All the things that Def Leppard hadn’t done in 40 years, they had managed to put them in motion within a 3-year time period as since 2017 the Sheffield boys has focused in re-releasing archival stuff thus bringing a huge smile on the faces of their longtime fans! Naturally “Hysteria” was on the spotlight with two deluxe editions (including ten 7’’ singles), two box sets that covered the 80s and 90s, three special Record Store Day releases (including for the very first time the legendary 1979 EP in 12’’ format)…need to say more? And if all these weren’t enough, Def Leppard offers now an in depth look at their early days with this magnificent box set appropriately entitled “The Early Years, 1979-1981”). Let’s see what we get here…
For starters, this is a 5-CD box set that includes the remastered versions of “On Through The Night” and “High N’ Dry”. The third CD is alive show from Oxford in the frame of the band’s “On Through The Night Tour” in April 1980. This is a great show that clearly projects a band heading to stardom as they play maturely despite their young age. Of note is the presence of “Medicine Man” and “When The Rain Falls” (early versions of “Rock Rock” and “Let It Go” respectively) and the addition on the set list of “Lady Strange” which was an unreleased track by that point. As for the 4th and 5th CD the material was more or less well-known to the Def Leppard aficionados but it’s pretty cool to have all in one package this archival stuff including early versions of “Wasted”, “Rock Brigade” and “Hello America” plus for the first time in CD format the original version of “Me and my Wine”. In addition we are treated with a few songs from the famous Reading show in 1980 during a time when the British press (especially Sounds and Geoff Barton) accused Leppard of being sell-outs due to the song “Hello America”! Those were the days!
The verdict: Yet another sensational box set by the Sheffield Boys aimed exclusively to the die hard fans. It shows clear evidence the glorious road that lied open wide in front of them…
