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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

Twisted Sister Live at Wacken The Reunion Review by Greg Olma This CD/DVD set is real value for your money. The DVD is 105 minutes and contains their Wacken performance in 2003 along with a whole host of TV spots and behind the scenes footage. The DVD would have worked better if they had put the concert all together and left the extra footage in a "special features" portion. Having done it the way they did, you loose the sense of being at the show, which is the whole point of putting out a DVD concert. The CD side contains some nice gems that include older live recordings. It starts with songs recorded in 1980, then one from 1982, and ends with six from the Wacken show. It's great to hear these early recordings and hear how the band matured in a relatively short amount of time. This is truly a "for the fans" type of release. The track by track review below pertains to just the CD side. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2005 Year Book Volume 3 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2005.

Track by Track Review

Bad Boys of Rock n' Roll Sit back and be transported back in time to when metal was fun. The song title says it all. This was recorded in 1980 and sounds a bit muddy but that almost adds to the charm.

Born to Be Wild Why, why, why!!! No band, including the mighty Twisted Sister, should cover this song. It is not a bad song but no one has ever done anything new with it. This version is "by the books" and I would have chosen something else; maybe something from my own catalogue.

I'll Never Grow Up, Now! This is a great tune taken from the Under the Blade album. Live is where Twisted Sister needs to be experienced so I recommend this version to the studio counterpart. This sounds like it was recorded for a radio broadcast which would explain the muddy mix.

You Know I Cry This is a fast paced song and is perfect for a live setting. This song and the whole sound will take you back to the 80's.

You Can't Stop Rock n' Roll This is a great version of the tune. This number was recorded in 1982 and the mix was much better. You can really hear that Dee and the boys were on fire that night. It makes you wish you were there.

What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You) After all these years, Twisted Sister still sound great. This was recorded from the Wacken show and has the best mix of all of the live songs. This is a much better version than the one on Under the Blade.

The Kids Are Back Dee Snider sounds great on this version of the number. It has a great chorus and works better live than the studio version on You Can't Stop Rock n' Roll.

Stay Hungry This is much better than the studio version. Tom Werman ruined the studio version by stripping all the raw energy out of it. Twisted Sister infuse this one with that raw energy and a little "metal" magic to create this live classic. It's definitely one of the highlights of the show.

Like a Knife in the Back This is the kind of song that made Twisted Sister so popular in the 80's. I can't put my finger on it. As with all their music, this song included, the live versions are much better than studio counterparts.

I Am, I'm Me No Twisted Sister show would be complete without this one. This is a great live version that hasn't lost anything over the years.

The Fire Still Burns This song is from the Come Out and Play album and is the best one from that timeframe. It's great to hear a cut pulled from an album that didn't do very well. Listening to this version makes you want to pull out that old vinyl copy and give it another listen.

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