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Summertime ROCK: Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’

It’s a trip back to the 80s for this week’s installment of albums best revisited in the summer months. Says ROCK 92.2 Program Director Ken West: “In the late summer…

It's a trip back to the 80s for this week's installment of albums best revisited in the summer months.

Says ROCK 92.2 Program Director Ken West: "In the late summer of '87, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” “Love Bites” and “Hysteria” just seemed like summer to me." And he's right. Released on August 3, 1987, Def Leppard's Hysteria soundtracked that late summer for many a rock fan, young and old, from fans of hair metal to heavy metal. And the tracks that Ken name-dropped are just three of the SEVEN singles that the 25-million-seller yielded.

For me, the album brings to mind a camping trip that summer to Passaconaway Campground on the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire's White Mountains to celebrate my friend Kev's birthday. After the campfire died down, we noticed Kev's brother and uncle had retired to another uncle's Chevy Chevelle. We went knocking to find out what was up and found out they were using the tape deck to crank Hysteria, so of course we piled into the back seat and joined them.

Crank the album yourself this weekend (just be mindful of the other campers if you're camping out). I posted some faves below, and you can click here for more Summertime ROCK suggestions.

adam12Writer
Adam 12 is the Program Director of Boston's ROCK 92.9, heard weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. He's been flexing his encyclopedic rock knowledge in New England for over 2 decades, both on-air and online, at WBCN, WFNX, Boston.com, and indie617. At ROCK 92.9, he keeps you in the know on the big stories from the Boston music scene and writes about great places to eat, drink (beer), and to spend time outdoors in and around Boston.