Album Review:
Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection |
- Release Date: 2005
- Genre: Rock
- Label: Mercury
- Artist: Def Leppard
- Flags: Compilation (best of)
- Type: Compilation
- Rating:
- Styles: New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Pop-Metal, British Metal
- Track Picks: "Animal," "Photograph," "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
Review
The 2005 double-disc set Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection is the second Def Leppard compilation to be released in the U.S. The first, Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits, appeared ten years earlier, and while the band was active in the decade separating the two albums, charting fairly consistently, it didn't have any major hits during that time, so the chief appeal of Rock of Ages versus Vault is that it covers more ground. Vault had 15 songs. Rock of Ages has 35, including all of the songs on Vault. Actually, the first disc of Rock of Ages functions as an expanded version of that earlier comp, adding two cuts. The second disc skips around their career, wisely concentrating on their early-'80s albums, which were somewhat under-represented on Vault, and adding a new song for good measure (a cover of Badfinger's "No Matter What," which is from their "forthcoming covers album"). While this may be too much Def Leppard for some casual fans -- for those listeners, the 2004 import-only collectionTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | iTunes | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Pour Some Sugar on Me [Historia Video Edit] | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:52) | |
| Photograph | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Pete Willis, Richard Savage, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (4:08) | |
| Love Bites | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (5:47) | |
| Let's Get Rocked | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:55) | |
| Two Steps Behind [Acoustic Version] | Joe Elliott | Def Leppard | (4:19) | |
| Animal | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:03) | |
| Heaven Is | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (3:34) | |
| Foolin' | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Def Leppard | (4:33) | |
| Rocket [Visualize Video Edit] | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:07) | |
| When Love & Hate Collide | Joe Elliott, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:17) | |
| Armageddon It | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (5:22) | |
| Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Def Leppard | (5:19) | |
| Rock of Ages | Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Pete Willis, Richard Savage, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (4:08) | |
| Hysteria | Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (5:56) | |
| Miss You in a Heartbeat | Phil Collen | Def Leppard | (4:04) | |
| Bringin' on the Heartbreak | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Pete Willis | Def Leppard | (4:33) | |
| Switch 625 | Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (3:04) |
CD 2
| Track Title | iTunes | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Rock Rock (Till You Drop) | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (3:55) | |
| Let It Go | Joe Elliott, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (4:44) | |
| High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night) | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (3:28) | |
| Too Late for Love | Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage, Steve Clark | Def Leppard | (4:29) | |
| No Matter What |  |
Pete Ham | Def Leppard | (2:53) |
| Promises | Phil Collen, Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Def Leppard | (3:59) | |
| Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes) | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott | Def Leppard | (4:07) | |
| Women | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (5:42) | |
| Another Hit and Run | Joe Elliott, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (4:59) | |
| Slang | |
Phil Collen, Joe Elliott | Def Leppard | (2:38) |
| Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion) | Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Def Leppard | (4:33) | |
| Rock Brigade | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (3:08) | |
| Now | Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Marti Frederiksen, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | (3:58) | |
| Paper Sun | Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Pete Woodroffe, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (5:27) | |
| Work It Out | |
Def Leppard | (4:49) | |
| Die Hard the Hunter | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (6:17) | |
| Wasted | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott | Def Leppard | (3:44) | |
| Billy's Got a Gun | Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Pete Willis, Richard Savage | Def Leppard | (5:00) |
