Club Daze

Now this is the era of Twisted I remember! Before the MTV success (although the comical vid for the title track to their second/best album remains one of the best low budget clips ever produced), Sister was a loud, brash outfit handpicked by the likes of Motorhead to open NYC area shows and on many occasions, out-blasted Lemmy and Co! Never given enough credit for the songs, these old chestnuts have been improved sonically (something limited budgets prevented). Hard to believe it's been almost twelve years since "Club Daze 1" was originally issued. At that time, the band was inactive, Dee Snider working in radio and movies, while Jay Jay French managed Sevendust. Great to see a ton of old photos (looking like frizzy haired clowns or the bat wielding gang in The Warriors film), liner notes from Snider and a historical recap from French. Sure the late 70s anti-disco anthem 'Rock N Roll Saviors' may not be of much relevance these days (a little re-wording might be in order, rap?), but even the studio version demonstrates the killing power of this live (oft bootlegged) favorite. Same with gritty guitar driven 'Come Back' and 'Pay The Price'. The revved up 50s covers that graced B-sides of 80s singles, or were ad-libbed in concert aren't too far from TS originals like 'Big Gun' (with its extended guitar solo mid-section), 'I'll Never Grow Up Now' or Thin Lizzy-ish 'Lady's Boy'. 'Can't Stand Still' and 'TV Wife' see French at the mic (in concert he was often co-singer), the latter possessing the sarcastic humor attributed to the other frontman (who penned most of the songs, but not these two). Some of these showed up later, on proper albums, like 'Under The Blade', 'Shoot Em Down' and the toe-stubbing 'Leader Of The Pack' (why?). Historic document and a couple of tunes that could have become as big outside the NJ/NYC area as they were in the clubs (see 'Saviors' and 'Grow Up').

You Can't Stop Rock n Roll

Always preferred album #2 to the debut (which lacked, in my estimation, the onstage fire). The original ten tracks have been augmented by a trio of same era bonus tracks. Essentially a complete set of high energy, "us against the world" rants (apart from Snider's paean to his wife 'You're Not Alone (Suzette's Song)'. Love the way 'Like A Knife In The Back' rolls right into 'Ride To Live, Live To Ride', almost like a live show. The vitriolic 'I'll Take You Alive' out does the title cut. Unlike the other re-issue, there is nothing beyond the original LP artwork and lyrics (excluding the three additional tunes): no comments, no history, not even any recording info on said trio. 'One Man Woman' is a throw-away tale of monogamy (from an era of rampant sex). 'Four Barrel Heart Of Love' has a little more meat, complete with gang backing vocals, but still an obvious attempt at a single and easy to see why it was originally left off the album (significantly less rock than the main roster). Like the others, 'Feel The Power' is short (3:12), a simple but rousing exercise that complements the original disc. Sort of 'SMF' without the spit.