that's the kind of fan-friendly service ALL bands should be paying attention to.

true. a friend of mine told me yesterday that Connor Obert's new label Team Love puts everything they've got on their site for free (mp3 download)

I am actually pretty excited about the reissue of Hysteria. The original version sat on my shelves for eons between listens. I pulled it out one day and was shocked at how... thin and old and bad it sounded. I was shocked because at the time of its release, Mutt Lange had made that such a huge-sounding album. This is one of those times when a remaster is a good thing- no, a great thing. I actually got rid of my old version of the album. I convinced myself I had "outgrown" Def Leppard and didn't like the old CD sound anyway. I am going to be buying this package. I didn't get all of those bonus tracks at the time- I am looking forward to hearing them now. Def Leppard is one of the very few bands of my youth I can still enjoy.

So I broke down and scored Hysteria. It sounds much better from a purely mastering/sonic level.

Well, DJ, with a producer like Lange at the helm, that's not a surprise, he's one very gifted producer.

I don't think Lange had much to do with this re-mastering, Steve. Either way, this deluxe version sounds better than the initial CD pressing.

I haven't a/b'd the two versions, but if the best-of is the same remastering, then the original is probably much better sonically - they simply blew the levels on almost everything but the High & Dry material on the best-of, it seems. However, in the book, it says that master mastering engineer Bob Ludwig was responsible for the mastering on the remaster (yeah, sorry, that was a bit confusing,) so it may be that this is an entirely new remaster than what was on the best-of. My concern was only to hear the b-side material this week - and what a fun listen that was!

I have to admit a little bit of disappointment reading in the book about all the abandoned takes with different producers that could have been added to this set. While I like seeing the b-sides being included, it's the remixes and "Release Me" that really serve very little purpose. That stuff will get one listen, at most, most likely. There could have been plenty of room for some of the more interesting and different original takes of the songs to see how different they might have turned out under, say, Jim Steinman as originally had been planned. Oh well. (Maybe those tapes no longer exist?)

I really, really hope we get a deluxe of Pyromania sometime soon. I don't know what material is out there, but I'm sure there's got to be some live stuff and outtakes that could make for something interesting.

No longer having the first version of Hysteria on CD, I can't a/b it anymore, either. I don't think this remaster is in anyway a revelation- just an improvement. I think the disc sounds better. How much? Hard to say.

I would like a deluxe Pyromania, too.

As for the material in the vaults, I think we are overdue for a Def Leppard box set where such rarities might one day be unleashed.

I gave some songs a quick a/b comparison yesterday in the car and can say in that environment that the remaster blows away the old one! "Animal," my main choice because it was easy to switch back and forth and get quick results, packs a real punch and sounds much, much clearer in addition to being much louder. So in the trade pile goes the old Hysteria!

I'd definitely go for a Lep box set - there's got to be a bunch of good stuff out there. We've never gotten the early EP that got them signed, so that's at least something. There's probably a lot more from the 80s, and if not, there's always live stuff - I think most fans would welcome a Pyromania tour CD/DVD release.