On through the Night
Encyclopedia
On Through the Night is the debut album
by British
rock
band Def Leppard
, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Albums Chart
. It features rerecorded versions of "Rocks Off" and "Overture", tracks from the band's original independently released EP, The Def Leppard E.P. Other tracks are rerecorded versions of early demos, some of which appeared on the First Strike and Warchild bootlegs. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA
on May 9, 1989. The band have stated on many occasions that they do not like this album (which is rawer in sound and more in line with NWOBHM
bands like Saxon
) and consider High 'n' Dry
their first proper album. Aside from a select few extremely rare performances of "Wasted" and "Rock Brigade" over the years, the album has been completely ignored in their live sets since the mid-1980s.
"Wasted," "Rock Brigade" (b/w "When The Walls Came Tumbling Down") and "Hello America" were released as singles. However, the version of "Wasted" that appears on the single is a different recording from that of the LP, as is its b-side, "Hello America". The album was produced by Tom Allom
, perhaps best known for his work with Judas Priest
, and is one of the only Def Leppard albums that receive little or no radio airplay, as compared to their later albums like Pyromania
or Hysteria.
tractor-trailer, with the "K.W." initials in the truck's grille logo replaced with "D.L.", standing for Def Leppard. The band has also stated that they did not like how the cover turned out, which prompted them to hire professional album cover designers Hipgnosis
to design the cover for their next album, "High 'n' Dry
".
found the album favourable, explaining that it "shows they not only respect their elders, they've taken cues from their New Wave peers, too." He also stated that "guitarists Pete Willis and Steve Clark shoot from the hip, packing their licks into tight, three-minute pop arrangements", and that lead singer Joe Elliot "wails wonderfully in a resonating tenor, fortified by backup harmonies and Tom Allom's battering-ram production." He concluded that the album "is awfully impressive for a band making its vinyl debut."
Singles
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. It features rerecorded versions of "Rocks Off" and "Overture", tracks from the band's original independently released EP, The Def Leppard E.P. Other tracks are rerecorded versions of early demos, some of which appeared on the First Strike and Warchild bootlegs. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on May 9, 1989. The band have stated on many occasions that they do not like this album (which is rawer in sound and more in line with NWOBHM
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
bands like Saxon
Saxon (band)
Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
) and consider High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
their first proper album. Aside from a select few extremely rare performances of "Wasted" and "Rock Brigade" over the years, the album has been completely ignored in their live sets since the mid-1980s.
"Wasted," "Rock Brigade" (b/w "When The Walls Came Tumbling Down") and "Hello America" were released as singles. However, the version of "Wasted" that appears on the single is a different recording from that of the LP, as is its b-side, "Hello America". The album was produced by Tom Allom
Tom Allom
Tom Allom is an English sound engineer and record producer, mainly active in the 1970s and 1980s. Allom is known for his work on seminal albums by Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, KIX, and Rough Cutt...
, perhaps best known for his work with Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, and is one of the only Def Leppard albums that receive little or no radio airplay, as compared to their later albums like Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
or Hysteria.
Album cover
The truck on the album's cover was modeled after a 1970s-era Kenworth W900Kenworth W900
The W900 is a Kenworth class 8 truck model, known for its long-nose style.The engine sizes for the W900 range from 9 liters to 15 liters, and it accommodates up to a 600-horsepower engine...
tractor-trailer, with the "K.W." initials in the truck's grille logo replaced with "D.L.", standing for Def Leppard. The band has also stated that they did not like how the cover turned out, which prompted them to hire professional album cover designers Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
to design the cover for their next album, "High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
".
Reception
Allmusic's Steve Huey rated On Through the Night three-and-a-half out of five stars. He noted that it "established the band as one of the leading lights of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal." He also called it "a collection of working-class hard rock anthems informed by the big, glittering hooks of glam rock." Although he stated that "it may lack the detailed production and more pop-oriented songwriting of later efforts," but concluded that "some Leppard fans prefer this sound." A staff member at Sputnik Music rated the album three out of five points. He noted that the "middle-class common-man image" of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" movement "partially played a part in making Def Leppard one of [its] leaders". He also stated that the band's ambition "would never allow [them] to be tunnel-visioned", but he concluded that the album "can be categorized as a grower of an album since the more superficial elements that would appeal to the mainstream will initially distract some listeners from what is actually an incredibly tight musical and vocal performance." Rolling Stones David FrickeDavid Fricke
David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
found the album favourable, explaining that it "shows they not only respect their elders, they've taken cues from their New Wave peers, too." He also stated that "guitarists Pete Willis and Steve Clark shoot from the hip, packing their licks into tight, three-minute pop arrangements", and that lead singer Joe Elliot "wails wonderfully in a resonating tenor, fortified by backup harmonies and Tom Allom's battering-ram production." He concluded that the album "is awfully impressive for a band making its vinyl debut."
Track listing
Personnel
- Steve ClarkSteve ClarkStephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Rick SavageRick SavageRichard "Rick" Savage is the bassist and one of the founding members of the English rock band, Def Leppard. He is called "Sav" to avoid confusion between him and the other Rick in the band, drummer Rick Allen. He and lead vocalist, Joe Elliot, are the only remaining original members of the band...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Pete WillisPete WillisPete Willis was one of the original guitarists for the British rock band Def Leppard, until he was replaced by Phil Collen in 1982...
– guitar - Rick AllenRick Allen (drummer)Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Joe ElliottJoe ElliottJoseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
– throat
Additional personnel
- Chris M. Hughes – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
on "Hello America" - Dave CousinsDave CousinsDave Cousins has been the leader, singer and most active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967.-Career:...
– voice on "When the Walls Came Tumblin' Down"
Production
- (Colonel) Tom AllomTom AllomTom Allom is an English sound engineer and record producer, mainly active in the 1970s and 1980s. Allom is known for his work on seminal albums by Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, KIX, and Rough Cutt...
– producer - Louis "Snook" Austin – engineer
- Dick Plant – engineer
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 51 |
| 1983 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 131 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "Wasted" | UK | 61 |
| 1980 | "Rock Brigade" | US | – |
| 1980 | "Hello America" | UK | 45 |
Certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
| Canada | CRIA Music Canada Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:... |
Platinum |