Come Out and Play (Twisted Sister album)
Encyclopedia
Come Out and Play is the fourth album by the American
heavy metal
band Twisted Sister
, released by Atlantic Records
. It was less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984) both critically and commercially.
, found in the CD sleeve of Club Daze 1: The Studio Sessions, The Shangri-Las
cover "Leader of the Pack" which was first included on Ruff Cuts (1982) (an early E.P. mostly unknown to those outside the core fan base) was intended to boost the band's popularity while keeping old fans pleased. Eventually neither that nor "Be Chrool To Your Scuel", featuring such musical guests as Alice Cooper
, Brian Setzer
and Billy Joel
among many others, received the reaction that the band and their record label were expecting.
Although the album sold more than 500,000 copies, earning it gold album status, the supporting tour was a fiasco, with cancelled dates and low attendances. Drummer A.J. Pero 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 vocals though, lacked the crisp of earlier records, partly due to the down tuned guitars.
The music video
s for "Leader of the Pack" and "Be Chrool to Your School" 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 album was re-released by Spitfire Records
in 1999 along with all the other albums of the band, except Stay Hungry.
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 and play" while clicking bottles together as well.
unless otherwise noted.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, released by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. It was less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984) both critically and commercially.
Overview
After the success of Stay Hungry, Twisted Sister were faced with the question whether they should continue in a more pop-oriented direction or return to their early heavy metal roots. They tried to do a bit of both, but the approach proved unsuccessful since Come Out and Play marked the start of the band's decline. According to an interview with lead singer and songwriter Dee SniderDee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
, found in the CD sleeve of Club Daze 1: The Studio Sessions, The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
cover "Leader of the Pack" which was first included on Ruff Cuts (1982) (an early E.P. mostly unknown to those outside the core fan base) was intended to boost the band's popularity while keeping old fans pleased. Eventually neither that nor "Be Chrool To Your Scuel", featuring such musical guests as Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
among many others, received the reaction that the band and their record label were expecting.
Although the album sold more than 500,000 copies, earning it gold album status, the supporting tour was a fiasco, with cancelled dates and low attendances. Drummer A.J. Pero 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
Love Is for Suckers
Love Is for Suckers is the fifth album by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. According to the Live At Wacken DVD, the material was originally meant to be a solo album by Twisted Sister's lead singer, Dee Snider, but the label pushed for it to be released under the Twisted Sister name instead....
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
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
producer, Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks is a German record producer mostly known for his collaboration with the rock band Scorpions.- Youth :...
. The vocals though, lacked the crisp of earlier records, partly due to the down tuned guitars.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for "Leader of the Pack" and "Be Chrool to Your School" followed the comedic nature of band's earlier videos but the latter, featuring Alice Cooper, was banned by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
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
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, 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
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
The album was re-released by Spitfire Records
Spitfire Records
Spitfire Records was a subdivision of Eagle Rock Entertainment located in New York, United States.In September 1998, Paul Bibeau founded, launched and rapidly developed Spitfire Records Inc. from a two-man operation located in his home bedroom in suburban Long Island, New York, to one of the...
in 1999 along with all the other albums of the band, except Stay Hungry.
The title track featured Dee Snider
Dee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
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 and play" while clicking bottles together as well.
Track listing
All songs written by Dee SniderDee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
unless otherwise noted.
- "Come Out and Play" – 4:51
- "Leader of the PackLeader of the Pack"Leader of the Pack" is a 1964 pop song recorded by girl group The Shangri-Las. It became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964.-Original Shangri-Las recording:...
" (Ellie GreenwichEllie GreenwichEleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
, Shadow MortonShadow MortonGeorge 'Shadow' Morton is an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s and the introduction of girl group The Shangri-Las to the pop music world....
, Jeff BarryJeff BarryJeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
) – 3:48 - "You Want What We Got" – 3:45
- "I Believe in Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:03
- "The Fire Still Burns" – 3:34
- "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" – 3:53
- "I Believe in You" – 5:23
- "Out on the Streets" – 4:27
- "Lookin' Out for #1" – 3:07
- "Kill or Be Killed" – 2:47
- "King of the Fools" [bonus track in cassette and CD versions] – 6:26
Twisted Sister
- Dee SniderDee SniderDaniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
– lead vocals, backing vocals - Eddie "Fingers" OjedaEddie OjedaEddie "Fingers" Ojeda is one of the two guitarists of the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister....
– lead & rhythm guitars - Jay Jay FrenchJay Jay FrenchJohn French Segall , better known by his stage name Jay Jay French or J.J. French, is a founding member and one of the two guitarists of the American heavy metal band, Twisted Sister....
– rhythm & lead guitars, backing vocals - Mark "The Animal" MendozaMark MendozaMark "The Animal" Mendoza is the bassist of the American heavy metal band, Twisted Sister. He joined the band on October 31, 1978, after he left The Dictators. He also briefly played in Blackfoot in early 1990s.Mendoza played the bass guitar on all of Twisted Sister's major label releases...
– bass, backing vocals - A. J. PeroA. J. PeroAnthony Jude Pero is the drummer of the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister.He went to St. Peter's Boys High School in Staten Island, but left because the faculty made him cut his hair. He then went to New Dorp High School.Pero joined the band in 1982, after he left Cities, a local New York...
– drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Alan St. John – keyboards
- Don DokkenDon DokkenDonald Maynard Dokken is best known for being the lead singer and founder of the band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American heavy metal. After enjoying mainstream success with Dokken, he parted ways with the band in 1988...
– backing vocals - Gary Holland – backing vocals
- Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
– accompanying lead vocals on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" - Brian SetzerBrian SetzerBrian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
– guitar solo on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" - Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
– piano on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" - Clarence ClemonsClarence ClemonsClarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
– saxophone solo on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" - Crispin Cioe – baritone saxophone on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- Arno "Cool-Ray" Hecht – tenor saxophone on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- Bad Bob Funk – trombone on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- Hollywood Paul Litteral – trumpet on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- The Uptown Horns – horn section on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- Julia Waters – backing vocals on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
- Maxine Waters – backing vocals on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
Production
- Dieter DierksDieter DierksDieter Dierks is a German record producer mostly known for his collaboration with the rock band Scorpions.- Youth :...
– producer, LP audio mastering - Eddy Delana – sound engineer
- Craig Engel – assistant engineer in Los Angeles
- Craig Vogel – assistant engineer in New York
- Bob Ludwig – LP audio mastering
- Mikael Kirke – art director
- Mark WeissMark WeissMark Weiss is an American rock and roll photographer. His most widely recognized photographs capture the look and aesthetic of music and celebrity personalities of the 1980s....
– art director, photographer - Barry Diament – CD audio mastering
Video Guest Stars
The following people appeared only in the song's official video:- The comedian Bobcat Goldthwait
- The make-up artist Tom Savini