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Twisted Sister
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A Twisted Christmas
Razor & Tie Records
Release: 10/17/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
J Sherrod
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It's now been 30 years since Twisted Sister formed and
they're back to ask that age-old question, "What do you
wanna do with your life?" The answer still being, "I WANNA
ROCK!" Only this time it's in a total different vibe. Hold on to
your hats boys and girls because the one-time title-holders
of being every parent's worst nightmare are back with
a Christmas album.
No, it's not a misprint, A Twisted Christmas
finds classic line-up Dee, Eddie, Jay Jay, Mark and A.J.
together again to give you a holiday cheer only they can
deliver. I was taken aback when I learned of this and found
out NowOnTour was getting a copy to be reviewed. Twisted
Sister represent a huge part of my childhood - I grew up
when MTV came out and it was such a rush to turn on the
tube and see the "We're Not Gonna Take It" video and just
go bonkers.
I've had the pleasure of seein' the band live a couple of
years ago when they re-united in full make-up and costumes
- it is without a doubt one of the top five live shows I've ever
attended. All that being said, how am I and other Twisted
Sister fans gonna take to this record? Well, I opened my
ears and mind when listening and the verdict is as
follows:
The album starts off better than expected with "Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." So far so good, this song
actually rocks! But victory is short lived when "Oh Come All
Ye Faithful" follows up and is turned into a crappy attempt of
"We're Not Gonna Take It." From the start, the drums are a
little too close for comfort but the guys seal the deal when
the end of the guitar solo is none other than the harmony
from the song. Some may find this cool or funny but I
almost cried with sadness to think of such a cool band
making a mockery of their own song.
"White Christmas" comes and goes. "I'll Be Home For
Christmas" featuring 80's metal vixen Lita Ford dreadfully
sucks and I'm left disappointed.
I somewhat looked forward to hearing their version of "I
Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" but when it was over I
wished I hadn't. "Deck The Halls" is vaguely amusing but not
much and "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting On An
Open Fire) is surprisingly enjoyable. Go figure
that.
The crowning jewel of this catastrophe is the last track,
"Heavy Metal Christmas," which is a parody of "The Twelve
Days Of Christmas." By this time it's a little too late though
and I'm too sad to bang my head.
I'm not ashamed at all to call myself a Twisted Sister fan. All
the anthems like "I Wanna Rock," "You Cant' Stop Rock N'
Roll" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" are timeless and will
live on forever. Unfortunately, I chose to review this CD and
one of the downfalls of doing so is tellin' it like it is. This
album blows! I'm aware that times have changed; the guys
are older now have kids and mellowed some. I just can't
believe that a band whose song catalog includes "Burn In
Hell," "Under The Blade," "Shoot 'Em Down," and "Destroyer"
would put out a Christmas record. This is just a bit too much
to digest.
I guess in the end you have to make yourself happy in the
music business. Have fun doing what your doing and if the
fans dig it, cool, if not, oh well. Being a musician myself I
know that in the end, the goal is to make a product both you
and your fans will enjoy. I hope they had a blast doing this
because I just can't force myself to like it. This is rumored to
be their final album. I think I speak for most fans of the
band in saying we would have preferred a farewell album of
new, fresh material and this is all we get? More power to ya
fellas but I for one am heartbroken. Other than this, it's
been a damn good ride. |
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