Search - Twisted Sister :: Still Hungry

Still Hungry

G. Johnson | 06/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Don't know about the rest of you, I thought this was pretty good. Of course we all know that nothing can ever truly replace the original recordings, but the ones released on this CD do rival the originals.



1. Stay Hungry--This was okay. It would have been better off if it were faster, most definitely, but for what it is it's good. Jay Jay's solo, however, was much different--it wasn't that finger-flyin' action from the original, which irked me. Jay Jay, what happened?!



2. We're Not Gonna Take It--Absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't stand how slow this was, and the way Dee sang it. It can never compare to the original famous recording, which had the roar behind it of a band trying to make it to the top. And I think in the original recording A.J. used a ride cymbal in the famous drum beat instead of a cowbell, I definitely liked the ride better.



3. Burn in Hell--I loved this one. The background vocals sounded so much better than the original, especially with The Animal backing it up. Again, the guitar solo wasn't as wild as it was in the original recording. It's an awesome track, it just would have been SO MUCH BETTER if it was FASTER!



4. Horror Teria A) Captain Howdy B)Street Justice--This song wasn't my favorite on the original Stay Hungry, but the recording on this album made me like it. The vigilante background voices at the end of Street Justice made it sound better, as well as (again) The Animal singing a much lower part.



5. I Wanna Rock--It was good. Nothing enormously different changed my opinion on the song. It still could have been faster.



6. The Price--This dwarfs the original recording in almost every way. Firstly, A.J.'s drumming is SO MUCH BETTER because he added those massive fills in between everything. Secondly, Mark "The Animal" Mendoza's bass work on this is amazing, and you can hear it so much better. He did an awesome job on the fill solos.



7. Don't Let Me Down--I liked this one too. Now that I can hear the bass better, I have established that it is almost impossible for me to play my bass guitar as fast as The Animal does (but then again I've only been playing about ten months). Once again, not much is drastically different from the original except it's much heavier, thus making it sound better.



8. The Beast--This was one of my favorites from the beginning. The original recording always got me stomping my feet, and I always loved it--the low backing vocals again make it sound so much better than the original.



9. S.M.F.--I think this was the only one that was as fast if not faster than its original counterpart. I liked the way it sounded, although S.M.F. was never the best in my view.



10. Never Say Never--I bought this album almost for the sole purpose of hearing this song. I aboslutely loved it. I just wish I could HEAR WHAT THE HELL HE'S SAYING PROPERLY! The lyrics included in the package are preposterously inaccurate, and that just made it ore irritating that I don't know what Dee's saying. Oh well--someday I'll figure it out.



11. Blastin' Fast and Loud--I loved this one too. Once again, I couldn't hear Dee properly on a couple of the lines, and the lyrics included didn't make enough sense to possibly be what he was actually saying.



12. Come Back--This one was okay. This was Come Back's first time in the studio, and I must say the music sounds very good. There's not much to say about it (positive, negative, or otherwise).



13. Plastic Money--I can see where Dee's coming from with the Plastic Money thing. The more you play, the more you pay. Ain't it the truth. I was on the fence about this song at first, but then I came to like it. I like the way the chorus goes.



14. You Know I Cry--When I heard the live recording of this song on the CD side of Live at Wacken, I immediately knew I loved this song. Of course, the live version, having been recorded in 1980, didn't have the best sound quality, so I couldn't wait to get my hand on this CD to listen to it. It sounds better every time I listen to it.



15. Rock and Roll Saviors--I am still on the fence about this one. I honestly don't know if I like it or not. I guess it's okay.



16. Heroes are Hard to Find--This was another one that I couldn't wait to listen to. It makes a good statement, and it has a great tune.



So all in all I would recommend this CD to any Twisted Sister fan, but if you're just getting into the band I would definitely recommend getting Stay Hungry or Big Hits and Nasty Cuts first.

Of course, there is still that condemnable re-recording of We're Not Gonna Take it, which was a big disappointment, but the rest of the CD more than makes up for it. Also, for the bonus tracks--don't trust the lyrics included in the CD. If you listen to the songs closely, you'll find absurd inaccuracies in the lyrics on the page.

Well, I guess I've said all I'm gonna say. All in all, definitely four stars, maybe four and a half.

Cheers."

"Hello, it's me again the thing that wouldn't die"

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stay Hungry is one of my favorite albums of the 1980s, when Twisted Sister was still considered heavy metal. The album is known for the two mega music video hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" but the entire album is incredible with surprisingly intelligent lyrics ("Street Justice") and versatility (the awesome ballad "The Price"). I find it interesting that the band re-recorded the entire album and not just greatest hits. The booklet explains that the band was not happy with the "thin" sound of the original album. I guess there is a more fuller sound on Still Hungry, but, to me, they seem like straight-forward re-recordings. Not being a musician, I do not have the ear for technological details of music but, as just a fan of metal, I don't hear that much of a difference between the original recordings and these. Things that stick out for me are the extended guitar solo on "We're Not Gonna Take It," vocal changes on "Burn in Hell" (Dee Snider screams "one" in "Only one bill to pay"), a little more umph to the vocals in "Captain Howdy" and the guitar riff in "I Wanna Rock" seems different (and not as good).



The main reason to buy this album is for the "new" tracks. "Blastin' Fast and Loud" and "Never Say Never" which were written during the 1984 sessions. I thought they were recorded at that time but, according to the booklet, they were recorded in a separate session in 1999 which was a bit disappointing. When I first heard them, I thought they were just OK but, the more I listen to them, the more I like them. They are very catchy. "Come Back," "Plastic Money," "You Know I Cry," and "Rock `N Roll Saviors" are new studio recordings that had been bootlegged from live broadcasts. They are all as catchy as anything Twisted Sister has put out. "Come Back" has a sing-along-to slower tempo. "Plastic Money" rocks and has a real world message like "Street Justice." I like the different-sounding guitar solo in "You Know I Cry" "Hero's Are Hard to Find" was recorded in 2000 and was included on the StrangeLand movie soundtrack. I had not heard that track before, but what a great anthem! Another track with lyrical substance. Everything here is great! A classic album with quality extra tracks that rock!



The notes on the album cover are interesting. It was Mark Mendoza's original intention to have this style artwork on Stay Hungry that shows five starving musicians with nothing to eat dreaming of being rock stars. Technological limitations at the time prevented this idea from seeing fruition but then we wouldn't get that wonderfully tacky Stay Hungry cover we all know and love."

What a Mess!

T. Gore | Neu Joisy | 10/24/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I thought the original version of "Stay Hungry" was fine. When I heard that they were going to re-record it to make it so called "Heavier" I had mixed emotions. When I finally got my hands on this I was extremly disappointed. Its funny because I have the orginal version, unremastered. This version sounds worse, both sound wise and song wise then the original version recorded twenty three years ago. there has been a huge leap in recording technology since 1984, and I was expecting this to be beefed up more, sound cleaner, just be meanier. What we really get here is what sounds more like a pratice session recorded in someones Basement. The instruments sound muddy and Dee's vocal sounds horrid. I understand they wanted it more raw, but was it really neccessary to dumb down the entire album. I dont think that Twisted was looking to get richer from this, as it is released on an independent label, and from what I hear Dee and crew are pretty cool guys. I see what they were trying to do, but it just fails. Sometimes it just well off to leave what is good, ALONE."