Good band, bad hits album

[...]P>Ever since their formation in 1977, Def Leppard has been one of the most widely varied rock bands out there. They started as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement, but later switched to playing stright-up rock, in a style that seemed to borrow from many classic rock acts. By the time the nineties rolled around, the band had been through numerous tragedies (having to throw a long time member out of the band, their drummer losing his right arm, and their long-time guitarist losing his life.) These tragedies switched the band from a hard rock band to more of a pop rock one. And in 1995, while the band was working on its next album, the record company suggested they release a hits compilation. They did. Vault was released at the end of the year. How does it measure up? Read on for my pros and cons.

First up, the pros. Just about every one of the band's major hits can be found here. One of the band's underrated nineties gems, Let's Get Rocked, was also included. The version of Pour Some Sugar On Me here isn't the original, but the Video Edit version (this is actually a slightly longer version than the Hysteria one, because of an extended intro sequence.) This is a rare version of the track, so die-hards will want this compilation for that. Also, it was nice to see Bringin' On The Heartbreak, the band's first big hit, on here. We even get a new track here, which is another incentive for die-hards to buy the compilation.

Unfortunately, this compilation suffers from A TON of flaws. First of all, the songs are WAY OUT of release order. IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO KEEP THEM IN ORDER!? Some of the band's hits are MISSING! Where are Too Late For Love and Women? These songs were omitted in favor of ballads that were NEVER HITS! Likewise, the cover is wrong. As another review put it, this compilation covers 1981-1995, not 1980 as pictured on the cover. That means NO TRACKS FROM ON THROUGH THE NIGHT, THE BAND'S FIRST AND BEST ALBUM! Likewise we don't get any Def Leppard EP or early bootleg tracks, and these are some of the band's best. Another flaw is that Rocket is a RADIO EDIT! Why do compilations do this? The biggest flaw of all is the tracklist. Of the 16 tracks, at least 13 are either a ballad, a Hysteria song, or both. Even the new track is a generic ballad. There is too much material here from Hysteria on, and not enough Pre-Hysteria stuff. Another major flaw is that, as another reviewer specified, Bringin' On The Heartbreak is a short version. It DOESN'T FADE INTO SWITCH 625! Likewise, this compilation doesn't cover anything past 1995. To quote the Def Leppard website, "Vault is a greatest hits, not a best of." Big mistake, Def Leppard. You should've done a best of instead. If you'd released a best of, this probably would've been a four star review, and not a two star one.

I love Def Leppard, but this compilation is disgraceful. If you're a casual fan of Def Leppard, get the Pyromania and Hysteria albums, NOT THIS. The only people this compilation is for are die hard fans of the band who can't live without the unreleased track, and the rare version of Pour Some Sugar On Me. [...]

Great compilation of Def Leppard's career

This overall covers quite a bit of Def Leppard's career. It's a great showcase of songs to get any foreigner to Def Leppard obsessed with them. My only complaints are the exclusion of any on through the night material, and a lackluster ammount of high 'n dry and adrenalize material. Oh, and Der Kommissar, for your information, Rick Allen lost his left arm (not a criticism, just a friendly reminder).