Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" – were major hits.
Adrenalize | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 31 March 1992 (1992-03-31) | |||
Recorded | 1988–1992 | |||
Studio | Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum Dublin[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:22 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Def Leppard chronology | ||||
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Singles from Adrenalize | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnik Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
"White Lightning" is dedicated to the memory of Clark,[6] who has writing credits on six of the album's 10 tracks.
Def Leppard had faced long delays, and the challenge of drummer Rick Allen losing his arm while making their previous album, Hysteria, and while trying to follow up the success, they also faced the prospect of doing so with a different producer, as Robert John "Mutt" Lange was already working with Bryan Adams. At the same time guitarist Steve Clark had been suffering from alcohol addiction since 1989, spending six sessions in rehab. Clark was involved in writing six of the songs on the album,[7] but was given an ultimatum in September 1990, that he had 'six months'. Clark died four months later, in January 1991.
The band tried to continue the recording process, going back into the studio the day after Clark's death to cope with the loss, but it took several months before they were able to work to what they felt was a satisfactory standard.[8]
Instead of replacing Clark with a new member, the band recorded the album as a four-piece. "We had recorded demos on multitrack," recalled fellow guitarist Phil Collen. "I was sitting there with him when he played the original parts. I could relay that. But it was like playing along to a ghost."[9]
This was also the band's first album since 1981 recorded without longtime producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Instead, the band took matters in their own hands and produced the album themselves along with longtime engineer Mike Shipley;[6] with Lange credited as executive producer.[10]
"We coped without Mutt quite well…" recalled Joe Elliott. "Mutt was in his studio in Guildford with Bryan Adams and we'd be in Dublin, talking every day… But it wasn't as adventurous as Hysteria. It was more of a rock album, less experimental. It's like with Pink Floyd: to me, Adrenalize was our Wish You Were Here and Hysteria was our Dark Side of the Moon."[11]
Adrenalize debuted at No. 1 on both the UK Albums Chart[12] and, in the following week, on the U.S. Billboard 200.[13] It stayed at No. 1 of the Billboard chart for five weeks keeping Bruce Springsteen's Human Touch off the top spot, and spent 65 weeks on the charts in total.
The album received mixed reviews: some critics praised its production values and instantly catchy and radio-friendly material, while others called it tired and formulaic.[14] In a four-star review for Rolling Stone, J.D. Considine wrote: "Adrenalize is so relentlessly catchy that it almost seems as if the band is about to abandon its heavy-metal roots for the greener fields of hard pop."[15] Other reviewers also noted the album's less metal sound and pointed out its lack of cohesion. A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said that, despite the slick production, the album doesn't match the standard set by the band's previous two records, which they referred to as masterpieces."[16]
Writing in 2009, after Pyromania and Adrenalize have been reissued, Toby Cook of The Quietus said that, despite Adrenalize's many flaws, "the record buying public of '92 cared not."[17] Indeed, the album would go on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, remaining Def Leppard's last studio album to achieve major mainstream success.[6]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Let's Get Rocked" |
| 4:56 |
2. | "Heaven Is" |
| 3:33 |
3. | "Make Love Like a Man" |
| 4:15 |
4. | "Tonight" |
| 4:03 |
5. | "White Lightning" |
| 7:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" |
| 4:32 |
7. | "Personal Property" |
| 4:21 |
8. | "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" |
| 5:24 |
9. | "I Wanna Touch U" |
| 3:37 |
10. | "Tear It Down" |
| 3:38 |
Total length: | 45:22 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (electric version) | Collen | 5:06 |
12. | "She's Too Tough" | Elliott | 3:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Hysteria" (live) |
| 7:17 |
2. | "Photograph" (live) |
| 4:44 |
3. | "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (live) |
| 5:09 |
4. | "Let's Get Rocked" (live) |
| 5:46 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (with Hothouse Flowers) | 7:43 | |
6. | "Little Wing" (with Hothouse Flowers) | Jimi Hendrix | 3:40 |
7. | "Tonight" (version 2 – demo version featuring Steve Clark) |
| 4:24 |
8. | "Now I'm Here" (live – featuring Brian May) | Brian May | 6:03 |
9. | "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic version) | Elliott | 4:11 |
10. | "Tonight" (acoustic version, live at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee, February 1993) |
| 4:16 |
11. | "Too Late for Love" (live in Denver, Colorado, February 1988) |
| 6:02 |
12. | "Women" (live in Denver, Colorado, February 1988) |
| 6:34 |
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[39] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[40] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[39] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[41] | Gold | 25,000[41] |
France (SNEP)[42] | Gold | 100,000* |
Ireland (IRMA)[39] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[43] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[44] | Gold | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[39] | Gold | 25,000* |
Portugal (AFP)[39] | Silver | 10,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[46] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[49] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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