Dee Snider
Dee Does Broadway
Razor & Tie
2012
Twisted Sister’s mainman, boldly goes, where few other rockers have gone before, making either complete fools of themselves or narrowly escaping the ridicule. He goes BROADWAY, electing to do a covers album with many music theater standards, given a mutha-f#$@#$ treatment. On paper it sounds, BAD. In reality, it’s WEIRD.
Dee, the singer - possess a decent range and a rather sardonic tone. He’s fine in his role as the Twisted Sister mainman, but how does he’d fare, in musical theater is another matter. Chances are he wouldn’t! The instrumentation usually stays true to the original songs, rocking them up on occasion and Dee’s performances or duets, either stick on top or they miserably don’t.
“Cabaret” is pretty standard tune, from the eponymous musical and Dee, sort of avoids embarrassment, but his harsh, throaty voice, sounds a bit, as an ill fit. You see, most of these songs, require some pretty dynamic singing and usually some pretty clean vocals. Unless, you really manage to transform them successfully, essentially changing their genre in the process, they are likely to sound a bit odd, sung otherwise as they have really been popularized, with some pretty signature performances, especially in the vocal department. So while a “different” take, might not necessarily be BAD, musically, it might not sound “quite right”.
“The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”, could have easily been done, by Twisted Sister. Dee sounds like a man possessed, his dark and threatening, edgy delivery, really making him believable. It’s good!
Next up, is “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity, feat. Cyndi Lauper, an 80s pop princess, that had quite a decent voice. See sounds ok, but not quite the vamp, femme fatalle, she should. Dee tries, hard and the slight speeding up works well, but I suppose, the song is not as sleazy and smooth as it’s should, the horns could be slightly higher too in the mix and the vocals should have been a little smoother too. The hilarious exchange between Dee and Lauper, poking fun at each other’s hits towards the end, is pretty funny too, but still....
“The Ballad of Mack The Knife” from the ThreePenny Opera, works well as Dee’s sneering, nasty delivery, fits the part nicely. The gravel of the voice is too, streetwise so it’s a good match.
“Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)” with Bebe Neuwirth, from “Damn Yankees”, the musical mind you, not the band is at best messy. What we have here, is a rather soft number, redone in a heavy and nightmarish way with Dee, doing probably less vocals than BN. It could have possibly worked, but I’m not pleased by the result as it is. The main theme is however nicely interpreted, by one Bob Kulick, (ya know) who handles them guitars.
“Music of the Night” (Featuring Mark Wood) obviously, from the world famous “Phantom of the Opera” is probably a sacrilege. It makes Dee, sing probably at the edge of his, comfort zone so not only does he sound strained, but he’s not convincing me at all as “phantom”. I hate this rendition, too screamy and whiney.
“The Joint Is Jumpin'” (Featuring Dee’s own son, Jesse Blaze Snider) from “Ain’t Missbehavin'” ain’t too bad, since the original is an RnR standard. Father n’ Son, with voices, quite indistinguishable at times rock the @@#$@#$ outta this lil tune! You can easily tell, a good time’s had by both– plus it’s not this case of nepotism, where someone tries to shove their talentless, son or daughter down yer throats. Jesse is pretty good actually.
“Luck Be a Lady Tonight” from Guys and Dolls” features Clay Aiken. It’s a number popularized, by both Frank Sinatra, but also Marlon Brando (on the movie version), but this version, done a bit ala, “Burn in Hell” is weird. Not too bad, but odd!
“I Get A Kick Out Of You” from “Anything goes” is actually, not too bad. It’s makeover is semi-successful, but through some bizarre chance, Dee doesn’t sound completely out of place!
“There Is Nothin’ Like A Dame” is picked from “South Pacific” (This version features Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon, Nick Adams) from various productions... and is, well rowdy and bawdy and Dee's probably the best thing in the song, so that’s quite telling... it actually sounds like the original song on acid! (Good or Bad Trip, I ain't sure captain !)
“Razzle Dazzle” done by the comet's and also featured in “Chicago” is another case, of a song that translates rather well, although not amazingly!
Finally, “Tonight/Somewhere” from “West Side Story”, featuring Patti LuPone, is decent, even though she quite outshines him. Their combined voices mingle well, however. It’s I guess an ideal closer for the album with its triumphant and celebratory style.
All this, leads us to an unavoidable but rather sad conclusion. For whatever reason, Dee doesn't want to do a proper rock album, with Twisted sister and I’m guessing, he’s probably thinking, he’s no longer in the correct mindset to do it. He can still perform, quite capably – but years are not gonna do him favors, but I dunno if he feels as rebellious now as he did back then. Then again, turning on your TV, could easily make you rebellious in 10 minutes, but that’s another story.
So what we get, are a bunch of releases that capitalize on the TS, brand and the members fame, but not the real deal, which is sad. Maybe a new Sister album, wouldn’t sell jack shit, maybe people wouldn’t give a fu$k! But since when, were Twisted Sister or their music a conformist thing? Eh, Mutha?
Dee’s Broadway album, ain’t a horrible sack of shit, as some people have proclaimed it to be, but it ain’t a brilliant work of art either. To these ears, it’s an over-ambitious and over-glorified, ill conceived, decently executed, covers album with little staying power, destined possibly to decorate the sale section and bargain bins of the ever dwindling number of “real-world” record shops and act as a foot-note in Dee’s long and illustrious career. Well, I hope he'll at some point, rather now than later, get to his senses and decide to give people, what they want!
But that’s just one little sick mutha fu$kas’s wish! I suppose I’ll keep on dreaming! Well, at least he’s not doing Dallas! (Ha,ha,ha!)
Dee, the singer - possess a decent range and a rather sardonic tone. He’s fine in his role as the Twisted Sister mainman, but how does he’d fare, in musical theater is another matter. Chances are he wouldn’t! The instrumentation usually stays true to the original songs, rocking them up on occasion and Dee’s performances or duets, either stick on top or they miserably don’t.
“Cabaret” is pretty standard tune, from the eponymous musical and Dee, sort of avoids embarrassment, but his harsh, throaty voice, sounds a bit, as an ill fit. You see, most of these songs, require some pretty dynamic singing and usually some pretty clean vocals. Unless, you really manage to transform them successfully, essentially changing their genre in the process, they are likely to sound a bit odd, sung otherwise as they have really been popularized, with some pretty signature performances, especially in the vocal department. So while a “different” take, might not necessarily be BAD, musically, it might not sound “quite right”.
“The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”, could have easily been done, by Twisted Sister. Dee sounds like a man possessed, his dark and threatening, edgy delivery, really making him believable. It’s good!
Next up, is “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity, feat. Cyndi Lauper, an 80s pop princess, that had quite a decent voice. See sounds ok, but not quite the vamp, femme fatalle, she should. Dee tries, hard and the slight speeding up works well, but I suppose, the song is not as sleazy and smooth as it’s should, the horns could be slightly higher too in the mix and the vocals should have been a little smoother too. The hilarious exchange between Dee and Lauper, poking fun at each other’s hits towards the end, is pretty funny too, but still....
“The Ballad of Mack The Knife” from the ThreePenny Opera, works well as Dee’s sneering, nasty delivery, fits the part nicely. The gravel of the voice is too, streetwise so it’s a good match.
“Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)” with Bebe Neuwirth, from “Damn Yankees”, the musical mind you, not the band is at best messy. What we have here, is a rather soft number, redone in a heavy and nightmarish way with Dee, doing probably less vocals than BN. It could have possibly worked, but I’m not pleased by the result as it is. The main theme is however nicely interpreted, by one Bob Kulick, (ya know) who handles them guitars.
“Music of the Night” (Featuring Mark Wood) obviously, from the world famous “Phantom of the Opera” is probably a sacrilege. It makes Dee, sing probably at the edge of his, comfort zone so not only does he sound strained, but he’s not convincing me at all as “phantom”. I hate this rendition, too screamy and whiney.
“The Joint Is Jumpin'” (Featuring Dee’s own son, Jesse Blaze Snider) from “Ain’t Missbehavin'” ain’t too bad, since the original is an RnR standard. Father n’ Son, with voices, quite indistinguishable at times rock the @@#$@#$ outta this lil tune! You can easily tell, a good time’s had by both– plus it’s not this case of nepotism, where someone tries to shove their talentless, son or daughter down yer throats. Jesse is pretty good actually.
“Luck Be a Lady Tonight” from Guys and Dolls” features Clay Aiken. It’s a number popularized, by both Frank Sinatra, but also Marlon Brando (on the movie version), but this version, done a bit ala, “Burn in Hell” is weird. Not too bad, but odd!
“I Get A Kick Out Of You” from “Anything goes” is actually, not too bad. It’s makeover is semi-successful, but through some bizarre chance, Dee doesn’t sound completely out of place!
“There Is Nothin’ Like A Dame” is picked from “South Pacific” (This version features Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon, Nick Adams) from various productions... and is, well rowdy and bawdy and Dee's probably the best thing in the song, so that’s quite telling... it actually sounds like the original song on acid! (Good or Bad Trip, I ain't sure captain !)
“Razzle Dazzle” done by the comet's and also featured in “Chicago” is another case, of a song that translates rather well, although not amazingly!
Finally, “Tonight/Somewhere” from “West Side Story”, featuring Patti LuPone, is decent, even though she quite outshines him. Their combined voices mingle well, however. It’s I guess an ideal closer for the album with its triumphant and celebratory style.
All this, leads us to an unavoidable but rather sad conclusion. For whatever reason, Dee doesn't want to do a proper rock album, with Twisted sister and I’m guessing, he’s probably thinking, he’s no longer in the correct mindset to do it. He can still perform, quite capably – but years are not gonna do him favors, but I dunno if he feels as rebellious now as he did back then. Then again, turning on your TV, could easily make you rebellious in 10 minutes, but that’s another story.
So what we get, are a bunch of releases that capitalize on the TS, brand and the members fame, but not the real deal, which is sad. Maybe a new Sister album, wouldn’t sell jack shit, maybe people wouldn’t give a fu$k! But since when, were Twisted Sister or their music a conformist thing? Eh, Mutha?
Dee’s Broadway album, ain’t a horrible sack of shit, as some people have proclaimed it to be, but it ain’t a brilliant work of art either. To these ears, it’s an over-ambitious and over-glorified, ill conceived, decently executed, covers album with little staying power, destined possibly to decorate the sale section and bargain bins of the ever dwindling number of “real-world” record shops and act as a foot-note in Dee’s long and illustrious career. Well, I hope he'll at some point, rather now than later, get to his senses and decide to give people, what they want!
But that’s just one little sick mutha fu$kas’s wish! I suppose I’ll keep on dreaming! Well, at least he’s not doing Dallas! (Ha,ha,ha!)