Classics Under Review: Twisted Sister - Come Out and Play and Love is for Suckers

Recently Twisted Sister, with the help of Armoury Records, have just released their 2nd wave of re-issues, with the remastered versions of Come Out and Play and Love is for Suckers.  The great thing about these re-issues, is that it gives you a chance to re-discover some past gems.   Some TS fans may not remember these albums as classics, but they would be hard pressed to say that their was no good material on either release.  The first CD we analyzed is Come Out and Play.

Come Out and Play was the band's first release after their breakthrough album Stay Hungry.  I'm sure the band band felt pressured to top their previous work, so they pulled out all the stops to try to surpass the now legendary Stay Hungry.  Unfortunately the band fell short and made some costly mistakes, which led them to breaking up 2 years after it's release.  

This is an interesting CD to listen to today, if you're a fan of the band, because it is easier to dissect.  If you listen close to the better tracks on the CD, you will hear elements of classic TS, mixed with some of the elements from Stay Hungry.  The CD starts off strong with the title track, which is one of the bands heavier/faster tracks in their catalog.  After the title track though, it is kind and hit and miss.  Tracks like Leader of the Pack, which the band had in their set years prior, Be Chrool to Your Scuel and You Want What We Got just don't hit the mark.  Don't get me wrong, there are some great tracks like Fire Still Burns, Out on the Streets, I Believe in Rock n Roll and King of Fools, that make this release worth adding to the collection.  Another bonus, is that the remastered recording sounds much better than the one that Spitfire released, several years ago.  Definitely a CD that has aged well.

Love is for Suckers was supposed to be a Dee Snider solo record, but after some heavy persuasion by Atlantic Records, the band released it under their own moniker.  This was a tough time for the band, because they were on the verge of splitting up and tensions were high.  It didn't help that original drummer A.J. Pero had left the band, as well as the addition of session players (Reb Beach - Whitesnake/Winger) to make the record happen, the band was heading for a long painful breakup.  It amazes me to this day how strong this record came out. 

Though it didn't receive the accolades from the press, Love is for Suckers is a pretty solid record.  The first 7 tracks on the CD are as solid as they come with TS.  There are heavy tracks, mixed with nice melodies and memorable choruses.  There are some clunkers, like One Bad Habit, but for the most part this is a solid CD.  Also, with this remaster, there were 4 bonus tracks.  All the bonus tracks were solid. with the exception of Feel Appeal.  Didn't dig that one.  This is a nice package.  A better sounding disk, with bonus tracks, need I say more?  This one is a keeper as well.

Bottom Line: Re-discovering some classic TS records.  Two very different records, but both very strong in their own right.  Both CD's get a facelift and come off sounding better than the original releases.

-Ragman is wanting a new Twisted record...will it ever happen?