The Dictators: A New, New York

I was recently chastised by an editor who figured that I should insert my opinion more obviously into my writing. Well, chastise is probably too strong a word – requested, told…something. Anyway, with that in mind, I gotta say that I find the Dictators to be average at best. They New Yorkers are obviously important and brought together the early and latter part of the ‘70s hard rock and punk scenes. But that doesn’t mean they had great songs. And although members acknowledged the fact that their purposefully dumbed down lyrics were laughable, it didn’t make ‘em any better. And I guess that’s my biggest problem with them. I enjoy a joke – and I enjoy dumb songs – but when the guys making ‘em are actually dumb, it becomes problematic for me.

Apart from the fact that Handsome Dick Manitoba (Richard Blum) sued a Canadian producer who went by the name of Manitoba, he had a ridiculous run in with Wayne/Jayne County. I have no idea what prompted the feud and I’m assuming Manitoba wiped the floor with the boy/girl, but to then go on and write a track called “Smash that Faggot’s Head,” is beyond tasteless and dumb. It just reflects on one’s mental acumen. That being said he served me a beer in his bar once. So, that’s cool.

The band is most noted for their first and third albums with 1977’s Manifest Destiny falling flat. Their first effort, though, Go Girl Crazy! is probably most entertaining for the band’s singer dressed up like a wrestler – singlet and all – wearing an enormous wig. But before those tracks were fully formed and set down to tape, the band gigged around New York and recorded some demos. Compiled on Demos and Rare Trakcs (’73-‘76) are some offerings that didn’t make it to a proper album as well as a few well done covers – “Search and Destroy,” “Interstellar Overdrive” and “California Sun,” which can be presumed to be the template that the Ramones would use in a few years.

But in addition to these oddities, the disc displays the Dictators in primal form working in between the New York Dolls and the Dead Boys. And that’s a pretty good summation of the group’s career. “Fireman’s Friend” not only sounds like a Dolls’ chord progression, but features Ross Friedman’s solo that sits pretty close to Johnny Thunders territory. It’d be interesting to hear what David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain hafta say about the similarities. Regrouping those folks would make for a good reunion bill as long as the Dolls didn’t work with their new stuff too much.

Anyway, Demos and Rare Trakcs (’73-‘76) is obviously only for fanatics, although, the fidelity here is good pretty much throughout save for the song about Wayne/Jayne County towards the end. I can’t say that listening to it changed my mind completely about the Dictators, but I will confess that I do appreciate the musical ability of the group a bit more. It even worked when they added the keyboard later in the ‘70s. And now I know.