Def Leppard - Greatest Hits (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) (Paperback)

~ Def Leppard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

22 of the biggest hits from this top-selling British heavy metal band. Includes: Animal * Bringin' On the Heartbreak * Let's Get Rocked * Pour Some Sugar on Me * Rock Brigade * Too Late for Love * and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423411013
• ISBN-13: 978-1423411017
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #450,765 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest hits..., April 28, 2006

By	Arena Connery "Arena" (Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews

Piano parts/vocals/and guitar chords for 22 Def Leppard hits, including 'Hysteria,' 'Tonight,' 'Love Bites,' and 'Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad.' Who says you can't rock out on the piano! The arrangements are for late intermediate to early advanced pianists.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what you might expect., August 26, 2009

By	Charles Wang (Sammamish, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book contains a fairly comprehensive set of piano/vocal arrangements of Def Leppard hits. The selections range from "Rock Brigade" off the band's first LP (On Through The Night) to what can be considered to be their last big hit, "Promises" off Euphoria. The description for this item says it contains guitar parts as well, but all it has are the simple chord progressions/overall harmonies (and no tabs), so if you're a guitarist wanting to take a look at the REAL guitar lines, I suggest you stop reading here and purchase the OTHER Def Leppard - Greatest Hits book (though the song selection is somewhat different).

The piano arrangements are serviceable, but whoever wrote them took quite a few artistic liberties. Most of the pieces aren't shown in their original keys, which makes some of them sound kind of awkward. The arrangements do their best to preserve the overall melodies and harmonies of the pieces that come from the guitars and the bass, but apparently the number one priority was the vocal melodies, which are inserted in sometimes at the expense of the other melodies. In some places all the different voices coming from the same instrument sound cluttered while in other places the result is something that doesn't even sound like the song you're supposed to be playing. The guitar melodies are also pitched down one octave in many places (like in the intros of "Armageddon It" and "Photograph"). Thankfully, all the solos are still in there (though they have all been modified), but none of the outros seem to have made the cut, which is disappointing. Some of these changes made by the arrangements are necessary for the transition to the piano, but some definitely aren't.

Most of the pieces are difficult to play (i.e. caution for beginners) because most of the time you'll be dealing with two different melodic lines (usually guitars and then the vocals) in counterpoint on your right hand while your left plays the harmonies.

To sum it up, the book does an adequate job putting together this collection of Def Leppard hits for the piano. If you're a skilled enough pianist who happens to like Def Leppard, you'll probably have fun playing some of these. But I think the publishers could have done a better job to ensure that the arrangements sound as good (or nearly as good) as the original songs.