Pyromania (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pyromania
Studio album by Def Leppard
Released	January 20, 1983 (1983-01-20)
Recorded	1982 at Park Gates Studios in Battle, East Sussex, England and Battery Studios in London
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal
Length	44:57
Label	Mercury
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (C) link Rolling Stone link
Def Leppard chronology
High 'n' Dry (1981) Pyromania (1983) Hysteria (1987)
Singles from Pyromania
"Photograph" Released: February 1983 "Rock of Ages" Released: May 1983 "Foolin'" Released: August 1983 (US) "Too Late for Love" Released: October 1983 (UK)

Pyromania is the third studio album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1983. It broke the band across North America and in Japan, and would sell over 10 million copies worldwide. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange.

The album is credited for paving the way for a new generation of hard rock bands in the 80's, and set the standard for albums of the genre through its combination of multi-layered vocal harmonies and heavy guitar riffs.

Three songs from Pyromania, "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", and "Foolin'", became Top 40 singles in the US, benefiting from their popularity on the 24-hour music channel MTV.

One of the guest musicians on the album was John Kongos, best known for his lone hit song "He's Gonna Step on You Again". Def Leppard later covered this song on the 2006 covers album Yeah!

Another guest musician is Thomas Dolby, best known for the eighties pop standard "She Blinded Me with Science".

In 2004 it was ranked 384 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

1. "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" (Steve Clark, Rick Savage, Mutt Lange, Joe Elliott) – 3:52
2. "Photograph" (Clark, Pete Willis, Savage, Lange, Elliott) – 4:12
3. "Stagefright" (Savage, Elliott, Lange) – 3:46
4. "Too Late for Love" (Clark, Lange, Willis, Savage, Elliott) – 4:30
5. "Die Hard the Hunter" (Lange, Clark, Savage, Elliott) – 6:17

[edit] Side two

1. "Foolin'" (Clark, Lange, Elliott) – 4:32
2. "Rock of Ages" (Clark, Lange, Elliott) – 4:09
3. "Comin' Under Fire" (Lange, Clark, Willis, Elliott) – 4:20
4. "Action! Not Words" (Lange, Clark, Elliott) – 3:52
5. "Billy's Got a Gun" (Clark, Savage, Willis, Elliott, Lange) – 5:27

[edit] Personnel

• Joe Elliott – lead vocals
• Steve "Steamin'" Clark – guitars
• Phil Collen – guitars
• Rick Savage – bass
• Rick Allen – drums
• Pete Willis – guitar backing tracks on all songs

[edit] Additional musicians

• The Leppardettes – backing vocals
• John Kongos – Fairlight CMI programming
• Booker T. Boffin – keyboards

[edit] Production

• Robert John "Mutt" Lange – producer
• Mike Shipley – engineer
• Brian "Chuck" New – assistant engineer (Battery Studios)
• Craig "Too Loud for Boys" Thomson – assistant engineer (Park Gate Studios)

[edit] References

• (1983) Album notes for Pyromania by Def Leppard [Vinyl back cover]. London, England: Vertigo (VERS 2). Pyromania at MusicBrainz.