Def Leppard

Hysteria 30th Anniversary

The year of 1987 was a vintage one for rock guitar – AppetiteForDestruction, TheJoshuaTree, PermanentVacation,

SurfingWithTheAlien… Whitesnake even named their record that year after it. Then there was Leppard, returning in the face of adversity, they put out a Mutt Lange-honed hit machine. It still sounds supreme 30 years later and it’s no surprise the band couldn’t follow it. The album had a deluxe reissue in 2006 so the main draw this time is the 1988 live set, InTheRoundInYour

Face, on CD for the first time. Leppard – and Joe Elliot’s higher range – are in fine form here, conquering America with Phil Collen and the much-missed Steve Clark proving they could deliver Hysteria’s muscle and intricacy on the stage. Rob Laing