Drastic Symphonies is a remix album by English rock band Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, released on 19 May 2023 through Bludgeon Riffola and Mercury Records. It was produced by Nick Patrick and Ronan McHugh, and contains 16 of the band's songs re-recorded with orchestral accompaniment from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and arrangements by Eric Gorfain,[1] recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in March 2022.[2] Most tracks contain the vocals from the original recordings.[2] The album contains at least one song from Def Leppard's previous studio albums with the exception of On Through the Night (1980), X (2002), Yeah! (2006), and Def Leppard (2015).
| Drastic Symphonies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Remix album by Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | ||||
| Released | 19 May 2023 | |||
| Recorded | March 2022 | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road, London | |||
| Genre | Symphonic rock, symphonic metal | |||
| Length | 81:56 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Def Leppard chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock |   [3] |
John Aizlewood of Classic Rock commented that Def Leppard "have gone down the orchestral route" but "done it properly, so it's the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road, rather than some chancers in Joe's garage" and remarked that "the song selection is smart" and "one of the joys of the album is that it's not quite so predictable".[3] Gary Graff of Ultimate Classic Rock wrote that "the results are unquestionably intriguing and fresh – a genuinely new way of approaching these tracks, even if you'd be hard-pressed to pick any that would become the preferred version", and called the "only outright dud" the stripped version of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" due to its lyrics "sound[ing] silly in such austere sonic trappings".[1]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Origin | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Turn to Dust" | Phil Collen | Slang, 1996 | 5:29 |
| 2. | "Paper Sun" |
| Euphoria, 1999 | 5:33 |
| 3. | "Animal" |
| Hysteria, 1987 | 4:03 |
| 4. | "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (stripped version) |
| Hysteria | 5:26 |
| 5. | "Hysteria" |
| Hysteria | 5:56 |
| 6. | "Love Bites" |
| Hysteria | 6:41 |
| 7. | "Goodbye for Good This Time" | Elliott | Diamond Star Halos, 2022 | 4:26 |
| 8. | "Love" | Savage | Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, 2008 | 3:55 |
| 9. | "Gods of War" |
| Hysteria | 6:45 |
| 10. | "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" | Elliott | Diamond Star Halos | 4:58 |
| 11. | "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" |
| High 'n' Dry, 1981 | 4:33 |
| 12. | "Switch 625" | Clark | High 'n' Dry | 3:04 |
| 13. | "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" (Japanese SHM-CD, Blu-ray Audio, vinyl and digital editions only) |
| Adrenalize, 1992 | 4:55 |
| 14. | "Too Late for Love" |
| Pyromania, 1983 | 5:37 |
| 15. | "When Love & Hate Collide" |
| Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995), 1995 | 4:16 |
| 16. | "Kings of the World" | Savage | Mirror Ball – Live & More, 2011 | 6:19 |
| Total length: | 81:56 | |||
Charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] | 46 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] | 42 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[6] | 119 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[7] | 86 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[8] | 129 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] | 17 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[10] | 95 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] | 18 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[12] | 22 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[14] | 86 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] | 10 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 4 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[17] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 54 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[19] | 4 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] | 9 |
References
edit- ^ a b Graff, Gary (18 May 2023). "Def Leppard, Drastic Symphonies: Album Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b Peacock, Tim (19 May 2023). "Def Leppard Release Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Collab Drastic Symphonies". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b Aizlewood, John (20 May 2023). "Def Leppard's Drastic Symphonies: You know the songs, but you've never heard them like this". Classic Rock. Retrieved 26 May 2023 – via Loudersound.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Longplay Charts vom 30. Mai 2023". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Drastic Symphonies" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Drastic Symphonies" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 21, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Drastic Symphonies" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 26 May 2023". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-05-29/p/2" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2023/05/24" (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Def Leppard with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Drastic Symphonies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2023.