Drastic Symphonies

Def Lep rocks, and this is a nice spin on some of their best tunes. Well done!

Great Sound... Great Harmony... Great and Original Def Leppard... Loving this...

I was initially under the impression that these would be new recordings featuring the band and orchestra. Instead, for the most part, they are re-interpretations of the original multitracks with the orchestra either replacing or supplementing specific parts of the original arrangement. Some, like "Paper Sun" and "When Love & Hate Collide" are mostly true to the original versions while others, like "Animal" and "Too Late for Love" are complete re-imaginings. The only thing about this I don't like is the ballad version of 'Sugar'. For me, the lyrics just don't work in this setting, despite the beautiful arrangement. However, I still wont take a star off because as a lifelong Def Leppard fan, I have always admired the way they honor the tunes that made them huge while still moving in new and unexpected directions. I am more than impressed with this album and think most other open-minded Leppard fans will be too.

Excellent recording. Def Leppard meets Symphony. I like this more than I thought I would. This is an excellent concept album.

If you’re a fan or not a big fan of Def Leppard, this will surely not disappoint.All the classics and newer tunes with the orchestral backing is genius.Nice version of “Pour Some Sugar on Me “ and “Paper Sun” sounds fantastic.

I love classical music & Def Leppard, so this really works for me. I’ve listened to it multiple ways, and I prefer listening through great quality headphones because there the music is beautiful & so three-dimensional, and feels it like the band is right there with you. Overall, I find it excellent, but I have a so-so view on “Pour Some Sugar On Me”. I don’t want to give anything away, but the original expresses better the cheeky meaning behind the song. “Gods of War” and “Hysteria” are my absolute favorites. Otherwise, the songs are wrapped with a beautiful/intense sound by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I have to add that the album, at the time of my review here, is #1 on the US Classical music charts, and it deserves it.

Drastic Symphonies is “The [insert name of second-tier city] Symphony Pops Presents An Evening With Def Leppard.” It’s as cheesy as these orchestral interpretations by junior varsity symphonies looking to financially supplement traditional classical concerts with something for the masses usually are. A ‘Classic’ Evening With Queen. The Orchestral Stylings of Led Zeppelin. While most of these concerts have only rock and roll instrumentals playing along with the orchestra, Drastic Symphonies obviously retains Joe Elliott’s vocals with the rest of the Def Leppard gang.Drastic Symphonies’ orchestration, with one exception, is either thoroughly predictable or simply, well, weird and ill-conceived. Case in point: “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” which is easily the worst track in this setlist. It has been slowed down to a piano/orchestral ballad – a song never written to be, never asking to be, in any universe, shape, fashion, or form a ballad. I’m all for being creative with remixes and retinkering existing material, but this recreation is ghastly. Joe Elliott croons his way through the track with guest vocalist Emm Gryner (who also arranged this version). The handful of times Def Leppard collaborated with other artists each were misses. The guest artists were cast against type as a creative counter to what fans expected of a Def Leppard cut, and the ideas never correctly materialized. Once again, it is a failure. Gryner coos and moans her vocals against Elliott’s vocal syrup, all the while trying to inject dignity and romance into lyrics that are the house anthem at every strip club in the world. It’s just befuddling, unless it was intended to be a joke. But, man, that’s a long jog for the sake of meta.Hitting on some highlights… “Hysteria,” a fundamentally beautiful, sweeping ballad effectively got its point across, and nicely used staccato strings to mimic the rhythm guitar pattern of the original recording during the chorus. “Love Bites,” another ballad suited for such experimentation does a good job comporting itself, but almost too good, as its orchestration was fairly telegraphed. That said, it’s a nice track and works well. “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” was not a surprising inclusion, but tagging “Switch 625” on it was. Again, nothing very shocking here, other than a fan appreciating the former’s epilogue being included.“Gods of War,” a track extremely well suited for an orchestral interpretation, is just okay here. This should have been the track with which Def Leppard shot for the moon: blasting horns, oceans of strings, each punctuated with guitar and percussion attacks. Full throttle drama. Not here, not “drastic,” despite the opportunity for at least one of the tracks to live up to the album title. Would it have been overkill? If they wanted to mangle “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” why not take a chance cranking the project with a deep dive? This album’s version of “When Love & Hate Collide” is reminiscent of one of the alternate cuts in the band’s second box set’s rarities section (the “Piano and Strings Version”), but is too much like the original 1995 version of the song to really feel necessary here. The “Piano and Strings Version” is quite good, and simply including that arrangement in Drastic Symphonies would have been the better call.There is way too much filler in Drastic Symphonies. If the band wanted to blow fans’ minds with cool new versions of classic songs, give us new versions of the material we know, not material we either don’t know or care very little about. “Goodbye For Good This Time,” “Love,” “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”… these tracks drag down the album. Why not experiment with universally loved songs like “Photograph,” “Armageddon It,” or “Rock of Ages”? Because including them would be too predictable? If that’s the excuse, “predictable” was already a problem. Why not make it a party?All of that said, there is one cut on this collection that nails it completely and should have been the inspirational blueprint for the entire project. “Animal.” The version here stopped me cold in my tracks. Already an energetic, explosive, melodic masterpiece of pop metal indulgence, the version on Drastic Symphonies strips away traditional rock percussion and the multiple saturated guitar overdubs the Hysteria album was known for, and allows a string section to lift it, relying only on its melody to stay aloft on clouds of strings. This song literally (not really) floats in the air. Like a bird. That’s the imagery that came to mind when I first heard it. It’s strange, to be sure. It’s unexpected. However, it’s also the kind of overturned orchestration this album was begging for, but rarely received. If you are an avid Def Leppard fan, I will go so far as to say this one track is worth the price of the entire album. Incidentally, “Too Late For Love” was given similar treatment, but did not fare as well, in my opinion because its melody is not as intense (or, drastic, I suppose) as “Animal.”Drastic Symphonies is unfortunately very predictable. The album is not a poor idea on paper, it simply needed more consistently interesting orchestrations and less filler. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is so terrible, it’s borderline offensive to this long-time Def Leppard fan. “Animal” is pure magic, bliss, and what every other track in this set should have aspired to be. I recommend Drastic Symphonies with the advice of spinning it with low expectations.

I love this album. Since I received it, it has been on a constant loop in the car. The songs stay true to the originals for the most part, they seem enhanced by the added symphonic bits.I saw one critic had savaged "Pour some Sugar on Me", and this is the one track on the album that you'll either LOVE or HATE. I loved it. It's stripped down and Joe sings it with featured guest Emm Gryner on piano and vocals.Def Leppard continues to amaze me. While most bands their age are touring the hits, like a tribute band...they are still creating and taking chances.