| "You Want What We Got" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byTwisted Sister | ||||
| from the albumCome Out and Play | ||||
| B-side | "Shoot 'Em Down" | |||
| Released | February 1986 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 3:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dee Snider | |||
| Producer(s) | Dieter Dierks | |||
| Twisted Sister singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"You Want What We Got" is a song by American heavy metal bandTwisted Sister, released in 1986 as the second single from their fourth studio album,Come Out and Play (1985). The song was written byDee Snider and produced byDieter Dierks.
"You Want What We Got" was released in the US as the second single fromCome Out and Play in February 1986. It followed "Leader of the Pack" which stalled at number 53 on theBillboardHot 100. After the commercial disappointment of "Leader of the Pack",Atlantic Records originally intended to release "Be Chrool To Your Scuel" as Twisted Sister's next single, but the plans were scrapped afterMTV banned its pre-made video. The label then decided against releasing a second single from the album in the US, but ultimately elected to release "You Want What We Got". Snider recalled in his 2012 autobiographyShut Up and Give Me the Mic: A Twisted Memoir, "The president of the label decided not to release a follow-up single to the failed 'Leader of the Pack'. This was insanity. We had sold 5 million records worldwide withStay Hungry, and he wasn't going to give our new album a second shot?!"[1]
Atlantic hoped the single would generate airplay on rock radio. David Fleischman, Atlantic's director of national album promotion, encouraged radio stations to play the track through the radio programming guideThe Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report by writing, "Dee Snider went to Washington, appeared before aSenate sub-committee, and defended rock and roll. Don't let the spurious accusations of a handful of narrow-minded people dictate the boundaries allowing what music one may or may not be exposed to. Support the man and the band that supported you. Play Twisted Sister's 'You Want What We Got'. This is rock and roll."[2]
The single was released in the UK on April 21, 1986.[3]
Upon its release as a single,Cash Box noted that "You Want What We Got" "contains more of the feel and sentiment" of the band's 1984 hit single "We're Not Gonna Take It" than the lead single fromCome Out and Play, "Leader of the Pack". They noted that "thunderous drums and Snider's scowling, turned-lip vocal predominate" on the track.[4]
In the UK, Kevin Bryan of theGloucestershire Echo described it as "another joyously over-the-top epic" from Twisted Sister and "good rabble-rousing rock".[5] Dave Ling ofNumber One reviewed the single alongsideVan Halen's "Why Can't This Be Love", writing, "Dee Snider and chums must be gritting their teeth. It's been three long years since they last gracedTop of the Pops, and although their live shows are still captivating events, there's no disguising that 'You Want What We Got' sounds laboured and clumsy alongside Van Halen's effort. Sorry Dee."[6] Dave Dickson ofKerrang! felt it was "not as classy a single" as "I Am (I'm Me)" or "We're Not Gonna Take It". He added, "It's hard, it's heavy, I'd love it to become a hit but somehow I just can't see it happening with this one."[7]
7–inch single (US, Canada, Australia and Japan)[8][9]
7–inch single (UK)[10]
12–inch single (UK)[11]
Twisted Sister
Production
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Heavy Metal Singles (Spotlight Research)[12] | 15 |
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