“Don't play what's there, play what's not there.”
- Miles Davis
Today is the birthday of Steve Clark. That's likely not a name you're familiar with. Only a music nerd of the highest order would be, so if you do recognize the name, count yourself among them. Clark was a whiz-kid guitar player in the big time British band, Def Leppard. Maybe that name rings a bell. Def Leppard had two MONSTER selling albums in the early 1980s, Pyromania and Hysteria, combined they sold 37 million LPs.
Def Leppard had a hard rock foundation that they blended with pop hooks and twin melodic guitars that created an infectious blend that pleasing to both young metal head boys and college sorority girls. They had broad appeal, I'm saying.
Clark wrote many of their best songs. He and fellow guitarist and bandmate, Phil Collen, with their two different styles of playing, created a layered guitar sound that gave Leppard its own distinctive appeal.
I saw Def Leppard in September, 1983 at Hammond's Arena here in Springfield. It was at the height of their power and, boy, they were the real deal. They were kings of the world right then.
Clark, though, like so many in that line of work, fought addiction to drugs and alcohol all of his adult life. In 1991, at the age of 30, he died one night from excessive drink and morphine. One more rock and roll causality.
A couple of my studio engineer buddies both talk about those two Def Leppard albums with great reverence. They shake their heads in awe at the marvels of the production - the various technique used to bring about the thick, rich “wall of sound.” It's geeky stuff only certain people care about, but the point is, those records were masterfully created.
The person who produced them was a guy named Robert “Mutt” Lange. He also produced AC/DC's Highway to Hell and Back in Black, Foreigner 4, The Cars Heartbeat City and numerous others. He was known to be meticulous about his craft, sometimes bordering on obsession. He was also married to Shania Twain for several years. They divorced after he got busy with her then best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. Later, Twain ended up marrying the former husband of of Marie-Anne, Frederick Thiebaud. Oh, the webs we weave.
What's your favorite Def Leppard song?