Twisted Sister - Club Daze, Volume 2: Live In The Bars


Year of Release: 2001
Label: Spitfire Records
Catalog Number: 059
Format: CD
Total Time: 54:13:00

Twisted Sister. Hair Band. 1980s.

This collection of songs from Twisted Sister comes from varied sources. First and foremost, it has two "new" songs on it. New as in the drum tracks were originally taken from the master tapes from the Stay Hungry recording sessions in 1984. The rest of the members from that era came back in 2000 to record these two songs - "Never Say Never" and "Blastin' Fast & Loud". Yep, Dee Snider (v), Mark Mendoza (b), Eddie Ojeda (g), and A.J. Pero (d). I must admit to enjoying these two (extremely) short tracks. Of course, having their roots in 1984 they have a distinct sound about them. What do these recordings mean for the future is anybody's guess.

The first group of live tracks, including "Follow Me," "Under The Blade," "Lady's Boy," "Come Back," "Can't Stand Still," "Honey, Look Three Times," and "You Know I Cry" were taken from a radio show recording that was never broadcast. The quality, for 1979, is outstanding and was found on 1-inch 8-track tape. Mark Mendoza mixed the tracks to how they sound on here. The majority of these songs appear on Club Daze Volume I: The Studio Sessions thus the live appearances on this disc. The live tracks have a raw, energetic feel about them and whilst probably not at their peak just yet, you can see how the band moved on to albums such as Under The Blade, Stay Hungry, etc. Some of the songs here are of a exceptionally high quality.

The final third of the album consists of live tracks recorded directly off the air (i.e., first generation tape recording). The songs consist of "Without You" and "Plastic Money" and two cover tracks - Little Richards' "Long Tall Sally" (a slow and not very impressive version) and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." I must admit the quality of these four tracks are atrocious but what else would you expect?

If you've never experienced Twisted Sister before - don't start here. Try buying their albums (cheaply) or get a best of disc. As for this disc - a tidy release that may appeal more to fans of Twisted Sister or for those who like to collect rarities.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Never Say Never (2:20) / Blastin' Fast & Loud (3:01) / Follow Me (3:30) / Under The Blade (5:02) / Lady's Boy (5:02) / Come Back (6:55) / Can't Stand Still (4:49) / Honey Look Three Times (4:12) / You Know I Cry (5:52) / Without You (2:28) / Plastic Money (4:10) / Rock Medley (Long Tall Sally - Johnny B. Goode) (6:45)

Musicians:
Dee Snider - vocals
Mark Mendoza - bass
Eddie Ojeda - guitar
A.J. Pero - drums

Discography:
Under The Blade (1982)
You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll (1983)
Stay Hungry (1984)
Come Out And Play (1985)
Love Is For Suckers (1987)
Big Hits and Nasty Cuts - The Best Of Twisted Sister (1992)
Live At Hammersmith (1994)
Club Daze Volume I: The Studio Sessions (1999)
We're Not Gonna Take It (1999)
Club Daze Volume II - Live In The Bars (2001)
The Essentials (2002)
Still Hungry (expanded reissue) (2004)
The Best Of Twisted Sister (2005)

Genre: Other

Origin US

Added: March 27th 2005
Reviewer: Gary Carson
Score:
Artist website: www.twistersister.com
Hits: 2073
Language: english

  

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