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Classic Def Leppard on video , November 24, 2007
Length:: 6:01 Mins
Def Leppard's "Historia/In the Round in Your Face" DVD is a satisfying combination of no less than 18 of the band's classic early videos, start-to-finish concert footage from 1988 that takes place in two arenas (in Denver and Atlanta), and bonus material that includes later videos such as "Slang," an interview with the band, and a discography section that covers Lep's CDs up to 1999's Euphoria.
The "Historia" videos run the gamut from 1980's "Hello America" to the band's No. 1 hit "Love Bites" from 1988. Between videos is a recap of Leppard's career at various stages, creatively enhanced by ragtime piano heard on a scratchy record and words across a scratchy brown screen meant to imitate a silent movie. As for the videos, it's cool to watch the band in all its youthful enthusiasm on such great early songs like "Let it Go," "Foolin'" and "Women." Def Leppard have always been an exciting band to watch live, whether on a normal stage or "in the round," and some of the band's videos by the Pyromania era bordered on cutting edge for the time period. These days, it might be easy to smirk a little at some of the over-the-top lip-syncing performances that Def Leppard employed in videos such as "Photograph," "Foolin'" and "Rock of Ages, but, put in a historical context, those clips portrayed Leppard as a force to be reckoned with and really paved the way for future heavy metal video performances by lesser bands. From "Hello America" to "Pour Some Sugar on Me," it's interesting to see how massively Leppard progressed in terms of its musical direction and the depth of its stage performance. The band's tendency toward darker-themed videos -- whether set in Victorian times with owls and women in cages or with flashing lights abounding and skulls in the background -- ironically set the stage for what would be a morbid period later on, when drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash.
Undoubtedly, the best video Leppard ever put out was "Me and My Wine" from 1984. This was in the days when everyone in the band wholeheartedly indulged in crazy extracurricular activities, and boy does it show in this clip, where everyone looks severely (but happily) strung out. Filmed in "Paddy Freeny's mother's house" and in homage to Britain's great television series "The Young Ones," this video truly captures the band at a refreshingly raw and wild period that it never really returned to in such an unbridled fashion. Plus the video is just hilarious...watch it and see. Viewing Leppard's much slicker videos later on, you wonder a bit where the spontaneous atmosphere went.
The highpoint of this DVD, however, is not the band's videos but the live performance it puts on in "In the Round..." This portion of the DVD leads off with a frantic trip around the arena (mostly in black and white footage) as the crowd files in and the stage is being set up earlier on, all to the rhythmic, mesmerizing beat of "Rocket." The band looks excitable before the show (no pun intended), and the arena-sized crowd is pumped to the gills. This was back in the days when rock bands truly were larger than life, thanks in part to MTV, and if you're a fan of Def Leppard, then the hyped lead-up to the performance is pretty magical. As the band waits behind a massive Hysteria-sewn curtain in preparation for "Stagefright," the leadoff song of the night, Clint Eastwood's famous "do you feel lucky" dialogue infiltrates the arena in a foreboding way, revving the crowd up more. Once the curtain drops, the band doesn't let up for one moment, running around the colorful stage as if its collective life depended on it. Fourteen songs, practically all of them well-known hits, rockers and ballads, keep the audience entertained throughout the duration. A highlight for me is the guitar intro to "Gods of War," performed by the late great Steve Clark. Following the "nuclear war" outro of that song is "Die Hard the Hunter," and to see the stage go dark and Rick Allen looking up toward the heavens between songs is priceless. To me, it's the apex of the concert.
After all this video and live-performance mayhem, the bonus material is a bit of a letdown. Sure, videos like "Promises," "Slang" and "Work it Out" are good songs inside of glossy, high-tech video productions, but somehow none of it matches the earlier footage that was so invigorating. Interestingly, the sappy ballad "Goodbye" is somehow enhanced a bit by the equally corny video.
Though duller than the multiple videos and live mayhem onstage, the band interview is also kind of cool to watch. The guys talk about playing live in the round, making videos (including "Me and My Wine") and staying musically current. Just as they are on stage, the guys seem enthusiastic and still glad to be a band. If you like Def Leppard's music, this DVD is a must-have.
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 Def Leppard - Historia / In the Round, In Your Face B00005RZPK
Def Leppard
Island / Mercury
Def Leppard - Historia / In the Round, In Your Face
Movies & TV
Classic Def Leppard on video
See video on Amazon.com Def Leppard's "Historia/In the Round in Your Face" DVD is a satisfying combination of no less than 18 of the band's classic early videos, start-to-finish concert footage from 1988 that takes place in two arenas (in Denver and Atlanta), and bonus material that includes later videos such as "Slang," an interview with the band, and a discography section that covers Lep's CDs up to 1999's Euphoria.
The "Historia" videos run the gamut from 1980's "Hello America" to the band's No. 1 hit "Love Bites" from 1988. Between videos is a recap of Leppard's career at various stages, creatively enhanced by ragtime piano heard on a scratchy record and words across a scratchy brown screen meant to imitate a silent movie. As for the videos, it's cool to watch the band in all its youthful enthusiasm on such great early songs like "Let it Go," "Foolin'" and "Women." Def Leppard have always been an exciting band to watch live, whether on a normal stage or "in the round," and some of the band's videos by the Pyromania era bordered on cutting edge for the time period. These days, it might be easy to smirk a little at some of the over-the-top lip-syncing performances that Def Leppard employed in videos such as "Photograph," "Foolin'" and "Rock of Ages, but, put in a historical context, those clips portrayed Leppard as a force to be reckoned with and really paved the way for future heavy metal video performances by lesser bands. From "Hello America" to "Pour Some Sugar on Me," it's interesting to see how massively Leppard progressed in terms of its musical direction and the depth of its stage performance. The band's tendency toward darker-themed videos -- whether set in Victorian times with owls and women in cages or with flashing lights abounding and skulls in the background -- ironically set the stage for what would be a morbid period later on, when drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash.
Undoubtedly, the best video Leppard ever put out was "Me and My Wine" from 1984. This was in the days when everyone in the band wholeheartedly indulged in crazy extracurricular activities, and boy does it show in this clip, where everyone looks severely (but happily) strung out. Filmed in "Paddy Freeny's mother's house" and in homage to Britain's great television series "The Young Ones," this video truly captures the band at a refreshingly raw and wild period that it never really returned to in such an unbridled fashion. Plus the video is just hilarious...watch it and see. Viewing Leppard's much slicker videos later on, you wonder a bit where the spontaneous atmosphere went.
The highpoint of this DVD, however, is not the band's videos but the live performance it puts on in "In the Round..." This portion of the DVD leads off with a frantic trip around the arena (mostly in black and white footage) as the crowd files in and the stage is being set up earlier on, all to the rhythmic, mesmerizing beat of "Rocket." The band looks excitable before the show (no pun intended), and the arena-sized crowd is pumped to the gills. This was back in the days when rock bands truly were larger than life, thanks in part to MTV, and if you're a fan of Def Leppard, then the hyped lead-up to the performance is pretty magical. As the band waits behind a massive Hysteria-sewn curtain in preparation for "Stagefright," the leadoff song of the night, Clint Eastwood's famous "do you feel lucky" dialogue infiltrates the arena in a foreboding way, revving the crowd up more. Once the curtain drops, the band doesn't let up for one moment, running around the colorful stage as if its collective life depended on it. Fourteen songs, practically all of them well-known hits, rockers and ballads, keep the audience entertained throughout the duration. A highlight for me is the guitar intro to "Gods of War," performed by the late great Steve Clark. Following the "nuclear war" outro of that song is "Die Hard the Hunter," and to see the stage go dark and Rick Allen looking up toward the heavens between songs is priceless. To me, it's the apex of the concert.
After all this video and live-performance mayhem, the bonus material is a bit of a letdown. Sure, videos like "Promises," "Slang" and "Work it Out" are good songs inside of glossy, high-tech video productions, but somehow none of it matches the earlier footage that was so invigorating. Interestingly, the sappy ballad "Goodbye" is somehow enhanced a bit by the equally corny video.
Though duller than the multiple videos and live mayhem onstage, the band interview is also kind of cool to watch. The guys talk about playing live in the round, making videos (including "Me and My Wine") and staying musically current. Just as they are on stage, the guys seem enthusiastic and still glad to be a band. If you like Def Leppard's music, this DVD is a must-have.
Sal Nudo
November 24, 2007
- Overall: 5
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Location: Champaign, Illinois
New Reviewer Rank: 1,237
Classic Reviewer Rank: 1,672
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