Twisted Sister’s high-decibel anthems, raucous shows and memorable videos took the hard-rocking quintet from playing bars in the Seventies to headlining festivals in the Eighties. The band, which has sold more than 10 million records worldwide, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer with one final tour.
To honor this hairy, scary and legendary band’s legacy, Rhino will release a 19-song collection that spotlights Twisted Sister’s best, including the group’s biggest hits – I Wanna Rock and We’re Not Gonna Take It. In addition, the compilation will feature the band’s previously unreleased cover of Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild. Twisted Sister: Best Of The Atlantic Years will be available on August 28th on CD ($18.98) and digitally.
In 1982, after years of honing their craft in New York-area clubs, Twisted Sister released their debut album, Under The Blade. Produced by UFO bassist Pete Way, this hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll manifesto exploded with riffs and street-tough attitude on What You Don’t Know (Sure Don’t Hurt You), I’ll Never Grow Up Now! and Sin After Sin.
The core lineup – singer Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark Mendoza and drummer A.J. Perro – returned a year later with the group’s Atlantic Records debut, You Can’t Stop Rock N’ Roll, which became the band’s first gold record. This new collection highlights three songs from the album: I Am (I’m Me), The Kids Are Back, along with the title track.
Stay Hungry was Twisted Sister’s third and best-selling album. Released in 1984 and produced by Tom Werman (Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick), the album went multi-platinum in the USA, with sales of more than three million. The album is well represented on Best Of The Atlantic Years with six songs: I Wanna Rock, The Price, SMF, The Beast, Burn In Hell and We’re Not Gonna Take It.
The second half of the compilation focuses on the band’s last two releases on Atlantic Records: the gold-certified Come Out & Play (1985) and Love Is For Suckers (1987). Among the highlights are: You Want What We Got, a cover of the Shangri-La’s Leader Of The Pack, Hot Love and Love Is For Suckers.
TWISTED SISTER: BEST OF THE ATLANTIC YEARS
CD Track Listing:
1. What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)
2. I’ll Never Grow Up, Now!
3. Sin After Sin
4. You Can’t Stop Rock N’ Roll
5. I Am (I’m Me)
6. The Kids Are Back
7. I Wanna Rock
8. We’re Not Gonna Take It
9. The Price
10. S.M.F.
11. The Beast
12. Burn In Hell
13. Come Out And Play
14. Leader Of The Pack
15. The Fire Still Burns
16. You Want What We Got
17. Hot Love
18. Love Is For Suckers
19. Born To Be Wild – Previously Unreleased
6 Responses
Oh goody, they included the cover of “Leader of the Pack”!! I will be standing in line to buy this.
If only Dee had kept his trap shut and cultivated a mystique…
I’ve never been a big fan of Twisted Sister. I have “Still Hungry,” the re-recorded version of Stay Hungry. And I like a couple other songs. But I guess I just don’t care for Dee Snider. Like many musicians, he’s got a big mouth that often times spews garbage. And I don’t think he was/is a good actor from what I’ve seen of Holliston and some movies he was in.
Shoot’Em Down is, by far, their best song, imho.
D 🙂
“We’re Gonna Make It” is, if that song don’t kick your ass, nothing will! IMTO. (In my twisted opinion) 😉 Lol!
I agree Dana Shoot em Down is their best. My son, at about age 3, would make me play that song and destroyer over and over again in the car. It was probably his first exposure to rock and metal. Good memories. Honestly though for me I like almost all of You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll, and still listen to it. Like a knife in the back/Ride to live, live to ride are favs of mine.