''High 'n' Dry'' is the second studio album by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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 July 6, 1981. ''High 'n' Dry'' was
Pete Willis
Peter Andrew Willis (born 16 February 1960) is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Def Leppard. He co-wrote many tracks and played guitar on the band's first three albums: ''On Through th ...
' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and No. 26 on 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 ...
.
"
High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. Following the success of ''
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 ...
'', the album re-entered in the US chart and reached No. 72 in 1983.
Music
The album's music has been described as
heavy metal[V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), and pp. 293–4.] and
hard rock.
Reissue
''High 'n' Dry'' was reissued on 31 May 1984 with two bonus tracks:
#"
Bringin' On the Heartbreak
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a power ballad originally recorded by English rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album ''High 'n' Dry''. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Will ...
" (Remix), a similar recording to the 1981 original but with synthesiser and piano overdubs added by
Mutt Lange
A mutt is a mongrel (a dog of unknown ancestry).
Mutt may also refer to:
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* Mutt, a derogatory term for mixed-race people
Nickname
* Larry Black (sprinter) (1951-2006), American sprinter
* Mutt Carey (1886–1948), New Orleans jazz trump ...
in February 1984. This remix was released later in the year as a single, peaking at No. 61 in the US charts.
#"Me & My Wine" (Remix), a remixed version of a 1981 B-side, with the remixed version included as the B-side to the remix of ''Bringin' on the Heartbreak''.
The intention of these remixes was to make the two songs sound more in the style of Def Leppard's 1983 album ''
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 ...
''.
Videos for both of the remixed songs were made, featuring
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 ...
(who was not in the band at the time of the album's recording). Both bonus tracks were omitted from the US mid-1990s re-releases of the album, although other countries' releases did include them, but returned when Def Leppard and Mercury came to terms in 2018 and the album was put on digital streaming and downloading platforms.
Reception
Rating the album 4 out of 5, Steve Huey of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
notes how Def Leppard "continues in the vein of the anthemic, working-class hard rock of their debut. While still opting for a controlled musical attack and melodies as big-sounding and stadium-ready as possible, the band opens up its arrangements a bit more on ''High 'n' Dry'', letting the songs breathe and groove while the rhythm section and guitar riffs play off one another."
In a 3.5 out of 5 review,
Sputnikmusic writes that "while ''High 'n' Dry'' cannot claim to be a resounding success as an individual album, it is indeed one from a progression standpoint. Def Leppard is clearly a more confident outfit here and with help from new producer “Mutt” Lange, they allow their compositions to include greater scope in order for the band to find their sound. While this does result in some misses, they are never too far off target and are more than made up for by the album’s highlights which have aged extremely well."
Track listing
*On vinyl and cassette releases, "Me & My Wine" (Remix) is added to the end of side one, while "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" (Remix) leads off side two. On CD releases, "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" (Remix) and "Me & My Wine" (Remix) follow "No No No".
*The last lyric, 'no', in "No No No" repeats infinitely on the original vinyl album release. The original cassette features "no" being screamed 46 times and then ending abruptly when the cassette finished. On later releases the "no"s simply fade out.
Personnel
Def Leppard
*
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, backing vocals
*
Steve Clark – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
*
Pete Willis
Peter Andrew Willis (born 16 February 1960) is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Def Leppard. He co-wrote many tracks and played guitar on the band's first three albums: ''On Through th ...
– lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
*
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
*
Rick Allen – drums, backing vocals
Production
*
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 ...
–
producer, 1984 remixes
*
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 ...
–
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
*Nigel Green – assistant engineer
*
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10c ...
–
cover design
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Charts
Album
Singles
Let It Go
"Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...
Bringin' On the Heartbreak
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a power ballad originally recorded by English rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album ''High 'n' Dry''. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Will ...
Certifications
See also
*
List of glam metal albums and songs
The following list of glam metal albums and songs is a list containing albums and songs described by at least one professional source as glam metal or its interchangeable terms, hair metal, lite metal, pop metal, and metal pop.
Albums
1978
* ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:High and Dry
1981 albums
Def Leppard albums
Albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis
Vertigo Records albums
Mercury Records albums
New Wave of British Heavy Metal albums
Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios