Live at the Leadmill (RSD – 2024) – Album Review – 2 Loud 2 Old Music

At one time in their career, Def Leppard made a statement that a band only releases a live album when they have run out of ideas. I’m not sure the actual count, but we are on maybe the fifth or sixth live album they’ve released now. And based on ‘Drastic Symphonies, I would say they are out of new ideas. With that aside, I’m still a massive fan and buy everything. In fact, back in April 2024 for Record Store Day, I got in line to get the very limited vinyl release of ‘One Night Only: Live at the Leadmill’ which was a Record Store Day First (not exlcusive) release and limited to only 6,000 copies. And I was able to grab one.

That is what we are reviewing today. It came in a beautiful gatefold with a great live shot of the band at the club and is on 2LP’s of a cool silver cover that coincides with the album cover. The LPs are housed in a thick cardboard like sleeve with some great pictures of the band members taken at the show. They later released it on October 11, 2024 in CD format that either had a DVD or a Blu-Ray included. And, I have the CD/Blu Ray combo as well as I like to have at every format (I know I didn’t get the DVD but the Blu Ray is better visually so that is all I need).

The show was recorded on May 19, 2023 at The Leadmill in their hometown of Sheffield. The show was a charity event to raise money to keep the Leadmill open. It also happened to be the same day ‘Drastic Symphonies’ was released. And it was the day before they kicked off their largest European tour ever!! What makes this set different then the other live albums is that they really dig deep and give us a bunch of songs the diehards want to hear as well as the Def Leppard essentials.

LP 1:

The first half of the show sees the band dig deep in to the archives for some great stuff the diehards want to hear. The show kicks off with “Action” off ‘Retro Active’ and as far as covers go, they nail this one. I do find this one such a great live song and a great one to start off the show with all it’s wild energy and Phil’s fast flying fingers. And they waste no time playing a new song of ‘Diamond Stars Halo’ with “Fire It Up” and it comes out great, but Joe doesn’t sound that great singing this one. Not one they’ve played a ton so maybe that is it. A little flat sounding overall for me, but that is fine…they make it up with the next track. Then they rock it out with “Let It Go”. Now this is the Lep I love and they don’t disappoint. This song kicks ass from start to finish and they feel so comfortable playing this one.

Flip the LP over and get ready for “Too Late For Love” and man has it been a long time since I’ve heard this one live. A slowed down, darker vibe to start and then it rocks out as it gets in to the meat of the song. I love the crowd singing the “oh oh ohs”. If that wasn’t enough, they shake off the cobwebs and crank up “Excitable”. They only usually play this when they play ‘Hysteria’ in full so to get it hear is a real treat to the diehards. And if that didn’t get you too excited, they pull out “Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” and I would’ve crapped my pants if I was there to hear this one. One of my favorite tracks from ‘High & Dry’. The first half of this album is incredible.

LP 2:

The second half starts off strong with “Slang” and keeping us fans happy. And watching the video is great too cause you can see how much they are enjoying being at this club and playing such a small venue. Not only did they play one song from ‘Diamond Start Halos’, they also played “Kick” from the same album. Nice to hear the newer stuff here as well. This one plays live better then “Fire It Up” to me. And that is all the stuff you wouldn’t necessarily expect. The rest of the album is standard Lep faire except for the last track. The first of the usual suspects is “Bringin’ on the Hearbreak” and they play it as effortlessly as you’d expect. They could play this one in their sleep and not miss a note. Of course, “Switch 625” follows as it should. I never tire of this instrumental track as it lets me remember the late Steve Clark.

Flipping to the final side they bring us home with “Hysteria” another of my all time favorite songs by Def Leppard and they nail it as well. Now, you know eventually they are going to play “Pour Some Sugar on Me” as I think they would be stoned to death if they didn’t. Thankfully they pulled it out and were murdered by an angry mob of fans. You know how it goes so no need to mention it as it is a concert staple. But what isn’t a concert staple is the closer “Wasted” off the debut and DAMN!!!, they freaking kill it. What a way to go out. That guitar riff is so killer and Viv and Phil slam it home. So much energy, so much excitement, so much fun being had by all with this track. When it ends you are saddened as you want more and more.

And there you have it. It is a stellar setlist and I wish it was even longer and more deep cuts. This one ranks right up with their Ded Flatbird set for their first Las Vegas residency. Okay, maybe not exactly as I think they tuned down and Joe’s vocals aren’t as strong but none of that matters as you listen to this, you simply let your ears enjoy the fact these guys are still as strong as ever live and I love we get an live album that is actually one I want. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It doesn’t get perfect as it seems too short for me, and one of the new songs didn’t feel comfortable in the set. Otherwise, well worth picking up a copy in any format you want.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘PYROMANIA’ 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION BOX SET (2024)’

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 In 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. The Albums Ranked Worst to First
77. Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)
78. Pyromania – 40th Anniversary Edition Box Set (2024)
79. “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!