Come Out and Play (Twisted Sister album)

Come Out and Play is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released by Atlantic Records on November 9, 1985. 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.[3]

Come Out and Play
Studio album by
Twisted Sister
ReleasedNovember 9, 1985
Recorded1985
StudioThe Hit Factory, New York City and Los Angeles
GenreHeavy metal, glam metal
Length39:36 (46:02 with bonus track)
LabelAtlantic
ProducerDieter Dierks
Twisted Sister chronology
Stay Hungry
(1984)		 Come Out and Play
(1985)		 Love Is for Suckers
(1987)
Singles from Come Out and Play
  1. "Leader of the Pack"
    Released: December 1985
  2. "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
    Released: 1986 (Europe only)
  3. "You Want What We Got"
    Released: 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal4/10[2]

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 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, marking the beginning of the band's decline.

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 music videos 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 others 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.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dee Snider, except "Leader of the Pack" by Ellie Greenwich, Shadow Morton, Jeff Barry.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Come Out and Play"4:51
2."Leader of the Pack" (The Shangri-Las cover)3:48
3."You Want What We Got"3:45
4."I Believe in Rock 'n' Roll"4:03
5."The Fire Still Burns"3:34
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Be Chrool to Your Scuel" (featuring Alice Cooper)3:53
7."I Believe in You"5:23
8."Out on the Streets"4:27
9."Lookin' Out for #1"3:07
10."Kill or Be Killed"2:47
Cassette and CD versions bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."King of the Fools"6:26

Credits

Twisted Sister

Additional musicians
  • Alan St. John – keyboards
  • Don Dokken, Gary Holland – backing vocals
  • Alice Cooper – co-lead vocals on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
  • Brian Setzer – guitar solo on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
  • Billy Joel – piano on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
  • Clarence Clemons – saxophone solo on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
  • The Uptown Horns:
    • 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"
  • Julia Waters, Maxine Waters – backing vocals on "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"

Production
  • Dieter Dierks – 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 Weiss – art director, photographer
  • Barry Diament – CD audio mastering

Video guest stars

The following people appeared only in the song's official video:

Charts

Certifications
Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1986 Gold (+ 500,000)[3]
Finland IFPI 1986 Gold (+ 25,000)[12]
Sweden GLF 1986 Gold (+ 20,000)[12]

References
  1. Prato, Greg. "Twisted Sister - Come Out and Play review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  2. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 369. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  3. "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Twisted Sister". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  4. "Twisted Sister – Come Out and Play (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  5. "Twisted Sister Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  6. "Twisted Sister – Come Out and Play (Album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 43, No. 18, January 25, 1986". Library and Archives Canada. 25 January 1986. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  8. "Twisted Sister Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  9. "Twisted Sister Chart History – Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  10. "Twisted Sister Chart History – The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  11. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 43, No. 17, January 18, 1986". Library and Archives Canada. 18 January 1986. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  12. "Twisted Sister".
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