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''Adrenalize'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
, released on 31 March 1992 through
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – " Let's Get Rocked", "
Make Love Like a Man "Make Love Like a Man" is a 1992 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album '' Adrenalize''. The song reached No. 3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United ...
", " Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and " Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" – were major hits. "White Lightning" is dedicated to the memory of Clark, who has writing credits on six of the album's 10 tracks.


Background

Def Leppard had faced long delays, and the challenge of drummer Rick Allen losing his arm while making their previous album, Hysteria, and while trying to follow up the success, they also faced the prospect of doing so with a different producer, as
Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...
was already working with
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
. At the same time guitarist Steve Clark had been suffering from alcohol addiction since 1989, spending six sessions in rehab. Clark was involved in writing six of the songs on the album, but was given an ultimatum over his alcoholism in September 1990, and put on a six-month leave of absence. Clark died four months later, in January 1991. The band tried to continue the recording process, going back into the studio the day after Clark's death to cope with the loss, but it took several months before they were able to work to what they felt was a satisfactory standard.


Recording

Instead of replacing Clark with a new member, the band recorded the album as a four-piece. "We had recorded demos on multitrack," recalled fellow guitarist
Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...
. "I was sitting there with him when he played the original parts. I could relay that. But it was like playing along to a ghost." This was also the band's first album since 1981 recorded without longtime producer
Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...
. Instead, the band took matters in their own hands and produced the album themselves along with longtime engineer
Mike Shipley Michael Shipley (6 October 1956 – 25 July 2013) was an Australian mixing engineer, audio engineer, and record producer. Shipley's music career spanned more than 30 years – mostly working in Los Angeles. At the Grammy Awards of 2012 he ...
; with Lange credited as executive producer. "We coped without Mutt quite well…" recalled
Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
. "Mutt was in his studio in Guildford with Bryan Adams and we'd be in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, talking every day… But it wasn't as adventurous as '' Hysteria''. It was more of a rock album, less experimental. It's like with Pink Floyd: to me, ''Adrenalize'' was our ''
Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...
'' and ''Hysteria'' was our ''
Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of t ...
''."


Commercial performance and reception

''Adrenalize'' debuted at No. 1 on both the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and, in the following week, on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. It stayed at No. 1 of the Billboard chart for five weeks keeping Bruce Springsteen's ''
Human Touch ''Human Touch'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on March 31, 1992, the same day as '' Lucky Town''. It was the more popular of the two, peaking at number two on the US ''Billboar ...
'' off the top spot, and spent 65 weeks on the charts in total. The album received mixed reviews: some critics praised its production values and instantly catchy and radio-friendly material, while others called it tired and formulaic. In a four-star review for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', J.D. Considine wrote: "''Adrenalize'' is so relentlessly catchy that it almost seems as if the band is about to abandon its heavy-metal roots for the greener fields of hard pop." Other reviewers also noted the album's less metal sound and pointed out its lack of cohesion. A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said that, despite the slick production, the album doesn't match the standard set by the band's previous two records, which they referred to as masterpieces." Writing in 2009, after ''
Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...
'' and ''Adrenalize'' have been reissued, Toby Cook of ''
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
'' said that, despite ''Adrenalize'''s many flaws, "the record buying public of '92 cared not." Indeed, the album would go on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, remaining Def Leppard's last studio album to achieve major mainstream success.


Track listing


Deluxe edition (Bonus CD)

*Tracks 1–4 are taken from the band's ''In the Clubs... In Your Face'' EP, recorded at
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, Germany, on 29 May 1992 *Tracks 5 & 6 taken from " Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single. *Tracks 7 & 8 taken from "
Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...
" single. *Track 9 taken from "
Make Love Like a Man "Make Love Like a Man" is a 1992 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album '' Adrenalize''. The song reached No. 3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United ...
" UK single and " Two Steps Behind" US single. *Track 10 taken from " Two Steps Behind" single. *Tracks 11 & 12 taken from " Let's Get Rocked" single.


Personnel

*
Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
 – lead vocals *
Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...
 – lead and rhythm guitars (except acoustic guitar on "Tonight"), backing vocals, Cockney rhyming rap on "Make Love Like a Man" *
Rick Savage Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...
 – bass guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on "Tonight" * Rick Allen – drums


Additional personnel

* The Sideways Mob – backing vocals *
Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...
,
John Sykes John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. Following a stint in ...
– backing vocals * Phil "Crash" Nicholas – keyboards on "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" * Pete Woodroffe - additional guitar on "Let's Get Rocked"


Production

* Mike "Bat Ears" Shipley – producer, engineer, mixing *Def Leppard – producer *Pete Woodroffe – engineer, programming, sequencing *
Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...
 – executive producer *Robert Scovill – assistant engineer * Bob Ludwig – mastering *Andie Airfix – art direction *Pamela Springsteen – photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Notes


References

* {{Authority control Def Leppard albums 1992 albums Mercury Records albums Vertigo Records albums Albums produced by Mike Shipley