Retro Active is a collection of outtakes and leftovers spanning Def Leppard's entire career.
Kicking off the disc, "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love" are two of its most distinctive tracks, harkening back to the band's early (pre-success) days with their rough power chords.
After paying homage to some of their heroes with a set of covers (Sweet's "Action" and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark"), the band tackles a couple of solid, but hardly groundbreaking ballads -- "Two Steps Behind" and "Miss You in a Heartbeat" -- before stretching out (with mixed results) on the folky "From the Inside." Taken from the Hysteria sessions, the classy "I Wanna Be Your Hero" is another pleasant surprise, and the band reaches all the way back to the beginning by re-recording their first demo "Ride into the Sun." Overall, this is an interesting release which marks the end of a long chapter in the band's history, following the death of guitarist and guiding force Steve Clark.
While casual fans might find it confusing, Leppard fanatics will revel in its diversity and informative liner notes.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Desert SongSteve Clark, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 2 | Fractured LoveSteve Clark, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | ActionBrian Connolly, Steve Priest, Andrew Scott, Mick Tucker | Def Leppard | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | She's Too ToughJoe Elliott | Def Leppard | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Miss You in a HeartbeatPhil Collen | Def Leppard | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Only After DarkRick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Ride into the SunSteve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | From the InsideJoe Elliott | Def Leppard | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Ring of FireSteve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 10 | I Wanna Be Your HeroSteve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Rick Savage | Def Leppard | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 11 | Miss You in a HeartbeatPhil Collen | Def Leppard | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 12 | Miss You in a HeartbeatPhil Collen | Def Leppard | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 13 | Two Steps Behind (Acoustic Version) | Def Leppard | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 14 | Miss You In A Heartbeat (Electric Version) | Def Leppard | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 15 | Two Steps Behind (Electric Version) | Def Leppard | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 16 | Miss You In A Heartbeat (Hidden Acoustic Version) | Def Leppard | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 68 mins | 157 MB | |||||
| 68 mins | 468 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Allen | Drums |
| 2 | Janfred Arendsen | Engineer |
| 3 | Albert Boekholt | Engineer |
| 4 | Vivian Campbell | Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Vibraphone, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Steve Clark | Composer, Guitar |
| 6 | Phil Collen | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Sound Effects, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Brian Connolly | Composer |
| 8 | Giles Cowley | Engineer |
| 9 | Def Leppard | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 10 | Joe Elliott | Composer, Guitar (Rhythm), Orchestra, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Freek Feenstra | Engineer |
| 12 | Nigel Green | Engineer |
| 13 | Ian Hunter | Guest Artist, Synthesizer |
| 14 | Michael Kamen | Arranger, Strings |
| 15 | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Steve McGaughlin | Overdubs, Strings |
| 17 | Erwin Musper | Vocals |
| 18 | Liam Ó Maonlaí | Guest Artist, Piano |
| 19 | Fiachna OBraonain | Guest Artist |
| 20 | Fiachna O'Braondin | Whistle (Instrument) |
| 21 | Niall O'Sullivan | Engineer |
| 22 | Peter O'Toole | Guest Artist, Mandolin |
| 23 | Ronald Prent | Engineer |
| 24 | Steve Priest | Composer |
| 25 | Rick Savage | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Andrew Scott | Composer |
| 27 | Robert Scovill | Engineer |
| 28 | Mike Shipley | Engineer |
| 29 | P.J. Smith | Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | Mick Tucker | Composer |
| 31 | Pete Woodroffe | Bass, Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Overdubs, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |