Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emerging Storms On The Horizon, October 14, 2006
`Andrenalize' was released 4 years after the mega-successful `Hysteria' and in many ways it is often compared to it's predecessor to it's own detriment. I however can't see why people think less of this album than they do of `Hysteria' because to me it just sounds like `Hysteria' Part II, yet that may be part of the reason. There were great songs on `Adrenalize' from the power ballads of `Heaven Is' and `Have You Ever Wanted Someone So Bad' to hard rockers like ` Tear It Down' and the smutty `Make Love Like A Man' and `Tonight' the socially conscious `White Lightning' to throw away fun like `Let's Get Rocked'. For me Def Leppard represented what rock was supposed to be about: Fun. Def Leppard also had great artwork at the time, something that they seem to have lost sight of (see X) which annoys me terribly because I believe in the whole package.
1992 was a terribly uncertain time for a band like Def Leppard when they released `Adrenalize', the previous year had seen the emergence from the underground of Nirvana with their `Nevermind' album. Seismic changes would be put into effect as a result of the emergence of what would be called alternative rock or grunge. It really difficult to pinpoint exactly why things changed, but the fact remains that 80's style hair metal within a year would become a dirty word. However at the time it was not unusual to see bands like Mr Big and Guns `n' Roses alongside Nirvana and R.E.M. in the charts. Def Leppard would later feel the effect of these changes and alter their sound in a bid for survival. Not only Def Leppard but also colossal giant of thrash metal like Metallica and Megadeth would follow suit and as a result 1994 - 1996 will always for me be the years of sell-outs. What they failed to recognise is that at the time fans would happily listen to Nirvana, Def Leppard, Metallica, Deicide, R.E.M., U2, Ice Cube, Culture Beat, Madonna and Snap all on the same day. It wasn't the fan that brought about the changes but the industry jumping on bandwagons, so don't blame fans for your falling fortunes, blame yourself. 1992 was the year that the buying public began to have more choice when it came to music, music was expanding and fracturing into a myriad of genres and sub genres until what we have to today, where what is in the chart is complete crap because what is bought is bought by the musically lazy with no real interest in music. The good stuff is still there, one just has to look for it and that is why the Internet is a vital tool and Amazon a godsend.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not My Favorite, But Still Good, April 8, 2003
By A Customer
As noted in the booklet, "Adrenalize" was dedicated to the late Def Leppard guitarist, Stephen Maynard Clark. His death was, in fact, Def Leppard's "starting point" for this CD. Although "Adrenalize" isn't one of my favorites by them (that would probably be "Hysteria"--which, of course, I have somehow lost), it's still one of their best earlier CDs, opening with a fluffy angst song for the young male crowd, "Let's Get Rocked." Like this first track, most of the songs on "Adrenalize" are fast and pop-oriented, but there are few good ballads thrown in, like my two favorites on here: "Tonight" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad." This CD is certainly worth a listen if you're a Def Leppard fan and/or like '80s/'90s pop rock.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Commercial Rock Albums Ever! But What a Disappointment!, July 26, 2008
This is after the brilliant "Hysteria" Def Leppard's second best album by far and no mean feat considering the drummer only had one arm by this time and Steve Clark had just died! Almost every track is brilliant and the hit single "Let's Get Rocked" is actually one of the weaker tracks too! It's frightening how much better it'll sound once they get around to remastering this thing.
Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. Given the very hefty price tag on this thing in order to justify upgrading from your existing copy, it has got to be a major improvement at least from the aesthetics of the cardboard sleeve and especially when it comes to sound quality. The cardboard sleeve is nothing to shout about given what is currently out there e.g. The Band, Hall & Oates etc that have been very well designed from thicker good quality cardboard which is so well assembled that you don't fear it coming apart when the glue wears out like it is here. In fact, when it comes to the mlps version of "The Band" the only way to describe it is as a brilliant work of art; you'll have to see it to know what I mean about someone having great pride in his work to come up with what I believe is still the very best mlps version of an album that is currently out there.
The inclusion of the inner jacket replica and an insert with all the lyrics in both English and Japanese also isn't enough to justify a ridiculously expensive upgrade. The biggest crime though is the SHM-CD sound quality which is really very poor. In fact, my existing old copy sounds even better! Listening to both, there is nothing to distinguish between the two except for the cardboard sleeve with the SHM-CD label on the front and the vastly different sound quality which is no better than the old copy. I'm disappointed to have waited so long and this is what they have come up with: poor mlps design and sound quality that is no improvement over my existing old copy. The only plus is that they have added two bonus tracks: "Miss You in a Heartbeat" and "She's Too Tough" which is a nice touch. I have placed SHM-CD orders for other albums that are due to reach me soon and I hope and pray that they are much, much better sounding versions than this one.
Given the very high price on this baby for a version that is no improvement over the unremastered old cd that you already have, this is a rip off and a major waste of money in these uncertain economic times.
Avoid with as wide a berth as possible!
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