Def Leppard - Overture

Check out the guitar solo from 5:01 onwards.

I thought this place needed some tunes, so I thought as a regular feature I could showcase one of my favourite songs every other Sunday and ramble about it. I must admit, of course, that I know very little about music, but I know what I like.

That said, it's hard to explain the anomoly which was On Through the Night, Def Leppard's 1980 debut album, much less Overture, which caps the album nicely with a solemn, satisfying ending. This is not exactly the Leppard best known from Hysteria and its ilk. It's short on heavy-pop sounds and songs about how apparently awesome hot chicks are. It doesn't even much look like a Def Lep album -- nor is it treated like one. It's been disowned by the band itself, and goes together with Slang as the two of their albums that I know of that just aren't Leppard enough to exist. In fact, at the time the band had difficulty gaining a fanbase in the United Kingdom, due to an obvious intention by the Sheffield-based group to court America, with a disproportionate presence in US tours, and the single Hello America, meaning that this album and Slang are probably Def Leppard's two least-popular albums. Naturally, they're also my two favourites.

It's a bit hard to describe what it actually is though. On Through the Night's seems to be described as the most naturally-raw NWOBHM of their work. Except that it isn't, at all. Jesus, play that video and tell me that it sounds remotely like Iron Maiden's Sanctuary or Angel Witch by the band of the same name. I dare you. However, it's certainly a lot more rocky than Leppard's later, more poppy stuff (yes, I've nailed the terminology here). It's also horribly produced. I'm awful at detecting musical quality, and I can hear how poorly recorded this is. It could've been a lot better.

I think that's why I like it though. I just can't really think of anything else that's quite like it, with the same sound and futuristic themes and suchlike. Although this song did get me thinking that all great albums should end with a slower-paced, summarising epic of sorts, which becomes instantly obvious when you find that my other favourites include Iron Maiden's Dance of Death (ending with Journeyman) or 90125 by Yes (ending with Hearts).

Well, that's enough from me for now. Enjoy.