Def Leppard “Pyromania” 1983. Today, November 1st, is Def Leppard’s famously Union-Jack-short-shorts-wearing, one-armed drummer Rick Allen’s 55th birthday (b. 1963). Pyromania was Def Leppard’s third album (the first with guitarist Phil Collen – who replaced original guitarist Pete Willis midway through its recording – and the last to have Allen with both arms) and their first to be radio-friendly with a shift away from the harder edged metal to a more 80′s glam metal sound. It was a huge hit, making it to #2 on the US album chart and to #28 in the UK. Even I – the new wave, synthpop freak –  was swept into Pyromania, um, mania, and chose this record as one to get in my brief Columbia House record subscription days of the early 80s. (The quality of the vinyl from Columbia House really sucks, it’s as flimsy as a paper plate.)

I don’t think I’ve listened to this album in its entirety since 1983 but I really am enjoying it, mostly for nostalgia I suppose (I’m not a glam metal fan, at all). The singles are all still really great! “Photograph” was the first single released from Pyromania. It hit #12 on the US Hot 100 chart (#1 on the Mainstream Rock chart) and #66 in the UK. The next single Def Leppard released was “Rock of Ages,” anthemic in title and sound, which made it to #16 on the US Hot 100 chart (and agin #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart). “Foolin” was always a favorite (Fa-fa-fa-foolin!) of mine, it did well on the charts but did not have quite as strong a showing as the first two, making it to #28 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the Mainstream chart. I’m not crazy about the final official single from Pyromania, the power ballad “Too Late For Love” (I’m fairly anti-power ballad in general) which didn’t crack the Hot 100 but did go to #9 on the Mainstream chart.

The success of Pyromania was massive and influential through the entire decade, setting the stage for a multitude of popular glam metal bands seeking widespread appeal (I ignored pretty much all of them). Allmusic writes about Pyromania: “While Def Leppard had obviously wanted to write big-sounding anthems on their previous records, Pyromania was where the band’s vision coalesced and gelled into something more. More than ever before, the band’s songs on Pyromania are driven by catchy, shiny melodic hooks instead of heavy guitar riffs, although the latter do pop up once in a while. But it wasn’t just this newly intensified focus on melody and consistent songwriting (and heavy MTV exposure) that made Pyromania a massive success – and the catalyst for the ‘80s pop-metal movement. Robert John “Mutt” Lange’s buffed-to-a-sheen production – polished drum and guitar sounds, multi-tracked layers of vocal harmonies, a general sanding of any and all musical rough edges, and a perfectionistic attention to detail – set the style for much of the melodic hard rock that followed. It wasn’t a raw or spontaneous sound, but the performances were still energetic and committed. Leppard’s quest for huge, transcendent hard rock perfection on Pyromania was surprisingly successful; their reach never exceeded their grasp, which makes the album an enduring (and massively influential) classic.”