Phil Collen says Def Leppard's rarities-filled "Volume Two" box set is "really what fans want"

Posted By: Staff
July 29, 2019 @ 6:00 am
Music News

UMe/Virgin

Last month, Def Leppard released the second in a series of four planned box sets spanning their entire recording career, this one focusing on the British band’s 1990s output.

Def Leppard — Volume Two features remastered versions of three studio albums — 1992’s Adrenalize, 1996’s Slang and 1999’s Euphoria — as well as the 1993 Retro Active compilation, which includes updated versions of B-sides and previously unreleased tracks recorded from 1984 to 1993, plus three other volumes of rarities gathering together B-sides, demos, live performances and bonus tracks.

Commenting on the box set’s rare tracks, guitarist Phil Collen tells ABC Radio, “It’s really cool stuff. And it’s…really what fans want. If I was a fan, and…this stuff had never been out, this is how I’d want it presented.”

Collen says the group’s members all had input into the expansive collection, but singer Joe Elliott was the main contributor, digging deep into the band’s archives for material.

“Joe is the ultimate [Def Leppard] fan,” Phil notes. “So, it’s great, because he would [present various tracks to us and] go…’What about this in the box set?’…And we’re like, ‘Yeah, no, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no.’ And…most of it’s great. So it’s great having Joe in that capacity, because he loves doing that.”

Collen says his favorite tracks from the Volume Two box set are early outtakes and alternate versions from the Slang sessions.

“We recorded [Slang] in a villa in southern Spain, and just miked up the stuff,” he recalls. “So it was really organic and real…Some of those early Slang things are…as raw as we’ve ever been.”

Def Leppard — Volume Two is available as a seven-CD package and a 10-LP vinyl set.