'Twisted Sister - The Video Years' (Rhino)
(Twisted Sister / DVD / NR / 2007 / Rhino)
Overview: On DVD for the first time, the videos that ruled MTV airwaves including "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock." Plus a rare TV performance, live concert, and brand new interviews with the band.
DVD Verdict: Currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance following the shocking success of the even more shockingly enjoyable Christmas album A Twisted Christmas, you can’t blame the boys for milking the renewed interest for all it’s worth, and their brand-new DVD 'Twisted Sister: The Video Years' is tailor made for those of us who spent junior high listening to Stay Hungry our ghetto blasters and watching the classic video for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on TV repeatedly, reciting the dialogue word for word.
The centerpiece of the disc is the seven videos from 1983 to 1987, most notably, the clips for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”, which brilliantly tapped into the collective consciousness of teenagers everywhere with their incessant hooks and slapstick humor.
Like fellow New Yorkers Manowar, they found a strong audience in the metal-friendly UK first, and we get a very cool glimpse of the band on a raucous 1982 TV performance, playing a cover of “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” with Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and Brian Robertson. Interestingly, it would be that very performance which would lead to their signing to Atlantic Records!
The real treat, though, is the original Stay Hungry Tour concert, which first aired as an MTV special and was subsequently released on videocassette the same year. Filmed in a San Bernardino airplane hangar in front of a ravenous crowd , the quintet shows just how potent a live act they were in their heyday. Annoyingly, MTV crassly interrupts the show with a pair of videos in place of the live renditions, but that’s actually a good thing, as we get to hear some scorching versions of more underrated songs like “Burn in Hell”, “Under the Blade”, and “Stay Hungry”. If you're a TS fan or just looking for more classic metal '80s to visually dive into then this is definitely the place to start and end! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs, but does not come with any Special Features.
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