High 'n' Dry | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Cover art by Hipgnosis | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 July 1981 | |||
Recorded | March–June 1981 [1] | |||
Studio | Battery Studios (London) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 42:15 | |||
Label | Vertigo | |||
Producer | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |||
Def Leppard chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from High 'n' Dry | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Album" playlist on YouTube |
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10 [4] |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard,released on 6 July 1981. [6] High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 [7] and No. 26 on the UK Albums Chart. [8] "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)",ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. [9] Following the success of Pyromania ,the album re-entered in the US chart and reached No. 72 in 1983. [7]
The album's music has been described as heavy metal [10] and hard rock. [11]
High 'n' Dry was reissued on 31 May 1984 with two bonus tracks:
The intention of these remixes was to make the two songs sound more in the style of Def Leppard's 1983 album Pyromania . [14]
Videos for both of the remixed songs were made,featuring Phil Collen (who was not in the band at the time of the album's recording). The video for "Me &My Wine" received heavy rotation on MTV. [15] Both bonus tracks were omitted from the US mid-1990s re-releases of the album,although other countries' releases did include them,but returned when Def Leppard and Mercury came to terms in 2018 and the album was put on digital streaming and downloading platforms.
Steve Huey of AllMusic notes how Def Leppard "continues in the vein of the anthemic,working-class hard rock of their debut. While still opting for a controlled musical attack and melodies as big-sounding and stadium-ready as possible,the band opens up its arrangements a bit more on High 'n' Dry,letting the songs breathe and groove while the rhythm section and guitar riffs play off one another." [16]
In a 3.5 out of 5 review,Sputnikmusic writes that "while High 'n' Dry cannot claim to be a resounding success as an individual album,it is indeed one from a progression standpoint. Def Leppard is clearly a more confident outfit here and with help from new producer 'Mutt' Lange,they allow their compositions to include greater scope in order for the band to find their sound. While this does result in some misses,they are never too far off target and are more than made up for by the album’s highlights which have aged extremely well." [17]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Solos | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Let It Go" |
| 4:43 | |
2. | "Another Hit and Run" |
|
| 4:59 |
3. | "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)" |
| Willis | 3:27 |
4. | "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" |
| Clark | 4:34 |
5. | "Switch 625" (instrumental) | Clark | Clark | 3:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Solos | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "You Got Me Runnin'" |
| Willis | 4:23 |
7. | "Lady Strange" |
| Clark | 4:39 |
8. | "On Through the Night" |
| Clark | 5:06 |
9. | "Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)" |
| Clark | 4:08 |
10. | "No No No" |
| Willis | 3:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Solos | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
11. | "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" (remix) |
| Clark | 4:33 [18] |
12. | "Me & My Wine" (remix) |
| Clark | 3:40 |
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19] | 31 |
UK Albums (OCC) [20] | 26 |
US Billboard 200 [21] | 38 |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] | 52 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [23] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [24] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s. Their greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and mid–1990s.
Pyromania is the third studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983 through Vertigo Records in UK and Europe and through Mercury Records in the US. The first album to feature guitarist Phil Collen who replaced founding member Pete Willis, Pyromania was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album was a shift away from the band's traditional heavy metal roots toward a more radio-friendly sound, finding massive mainstream success. Pyromania charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM Album chart and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Selling over ten million copies in the US, it has been certified diamond by the RIAA.
Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987, by Phonogram Records. The album is the follow-up to the band's 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania. Hysteria's creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of drummer Rick Allen's accident that cost him his left arm on 31 December 1984. Subsequent to the album's release, Def Leppard published a book titled Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story, written by Rolling Stone magazine senior editor David Fricke, on the three-year recording process of Hysteria and the difficult times the band endured through the mid-1980s. Lasting 62 minutes and 32 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date.
Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark, who died in 1991, although most songs were written and partially demoed before his death, they were re-recorded solo by Phil Collen in 1991-1992. It is the only album recorded by Def Leppard as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and "Stand Up " – were major hits.
Euphoria is the seventh studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 8 June 1999 in the United States and on 14 June 1999 in the United Kingdom by Mercury Records. The album aimed to return to their signature sound made famous by the band in the 1980s. It was produced by the band with Pete Woodroffe. The album charted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart. It includes the song "Promises", which hit the number one spot on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. A power ballad, it was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members, Steve Clark, Pete Willis and Joe Elliott.
Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) is the first greatest hits album and the second compilation album by English hard rock band Def Leppard. The album was originally released in the band's home country on 23 October 1995 by Mercury Records. It was released in North America a week later on 31 October by the same label. Vault went on to be certified gold in four countries, platinum in three and multi-platinum in two. In the US, the album is currently certified 5× platinum by the RIAA, and in June 2011 it topped the five million mark in sales there. It won Metal Edge magazine's 1995 Readers' Choice Award for "Best Hits or Compilation Album."
"Animal" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the first single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Rock of Ages" is a song by Def Leppard from their 1983 album Pyromania. When issued as a single in the United States, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit #1 on the Top Tracks Rock chart.
Best of Def Leppard is a compilation album featuring some of Def Leppard's most popular songs. The album charted at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart.
"Hysteria" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. It is the tenth track on their 1987 album of the same name and was released as the album's fourth single in November 1987. The song became the band's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.
"Too Late for Love" is a 1983 power ballad by English band Def Leppard from their Diamond album Pyromania. When released as a single, it reached #9 on the Mainstream Rock charts.
"Let it Go" is a 1981 song by English rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album High 'n' Dry. It was one of two singles from the album, and reached number 34 on the US Mainstream Rock charts. It was originally titled "When the Rain Falls" with different lyrics as played at New Theatre in Oxford in 1980.
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard. It was released on 25 April 2008 in Europe and 29 April in North America.
Historia is a compilation video released by Def Leppard containing all the band's promotional videos from 1980 to 1988. On DVD, it is bundled with Live: In the Round, in Your Face.
Rock of Ages: The DVD Collection is a DVD featuring music videos by Def Leppard. This one-disc collection contains a total of 19 commercial single videos that helped jump the band to success after the release of their breakthrough 1983 album, Pyromania. Only one video featured on the compilation, "Bringin' On the Heartbreak", was not released after Pyromania.
Viva! Hysteria is a double live album by the English rock band Def Leppard released on the 22 October 2013. The album was recorded on 29 and 30 March 2013 during the band's residency of the same name at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
The Early Years 79–81 is a five-disc box set by the English rock group Def Leppard, released by UMC on 20 March 2020. The set includes remastered versions of the band's first two studio albums: On Through the Night and High 'n' Dry, plus songs from the band's 1979 EP, a complete live concert recording from 1980, and a variety of B-sides, studio outtakes, and BBC Radio appearances from the band's formative period between 1979 and 1981.