Joe Elliott (8,898 views)

[Henny Macc]

Joseph Thomas Elliott, Jr. (August 1, 1959 - )
Years active: 1977-present
Country of origin: England
Recorded vocal range: D2-G♯5 (D2-A♭5) - 3½ octaves

Band history:

• 1977-present - Def Leppard (lead vocals, occasional rhythm guitar and keyboards)
  
• 1994-2001 - Cybernauts (lead vocals)
• 2009-present - Joe Elliott's Down 'n' Outz (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards)
  
• 2012-2014 - Kings of Chaos (vocals)

Recorded high notes:
G♯5/A♭5: "Foolin'"
G5: "Die Hard the Hunter", "Women"
F♯5/G♭5: "Battle of My Own", "Comin' Under Fire", "Good Times", "Promises", "20th Century Boy", "Women" live Cadott 2012, "You Got Me Runnin'"
F5: "Action! Not Words", "Animal", "Billy's Got a Gun", "England Rocks", "Foolin'", "Good Times", "Love Bites", "Rebel Yell" live ANZ Stadium 2013, "Ring of Fire", "She's Too Tough" demo, "Shouting and Pointing", "Stagefright", "Storm", "The Overture" demo
E5: "Another Hit and Run", "Armageddon It", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", "Comin' Under Fire", "Die Hard the Hunter", "Excitable", "Fractured Love", "Gods of War", "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", "Lady Strange", "Let It Go", "Love and Affection", "Me & My Wine", "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Run Riot", "Stagefright", "Tear It Down", "Tonight", "Too Late for Love", "When Love & Hate Collide", "Women", "You Got Me Runnin'"
D♯5/E♭5: "Animal", "Billy's Got a Gun", "Career (No Such Thing as Rock 'n' Roll)", "Cruise Control", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Hell Raiser", "It Could Be You", "Love Bites", "Love Reign O'er Me", "Man Enough", "No No No", "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Rocket" live Sheffield 1993, "Shouting and Pointing", "Won't Get Fooled Again" live Las Vegas 2013, "You Got Me Runnin'", "Ziggy Stardust" live Dublin 1997
D5: "Action! Not Words", "Another Hit and Run", "Armageddon It", "Billy's Got a Gun", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", "Comin' Under Fire", "Die Hard the Hunter", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Excitable", "Foolin'", "Fractured Love", "Gods of War", "Good Times", "Hell Raiser", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "Kings of Oblivion", "Let It Go", "Lifeless", "Love and Affection", "Love Bites", "Make Love Like a Man", "Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)", "No No No", "Only the Good Die Young", "On Through the Night", "Overture", "Personal Property", "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", "Run Riot", "She's Too Tough", "Shouting and Pointing", "Stagefright", "Take What You Want", "Tear It Down", "Too Late for Love", "Travelin' Band" live The Forum 1983, "When the Walls Came Tumbling Down", "Women", "You Got Me Runnin'"
C♯5/D♭5: "All Night", "All Time High", "Animal", "Blind Faith", "Boys Don't Cry", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", "Hello America", "Hell Raiser", "I Wanna Touch U", "Lady Strange", "Let's Get Rocked", "Love and Affection", "Me & My Wine", "Rocket", "Photograph", "Promises", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Run Riot", "Sorrow Is a Woman", "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)", "Stiff Upper Lip", "Suffragette City" live Dublin 1997, "Tear It Down", "Waterloo Sunset", "When Love & Hate Collide", "Who Do You Love?", "Whole Lotta Love" live Sheffield 1993, "You Got Me Runnin'"
C5: "All Night", "Animal", "Another Hit and Run", "Armageddon It", "Billy's Got a Gun", "Breathe a Sigh", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", "Career (No Such Thing as Rock 'n' Roll)", "Cruise Control", "Die Hard the Hunter", "Elected" live Tilburg 1987, "Foolin'", "Gods of War", "Gotta Let It Go", "Hello America", "Hell Raiser", "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", "It's All About Believin'", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "It Could Be You", "It Don't Matter", "Kings of Oblivion", "Let It Go", "Let's Get Rocked", "Love Bites", "Make Love Like a Man", "Me & My Wine", "Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)", "No No No", "Overture", "Personal Property", "Photograph", "Ring of Fire", "Rock and Roll" live The Forum 1983, "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Run Riot", "Satellite", "She's Too Tough", "Stagefright", "Suicide City" live at William S. Burroughs Centenary 2019, "Tear It Down", "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll", "Tomorrow", "Tonight", "Too Late for Love", "Travelin' Band" live The Forum 1983, "U Rok Mi", "White Lightning", "Who Do You Love?", "Women"
B4: "Action! Not Words", "All I Want Is Everything", "Animal", "Answer to the Master", "Armageddon It", "Blood Runs Cold", "Broadside Outcasts", "Comin' Under Fire", "Desert Song", "Die Hard the Hunter", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Excitable", "Fire It Up", "Fractured Love", "Gimme a Kiss That Rocks", "Gods of War", "Heaven Is", "Hello America", "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", "Hi Hi Hi", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "I Wanna Touch U", "Lady Strange", "Love and Affection", "Love Lies Bleeding" live Hammersmith Odeon 2014, "Marionette", "Move with Me Slowly", "On Through the Night", "Open Your Eyes", "Photograph", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Ride into the Sun", "Rock and Roll Queen", "Rock of Ages", "Sorrow Is a Woman", "Scar", "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)", "Stiff Upper Lip", "Tear It Down", "This Is How We Roll", "Time", "Too Late for Love", "Unbreakable", "Undefeated", "Walking to Babylon", "Wasted", "When Love & Hate Collide", "Who Do You Love?", "Women"
A♯4/B♭4: "All the Young Dudes" live Dublin 1997, "Angel No.9" live Dublin 1997, "Angels (Can't Help You Now)", "Battle of My Own", "Blood Runs Cold", "Burnout", "By Tonight", "C'mon, C'mon", "Come Undone", "Cracked Actor" live Dublin 1997, "Crash Street Kidds", "Four Letter Word", "From Here to Eternity", "Gotta Let It Go", "Heroes" live Mexico 2013, "Hi Hi Hi", "I Wanna Touch U", "Last Dance", "Let's Get Rocked", "Let's Go", "Liquid Dust", "Long, Long Way to Go", "Love Reign O'er Me", "Marionette", "Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)", "Moonage Daydream" live Dublin 1997, "Nine Lives", "One More Chance to Run", "Only the Good Die Young", "Overnight Angels", "Paper Sun", "Ring of Fire", "Rocks Off", "Spillways", "Stiff Upper Lip", "Storm", "Street Life", "Tomorrow", "Truth" demo, "Unbreakable", "Under My Wheels", "Violence", "Walking to Babylon", "When the Walls Came Tumbling Down"
A4: "Action", "Action! Not Words", "All I Want Is Everything", "All Night", "Animal", "Another Hit and Run", "Armageddon It", "Back in Your Face", "Battle of My Own", "Beyond the Temple" demo, "Billy's Got a Gun", "Blood Runs Cold", "Breathe a Sigh", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", "Burnout", "Comin' Under Fire", "Cowboy Song" live Dublin 1996, "Day After Day", "Desert Song", "Die Hard the Hunter", "Don't Look Down", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Elected" live Tilburg 1987, "England Rocks", "Everyday", "Foolin'", "From Here to Eternity", "Four Letter Word", "Fractured Love", "Gimme a Kiss That Rocks", "Gods of War", "Golden Opportunity", "Good Morning Freedom", "Gravity", "Hanging on the Telephone", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", "Heaven Is", "Hello America", "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", "Hi Hi Hi", "I Am Your Child", "Immortal", "It Could Be You", "It Don't Matter", "I Wanna Be Your Hero", "Kings of Oblivion", "Let It Go", "Let's Get Rocked", "Lifeless", "Life on Mars" live Dublin 1997, "Love Bites", "Make Love Like a Man", "Me & My Wine", "Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)", "Mistreated", "No No No", "Now I'm Here" live Wembley Stadium 1992, "On Through the Night", "Overture", "Pearl of Euphoria", "Personal Property", "Promises", "Ride into the Sun", "Ring of Fire", "Rock Brigade", "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" live Dublin 1997, "Run Riot", "Satellite", "Sorrow Is a Woman", "Spillways", "Take What You Want", "Tear It Down", "The Anthem" live at The Tartan Clef Awards 2010, "The Journey", "Tie Your Mother Down" live Wembley Stadium 1992, "Truth" demo, "Two Steps Behind" electric version, "Unbelievable", "Unbreakable", "Undefeated", "Under My Wheels", "When Love & Hate Collide", "When Saturday Comes", "When the Walls Came Tumbling Down", "Women", "You Got Me Runnin'"
G♯4/A♭4: "All Time High", "Angels (Can't Help You Now)", "Another Man's War", "Armageddon It", "Bad Actress", "Battle of My Own", "Boston Tea Party" live at the Tartan Clefs 2010, "Boys Don't Cry", "Broadside Outcasts", "Broken 'n' Brokenhearted", "Come Undone", "Creatures", "Cry", "Dangerous", "Demolition Man", "Don't Believe a Word", "Drive-In Saturday", "Drivin' Sister", "Four Letter Word", "From Here to Eternity", "Girl Like You", "Glad I'm Alive", "Go", "Golden Opportunity", "Goodbye for Good This Time", "Hallucinate", "Heat Street", "It's All About Believin'", "I Wanna Touch U", "Kings of the World", "Last Dance", "Let's Get Rocked", "Let's Go", "Long, Long Way to Go", "Love", "Love Lives Bleeding" live Hammersmith Odeon 2014, "Marionette", "Maybe It' Time", "Nine Lives", "No Matter What", "One of the Boys", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Promises", "Rock and Roll Queen", "See the Lights", "Spillways", "Storm", "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll", "The Journey", "This Is How We Roll", "Undefeated", "U Rok Mi", "Violence", "When Love & Hate Collide", "White Punks on Dope", "You're So Beautiful", "You're the Voice"

Recorded low notes:
E3: "All I Want Is Everything", "Animal" live Las Vegas 2013, "Armageddon It", "Boston Tea Party" acoustic rehearsal 2010, "Comin' Under Fire", "Desert Song", "Don't Look Down", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Everyday", "Excitable", "Fire It Up", "Fractured Love", "From the Inside", "Goodbye", "Gravity", "Guilty", "Hanging on the Telephone", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", "Heartbeat", "How Does It Feel", "Hysteria", "It's Only Love", "Kiss the Day", "Life on Mars" live Dublin 1997, "Little Wing", "Love Don't Lie", "Now", "Only After Dark", "Pearl of Euphoria", "Personal Jesus", "Personal Property", "Promises", "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)", "Starman" live Dublin 1997, "Tear It Down", "The Man Who Sold the World", "The Supermen" live Dublin 1997, "This Guitar", "Time", "To Be Alive", "Tonight", "Too Late for Love", "Truth" demo, "Two Steps Behind", "Unbreakable", "When Love & Hate Collide", "Where Does Love Go When It Dies", "Who Do You Love?", "Women", "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
D♯3/E♭3: "All the Young Dudes", "All We Need", "Armageddon It" live Las Vegas 2013, "Blind Faith", "Blood Runs Cold", "Career (No Such Thing as Rock 'n' Roll)", "Changes" live Dublin 1997, "Cry", "Drive-in Saturday", "Excitable" live Las Vegas 2013, "Five Years" live Dublin 1997, "Foolin'" live unplugged 1995, "From the Inside" live acoustic on Sirius XM 2020, "Goodbye for Good This Time", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" live Sheffield 1993, "Hysteria" live Las Vegas 2013, "Invincible", "Kick" live at the Whisky a Go-Go 2022, "Let's Get Rocked", "Let It Shine", "Long, Long Way to Go", "Love Reign O'er Me", "Manic Depression", "Miss You in a Heartbeat", "My Generation" live Tilburg 1987, "Never Before", "Nine Lives" alternate version, "Not Fade Away" live Tilburg 1987, "One More Chance to Run", "Original Mixed-Up Kid", "Overnight Angels", "Promises '06", "Radar Love" live Tiburg 1987, "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" live Dublin 1997, "Slang", "The Jean Genie" live Dublin 1997, "The Man Who Sold the World", "20th Century Boy", "Two Steps Behind" live acoustic on Sirius XM 2020, "Violence", "Walking to Babylon", "We All Need Christmas", "We Belong", "When Love & Hate Collide '06", "White Light White Heat" live Dublin 1997, "Whizz Kid", "Winter Song", "Women" live Las Vegas 2013, "Ziggy Stardust" live Dublin 1997
D3: "Action", "All I Want Is Everything", "Apologies", "Armageddon It", "Day After Day", "Deliver Me", "Desert Song", "Elected" live Tilburg 1987, "Excitable", "Fractured Love", "Heaven Is", "He's Gonna Step on You Again", "I Am Your Child", "Kiss the Day", "Let's Get Rocked" live 2011, "Little Wing", "Love", "Now", "Pearl of Euphoria", "Personal Property", "Rocket", "Sea Diver", "Space Oddity", "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
C♯3/D♭3: "Action" live Las Vegas 2013, "All on Your Touch", "Armageddon It" live Las Vegas 2013, "Blind Faith", "Boston Tea Party" acoustic rehearsal 2010, "Career (No Such Thing as Rock 'n' Roll)", "Changes" live Dublin 1997, "Deliver Me", "Girl Like You", "Goodbye for Good This Time", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", "Heroes" live Mexico 2013, "Invincible", "Last Dance", "Original Mixed-Up Kid", "Overnight Angels", "Rocket" live Las Vegas 2013, "Rock On", "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion"), "Street Life", "The Journey", "The Man Who Sold the World" live Dublin 1997, "The Supermen" live Dublin 1997, "The Width of a Circle" live Dublin 1997, "Truth" demo, "Walking to Babylon", "We Belong", "Where Does Love Go When It Dies", "Wings of an Angel", "Work It Out", "Ziggy Stardust" live Dublin 1997
C3: "Always Wanted More", "Animal", "Billy's Got a Gun", "Deliver Me" live Pittsburgh 1996, "Gift of Flesh", "Let's Get Rocked", "Overnight Angels", "Personal Property", "Scar", "Sea Diver", "Stiff Upper Lip", "Suicide City" live at William S. Burroughs Centenary 2014, "Where Does Love Go When It Dies" live Pittsburgh 1996, "Work It Out" live The Tonight Show 1996
B2: "Changes" live Dublin 1997, "Creatures", "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "From Here to Eternity", "Lifeless", "Love Don't Lie", "Marionette", "Pearl of Euphoria", "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" live Dublin 1997, "Rock On", "Space Oddity", "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)", "Starman" live Dublin 1997, "The Man Who Sold the World", "The Supermen" live Dublin 1997, "Time", "Truth" demo, "Waterloo Sunset", "Where Does Love Go When It Dies", "Work It Out"
A♯2/B♭2: "Blind Faith", "Don't Shoot Shotgun" live Las Vegas 2013, "Love Bites" live Las Vegas 2013, "My Generation" live Tilburg 1987, "Rebel Yell" live ANZ Stadium 2013, "Rocket" live Sheffield 1993, "Time", "Violence", "Where Does Love Go When It Dies" live Pittsburgh 1996, "Work It Out" live The Tonight Show 1996
A2: "All Night", "Boston Tea Party" acoustic rehearsal 2010, "Cowboy Song" live Dublin 1996, "Deliver Me", "Desert Song", "He's Gonna Step on You Again", "Make Love Like a Man", "Overture", "Personal Jesus", "Work It Out"
G♯2/A♭2: "Another Man's War", "Blind Faith", "Broken 'n' Brokenhearted", "Changes" live Dublin 1997, "Deliver Me" live Pittsburgh 1996, "Heroes" live Mexico 2013, "Liquid Dust", "Moonage Daydream", "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" live Dublin 1997, "Stiff Upper Lip", "Street Life", "Violence", "Work It Out" live The Tonight Show 1996
G2: "Street Life", "Make Love Like a Man", "3000 Miles from Here", "Truth" demo
F♯2/G♭2: "So Many Ways to Hurt You", "The Supermen" live Dublin 1997
F2: "Don't Shoot Shotgun", "Shouting and Pointing"
E2: "All Night", "Excitable"
D♯2/E♭2: "All Night", "Broadside Outcasts", "Excitable" live Las Vegas 2013
D2: "Deliver Me", "Space Oddity"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable notes}
A♯5/B♭5: "Sea of Love"
G♯5/A♭5: "Hi Hi Hi", "Promises"
F♯5/G♭5: "Back in Your Face"

A2: "Love and Affection)"
G♯2/A♭2: "Man Enough"
G2: "All Night"

These are all notes that cannot be confirmed as Elliott's voice or one of his bandmates', or perhaps Robert John "Mutt" Lange's. "Hi Hi Hi" is credited as only having Elliott singing on it, but the tone of the G♯5 at the end sounds nothing like his normal fifth octave notes, so I'm listing it here as well.

.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlined marks notes in backing vocals or otherwise obscured/muffled in the song mix.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Detailed bio}
Joe Elliott is best known as the singer for Def Leppard, and has served as the voice behind the band's most famous anthems over the span of their 40 year career. He is recognized for his somewhat raspy, attitude driven rock voice, which tends to be the most comfortable and natural in the third and fourth octave, but also features a prominent head voice extension into the fifth octave, which characterized the vocals of Def Leppard's first few albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Over time, he has also revealed himself to have a fairly solid and strong low range, which he has gradually made more use of as his career has gone by. Together with the various Def Leppard backing vocalists over the years (Pete Willis, Steve Clarke, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, and Rick "Sav" Savage), he has helped create some of the most iconic vocal harmonies in the world of '80s metal, which have been a signature element of Def Leppard's music since their first album.

Elliott first joined Def Leppard (who were called Atomic Mass at the time) in 1977, after auditioning for the band as a second guitarist and being deemed more fit as lead vocalist by the other members. In 1979, he made his recording debut with the band for their first EP release, which was simply titled The Def Leppard E.P., and was followed by their first full-length studio album, On Through the Night, in 1980. For these initial early releases, Elliott's vocal style was much more restrained than it would later become, and featured vocals that mostly topped out in the upper fourth octave and lower fifth octave. He generally sounded much thinner and less powerful on some of these notes as well, but also displayed hints of a developing raspy/gritty head voice register on the few mid fifth octave notes he did demonstrate, such as the sustained F5 in the demo version of "The Overture". This technique became much more developed and utilized by the time Def Leppard recorded their second album, 1981's High 'n' Dry, as it featured melody singing into the fifth octave on almost every song - getting as high as E5 on several songs, and even reaching F♯5s on "You Got Me Runnin'"! However, Elliott's approach to this register was still much more raw and scratchy during this time than it would become later in his career (at times sounding somewhat reminiscent of Brian Johnson), and he was audibly still mastering some sense of control over his voice.

In 1983, Def Leppard released their major breakthrough album, Pyromania, which received heavy acclaim for hit singles such as "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", and "Foolin'". On this album, Elliott's vocal abilities truly began to shine, as he developed a much greater sense of tone and control within his fifth octave, and proved himself capable of singing up to at least E5 on literally every song! The band's next album, 1987's Hysteria, was also a major success, featuring songs that have since become world-famous hits and are played on the radio to this day, such as the title track, "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Animal", "Love Bites", and "Armageddon It". In addition to the multitude of impressive high vocals from Elliott on this album, it also began to show him making occasional use of his low range on certain songs, such as the B2s in "Don't Shoot Shotgun" and the E2s in "Excitable". This trend of showcasing both strong fifth octave notes and occasional second octave notes continued for the band's fifth album, Adrenalize, which was released in 1991.

In 1994, Def Leppard released a compilation album of unreleased songs from 1983-1994, entitled Retro Active, which ultimately served as the last album on which Elliott's tessitura was as high as it was for much of the 80s. Following this, the band released Slang in 1996, which took their music in an experimental direction - growing much more atmospheric and moody, and at times even dabbling in grunge styles. For this album, Elliott's vocal style shifted significantly - he began to steer away from much of his typical high singing, and focused much more on his mid range and low range. Songs like "Work It Out" and "Deliver Me" featured no nothing higher than lower fourth octave notes, but instead showcased solid melody singing down to A2. Following this, Def Leppard took more of a pop/modern rock direction for their next two albums - 1999's Euphoria and 2002's X. Though these albums featured a bit more high singing by Elliott than Slang had, they largely saw him topping out in the upper fourth octave, with only select songs displaying occasional fifth octave notes (usually topping out around C♯5, apart from a few somewhat unexpected notes like the F♯5 in "Promises"). Since then, Def Leppard have released three more studio albums - the 2006 covers album Yeah!, 2008's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, and a 2015 self-titled, as well as a number of live albums. Though Elliott's voice has overall held up well enough to continue performing songs from Pyromania and Hysteria on every tour, he has unfortunately lost a lot of power in his fifth octave nowadays, and at times lacks the ability to blend his head voice with the rest of his range as seamlessly as he used to. However, his range up to B♭4/B4 still sounds quite good, which leaves him with almost three octaves of strong range to his name!

Elliott has also been involved in a few side projects over the years during periods when Def Leppard have been less busy. The first of these was a David Bowie tribute act called the Cybernauts, which he formed with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, former Spiders from Mars bassist and drummer Trevor Bolder and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey, and keyboardist/backing vocalist Dick Decent. This band was formed in 1994, and performed in limited capacities in 1997 and 2001, then eventually broke up later in 2001. Before disbanding, however, they released a live album (simply titled Cybernauts Live) that showcased some pretty impressive low singing by Elliott on certain tracks. Special releases of this album also featured a second disc with studio versions of some of the songs, which serve as the only studio recordings ever released by this band. A decade after the breakup of this band, Elliott also joined the rock supergroup Kings of Chaos, and toured with them from 2012 to 2014. He regularly performed select Def Leppard hits with this band, but also sang on occasional covers of other songs like "Rebel Yell", "All the Young Dudes", and "Heroes". In addition to this, he recorded vocals on a studio cover of the song "Never Before" with the band, before departing in 2014 to resume focusing on Def Leppard.

The one side project that Elliott has been somewhat seriously committed to, however, has been the Down 'n' Outz, whom he has been playing with since 2009. This band was formed as a tribute group that covered songs by Mott the Hoople, British Lions, and Ian Hunter, as can be heard on their first two albums - 2010's My ReGeneration and 2014's The Further Adventures Of.... However, on their third album, 2019's This Is How We Roll, the band switched over to writing their own songs, and released all original material on it. Despite the extent to which Elliott has been stepping back from doing as much high singing in Def Leppard since the late 90s, I was surprised to discover that My ReGeneration features a highly unexpected amount of that by him, with songs like "England Rocks" and "Storm" demonstrating some solid F5 screams, and "Good Times" even getting as high as F♯5! In addition to this, Down 'n' Outz has displayed some of his best low singing to date as well, with some very strong G2 singing in "3,000 Miles from Here", a beefy F2 in "Shouting and Pointing", and even sung E♭2s in "Broadside Outcasts"! Considering how promising some of the singing Elliott has displayed with them has been so far, I look forward to see what else they will do together, and what other kinds of range surprises we may get along the way.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal range video}

Here's the vocal range video that I uploaded for him in 2015. I'm mostly happy with it, though there are a couple low note clips that I wish I could have used, and I probably could've started the highs slightly lower than A4.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Album ranges}
Def Leppard:

• The Def Leppard E.P. (1979) - C3-A3-F♯5
• On Through the Night (1980) - A2-C♯5-D♯5
• High 'n' Dry (1981) - F♯3-F♯5
• Pyromania (1983) - C3-G5
• Hysteria (1987) - E2-F5-G5
• Live: In the Round, in Your Face (1989) - D3-F5
• Adrenalize (1992) - G2-B2-E5
• Retro Active (1994) - A2-F5
• Slang (1996) - D2-C5
• Euphoria (1999) - E♭2-A2-G♭5
• X (2002) - B2-B4
• Yeah! (2006) - D2-A2-F♯5
• The Lost Session (recorded 2006; released 2018) - B2-C♯3-D♯5
• Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008) - D3-D5-E♭5
• Mirror Ball - Live & More (2011) - B♭2-D♭3-E♭5
• Viva! Hysteria! (2013) - E♭2-E♭5
• Def Leppard (2015) - G♯2-D♯5-F♯5
• And There Will Be a Next Time...Live from Detroit - 

Cybernauts:

• Cybernauts Live (recorded 1997; released 2001) - F♯2-C♯5-D♯5

Down 'n' Outz:

• My ReGeneration (2010) - F2-F♯5
• Live at the Hammersmith Apollo (2011) - 
• The Further Adventures of... (2014) - E♭2-D♭5
• The Live Further Adventures of... (2017) - 
• This Is How We Roll (2019) - G♯2-C♯3-C♯5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Best displays of vocal range}
"Excitable" (E2-E5)
"All Night" (D♯2-C♯5)
"Shouting and Pointing" (F2-E♭5)
"Don't Shoot Shotgun" (F2-B2-E♭5)
"Broadside Outcasts" (E♭2-B4)
"Make Love Like a Man" (G2-D5)
"Rocket" live Sheffield 1993 (B♭2-E♭5)
"Billy's Got a Gun" (C3-F5)
"Animal" (C3-F5)
"Blind Faith" (G♯2-C♯5)

[Henny Macc]

So falsetokaiba brought up that this guy's C♯2 may not exist. For anyone who'd like to cast their vote, here's the link:

I was hearing that a possible C♯2 on "now whatcha gonna do aBOUT that", but then another short one later on "there's an earthquake comin', gonna turn you all on, now whatcha gonna do when IT'S gone".

Other than that, there are a number of songspoken low bits in "All Night" that I've mostly got pitched as bottoming at E2, but I've been unsure of what to count this one for on "oh baby it's showTIME":

[Henny Macc]

Any bigtime Joe Elliott fans around who might be able to help me with some voice identification on a song?


I just found out that Joe did guest vocals on several tracks on this 2019 album, and apparently this was one of them. If that's him doing the lead vocals on the verses (0:17 and 1:16 for instance), they would easily be some of his best lows to date! Super solid melody singing down to F♯2 there. I'm having a hard time judging though, because the vocal is pretty much centered in that range, and we've only heard him sing that low in a few songs to date, so there's a limited amount of material to compare to.

I also tried looking the album up on Discogs, and it lists him and Sarah Jane Morris as the only vocalists on that track, and I'm pretty damn sure those lows aren't her. However, I'm still pretty skeptical, because I tried listening to the other songs that Joe is listed for vocals on, and I can't really recognize his voice in any of them either. So my guess is that his parts must be like buried backing vocal bits, and/or the page is wrong with how it credits vocalists for each song. 

In any case, if anyone would like a comparison point for what Joe sounds like when singing that low, here are a few examples:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

[Zedd Squared]

I'm exceedingly far from being an expert on Elliott's voice but judging from those clips you provided I'd say the sections of that song sound very believable as him. There's a similar kind of accent and slight nasal resonance going on, though admittedly in the Doctors of Madness song it sounds like he's intentionally doing a bit of a Bowie impression.

[Henny Macc]

Yeah, listening back on it now I hear it more believably as his voice. I think at the time when I posted that, I had started second-guessing myself after listening to so many other tracks on that album that Joe was credited for vocals on, where I heard other voices instead of his. But cool, a song with this kinds of lows definitely made checking that album worthwhile! It also fits that he would be doing a David Bowie impression on it, as Bowie was a big influence for him (and he was even in a Bowie cover band at one point called the Cybernauts).

[Bink]

That B4 in "Desert Song" deserves to be bolded

[Henny Macc]

First new Def Leppard song in seven years just dropped a few days ago. Honestly feeling pretty meh about it though - it strikes me as another very derivative, uninspired attempt at a catchy single that ultimately misses the mark. Not a whole lot to report on range-wise either - E3s on the verses, some weak backing E5s on the choruses, and sounds like some A4s on the bridge, though I'm not 100% whether those are Joe or Phil Collen.

[Henny Macc]

Oh hey, the most recent Def Leppard single is actually good! Pretty decent vocal performance by Joe in it too - some strong A4s, backing C5s (assuming those aren't Vivian Campbell or Rick Savage), and a D5 just before the guitar solo.

[Batfleck]

A4s at 0:32, 1:00, 1:17 in "Spillways". Cool rendition.

[Henny Macc]

Whoa, that was a really cool crossover! When the song started I actually didn't even notice it sounding any different from the original cause of how well he blended into it. The songs seems to suit his voice perfectly!

There are also some G♯4s and A♯4s in there in addition to the A4s, so I'll all of those to the thread.