𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
This Metal Classic turns 37 years old this month! Did you heed the call when the Twisted ones summoned you to Come Out and Play? Once again, F*ck the naysayers and critics!
November 22, 1985 — Twisted Sister released their fourth full-length studio album Come Out and Play via Atlantic Records.
The album was significantly less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984), both critically and commercially, although it achieved Gold status by selling more than 500,000 copies.
Overview:
After the massive and unexpected success of 1984's Stay Hungry which established Twisted Sister as one of the world's top recording acts, the band were faced with the question of whether they should continue in a more Pop-oriented direction or return to their Heavy Metal roots. They ultimately attempted to do both, but the approach proved unsuccessful and Come Out and Play marked the start of the band's commercial decline. The album's first single, Leader of the Pack, a Shangri-Las cover, was intended to continue the band's popularity and commercial appeal, but the song proved very unpopular with fans. Ultimately, neither Leader of the Pack nor their second single Be Chrool To Your Scuel (featuring guest appearances from artists such as Alice Cooper, Brian Setzer, Clarence Clemons and Billy Joel) received the positive reaction that the band and their record label were expecting.
The supporting tour was a fiasco, with cancelled dates and low attendances. Drummer A.J. Pero (R.I.P.) left the band after the tour ended in 1986, contributing to the chaos which eventually led to band's breakup after the release of Love Is For Suckers in late 1987.
From a musical viewpoint, the album was not a huge departure from Stay Hungry, despite a little more commercial sounding production by Scorpions producer, Dieter Dierks.
The music videos for Leader of the Pack and Be Chrool to Your Scuel followed the comedic nature of band's earlier videos, but the latter, featuring Alice Cooper, was banned by MTV on the grounds that it was too offensive. There was no video made for the album's final single, You Want What We Got.
In 1986 the band released the Come Out and Play: The Videos home video on VHS, which included four videos (We're Not Gonna Take It, I Wanna Rock, Leader of the Pack and Be Chrool to Your Scuel) tied together by scenes of Dee Snider in a metal scrapyard being visited by kids and other questionables in need of advice to their problems, to the tune of Come Out and Play. This home video has not since been issued on DVD.
The title track featured Dee Snider clicking bottles together saying "Twisted Sister, come out and play" several times in the beginning, a reference to the 1979 cult classic movie The Warriors, when the main villain, Luther, chants "Warriors, come out to play" while clicking bottles together as well.
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
Follow Us:
Subscribe to Into the Wells at: https://intothewellsabyss.wixsite.com/intothewells
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Intothewells.abyss
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/into_the_wells
You can also follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/into_the_wells?s=21&t=ISh9VpVYRrOy70MsZZVXTQ
Comments