7 Years Ago RICK SAVAGE Discusses Def Leppard's ADRENALIZE Album

Thursday, 31st March 2022

Def Leppard 1992

Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage was interviewed in September 2015 by Mick Wall and he reflected on the 1992 Adrenalize album.

Sav was interviewed for the Def Leppard Classic Rock Limited Edition Fan Pack magazine.

Today marks 28 years since the 'Adrenalize' album was released in USA/Canada one day after it was issued in the UK.

When asked about the album he reflected on the its recording process and how the band were affected by the death of Steve Clark in January 1991.

Over 23 years after its release Sav revealed he does not remember the album fondly or the recording which took place from early 1989 to late 1991 in Holland and Dublin.

He also revealed tentative plans for future solo work outside of Def Leppard during this interview, and in 2017 there is still no sign of that project.

This interview was conducted by phone on 4th September 2015 when the band were in St. Louis. MO with Styx and Tesla.

Sav, along with Joe and Rick, also spoke about the album shortly before its release to MTV in March 1992. Read some of those quotes below.

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Classic Rock Fan Pack - Rick Savage September 2015 Interview Quotes

Adrenalize Album

"After the release of Hysteria we toured for a very long time. They were wonderful days, just great times. But it did have a draining effect on the band. Then we went in to start writing songs for Adrenalize, and 'Mutt' was...I don't think he had lost the passion. I think he was getting tired of working with bands per se, and having to cater for every individual member of the band and treat them equally. Cos that was one of Mutt's great strengths. Nothing was more important than when it was being recorded and it was getting his full attention. And I think 'Mutt' was getting a little tired of the work that he was putting in to do the records. He was getting a little jaded, if that's a fair word."

"We'd got to the point where we'd lost Steve and we ended up making a record almost by numbers. We were in a daze (after Steve's death). We were numb. It wasn't coming from the same place any more, and partly that was through tiredness, through the shock of losing Steve, and from confusion over what kind of album we should be making. All this shit that you're dealing with and it confuses you. I found we were all sleepwalking when we made Adrenalize. It's not my favourite album by a long shot."

Def Leppard 1992.

"We tried to outdo Hysteria, which was a mistake. I remember early on in the songwriting process, we had this song that was a spin-off from Hysteria that ended up on the Adrenalize album, called Tonight. And I remember at the time 'Mutt' saying: "Guys, you've got to produce this record with (regular Lange engineer) Mike Shipley," god rest his soul, who was more than capable. He was a major part of Hysteria anyway, and 'Mutt' would be the first to admit that."

"So it was obvious Mutt wasn't going to be a hands-on producer like he had been on the previous three albums. He actually turned round to us and said, "You know what you should do. You should completely forget about doing a Hysteria-type album and make a Guns N' Roses-type album." And we just didn't know how to take that. Because that wouldn't have been natural to us, in a sense. It's so easy to get stuck in a rut that has brought you success. Even if the songs are different, there's a formula to the writing and recording process. And it's so hard to get out of that because you know it's a tried-and-trusted formula."

"All this shit was going on. Then we made the album as a four piece because Steve was no longer with us. It just became...I don't know. It came from the wrong source. The motivation, just the feelings were all mixed up because of the circumstances surrounding it. So while the album was a commercial success it's not really an album that I look back fondly on. It doesn't really cut it for me."

Screenshot 1992

Adrenalize March 1992 - Rick Savage Interview Quotes

"It's a ballsier record. The guitars are a little bit more prominent. And the songs themselves are a little bit more concise and straight to the point."

"I quite like White Lightning because it's more of an album track song. It's seven minutes long and it gives you a little bit more scope to do more things in."

"As far as I'm concerned playing live on stage will always be the be all and end all of being in a rock band."

"The best way that we've found of rehearsing for a tour just on a physical basis is to like do aerobic classes. And it's something that you have to do otherwise you'd be exhausted halfway through a show and you wouldn't be able to do the proper show. I mean one thing that we've always wanted to do is give people value for money."

Three Members Of The Band Got Married

"I was the only one that didn't which probably meant I was in the studio more times than anybody else."

"The fans that we had four years ago on the last record may no longer be fans on the new record. And it's something that every band has to contend with You never know how you're new album is gonna be accepted. But in the past we've been fortunate enough to pick up a new generation of fans if you like. And hopefully that trend will continue."

Def Leppard 1992

"You never know what's around the corner. Especially when you're in Def Leppard because anything can happen and we've proved that. But right now we just wanna go out there and play and we want it to last - we want it to last forever."

Adrenalize March 1992 - Joe Elliott Interview Quotes

"I am really, really excited about this album. I'm really looking forward to the future of the band. It's so open and so up in the air and so unpredictable. That you can't help but have that little adrenaline rush going through ya. Because you don't know what's gonna even happen tomorrow. And the slight unpredictability of that mixed in with the predictability of the album being released, the tour happening. All the press that you have to do. all the photo shoots, videos you have to make. It's like a treadmill that you're on."

"It's all part of the process. All we wanna do is get out there and play live. You know entertain people. Get back on the bus. Get on the plane or whatever. Travel to the next city/country and just do it again."

Adrenalize March 1992 - Rick Allen Interview Quote

"I'm really raring to go. To get out on this tour. And get over to fans either new or old. And I think the record speaks for itself. And I think the name Adrenalize really conjures up exactly what this record is about. And I think it's probably gonna be our biggest record to date."