TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : COMPACT DISCS

“Pyromania.” Def Leppard. Vertigo. Actually, the album version of this 1983 heavy-metal collection, a phenomenal commercial success, sounds better than the CD. The relative muddiness of the guitars and Joe Elliott’s vocals is part of the appeal of this kind of material. The clean, sharp, open sound of the CD adds an unwanted dimension--a sort of wholesomeness. Also, the extreme clarity of the CD magnifies the shallowness of the material. With this rowdy, booming, thoroughly unoriginal music, muddy is definitely better.