Twisted Sister - The Classic Albums Collection 1982-1987 (2017) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/192kHz] Combined Re-up

A product of New York City's early '70s glam rock scene, Twisted Sister were eager students of the New York Dolls, with Kiss's theatrics, Slade's pop acumen, and the shock rock of Alice Cooper tossed in for good measure. Based out of Long Island and featuring the core lineup of vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and drummer A.J. Pero, the group issued two critically acclaimed, under-the-radar efforts before breaking into the mainstream in 1984 with "Stay Hungry". The LP went multi-platinum on the strength of the monster singles "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock". Twisted Sister released two more albums before ceasing operations in 1988…



"Under the Blade" is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records on September 18, 1982. It featured a very brutal and rough sound, which was eventually totally ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on July 14, 1985. Features bonus track "I'll Never Grow Up, Now".

Although Twisted Sister had been slugging it out on the New York-area bar/club scene for nearly a decade by the early '80s (developing a large following in the process), no major record label would sign the act. Noticing that England was in the midst of a heavy metal resurgence (dubbed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal), the quintet moved over to the U.K., where they recorded their debut album, Under the Blade, issued in 1982 on the independent Secret Records. UFO bassist Pete Way produced the album, which featured many of the band's best compositions from their club days. The chilling title track remains one of the band's best and has became a perennial concert favorite, while other metallic highlights include the opening "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)," "Sin After Sin," "Shoot 'Em Down," and "Tear It Loose." The band also brings the volume down a notch or two with the slow-burning tracks "Run for Your Life" and "Destroyer," while the 1999 CD reissue on Spitfire included a bonus track not on the original record ("I'll Never Grow Up Now!"). Under the Blade remains one of Twisted Sister's hardest rocking albums and is highly recommended to lovers of early-'80s British heavy metal.

Tracklist:

01 - What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)
02 - Bad Boys (Of Rock 'N' Roll)
03 - Run For Your Life
04 - Sin After Sin
05 - Shoot 'Em Down
06 - Destroyer
07 - Under The Blade
08 - Tear It Loose
09 - I'll Never Grow Up, Now!
10 - Day Of The Rocker

Digitally Remastered.




"You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll" is Twisted Sister's second full-length album - and first major label release - this is the record that first put the band on MTV before 1984’s "Stay Hungry" took the airwaves by storm. For many fans, "You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll" is the definitive Twisted Sister “metal” album with one little power ballad to make the girls scream.

From the solid sales of their independently released debut album, 1982's Under the Blade, New York's Twisted Sister were finally rewarded with a major record label contract, courtesy of Atlantic, who issued their first domestic release, You Can't Stop Rock & Roll, a year later. The album followed the same raw heavy metal direction of their debut, and was even more consistent from a songwriting and performance standpoint. Several of Twisted Sister's best anthems reside here – the title track (which was one of the band's first videos to be aired on MTV), as well as "The Kids Are Back," "We're Gonna Make It," and "I Am (I'm Me)." But besides a ballad that vocalist Dee Snider wrote especially for his wife, "You're Not Alone (Suzette's Song)," the album is comprised of 100 percent heavy metal – "Like a Knife in the Back," "Ride to Live, Live to Ride," "I've Had Enough," and "I'll Take You Alive."

Tracklist:

01 - The Kids Are Back
02 - Like A Knife In The Back
03 - Ride To Live, Live To Ride
04 - I Am (I'm Me)
05 - The Power And The Glory
06 - We're Gonna Make It
07 - I've Had Enough
08 - I'll Take You Alive
09 - You're Not Alone (Suzette's Song)
10 - You Can't Stop Rock And Roll

Digitally Remastered.




Twisted Sister's third studio album, originally released in 1984, including the hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock". It also features the power ballad "The Price". According to RIAA certification, "Stay Hungry" gained multi-platinum status with U.S. sales of more than 3,000,000 copies.

After nearly a decade trying to make it to "The Show," Twisted Sister were finally up to bat. Their first album was a wild swing, their second had flown just barely foul, but with their third – the unstoppable Stay Hungry – the New York veterans finally hit one out of the park. And few bands were as deserving. Having paid their dues on the tough as nails N.Y.C. club scene (half of the band looked like the Ramones, the other half like the Dictators, and Dee Snider looked like, well, Dee Snider), Twisted Sister had finally worn down the opposition and truly arrived. With their comedic videos and bubblegum undertones, hit singles "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" helped the band bridge the "beauty gap" into MTV acceptance, and a competent power ballad in "The Price" would cement their consumer-friendly status. But it was the irrefutable menace of tracks like "The Beast," "S.M.F.," and the massive "Burn in Hell" that connected with their loyal fans and displayed Twisted Sister's true power. Equally grim, "Captain Howdy" and "Street Justice" – the two songs comprising the "Horror-teria" suite (later the basis for Snider's ill-fated movie project Strangeland) – are a cross between Alice Cooper and its stated source of influence, Stephen King. And don't forget the all-out metal ambition of the title track. Ironically, the album's very mainstream appeal would alienate their core heavy metal fan base and spell the band's overexposure-induced fall from grace, but for this brief moment, Twisted Sister were truly the "talk of the town, top of the heap".

Tracklist:

01 - Stay Hungry
02 - We're Not Gonna Take It
03 - Burn In Hell
04 - Horror-Teria (The Beginning): A) Captain Howdy B) Street Justice
05 - I Wanna Rock
06 - The Price
07 - Don't Let Me Down
08 - The Beast
09 - S.M.F.

Digitally Remastered.




"Come Out And Play" is the follow up to the monstrous "Stay Hungry" album that catapulted Twisted Sister to the masses. The album includes a number of stylistic diversions, including a lighthearted cover of the '50s standard "Leader of the Pack", and a song in which several non-heavy metal stars (Billy Joel, Brian Setzer, among others) are featured, "Be Chrool to Your Scuel". There are also songs that are reminiscent of the band's heavy metal past, like the title track and "Kill Or Be Killed".

Twisted Sister were left in a strange position after the massive breakthrough success of their 1984 album, Stay Hungry. While the album contained more of a pop edge than their more raw preceding albums (Under the Blade and You Can't Stop Rock n' Roll), the heavy metal masses worldwide still embraced the album, as did the the lucrative MTV/pop audience. So for its follow-up, the band was faced with a question: whether to continue in a more pop-oriented direction or return to its early heavy metal. As the resulting album, 1985's Come Out and Play, proved, the band pursued a little bit of both. Behind the boards was Scorpions/Accept producer Dieter Dierks, and the compositions alternated between the ambitious (the title track), obvious ready-for-radio tracks (a cover of "Leader of the Pack," "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"), and songs custom-made for headbangers ("The Fire Still Burns," "Kill or Be Killed"). The aforementioned "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" contained such musical guests as Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, Clarence Clemons, and Brian Setzer, for which a humorous video was filmed, and ultimately banned by MTV. And although the album was certified gold shortly after its release, it soon slid from sight – eventually leading to Twisted Sister's demise a few years later.

Tracklist:

01 - Come Out And Play
02 - Leader Of The Pack
03 - You Want What We Got
04 - I Believe In Rock And Roll
05 - The Fire Still Burns
06 - Be Chrool To Your Scuel
07 - I Believe In You
08 - Out On The Streets
09 - Lookin' Out For #1
10 - Kill Or Be Killed
11 - King Of The Fools

Digitally Remastered.




Although Twisted Sister's final studio album wasn't as commercially successful as its predecessors, it is still Twisted in every way and a great record. The album was supposed to be a Dee Snider solo record, but Atlantic forced Dee's hand and had the album released under the Twisted Sister name. Apparently, Dee Snider's Twisted Sister band mates didn’t actually play on the album. "Love Is For Suckers" was put together by Snider, Ronni Le Tekro (guitarist for TNT), Reb Beach (the soon to be guitarist for Winger), and producer Beau Hill. But since Dee Snider wrote all of Twisted Sister's material, the songwriting style on "Love Is For Suckers" wasn’t a far cry from Twisted Sister’s previous work.

When Twisted Sister issued their 1985 album, Come Out and Play, the members were convinced they'd created their best work yet. But ultimately, the record was met with a very cool response by their fans – a major disappointment after the double platinum success of their preceding album, 1984's Stay Hungry. For their next album, Love Is for Suckers (issued in 1987), the band attempted returning to more straight-ahead, hard rock-based songwriting. Long-time drummer A.J. Pero left the band prior to the album (replaced by session drummer Joey Franco), and the raw approach of their early work was noticeably absent – producer Beau Hill (Ratt, Winger) gave the album a very '80s pop-metal sound. Standouts included "Hot Love," the title track, and "Tonight," but like the album before it, Love Is for Suckers died quickly on the charts. Having been together for over ten years, Twisted Sister decided to call it a day shortly after the album's release.

Tracklist:

01 - Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)
02 - Hot Love
03 - Love Is For Suckers
04 - I'm So Hot For You
05 - Tonight
06 - Me And The Boys
07 - One Bad Habit
08 - I Want This Night (To Last Forever)
09 - You Are All That I Need
10 - Yeah Right!

Digitally Remastered.


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