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Post by andylgr on Jul 22, 2024 1:16:09 GMT -8
Its a subject we've discussed many times over the years and as it cropped up again this week I thought I'd create a thread for it.
Are there any of the bands albums where you feel they would be better with some tracks cut? Maybe you think they're fine as they are?
In all honesty I'd much rather a solid ten track 45 minute album over a bloated 15 track album or something that goes beyond 60 mins. I think the filler on some of their albums is to the detriment of the album as a whole. I apply to this other bands too. Iron Maiden and Metallica are a great example of that these days.
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Post by edwardcreighton on Jul 22, 2024 2:08:17 GMT -8
DSH had too much filler. Goodbye, Angels, Eternity and SOS taken away and it's a 5 star album for me.
Self titled Forever Young and Last Dance.
Maiden, Metallica and Leppard essentially self produce these days, not having a Martin Birch or Mutt to give them the unvarnished truth about songs may mean a couple of less than good songs get through. Or in Maidens case many songs are 10 minutes with multiple solos for each guitarist.
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Post by diva on Jul 22, 2024 2:46:58 GMT -8
I totally disagree and DSH. There’s no fillers on that album. I don’t skip over any of the songs. Best overall Lep album in decades.
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Post by Armageddonit on Jul 22, 2024 5:33:52 GMT -8
I totally disagree and DSH. There’s no fillers on that album. I don’t skip over any of the songs. Best overall Lep album in decades. 💯 agree |
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Post by tsmith on Jul 22, 2024 9:16:11 GMT -8
I sort of agree and disagree at the same time with the filler comment lol. I think the issue with Def Leppard is that their fan base is so varied that filler to one person is a song somebody else loves. Yeah, personally I skip This Guitar, Goodbye, Angels and Lifeless and for me all four of those songs would be at the bottom of their catalog. And I'd agree on Forever Young and Last Dance from the last album too as other songs I find myself always skipping. Thing is though that I know many others enjoy those songs and I think therein lies the quandary. While I'd prefer a tighter 10 or 11 track album, another problem is that are we sure Leppard would always pick the "right" 10 or 11 songs? I mean, they've largely ignored some pretty good songs over the years and/or made some odd song decisions. For example, Kiss the Day not making X except as a bonus track. Or songs like Scar & Wings of An Angel getting buried at the end of albums and never getting single treatment even though those songs are among the best songs on their respective albums IMO. And I'm sure there's plenty of other examples. Ultimately, I've gotten to the point where I'm just grateful they're still inspired to do new music when so many other bands from their era have given up. I'm happy to just sift through what I like and don't like and as long as a couple gems pop out, I'm good  DSH had too much filler. Goodbye, Angels, Eternity and SOS taken away and it's a 5 star album for me. Self titled Forever Young and Last Dance. Maiden, Metallica and Leppard essentially self produce these days, not having a Martin Birch or Mutt to give them the unvarnished truth about songs may mean a couple of less than good songs get through. Or in Maidens case many songs are 10 minutes with multiple solos for each guitarist. |
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Post by DesertSun81 on Jul 22, 2024 9:40:34 GMT -8
I definitely agree that DSH is an impressive album. Everyone has different opinions on what constitutes as filler on it, but even taking those out of the equation there’s a lot about it to get into if you’re just looking for straight forward/conventional/classic Leppard. Of the 15 tracks, I only skip 1 regularly and a couple more occasionally depending on what I feel like listening to, and would still put 6 of the songs in my top 50 Leppard tracks ever. I still regularly seek it out to listen to and wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still #1 for the third year in a row whenever I get my music replay for the year from Apple Music. I totally disagree and DSH. There’s no fillers on that album. I don’t skip over any of the songs. Best overall Lep album in decades. |
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Post by fna692002 on Jul 22, 2024 11:27:54 GMT -8
I personally don’t think DSH had any filler, altho I do have my days where I’ll play it all the way thru or just skip certain songs just cause it’s not fitting the mood. But as an album I feel like it’s certainly an amazing body of work from the band at this point in there career.
I think my biggest hope is that they lead off the next album with a non glam rock song. The one two of Kick and 73 was nice but I think they milked that to the extreme.
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Post by wabowarrior on Jul 22, 2024 11:56:20 GMT -8
I think the problem that Leppard has with the last few releases is more perception than actual quality. It isn't that the songs are "filler" in craftsmanship, it is that most of them never get played live, so they get brushed aside soon after the album is released. At least, that is how I view it at times.
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Post by andylgr on Jul 22, 2024 13:36:36 GMT -8
Maybe a better or more polite phrase is to “exercise some quality control”. For me albums like Retro Active, Euphoria, X, self titled and DSH would be greatly enhanced with the omission of a few tracks. The quality would really shine and elevate those albums for me if they were around 10-12 tracks long.
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Post by diva on Jul 22, 2024 15:31:45 GMT -8
I would consider filler as being a song that’s crap. There’s a difference between that and a deep cut or an epic song. I would consider Eternity to be an epic song. They usually have their last song be an epic song.
I would consider Hallucinate to be a filler song.
I know I’m in the minority but I think the piano songs on dsh are amazing.
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Post by Armageddonit on Jul 22, 2024 16:53:36 GMT -8
I would consider filler as being a song that’s crap. There’s a difference between that and a deep cut or an epic song. I would consider Eternity to be an epic song. They usually have their last song be an epic song. I would consider Hallucinate to be a filler song. I know I’m in the minority but I think the piano songs on dsh are amazing. I would agree that both of those songs are amazing as welll. The only filler (maybe) on DSH for me is Liquid Dust. |
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Post by andylgr on Jul 22, 2024 22:24:14 GMT -8
I've made no secret that DSH is not one of my favourite Leps albums and as its cropped up a lot in this thread I thought I'd share my own edited tracklist for it that I trim it down to on Spotify:
01. Take What You Want
02. Kick
03. Fire It Up
04. This Guitar
05. SOS Emergency
06. Liquid Dust
07. U Rok Mi
08. All We Need
09. Open Your Eyes
10. Gimme a Kiss
11. From Here to Eternity
So I cut out:
Goodbye For Good This Time
Angels (Can't Help You Now)
Lifeless
Unbreakable
This cuts it down to a approx 45 minutes and removes tracks that I just can't get in to. Plus I think that these songs dilute the album and give it much less of a rock feel.
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Post by Dan on Jul 23, 2024 5:37:36 GMT -8
My only issue with DSH is that I think there are a few too many songs that slow the pace down on an overall listen. Holding back a couple of songs, like Goodbye For Good and Angels, for the next release might have helped the flow a bit more. I like both songs personally.
Both the Def Leppard: ST and DSH feel a bit long to me. On the other hand SFTSL felt a bit short at about 40 minutes. Coming in around 45-50 minutes is my ideal runtime.
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Post by tsmith on Jul 23, 2024 5:42:34 GMT -8
My DSH playlist is very similar although I like Unbreakable more than This Guitar: 01. Take What You Want 02. Kick 03. Fire It Up 04. SOS Emergency 05. Liquid Dust 06. U Rok Mi 07. All We Need 08. Open Your Eyes 09. Gimme a Kiss 10. Unbreakable 11. From Here to Eternity I've also done the same thing making an altered tracklist for the 2015 S/T album as that one also has some songs I just can't get into: 01. Let's Go 02. Dangerous 03. Man Enough 04. We Belong 05. Invincible 06. All Time High 07. Battle of My Own 08. Broke N Brokenhearted 09. Last Dance 10. Wings of An Angel And lastly I've also made a revised X album playlist for when I want to listen to that album: 01. Now 02. You're So Beautiful 03. Everyday 04. Long Long Way To Go 05. Four Letter Word 06. Torn To Shreds 07. Love Don't Lie 08. Let Me Be The One 09. Scar 10. Kiss The Day I haven't really done this sort of thing with any of the other albums as to me the other albums are all pretty good as they are. However, for me these 3 albums are really improved and flow much better by removing a few songs so this is how I've been listening to them in recent years. I've found my enjoyment level of X in particular has gone way up since using the revised playlist. I've made no secret that DSH is not one of my favourite Leps albums and as its cropped up a lot in this thread I thought I'd share my own edited tracklist for it that I trim it down to on Spotify: 01. Take What You Want 02. Kick 03. Fire It Up 04. This Guitar 05. SOS Emergency 06. Liquid Dust 07. U Rok Mi 08. All We Need 09. Open Your Eyes 10. Gimme a Kiss 11. From Here to Eternity So I cut out: Goodbye For Good This Time Angels (Can't Help You Now) Lifeless Unbreakable This cuts it down to a approx 45 minutes and removes tracks that I just can't get in to. Plus I think that these songs dilute the album and give it much less of a rock feel. |
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Post by DesertSun81 on Jul 23, 2024 6:18:00 GMT -8
I've enjoyed reading everyone's takes on this topic! I stand by my earlier statement that I hope the band does not feel obligated to get to 13-15 tracks before releasing an album. With that said, it's clear that they look to create something for all types of fans on each album and it's particularly true now with a new generation of fans. DSH accentuated this approach across the 15 tracks. Pick almost any era of Leppard across the decades...it's all represented on this album in some form or fashion. While there's something to like for everyone, I can definitely see also how someone not as into some of the latter eras of Lep may not find as much to resonate with. I'm not sure if this is the super fan in me talking or if the quality of DSH is just that good (it's probably a bit of both!), however I am hard pressed to slice any of the 15 tracks off the running order. It will be interesting to see what others have to say about what they would remove as my guess is answers will vary greatly outside of a song or 2. The only track I regularly skip is GFGTT, and even with that I think the solo is fantastic and have enjoyed the DS version of the song. Another song that I've seen several bring up skipping is LIQUID DUST...while it's definitely not amongst my favorites the refrain for me is one of the best moments on the album. ANGELS is another one brought up a lot and I think has the lowest number of streams of all 15 tracks...I think it's underrated and has one of the best outros to a song in the entire catalog. I'm not sure how many others share this view, but I have found value or at least great moments in almost every song they've put out. I would just like to see them lean in a bit more with the core of their sound on the next album. I've made no secret that DSH is not one of my favourite Leps albums and as its cropped up a lot in this thread I thought I'd share my own edited tracklist for it that I trim it down to on Spotify: 01. Take What You Want 02. Kick 03. Fire It Up 04. This Guitar 05. SOS Emergency 06. Liquid Dust 07. U Rok Mi 08. All We Need 09. Open Your Eyes 10. Gimme a Kiss 11. From Here to Eternity So I cut out: Goodbye For Good This Time Angels (Can't Help You Now) Lifeless Unbreakable This cuts it down to a approx 45 minutes and removes tracks that I just can't get in to. Plus I think that these songs dilute the album and give it much less of a rock feel. |
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Post by Armageddonit on Jul 23, 2024 11:30:52 GMT -8
I've made no secret that DSH is not one of my favourite Leps albums and as its cropped up a lot in this thread I thought I'd share my own edited tracklist for it that I trim it down to on Spotify: 01. Take What You Want 02. Kick 03. Fire It Up 04. This Guitar 05. SOS Emergency 06. Liquid Dust 07. U Rok Mi 08. All We Need 09. Open Your Eyes 10. Gimme a Kiss 11. From Here to Eternity So I cut out: Goodbye For Good This Time Angels (Can't Help You Now) Lifeless Unbreakable This cuts it down to a approx 45 minutes and removes tracks that I just can't get in to. Plus I think that these songs dilute the album and give it much less of a rock feel. Unbreakable > Fire It Up |
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Post by andylgr on Jul 23, 2024 12:10:18 GMT -8
Great chorus and solo, but Unbreakable is ruined by that ultra processed drum / guitar effect they have in the verses. I honestly detest it. |
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Post by Steph on Jul 23, 2024 12:15:54 GMT -8
I've made no secret that DSH is not one of my favourite Leps albums and as its cropped up a lot in this thread I thought I'd share my own edited tracklist for it that I trim it down to on Spotify: 01. Take What You Want 02. Kick 03. Fire It Up 04. This Guitar 05. SOS Emergency 06. Liquid Dust 07. U Rok Mi 08. All We Need 09. Open Your Eyes 10. Gimme a Kiss 11. From Here to Eternity So I cut out: Goodbye For Good This Time Angels (Can't Help You Now) Lifeless Unbreakable This cuts it down to a approx 45 minutes and removes tracks that I just can't get in to. Plus I think that these songs dilute the album and give it much less of a rock feel. It's definitely not my favorite either. Take What You Want is the only song I like from DSH. I don't ever listen to that album. I tried really, really hard to like it. Really! lol |
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Post by andylgr on Jul 24, 2024 3:28:47 GMT -8
I prefer the 2015 self titled album to DSH, as it has more energy about I think, especially in Joe's delivery, but even so I think cutting it down a touch makes it a stronger record IMO.
I usually edit it down to:
1. Let's Go
2. Dangerous
3. Man Enough
4. We Belong
5. Sea of Love
6. All Time High
7. Battle of my Own
8. Broke n Broken Hearted
9. Last Dance
10. Wings of an Angel
11. Blind Faith
And leave these ones out:
Invincible
Forever Young
Energized
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Post by whitelightning625 on Jul 24, 2024 6:13:50 GMT -8
This is an interesting topic that can be spun several ways. Certain demographic of fans are split up, or even drop off after certain albums.
I had recently finished reading Definitely and chuckled at the part where Phil acknowledged they copied themselves when writing 'Promises'. Even so far that obviously if somebody else did this the band would sue.
As time goes on in my view they've just evolved as song writers. It's not the most proactive approach, but writing something in the vein of a past era is by no means redundant. Even with saying that the last time the band attempted this was on Euphoria 25 years ago.
It would be very pleasing to see the guys view it from the perspective of writing a classic album track rocker, or something that pays omage to previous eras. Possibly writing and recording just a select few tracks for release. It could do wonders for easing stress on the band as writers. With platforms like Spotify, even ITunes, it gives you the discretion of single track releases, or multiple.
Side note/final comment- This is where I really can appreciate Steve Clark. The band praise Steve as a bits writer, but who else consistently wrote a completed track on their own back then? Steve gave the band that edge in this sense. Not trying to be negative of the current era or the guys as musicians, but Steve is missed.
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Post by TurnToDust86 on Jul 24, 2024 8:13:48 GMT -8
Interesting topic indeed.
In recent years, I've really only done this to two albums: Def Leppard and Diamond Star Halos. I don't necessarily wish either were shorter, as I'm happy to get as much new music as I can get my hands on. But when I want to distill the albums down to remove stuff I tend to skip, the shorter versions come in handy and are stronger as a result. Shortening those two albums also resulted in a third playlist I'll include later.
Based on this thread, I also created condensed versions of X and Yeah!. I'd probably leave all other albums alone.
X
1. Now
2. You're So Beautiful
3. Everyday
4. Long, Long Way To Go
5. Four Letter Word
6. Torn To Shreds
7. Cry
8. Let Me Be The One
9. Scar
10. Kiss The Day
Yeah!
1. 20th Century Boy
2. Rock On
3. Hanging On The Telephone
4. Waterloo Sunset
5. Hell Raiser
6. 10538 Overture
7. Space Oddity
8. The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll
9. No Matter What
10. Don't Believe A Word
11. Stay With Me
12. When I'm Dead And Gone
DL15
1. Let's Go
2. Dangerous
3. Man Enough
4. We Belong
5. Invincible
6. All Time High
7. Battle Of My Own
8. Broke 'n' Brokenhearted
9. Last Dance
10. Wings Of An Angel
11. Blind Faith
Diamond Star Halos
1. Take What You Want
2. Kick
3. Fire It Up
4. SOS Emergency
5. Liquid Dust
6. U Rok Mi
7. All We Need
8. Open Your Eyes
9. Gimme A Kiss That Rocks
10. Angels (Can't Help You Now)
11. Lifeless [Lep Only]
12. Unbreakable
13. From Here To Eternity
I then made an extra playlist to create an album of the leftover/miscellaneous tracks from 'recent' years.
1. Undefeated
2. Helen Wheels
3. It's All About Believin'
4. This Guitar [Lep Only]
5. Sea Of Love
6. Energized
7. Goodbye For Good This Time
8. Forever Young
9. All On Your Touch
10. Personal Jesus
11. Kings Of The World
I find listening to this playlist actually allows me to enjoy these tracks more. I don't have the urge to skip stuff like SOL/Energized/GFGTT to get to stuff I enjoy more and it gives the MB tracks a proper 'album' to sit on.
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Post by Armageddonit on Jul 24, 2024 10:26:59 GMT -8
Great chorus and solo, but Unbreakable is ruined by that ultra processed drum / guitar effect they have in the verses. I honestly detest it. I can understand that , it’s a bit NIN |
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Post by wabowarrior on Jul 24, 2024 10:31:28 GMT -8
This is an interesting topic that can be spun several ways. Certain demographic of fans are split up, or even drop off after certain albums. I had recently finished reading Definitely and chuckled at the part where Phil acknowledged they copied themselves when writing 'Promises'. Even so far that obviously if somebody else did this the band would sue. As time goes on in my view they've just evolved as song writers. It's not the most proactive approach, but writing something in the vein of a past era is by no means redundant. Even with saying that the last time the band attempted this was on Euphoria 25 years ago. It would be very pleasing to see the guys view it from the perspective of writing a classic album track rocker, or something that pays omage to previous eras. Possibly writing and recording just a select few tracks for release. It could do wonders for easing stress on the band as writers. With platforms like Spotify, even ITunes, it give you the discretion of single track releases, or multiple. Side note/final comment- This is where I really can appreciate Steve Clark. The band praise Steve as a bits writer, but who else consistently wrote a completed track on their own back then? Steve gave the band that edge in this sense. Not trying to be negative of the current era or the guys as musicians, but Steve is missed. Steve Clark and Phil Collen were a great ying/yang team. Clark was a riff god, Phil was a technical wizard. Not to say Vivian and Phil don't have great chemistry together, especially on stage, but Vivian was more solo and melody based in his previous work, as opposed to spitting out riffs. Sav and Joe seem to think more in terms of vocal lines from what I've seen, so it makes sense that more recent records have been more about pop melodies and less about gut-punching riffs. |
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Post by andylgr on Jul 24, 2024 11:50:27 GMT -8
Here's my edited version of Yeah when I listen to it:
And heres what I cut out:
1. "20th Century Boy"
2. "Rock On"
3. "Hanging on the Telephone"
4. "Waterloo Sunset"
5. "Hell Raiser"
6. "10538 Overture"
7. "Street Life"
8. "Drive-In Saturday"
9. "Little Bit of Love"
10. "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll"
11. "No Matter What"
12. "He's Gonna Step on You Again"
13. "Don't Believe a Word"
14. "Stay with Me"
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Post by treffo on Jul 25, 2024 1:01:44 GMT -8
Here's my edited version of Yeah when I listen to it: And heres what I cut out: 1. "20th Century Boy" 2. "Rock On" 3. "Hanging on the Telephone" 4. "Waterloo Sunset" 5. "Hell Raiser" 6. "10538 Overture" 7. "Street Life" 8. "Drive-In Saturday" 9. "Little Bit of Love" 10. "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" 11. "No Matter What" 12. "He's Gonna Step on You Again" 13. "Don't Believe a Word" 14. "Stay with Me" You mean that you don't like the 70's glam pop tribute era of DL?? Too bad it's still going strong. I tried listening to your version. Not too shabby, but I have a better version: 1. Don't Believe A Word Great stuff! And it's got a good flow in this order, I think. |
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Post by andylgr on Jul 25, 2024 2:29:03 GMT -8
Here's my edited version of Yeah when I listen to it: And heres what I cut out: 1. "20th Century Boy" 2. "Rock On" 3. "Hanging on the Telephone" 4. "Waterloo Sunset" 5. "Hell Raiser" 6. "10538 Overture" 7. "Street Life" 8. "Drive-In Saturday" 9. "Little Bit of Love" 10. "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" 11. "No Matter What" 12. "He's Gonna Step on You Again" 13. "Don't Believe a Word" 14. "Stay with Me" You mean that you don't like the 70's glam pop tribute era of DL?? Too bad it's still going strong. I tried listening to your version. Not too shabby, but I have a better version: 1. Don't Believe A Word Great stuff! And it's got a good flow in this order, I think. No. I hate covers albums. |
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Post by treffo on Jul 25, 2024 23:23:49 GMT -8
You mean that you don't like the 70's glam pop tribute era of DL?? Too bad it's still going strong. I tried listening to your version. Not too shabby, but I have a better version: 1. Don't Believe A Word Great stuff! And it's got a good flow in this order, I think. No. I hate covers albums. Feel the same. I have never bought a covers album. |
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Post by soccerman611 on Jul 26, 2024 10:26:53 GMT -8
DSH is one of my favorite leppard albums but it's kind of exhausting to listen to in one sitting (15 songs in 61 minutes). When I listen to it now, this is my tracklist
1. Take what you want
2. Kick
3. Fire it up
4. This guitar
5. SOS Emergency
6. Liquid dust
7. U rok MI
8. Goodbye for good this time
9. All we need
10. Open your eyes
11. Angels can't help you now
12. Unbreakable
13. From here to eternity
X doesn't have a filler problem to me. It's track order just doesn't work. Here's my revised order
1. Now
2. You're so beautiful
3. Girl like you
4. Gravity
5. Long long way to go
6. Four letter word
7. Torn to shreds
8. Love don't lie
9. Cry
10. Kiss the day
11. Scar
Yeah! tracklist
1. Waterloo Sunset
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