüe.
And Hysteria, Def Leppard’s best overall album, is jam-packed with pop metal gems that remain catchy, pleasing, and head bang-worthy all these years down the line.
Here are some of my notes that I jotted down about Hysteria during the lengthy research phase in compiling the best 1,000 albums ever:
- Pure music fun with low caloric intake. But what do calories even mean in this context, and who cares when you’ve got all the… sugar you need with “Pour Some Sugar On Me?”
- “Rocket” was manufactured in a lab to maximize arena rock audiences during the mid-’80s. And it indeed… rocks it.
- Hysteria gets extra points for the most ’80s album cover of the 1980s. I recall trying to write in that font style as a kid.
- The title track, “Hysteria,” does a good job of bringing things down a notch and providing some nice vocals and mid-tempo rocking.
“Animal” and “Armageddon It” are fantastic album tracks that would be the very best song in many a band’s catalog spanning pop to rock to metal.
And in an era of power ballads a go-go, “Love Bites” is one of the best.
Personal stuff that has something to do with Def Leppard’s Hysteria
The 1980s were a strange time for fashion, let us say. And Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott contributed in a few minor yet distinctive ways in my view.
I’ll explain.
First of all, there’s at least one music video in which Elliott wears a Def Leppard t-shirt while performing during a concert. That’s to say he wore his own band’s t-shirt at a concert, thus making him the original that guy.
Then there’s the pants. Surely Joe Elliott wasn’t the first to do this, but I associate him with wearing jeans that had little vertical slits in them that basically went from the ankles all the way up to near the waistline.
And I’ll admit this: I dug those jeans back in the day, my friends. But I never did get a hold of them or craft my own (I lacked the grit and gumption it would have required to do so, I’m afraid to say).
Joe Elliott, fashion trend setter and world-class rocker, we salute you here at Pop Thruster.
Some stats & info about Def Leppard – Hysteria
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Hair Metal, Hard Rock, Arena Rock, British Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Hysteria released? 1987
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #166 out of 1,000
Def Leppard’s Hysteria on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Def Leppard’s Hysteria that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Take a bottle, shake it up. Break the bubble, break it up.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.