Def leppard high and dry
“Lady Strange” - This song just keeps the party going. If “You Got Me Runnin'” does make you wanna rock out, nothing will! The guitar work just shines on this tune! Super well done chorus along with a fantastic guitar solo almost AC/DC like. I have no idea if they ever played it live but man what a great tune. “You Got Me Runnin'” - This is my fav tune off High ‘n’ Dry. “Switch 625” - This song ends side one with Willis and Clark soloing and jamming out while Joe takes a breather during this musical diversion! Whew side one ends with a loud boot up the rear! But back then, all that mattered to me was that this song wasn’t Journey like! This is no sap from the tap! The drums move it along during the pre chorus into the chorus and the guitars take over! For me, after all these years, I can hear the influence of Mutt Lange that would come after on their recorded works. “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”– I don’t think Def Leppard knew at the time they were composing the first big heavy rock power ballad in 1981 but they were. This is hard rock 101 at its finest! Love the drum sound courtesy of Rick Allen. “High ‘n’ Dry” - The title track and Joe‘s stumbling around being wasted all day! Dude pulls the vocals off convincingly on this whole album. Def Leppard will hit ya and they will run right over you! The two solos in this song are wickedly good and the Clark/ Willis combo are right up there with Smith/ Murray from Maiden at this point ! “Another Hit And Run” - This track continues the pace set by “Let It Go.” This song just flat out rocks and man Def Leppard are a band to contend with. Actually, this song could have been AC/DC as it’s a slick piece of well put together hard rock and man it’s only track one! Joe Elliott‘s vocals are almost like a clean version of Brian Johnson from AC/DC. Here’s Def Leppard in 1981 ready to do battle and the guitars courtesy of Pete Willis and Steve Clark (R.I.P.) set the tone. Let me tell ya what all the fuss was about…
The sonics, songwriting and overall delivery of High ‘n’ Dry is a must have in any hard rock collection… Thirty five years later and this record sounds like it could have come out last week.
Def Leppard by album number two had enlisted Mutt Lange the one who had twiddled the dials on the last three AC/DC albums ( Highway To Hell, Back In Black and For Those About To Rock) so here he is, as a producer working with the young upstarts in Def Leppard. Thirty five years later, I’m gonna focus on Def Leppard and man what a cooker of an album High ‘n’ Dry was and still is! I remember reading Kerrang and Creem Metal Magazine back then and they were into this New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene that was happening over in England so I guess I was somewhat part of that new metal scene over here in Canada. Shortly after, I left home and came back with Def Leppard‘s High ‘n’ Dry release!
One record that I had to decide on and I went with was Maiden that day and I purchased Killers. One day, I went to buy one record and it came down to a new band choice. Summer of 1981 was the year I discovered both Iron Maiden and Def Leppard.