Hysteria

What else can be said? It's perfection.

I really like seeing the Hysteria artwork reproduced in 7 inch vinyl box size, unfortunately the box is very hard to lift the lid off to get the vinyl out. Here we have 8 discs, and the sound quality is actually great, the artwork on singles fairly decently reprinted. A couple of my singles do not finish properly and come to a sort of scratchy end, rather than your needle lifting off at the end of the song. Sleeve notes here are by Joe Eliot. Sadly no pictures at all in the booklet of band members such as the much missed Steve Clark from the time period. Still its a nice little package, but not quite perfect. Gods of War would have also been a nice inclusion instead of the 2nd version of Animal.

An album of its time, Hysteria was created for and because of the hair-rock/metal stranglehold on pop in the beginning to mid 80s. Despite this it still holds up well today albeit whilst smiling at the cheese. The first 7 tracks are all wonderful but then it gets slightly patchy.Opener 'Women' is trademark Def Leppard circa 1986/7. Sleazy, slow and mid-paced, impecably produced and really rather good. 'Rocket' is actually very similar but even slightly better! 'Animal' is quality 80s stadium fare. Single-length and all shiny and electric and high pitched with a nice singalonga chorus. Job done. 'Love Bites' is classic and very listenable today. One of their all-time great tracks. As is 'Pour Some Sugar...'. Classic, fun and catchy. 'Armageddon It' is very good but has less of a pull for me, but that's a purely personal opinion - it's still a great song.'Gods of War' is my pick from the album (along with 'Love Bites'). It wasn't a single and it is long and anything with Maggie Thatcher's voice just sounds wrong, BUT it is a fantastic tune, a style they revisited in their follow up with 'White Lightning' - another cracker! Then it all gets a bit pants for a couple of tracks. 'Don't Shoot...' is quite average and compared to the company it's keeping it fails to excite. It's one of those DL party tunes that don't really have any real tune at all. 'Run Riot' is slightly better but still isn't excellent. Title track, however, is pretty darn excellent. Understated, catchy and enjoyable. 'Excitable' is as 'Don't Shoot...' really - not great at all. 'LOve & Affection' is ok but for an album of this stature the closer really needs to be astounding and it really isn't.Despite the inclusion of 3 or 4 unwanted MOR party-crashers, Hysteria is an album to treasure and, more importantly enjoy. It's not a noodle-scratcher, it's just meant to be there for when you're feeling in a particularly 80s mood and need to ROCK OUT!!!

This was the first album I ever bought when it came out, back in 1987 (and I was a mere 11 years of age!). I can actually be proud of that because - unlike some people's 'embarrassing first record' scenario - Hysteria has held up as something of a classic, from an era of enviable rock music genius including the likes of Bon Jovi and Guns 'n' Roses.'Animal' was - coincidentally - the first single I ever bought, and sounds quite unlike anything else I've heard before or since. Quirky, edgy, with the defined Def Leppard harmony in the chorus and distored "an-i-mal" vocal of Elliot, it remains a fine tune to my ears. And as for the rest of the album, it's just loaded with immense tunes allied to fun lyrics - 'Pour Some Sugar on Me', for example. And I still love 'Armageddon It' - I'm still geddin' it, nearly three decades later!There's little point saying how good this album is in 2016. I added it to my CD collection a few years ago, having originally purchased it on cassette tape (I know, I know - who the hell still has a device to play them on now, eh?), and Amazon has just asked me to review it. So review it I shall. It's a thing of nostalgia for me, much like 'Back to the Future' and the Sony Walkman. But while brilliant in the mid-80s, this album still sounds sufficiently different, interesting and emotive to say something to a new generation of people who simply want to rock out. It's cool, not sick. If you haven't bought it by now, then you'll no doubt know whether you'll ever want to or not (and with 25 million units shipped, there's an awful lot of people who have already had their copy). So you don't really need me to tell you how good - or otherwise - it is.I will say, though, that I am really pleased to see the Def Leppard renaissance of recent years - long may it continue!

Had this on vinyl when i was a kid. Brilliant album, not a bad song on it. If you like rock then buy it.

👍👍👍👍

As above

Purchased this particular release in september 1987 . On cassette from a 7-11 in Saskatoon . Great memories. The vinyl is a treat.