DESCRIPTION:
The Dictators
Go Girl Crazy!
EPIC Records
KE 33348 (also X598)
Released March 1975

Side One
1. "The Next Big Thing" 4:20
2. "I Got You Babe" (Sonny Bono) 4:08
3. "Back to Africa" 3:35
4. "Master Race Rock" 4:13

Side Two
1. "Teengenerate" 3:24
2. "California Sun" (Henry Glover, Morris Levy) 3:04
3. "Two Tub Man" 4:08
4. "Weekend" 4:00
5. "(I Live For) Cars and Girls" 3:56

The debut album by the Dictators, considered perhaps the finest of the so-called "proto-punk" bands, or the starting point of American punk rock, etc.

All this is hindsight. Most people, including critics who lovey-doved them once they were gone, didn't like the Dictators, considered them a joke band, etc.

But a lot of records aren't as well appreciated in their own time as they should've been. And Go Girl Crazy! is no exception. The sound is not at all what you'd think of as "punk." The classification of them as proto-punk, and putting them as the forefathers of American punk rock, has to more to do with their overall not too serious approach to things (although the Dictators' musicianship was far above the punk standard, and Ross the Boss is a severely under-appreciated guitarist).

That approach, coupled with the pro wrestling shtick, the lyrical irreverence, and right-leaning politics, more or less came to define the leanings of American punk, as opposed to the more artsy and generally left-wing sensibilities of British punk.

Go Girl Crazy! is a fun record, regardless of its historical significance or lack thereof. The cover of "I Got You Babe" is so chock-full of shlocky sincerity that it's impossible to resist. The anthemic "Cars and Girls" and "Next Big Thing" should be rock and roll classics.

Trivia: Hard to see in the photos, but my copy of this album, along with the cut corner, is stamped DEMONSTRATION - NOT FOR SALE, front and back. It might've been a radio station copy; I honestly can't recall how I came by it.

Trivia 2: Teengenerate is the name of a Japanese punk band from the early 90s. I can't find anything that indicates whether they got their name from the Dictators song or not, but it's hard to imagine, with the punk legend cred of this album, that it wasn't a factor.

The visuals are related to each song. Who knew that there are now
54 countries in Africa?

Made with:
Sansui P-D10 analog turntable
BBE preamp
Audacity
Paint.net
Audials 2016
Corel Videostudio X9

Enjoy. And Go Girl Crazy!