Oh can you feel it, do you believe it?
Watch out, love bites
When you make love, do you look in the mirror?
Who do you think of, does he look like me?
Do you tell lies and say that it's forever?
Do you think twice, or just touch 'n' see?
Hysteria is the fourth studio album recorded by English Hard Rock band Def Leppard. It was released through Mercury Records on 3 August 1987.
Riding high on the success of Pyromania, the new album had lofty expectations. Producer Mutt Lange wanted to craft an album that was hard rock's answer to Thriller. He wanted an opus from which any song could be a potential hit. It took three years to produce.
There would be some complications to come. A car accident cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm on New Year's Eve 1984. His bandmates stood behind him, and he had a special hybrid drum kit made to compensate for his missing arm.
Additionally, lead singer Joe Elliott contracted mumps in 1986.note
As production dragged into 1987, they put on the finishing touches, which included one last song: "Pour Some Sugar on Me".
While they were aiming for Thriller, it very easily could've turned into Tusk. With the length of time it required, as well as all the technological additions, David Simone of Phonogram reckoned that it might've been the most expensive record ever produced in the United Kingdom. Guitarist Phil Collen said it would need to sell a minimum of five million copies to break even.
But they were up to the challenge, and backed it up. In its first week of release, it actually topped the Official Charts Company album chart. It would take a little longer in the United States, but once "Pour Some Sugar on Me" came out, that finally propelled it to #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It would be in the Top 10 of the year-end Billboard 200 in both 1988 (#3) and 1989 (#9).
Ultimately, "break even" was of little issue. It was certified twelve-times Platinum (later Diamond) by the RIAA, and double-Platinum by the BPI. It also went Diamond in Canada, and quadruple-Platinum in Australia.
Seven singles were released from the album: "Animal", "Woman", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", the Title Track, "Armageddon It", "Love Bites", and "Rocket". All but "Woman" would be hits on both sides of the pond, with "Animal" having the highest peak on the UK Pop chart at #6, and "Love Bites" becoming their only #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Funny enough, of the seven singles, only "Pour Some Sugar on Me" would not see the Top 10 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It peaked there at #25, despite reaching #2 on the Hot 100.
A deluxe edition in 2006 added four more tracks which were B-sides to some of their singles. A 30th anniversary edition released in 2017 added four extra discs: two discs of radio edits and remixes, and two discs which compiled an audio-only edition of Live: In the Round, In Your Face, a 1989 Album Video recorded from a pair of concerts in Denver, Colorado, in February 1988.
Tracklist
Side One- "Women" (5:42)
- "Rocket" (6:35)
- "Animal" (4:04)
- "Love Bites" (5:47)
- "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (4:27)
- "Armageddon It" (5:22)
Side Two
- "Gods of War" (6:37)
- "Don't Shoot Shotgun" (4:27)
- "Run Riot" (4:39)
- "Hysteria" (5:55)
- "Excitable" (4:19)
- "Love and Affection" (4:35)
- "Tear It Down" (3:38)
- "Ride into the Sun" (1987 re-recording) (3:04)
- "I Wanna Be Your Hero" (4:32)
- "Ring of Fire" (4:36)
Personnel
- Joe Elliott – lead vocals, background vocals
- Steve Clark – guitars, background vocals
- Phil Collen – guitars, background vocals
- Rick Savage – bass, background vocals
- Rick Allen – drums, background vocals
- The Bankrupt Brothers (Def Leppard, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Rocky Newton) - backing vocals
"Tropes are like a bomb, baby, c'mon, get it on":
- As the Good Book Says...: "Women" describes (in abridged form) the creation of man and woman, and how the man's passion for his wife was his downfall.
- Epic Rocking: Both "Rocket" and "Gods of War" exceed six minutes. "Hysteria" and "Love Bites" are close.
- Intercourse with You: "Pour Some Sugar On Me", natch.
- Love Hurts: In this case, "Love Bites". It's unclear if the singer is just imagining his lover is thinking about someone else, or if she is actually cheating on him.
- Love Makes You Crazy: The point of the song "Hysteria", though it's really downplayed. "Love Bites" has some elements of this in its bridge.
- Power Ballad: Quite a few of the songs. Even "Pour Some Sugar on Me" counts as one, though it's definitely harder than other songs about love or sex common to glam metal.
- Pun: "Armageddon It" spoofs the British pronunciation (I'm a'gettin' it).Are you gettin' it?
ARMAGGEDON IT!
Ya really gettin' it?
Yes, ARMAGGEDON IT! - Song of Song Titles: "Rocket" lists a number of songs/bands from The '70s.
- Spoken Word in Music: The intro and outro to "Love Bites", and the whispered interlude in "Excitable".
- War Is Hell: Or rather, potential nuclear war is hell, as indicated by "Gods Of War" (with elements of Silly Reason for War and/or Pretext for War thrown in for good measure).
