The new Best-Of add's nothing to Vault except for one pitiful choice of a single, Long Long Way To Go, off X...a predictable cliched "power ballad" that would be expected of Def Leppard by those expecting them to continue sounding like its 1988. It wasn't even written by them. It's being pushed because the industry suits think it's a hit...they usually do with formulaic tunes.

I encourage everyone who has Vault and really enjoyed what they heard to pick up Slang, Euphoria, and X. I also encourage picking up High N Dry and Retroactive. Even further...pick up Pyromania and Hysteria, they have album tracks that Vault does not represent that give a better perspective on the band. Vault does NOT represent all that is Def Leppard. It's a collection of single releases. You must keep in mind Def Leppard was a fairly innovative band that SET TRENDS with each album release. They never did a sequel or the same sort of songs until they did Adrenalize, which was a huge mistake that sunk them as an 80s hair band has-been for good. Now most of the public views the band as their personal nostalgia act so they can pretend they are in high school again as opposed to artists.

Here's the break down:

On Through the Night: The first album, they had not yet quite found their sound or defined themselves. Considered part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, regardless..but at cult level. Generally ignored and forgotten by the band, understandably.

High N Dry: They had begun to define themselves and their sound. This is the band at their most focused and all out rocking. Considered by the band as their first real album.

Pyromania: Takes it to the next level, was a breakthrough album and rock classic. This was their first foray into superstar status in the early 80s. Introduced melodic harmonies combined with a rock edge. Trend Setting.

Hysteria: Took everything to the next level, re-inventing their sound. The lyrics often take a primal and nonsensical approach while sonically advanced and innovative in structure and arrangement. Trend Setting.

Adrenalize: Poor sequel to Hysteria. They lost guitarist Steve Clark. They made their hair bigger, the lyrics stupider and changed little from their late 80s sound. Released in the midst of movement towards music with depth and less bombast. Parodies themselves and their sound. Sold well as a last gasp of 80s hair and locked them into the genre in the minds of the public. Best song worth getting the album for: White Lightening. Worst Song worth ignoring the album for: I Wanna Touch U.

Retroactive: A collection of B sides, covers, and a few new songs. An improvement over Adrenalize, however, single choices in Two Steps Behind and Miss You In a Heartbeat only served to oversaturate the market with power ballads and lead the public to believe it was all they had to offer. Contains Desert Song, an innovative rocker with depth that made more sense from a band in their 30s and foretold of the next album.

Slang: Gets the band back on track with being innovative and trend setting. Their most lyrically profound work. Sound is toned down production wise, much more live as opposed to overproduced..but still very recognizable as Def Leppard. Due to previous albums destroying their image as a ground breaking and trend setting band...no one was paying attention and few knew it was out. Due to low sales and resistance by fans who thought the band was limited to a Pyromania/Hysteria type of sound...the band tends to overlook it while quitely declaring it as the work they are most proud of.

Euphoria: Sonically an overview of their career up to that point with many references to past songs. Not as ground breaking..but has it's merits. Songs such as first single, Promises, invokes Photograph and Armageddon It..but stands on it's own regardless. Attempts to appease the fans stuck in the past (Promises, 21st Century Girl, Guilty) while pleasing the fans keeping in step (Day After Day, Paper Sun, To Be Alive, I Am Your Child.) Retains lyrical proficiency even on tunes with relatively nonsensical lyrics.

X: Hit and miss. More ground breaking than Euphoria..but jumps on the boy band/pop trend at the time. Lyrics are dumbed down and less believeable coming from 40 year olds. Two songs are not written by the band. Overall, the album is hurt by the pursuit of breaking through to the youth market by pandering to them instead of being themselves. Songs like Torn To Shreds have alot going for it, but as soon as the lyrics start up, you want to shove a finger down your throat. Song titles like You're So Beautiful, Girl Like You, Let Me Be the One are inexcusibly juvenile and dumbed down. Scar is much more inline with the band..but derivative of past efforts and forced, considering the band had to be told to come up with the song to "sound more like Def Leppard." Kiss the Day, a bonus track on the Japanese release...is the most honest lyrically and sonically. But obviously not as accessible. Worth noting Joe Elliott's overall vocal performance as exceptional on the album as a whole, but again...the lyrics kill it. Personally rated as their 2nd worst album after Adrenalize.

All negatives and postives aside with each album. It must be said that with Def Leppard...their albums are consisently good from start to finish compared to the average album from anyone else. No Best Of can truly capture the essence of Def Leppard. They are much more than two 80s albums and an assortment of power ballads off other albums and those who lock themselves into that are doing themselves a disservice.

Finally, I'm not that excited about this upcoming covers album. X failed to fill a void as far as an appetite for new material..so an album of covers isn't quite what is called for at this point..though they usually do covers quite well.