The Dictators

Go Girl Crazy!
Manifest Destiny
Bloodbrothers


Go Girl Crazy! (Epic ’75) Rating: A-
Among the obnoxious first words you hear are “this is just a hobby for me, nothing ya hear, a hobby!,” which immediately lets us know not to take these guys too seriously. A critic/cult favorite and allegedly an early punk (though they're more hard rock) influence/cornerstone, Go Girl Crazy! is still a gas. For whatever the guys lack in musical talent (technically speaking) and originality they make up for in attitude; check out the cocky album opener, "The Next Big Thing," for example (though wasn’t punk supposed to be anti-rock star?). More importantly, their songs get high marks for raw energy, hooks, and hummability. Plus, they have a wonderfully skewed sense of humor, irreverently wrecking “I Got You Babe” (the album’s obvious weak link, unfortunately) and “California Sun,” and unleashing ironic, politically incorrect songs such as “Back To Africa” and “Master Race Rock.” The latter is definitely among the album highlights; after all, who can resist a lyric like “My favorite part of growing up is when I’m sick and throwing up?” If you’re thinking the answer is you, then this album may not be for you, but you should still give it a try. After all, politically incorrect joke bands get old in a hurry, but these guys also sport several catchy shout along choruses and unleash amateurishly inspired guitar solos (usually supplied by Ross "The Boss" Friedman) within a more varied musical attack than you'd expect (mock reggae, doo wop, bubblegum pop, and the Beach Boys all surface as influences). You can just tell that these horny junk culture loving "Teengenerate”s were all about the “Weekend,” with the boys themselves declaring “(I Live For) Cars and Girls.” And wrestling, it should be added, led image-wise by Handsome Dick Manitoba, the self-proclaimed “Handsomest Man In Rock ‘n Roll.” Nothing else about this band or album is even remotely handsome (come to think of it, Manitoba isn't especially handsome, either, which might explain why his gimmick never took off), but rock n' roll needn’t be clean-shaven so long as it’s fun, funny, and rocking, which this album most assuredly is. And if nothing else, Go Girl Crazy! sports a hilariously over-the-top album cover, with Handsome Dick in full wrestling regalia.

Manifest Destiny (Asylum ’77, Wounded Bird '04) Rating: B
After Go Girl Crazy! bombed commercially, main singer-songwriter Andy "Adny" Shernoff left the band. Mark "The Animal" Mendoza replaced him on bass, but Shernoff returned on keyboards/vocals for Manifest Destiny, which largely lacked the laugh out loud humor and vibrant energy of the debut. It's still a good album, but the rough edges have been smoothed over for a blatant attempt at a more commercial sound. Again, it's still a good album, but there are some real duds this time, such as the limp pop of "Sleepin' With The T.V. On" and the droopy ballad "Hey Boys." Other tracks such as "Heartache" and "Steppin' Out" are likewise overly slick, though both are quite catchy. Right from the start it's clear that something's lacking, as "Exposed" is no "The Next Big Thing," that's for sure. Still, there are some really strong songs here, including "Disease," on which Manitoba's amusing rap intro leads into some menacing riffs. Perhaps this song and "Steppin' Out" run a little long, but it's a clear album highlight nevertheless. As for the rest of the standout tracks, they all come at the end of the album, which could be better sequenced. Then again, given the band's focus, I suppose it's not surprising that the album's least commercial songs are tacked onto the end. Still, "Science Gone Too Far" and "Young, Fast, Scientific" are fast-paced, driving rock n' roll songs that bring back the furious fun of Girls Go Crazy!, and their fierce cover of The Stooges "Search and Destroy" only seemed like padding to me at first before I realized how much I enjoy it. So, as you can see, this too-safe follow-up still has its moments, so to call it a "failed sellout" would be a bit harsh, and I for one am glad to see Manifest Destiny back in print after many years of being unavailable.

Bloodbrothers (Asylum ’78, Wounded Bird '05) Rating: A-
After Manifest Destiny flopped, Mendoza left the band and Shernoff resumed bass duties while Manitoba was elevated to primary lead vocalist, a position previously occupied by Shernoff. This third and final (for many years, anyway) studio effort is remembered by some (Rolling Stone, Christgau) as a forgettable last gasp (in contrast to metal maven Martin Popoff who counts this album among his all-time favorites). The reason for this is probably due to the band's zesty embrace of hard rock; elements of songs such as "I Stand Tall" and "Borneo Jimmy" were precursors to cheesy '80s hair metal (again, let's not forget that the band featured future members of Twisted Sister and Manowar!), as opposed to the far more respectable (to critics, anyway) punk flag that Go Girl Crazy! had erroneously been put under. Yet the energy of these grooves, the rawness of the guitars, and the catchiness of these choruses (almost all penned by Shernoff) are something that any punk or metal band would be proud of. Though by and large they've toned down the stoopid political incorrectness of Go Girl Crazy! for a more straightforward hard rock attack (remember, Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman were their producers, and more than the first two albums this one is influenced by early Blue Oyster Cult), The Dictators are still basically the same group of regular guys, only they're more confident and assured, are better musicians, and have penned a set of songs that are vastly superior to Manifest Destiny and are more consistent than Go Girl Crazy! (which was sometimes undermined by the "joke" factor). Few songs have ever more effectively stolen the riff from "Louie Louie" than "Baby Let's Twist" (about a misfit girl), while prime Van Halen (as in the Diamond Dave era) comes easily to mind when singing along to "No Tomorrow" (about a misfit guy). If you don't sing along to that one or the arguably even catchier "Stay With Me" then my guess is that you simply don't like melodic, hard driving rock n' roll, and these songs and others ("Faster and Louder," "The Minnesota Strip," and their cover of The Flamin' Groovies' "Slow Death") are so good that I can easily forgive the album's few lesser moments. Alas, for whatever reason The Dictators never had any success, despite being superior to another New York band who took a similar brand of simplicity to unprecedented levels of success (and fan exploitation; they just released their 37th Greatest Hits album). Still, for my money Bloodbrothers is better than anything that Kiss (who I like) ever did, and it deserves far more acclaim and recognition than it has thus far received. Note: Other notable post Dictators offshoots included rhythm guitarist Scott Kempner's band the Del-Lords and Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, while a Dictators reunion tour occurred in 1991 and a new studio album called D.F.F. even surfaced in 2001.

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