Def Leppard – ‘Drastic Symphonies’ (2023) – Picture Disc (The Def Leppard Collection Series) – 2 Loud 2 Old Music

I know, I know…I reviewed this album last week. But this is The Collection Series and since a Picture Disc is very different from the normal vinyl and other items, I figured it deserved its own post. So bare with me…

In 2023, Def Leppard did something they hadn’t done in years. Give us a new album a year after the last studio album. In 2022, we were given ‘Diamond Star Halos’ and in 2023, ‘Drastic Symphonies’. Now, ‘Drastic Symphonies’ isn’t technically a studio album. And it isn’t technically a greatest hits compilation. Instead, what we are given is a remix album. Yes, Def Leppard chased the trend (although rather late) and gave us a Symphonic album. They remixed or reworked their songs and added classical music orchestration to it. The album was released on May 19, 2023, one week shy of the one year anniversary of the prior album. In my opinion, they should’ve taken much more time with it and got it right. Why? Let me explain.

A proper Symphony album is done live as that is where you really notice the difference. This is not a proper Symphony album. Instead, Def Leppard did one of two things with the songs. They either completely re-worked the song with the symphony dramatically added in a well thought out manner (sometimes it works, sometimes not). Or…they took a song and put in some symphony in places on the original track. The second way is pure and utter laziness and never works. Wiki says they completely redid all the songs with the exception of the vocals…but listening to it…I disagree. Some of these songs sound exactly like the original with symphony added and all I can say to that is “What is the freaking point!!”

Not all the songs were that way though. So it is worth going through them regardless what I think about the songs and the album overall. First, the orchestration on the album was done by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the arrangements done by Eric Gorfain and they do a fantastic job overall. No fault of theirs for what is wrong with the album. They recorded their parts at Abbey Road Studios in London, so that is pretty cool. On to the music.

Not only did I buy the regular vinyl, the CD and the Cassette, I also bought the picture disc that came with a signed certificate from the members of the band. I don’t normally buy picture disc, but for Def Leppard I now have 3 albums with picture disc so maybe I do buy them for this band. It comes with as 2 LP Set with a really nice gatefold picture (as seen above). I wish they would’ve used part of that picture on one of the disc rather than the one they used on side of LP2…but that is being picky.

LP 1:

“Turn to Dust”, from ‘Slang’, opens the album and all I can say is…”This is how the album should have been done with EVERY song!”. They completely re-worked this song and what was a really cool song on ‘Slang’ is actually taken up a notch with this one. The orchestration mixed with the Eastern style music is a match made in heaven. By far, the best song on the album as it is purposeful and mindful on how orchestration can enhance and even improve a song. And if that wasn’t good enough, “Paper Sun” is done exactly the same way…well thought out and executed. The two best songs on the album for sure!!

Next up is “Animal” and they get an “A” for effort, but an “F” for execution. They completely stripped this song back to only orchestration with the exception of the guitar solo. But the orchestration is minimal relatively speaking. Joe’s original vocals from the album are all you really hear and all the echoes and layers in the original mix, really jump out and feel out of place when not drenched in with a rock band. It completely ruins the song. Not good at all.

Speaking of not good, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is up next and wow! Did they F* this up royally too! At least they put thought in to this one, I’ll give them that, but that is all. This is a completely stripped down version that is trying to sound sophisticated as they’ve add the vocals of Emm Gryner. However, with the corny ass lyrics that this song has it sounds simply dreadful. It is like trying to put make up on a pig…it doesn’t work.

“Hysteria” comes and saves the day. Yes, this is one where they took the original song and added the orchestration, but this time they enhanced the song even more. One of my all time favorite Def Leppard tracks sounds even better with orchestration. Then with “Love Bites” they actually re-arranged a little bit and the orchestration at the beginning was really cool. There are parts that are way more dramatic, and you know, I think I like how it sounds so, I’ll give them this one too. Then we get “Goodbye for Good This Time” from the new album which is cool…but that song already had some orchestration in it, so adds nothing here.

LP 2:

Going to LP 2, we start off with “Love” from ‘Songs from the Sparkle Lounge”. That song originally is a stripped down acoustic track with just Joe and a piano and that is the way it should stay. This added nothing and doesn’t come close to the greatness of the original…it was just too damn good.

“Gods of War” from ‘Hysteria’ gets the symphonic treatment and I thought this could be really good. But it is taking the original song and layering in to it. And honestly, does nothing for me. It doesn’t feel more dramatic, instead it feels forced and corny. They orchestration drowns out the speaking parts in it with Reagan and Thatcher and those were my favorite parts. At times, there are some cool moments, but not enough.

Another song from ‘Diamond Star Halos’ is “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”. Like “Goodbye”, the ballad already had some orchestration to it so this is nothing new or different sounding enough to make it worthwhile. A good song originally, but so-so here. Then they go in to “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” (YAWN!) and “Switch 625”. Original tracks with orchestration added in adding nothing to the mix that improves the tracks. In fact, on “Switch 625” it detracts greatly from it as that is Steve’s song and those guitar parts get drowned out a little. Sacrilege!!!

If you have the vinyl, digital, Blu-Ray or Japanese SHM-CD, you got “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” (I have the vinyl). If you have the CD and cassette, you don’t get this song. And after hearing it, so what. Original ballad, orchestration added to it that does nothing for the song. Boring…next!!!

“Too Late For Love” from ‘Pyromania’ is up next. At the beginning the stripped it down leaving only orchestra which wasn’t a bad idea. Then when the full band is supposed to kick in, it is a little more orchestration and more Joe on vocals. The drum/percussion is added with more dramatic effect and I have to say, they put some thought in to this one and I am digging it. Then with “When Love And Hate Collide” it is simply a lot of orchestration added to the original track (at least it sounds that way). A beautiful ballad to begin with and now it simply has some orchestration added to it. Thanks, but no thanks.

The final track is “Kings of the World” from the ‘Mirrorball’ album. That song was already so Queen-like in its delivery and throwing in orchestration takes it over the top in to more greatness. It is even more dramatic, more Queen-like and simply more and that is okay by me. Another one where some thought was put in to it (at least it feels that way to me). I love this song and at least they went out as great as they started. The stuff in the middle…eh!

Track Listing:

1. Turn to Dust – Keeper
2. Paper Sun – Keeper
3. Animal – Delete
4. Pour Some Sugar On Me – Delete
5. Hysteria – Keeper
6. Love Bites – Keeper (1/2 Point)
7. Goodbye For Good This Time – Delete
8. Love – Delete
9. Gods of War – Delete
10. Angels (Can’t Help You Now) – Delete
11. Bringin’ On the Heartbreak – Delete
12. Switch 625 – Delete
13. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad – Delete
14. Too Late For Love – Keeper
15. When Love & Hate Collide – Delete
16. Kings of the World – Keeper

The Track Score is 5.5 out of 16 Tracks or 34%. This album is basically dreadful with some shining moments. There are only 6 tracks worth listening to in my opinion and the rest was waste of time. They did at least experiment with a few tracks, although some were so bad they hurt, at least they tried. The problem was they should’ve “Tried” on all the songs rather then simply add orchestration to a lot of the original tracks. That is laziness. We didn’t need a new album from the band a year after the last one. In fact, we’ve accepted the fact that it takes years for a new album. They should’ve taken their time and really put more effort in to it. I don’t like the fact they used Joe’s original vocals. Again, laziness…and this from a band that isn’t lazy. My Overall Score is a 2.0 out of 5.0 Stars. If you are going to do a Symphonic album, do it live!! Don’t do it this way unless you are dramatically changing the song and actually making it better. My friends, you can skip this one if you want.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘DEFINITELY: THE OFFICIAL STORY OF DEF LEPPARD‘ (2023)

THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES

1. Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
2. First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
3. Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
4. On Through the Night (1980)
5. When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
6. High & Dry (1981)
7. Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
8. Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
9. Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
10. Pyromania (1983)
11. “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
12. “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
13. Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
14. Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
15. Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
16. Hysteria (1987)
17. “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
18. “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
19. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
20. “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
21. “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
22. “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
23. “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
24. Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
25. Rarities – Volume One (2018)
26. Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
27. Historia – DVD (1988)
28. Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
29. Adrenalize (1992)
30. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
31. “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
32. Live Sheffield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
33. Retro Active (1993)
34. Visualize DVD (1993)
35. Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
36. Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
37. “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
38. Video Archive (1995)
39. Slang (1996)
40. Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
41. Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
42. Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
43. Euphoria (1999)
44. Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
45. Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
46. Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
47. Cybernauts – Live (2000)
48. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (2001)
49. X (2002)
50. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
51. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
52. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
53. Yeah! (2006)
54. Yeah! Bonus CD with Backstage Interviews (2006)
55. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
56. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
57. B-Sides (2021)
58. Yeah! II (2021)
59. Yeah! Live (2021)
60. CMT Crossroads – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
62. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
63. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
64. Def Leppard (2015)
65. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
66. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
67. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
68. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
69. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
70. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
71. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
72. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
73. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
74. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
75. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
76. Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)
77. “Just Like ’73” – 7″ Single (2024)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED:

1. The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
2. Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
3. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
4. Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
5. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” –  5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
6. Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
7. “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
8. “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
9. Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
10. X: World Tour (2003)
11. Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
12. Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
13. Viva! Hysteria (2013)
14. And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
15. Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
16. The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
17. The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
18. Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
19. Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
20. Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
21. The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
22. The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
23. London to Vegas (2020)
24. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
25. The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
26. The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
27. Def Leppard Funko Pop!