Joe Elliot has one of the worst voices in rock and roll. No range and he sounds like he's constipated. He squeals too. Like a pig. Like Ned Beatty.
Not to jump into a debate on Leppard on a ACDC thread, but Joe's voice was good enough to earn him 2 diamond albums. I don't know many other bands in the 80's who pulled that off. Actually, I don't know of any other bands who pulled that off.
As for his range, Rocket, Love Bites, Photograph, Rock Rock Till you Drop, Stagefright, Die Hard the Hunter, and others are pretty high up there. It takes a swift kick in the nuts to hit the chorus on Love Bites and Rocket. Slang showed off his lower register as well.
That may be, But High-n-Dry is one of the best Metal Albums ever released.
From a Production standpoint One of the Best albums of its time.