"Miami" Steve Van Zandt once said about them that they really were "the connective tissue between the eras of the MC5, Stooges, New York Dolls, and the punk explosion of the mid to late 70s".
What I like most about the Dictators is the fact that they were a true rock n’ roll band. I don’t have problems with tags but hey, if you wanna tag something do it right, OK? You can’t count the VU or the Talking Heads as rock n’ roll, cause if you do what in the hell then the ‘taters were/are? Here again many label them as the first/perfect mix of punk rock and heavy metal… C’mon gimme a break. I heard in my life (and I mean it) many heavy metal records and not a single note played by them have elements of this genre. I guess all this came due to the fact that Ross the Boss (guitars) and Mark Animal Mendoza (bass on 2nd album) had a pass from bands like Manowar (i fuckin' hate them and their zincky panties) and Twisted Sister in correspondence. But then again, were the Sister ever a metal band…?
What I like most about the Dictators is the fact that they were a true rock n’ roll band. I don’t have problems with tags but hey, if you wanna tag something do it right, OK? You can’t count the VU or the Talking Heads as rock n’ roll, cause if you do what in the hell then the ‘taters were/are? Here again many label them as the first/perfect mix of punk rock and heavy metal… C’mon gimme a break. I heard in my life (and I mean it) many heavy metal records and not a single note played by them have elements of this genre. I guess all this came due to the fact that Ross the Boss (guitars) and Mark Animal Mendoza (bass on 2nd album) had a pass from bands like Manowar (i fuckin' hate them and their zincky panties) and Twisted Sister in correspondence. But then again, were the Sister ever a metal band…?
They loved every single little pop, R&B or rock n' roll masterpiece of the 50s and the 60s decades and that’s showing a lot on their stuff. I mean, “Cars & Girls” must be the first and the best surf revival song and compared to this whatever the Barracudas did (a band that I LOVE truly to fore run the suspicious minds), is just a sha-la-la popper or Beach Boys mimic. Throughout their boisterous career, they attracted the public’s eyes unfortunately for the wrong reasons. The infamous incident with Wayne/Jayne County or songs like “Back to Africa” on their first album, got them some publicity but for the wrong reasons. A lot of people and because of the aforementioned happenings, thought of the Dictators as racists and homophobic. Of course no such thing existed. Many Dictators members are Jewish but irony, humor and no hold barriers fun wasn’t (and still isn't) many people’s stronger point.
Bruce Springsteen was and still is a huge fan if that says something to you. Actually, you can hear him count like another Dee Dee Ramone on the very first seconds of this record. That’s the third and my favorite if I had to pick just one cause I dig them all the same. They used for some reason Blue Oyster Cult’s production team and the result’s simply superb! If you ever heard Blue Oyster doing “Kick out the Jams”, maybe you’ll be able to understand what’s happening in here. Evil, dark humorous and “Faster & Louder” punk rock, delivered with just one purpose, to have fun! I'm pretty sure the Nomads (from Sweden) when they tried some "different" things on that Screaming Dizbusters single, had not only the Blue Oyster Cult on their minds, but also the Dictators. "Borneo Jimmy" and " Minnesota Strip" are two more standout and well covered tunes that almost every newbie likes to sing and oh, the last track it's Flamin’ Groovies masterpiece “Slow Death”. Many tried to cover it, almost all failed. Well, not the "taters"…
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Bloodbrothers
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