NPR’s All Things Considered host Guy Raz recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD vocalist Joe Elliott. In the interview Elliott talks about why the band’s songs are not available online and more. Excerpts from the interview are below:

Guy Raz: Why can't I download your original songs off iTunes?

Joe Elliott: “When we signed our record contracts, Noah was still sailing the arc off into foreign climes. It was 1979 and there was no such thing as digitally. It wasn't written into the deal and consequently they have no rights for a digital release.”

They can only release them digitally with our permission because that's written into our contract. We're trying to wrestle back all control or as much as possible. We're not enjoying it — but they've got to come to the table with some kind of reasonable proposal, which they haven't done, so we shall go in the studio and have a bit of fun.”

Guy Raz: You haven't been able to come to an agreement about how you would be compensated, so in order for you to, as you said, ‘control your work’, you guys are going to re-record your entire back catalog.

Joe Elliott: “That's about 180 songs. There are some strange Japanese B-sides that really aren't worth the effort, but when it comes to the ‘Bringin' On The Heartbreaks’, the ‘Photographs’, the ‘Hysterias’, ‘Love Bites’ — I can name 20 Top-20 hits — some of those are well worth the effort.”

Guy Raz: Explain how you put this together. Did all the band go into a studio together and just re-record hundreds of times until you hit a note perfect?

Joe Elliott: “No, we just did it the way we did the originals. When we worked with Mutt Lange on the originals, we broke the mold for what rock and roll was. We didn't go in and — what you see in movies where the band sets up and they put five microphones on a drum kit and some guy goes ‘And 3, 2, 1, go’, and they all play. Those days, unless you're doing demos, are long gone. Even THE BEATLES weren't doing that in '66, you know, they were piecing things together in '66.”

Listen to the entire interview at this location.