Available on multiple formats, London to Vegas documents two Leppard shows, plus behind the scenes footage. For Hysteria At The O2 arena, filmed in December 2018, the band played the multi, multi, platinum album in its entirety. Side one of the (vinyl) album features all the big hits (minus the title track) we all heard a million times. Look, nothing against a radio hit, but Side 2 is where it’s at because there are a couple goodies there too. As always, stage production is big and bright, full of lights, lasers, and various neon signs as the backdrop for part of the show.

Having seen the band several times over the years, and I’m sure everyone else has, you know the playing and vocal harmonies are as tight as spandex. Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage, and Rick Allen in perfect sync. Joe Elliott’s voice has become more coarse over the years, seasoned with age, pushing his projection on ‘Women’ and generally for higher or aggressive moments, sounding more comfortable on mid-range parts of ‘Rocket’ and ‘Love Bites’. A video tribute to late guitarist Steve Clark precedes the epic ‘Gods of War’, with other Side 2 rockers ‘Don’t Shoot Shotgun’ and ‘Run Riot’. ‘Photograph’ and ‘Rock of Ages’ of course are in the encore, but it’s all about the appearance of “Wasted” and Leppard not forgetting where they came from.
The Vegas show, residency, like the previous one, was again full of rarely, or never, played songs from their history. For this run of dates the production similar to the London show and then some, well, because its Vegas. Elliot’s voice sounds better, more rested with a stronger delivery. Going back and forth throughout the catalogue, kicking off with ‘Die Hard the Hunter’, ‘Too Late for Love’ and ‘Billy’s Got a Gun’ early, worth the price of admission. Also, happy to see High n Dry NWOBHM heavy rockers ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)’ have returned. There is also an acoustic set with a couple rarely played songs from more recent albums, ‘Let Me Be the One’, ‘We Belong’, plus ‘Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad’, and ‘Two Steps Behind’. An intimate part of the set to showcase the song’s melody and harmonies, something Leppard have always made a priority. ’Now’, from the 2002 “X” album, an alternative rock track, same with “Slang” (earlier in the set), shows versatility in songwriting over the years. The last quarter of the show is all the standard Hysteria/Pyromania arena rockers, but throwing in the mix ‘Let’s Go”’ from the 2015 self titled album changes the energy flow, and isn’t a “hit”.