As Time Goes By and Number 67

It's a little rare for me to review television on the blog, so much tv doesn't seem to hold up to scrutiny or have any sense of originality. But there is a tv series that is repeating on public television which I think is outstanding and that's As Time Goes By. A british television series from the early to mid 1990's, it follows the relationship of Jean and Lionel. The two had an intensely passionate relationship during what sounds like either WWII or the Korean War but had a falling out due to a lost love letter. They meet by chance some 30 years later and after a lot of manuevering they fall back in love.

As precious as the premise is, the reason why this show works has less to do with big ideas than with studied characterization. The series moves as an unusually confident pace allowing the two main characters time to relate to each others and a set of recurring characters around them. Jean is played by Dame Judi Dench in what is the first role in which I can see why she earned her acting title. Dench imbues her character with intelligence, wit and empathy with a touch of pathos. Geoffrey Palmer plays Lionel as a likeable curmudgeon playing off of Dench's energetic performance (The two also interacted briefly but memorably at the beginning of the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies). The surrounding characters give the couple a sounding board for their other traits, such as the affable book agent Alstair, the disappointed romantic Judi and the even keeled Sandy.

It's rare that a television show doesn't talk down to its audience or pull cheap sweeps stunts to capture attention. As Time Goes By lays out its simple premise and characters and allows them to interact in a way that is realistic but with a sharp sense of wit. If you have access to public television, I strongly recommend watching this show. It's funny, human and touching in a way that most tv isn't.

Now, when I describe Number 67 the adjectives that come to mind are entirely different. That's because Number 67 is:

Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)

On VH1 Classic I watched the making of this album and I've always been amazed that this album carries the stature it does. Hysteria was one of the first CD's I ever bought (I didnb't even own a CD player at the time). I thought if there was a band worth listening to in digital stereo, it was Def Leppard. Def Lep has always been a heavily produced band with all sorts of electronic noises, processed vocals and synthesizers to soften and sweeten their brand of pop metal. While this reputation had been established with High N Dry (1982) and Pyromania (1983), they took it to the next level with Hysteria.

In fact, when I first heard Hysteria in the summer of 1987 I didn't care for it much. Their previous albums High N Dry and Pyromania combined taut, catchy songwriting with polished guitarwork and AC/DC style rhythms. Hysteria kept the polish and memorable choruses but expanded their sound by removing much of their harder edged rhythms and looking for less obvious ways to rock.

For a fan of predicable music such as myself, Hysteria was a frustrating album. Much of the album moved at a midtempo pace. "Rocket" was way too long and confusing with a sound collage in the middle. It was 62 minutes long at a time when most were 45 minutes long. With the exception of the hard charging "Run Riot", nothing rocked with reckless abandon. It was weird and the difference showed in slow sales for the album.

As time went on, I liked the album more and more. The power ballad "Love Bites", despite the somewhat ridiculous lyrics (The idea of Love as a biting, bleeding thing never appealed to me) was terrific and the almost boogie of "Armaggedon It" with that great gliding guitar part (where the song goes Gimmie all of your lovin'/Gimmie all that you got/Every bit of your lovin/Baby don't ever stop). The lead single "Women" was a terrific, slow building rocker with a great instrumental breakdown at the end. "Gods Of War" was an awesome mid-album epic tackling that great 80's theme of nuclear holocaust and Reagan era politics.

Interestingly, a year after the album was out it finally caught on with the public. In the Summer of '88, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was released as the fifth single of the album. The song, one of the original prototypes of rap-metal, caught on with its mix of T Rex and Run DMC. To this very day, "Sugar" is the definitive Def Leppard song and remains in the national consciousness to this day.

Other songs I didn't care for in the first year became more interesting later on. Until recent years, I didn't care of "Animal" because I thought it was too soft. Ditto "Hysteria", I couldn't see if it was a ballad or laid back rock. In fact, I didn't like the song "Hysteria" until this year. Go figure.

The best Def Leppard song from this time period wasn't even on this album. The B-side to the 45 for "Women" included a powerhouse rocker called "Tear It Down". An atomic rocker similar to "Comin Under Fire" from Pyromania, "Tear It Down" rocked harder than anything on Hysteria. Unfortunately, a watered down version of this song appeared on the next album Adrenalize.

Hysteria has grown to be a favorite album of mine and it continues to gain resonance as my wife has fond memories of this album as well. To many, this is the definitive Def Leppard album and marks a peak in their creativity and commercial sales.