"Desert Song"
With an eastern flavor and a hypnotic, heavy groove, this song was a work-in-progress for years, was musically completed in '93, and was lyricized on a day off on the European 7-Day Weekend Tour in Portugal. "Steve had the riff during Pyromania. It was written in '84, recorded in '87, and the lyrics were written in May '93. The music's seven years old, but lyrically it's right on the nail," says Joe, noting that the song was "pretty much inspired by what happened to Mick" Ronson, who died of cancer. "Ten days before he died, he stayed with me in Dublin. He was a bit of a mess. He was mentally together, but his body was falling apart. I tried to put myself in his position. You can be surrounded by people who encourage you and give you love, but it doesn't matter. It's very nice and well meaning, but it's hollow. You're on your own. The isolation is like being in the desert. At the end of the day, you're on your own."

"Fractured Love"
Starting off with a tribal, rhythmic drum beat, this song kicks in heavily and showcases Steve Clark's guitar style. It was the first tune written during the Hysteria sessions, but was shelved till '93, when it got a new arrangement and intro.

"Action"
A fun version of a Sweet tune. "We love the song," is Joe's simple explanation of why Def Leppard chose to cover it.

"Two Steps Behind"
Featured on the Last Action Hero soundtrack, this acoustic version was originally recorded in Dublin in April, 1992, with strings added a year later. The electric version 9also on Retro Active) came first, however-Joe wrote it in '89.

"She's Too Tough"
Joe wrote this cool catchy rocker in 15 minutes and demo'd it (by himself) over three days. It originally appeared on Helix's Wild in the Streets album, and was the European b-side of "Have You Ever." New overdubs were recorded in April '92. "I had it sitting around since '85. Phil did the guitars last year. Weird, but it works," comments Joe.

"Miss You In A Heartbeat"
A great ballad written by Phil, who contributes some beatiful guitar work, this acoustic version arose when Joe "was farting around on piano one day and started singing it. Two days after the Freddie Mercury show (Concert For Life), I was in Dublin, and me and Pete Woodroffe recorded it-it's a mix of our piano playing. It sat around for a year" until the band finished it in Dublin in June '93.

"Only After Dark"
This rockin' song was recorded as a tribute to its writer, Mick Ronson. "I was a big fan. He was a Yorkshireman, and we got along well. I sang on his solo album," says Joe. It was originally the b-side of "Let's Get Rocked."

"Ride Into THe Sun"
A smokin' tune originally written in '78 before Phil and Rick A. were in the band and included on the first Lep EP, this version was recorded during the Hysteria sessions and was the b-side of the title track.

"From The Inside"
Beautifully blending acoustic guitars, piano, and mandolin, this song about drug addiction was written (by Joe) from the drug's point fo view. "You walk around Amsterdam, where we recorded Hysteria, and see it on every street corner. Drugs aren't illegal there. Also in Dublin, you see fucked up people. It just stuck into my head. I was messing around on acoustic-I wrote the music in '88. I wanted lyrics as dark and moody as the music was," Joe says. He premiered it on a British TV program called Rock Steady that featured collaborations by artists from different music fields. Three members of the Hothouse Flowers appeared with him, and played on the track, which was recorded during the Adrenalize b-side sessions. "If we ever did Unplugged, we'd love to do it with those guys," says Joe of the Hothouse trio.

"Ring Of Fire"
Written and recorded during the Hysteria era, this was the b-side of "Pour Some Sugar On Me." The album notes say that it "was inspired by...ahh, you don't really want to know." Trying to pry the story out of Joe proves futile: "We want people to use their imaginations. It's whatever they think it means."

"I Wanna Be Your Hero"
A characteristically Leppard-like rocker with a big-sounding chorus and soaring harmonies, this song was called "Love Bites" until another song assumed that title. Revamped during the Hysteria b-side sessions, it was the b-side of "Animal."

"Miss You In A Heartbeat"
(Electric Version)
A contender for Hysteria, this song didn't make it because "We'd already written one ballad, 'Have You Ever.' Phil came up with it too late. So rather than have it sit around, he thought he'd give it to the publishing company." A friend brought it to the attention of Paul Rodgers, who recorded it for The Law's album in 1991. Def Leppard re-recorded it in April, 1992 and put it on the flip side of the "Make Love Like A Man" single. "It's very similar to the original electric version (The Law did), but I think we do it better," Joe opines.

"Two Steps Behind"
(Electric Version)
"We thought it would be nice if the version that inspired the acoustic version was on it," says Joe of this track, which was demo'd during the Adrenalize sessions with Joe playing all the instruments, and recorded by the band in June '93. "One thing led to another-it became a totally different version," notes Joe.