For Fans Of: Manowar, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, Del-Lords, Shakin' Street,
Blue Oyster Cult, Early New Wave, Early CBGB Bands (mid
'70's - early '80's)
The Famous
Classic Live ROIR Cassette of 1981 Now On CD With Three
Bonus Tracks!
Unlike The
New York Dolls...glitz, decadence, trashiness
Unlike The Ramones...Long Island sophomoric humor, high
school revolutionaries
The
Dictators...Like no other band now or ever
since...
HAD (HAS)
ATTITUDE!
Sardonic,
cynical, satirical, brazen, bloated self-depreciating
"hutzpah", these Bronx Fonzies were the first band to
capture the Coney Island- Nathan's Hot Dog- junk kitsch-
pavement stick ball-, Lower East Side NYC bravado (false!) -
based on what? Pure self-adulation and giant balls (filled
with hot air). They were full of "fuck 'em if they can't
take a joke" and now, after 25 years, they are still
together and playing out today now more than ever - and to
larger crowds.
On February
11, 1981, John Hanti and I (we were booking the Club 80's on
the Upper East Side) traveled with a two track Dokorder to a
live Dictators reunion to record the band. Neither of us
really knew what we were doing - but the results were
fabulous, the band cooked and ROIR cassette A102, The
Dictators Live - Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke was born
- and quickly released. It was a big success and helped
launch the young ROIR cassette label in the small (then)
indie community and, according to Cashbox Magazine (June
1990), helped "elevate the Dictators to mythical
status."
So, now we
have the original cassette remastered for CD, plus three
live bonus tracks selected and mastered by Andy Shernoff
from an early '80's performance at the Ritz in
NYC.
The 'Tators
Ruled and Now Rule Again!
What the
Press Had to Say About The Dictators and The ROIR
Cassette "Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take A Joke" Released September
1981
A missing
link between suburban metal and urban punk."
Rolling Stone Album Guide
Formed in
1974, NYC's Dictators were one of the first and most
influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth. (This
cassette) is a fine document of the Dictator's feral power
and endless charm as a live act...these guys are having
fun."
All Music Guide to Rock
The
posthumous '81 live tape is great, a naive masterpiece of
self-indulgence. These "smartasses" proved that regular kids
could make the major label record (as if there was an
alternative in 1975). An inspirational role to the
generation that followed them."
Trouser Press
(The
Dictators) helped establish the new rock 'n roll of the
'70's and '80's. They pre-dated the Ramones and Sex Pistols
by two years."
Guinness Who's Who of Indie New Wave
Bronx urban
populism - like ROIR's tape Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take A
Joke - playing as if their careers still hung in the
balance." (Ira Robbins) -Village Voice
This live
tape captures the spirit of this band, A great understanding
of the trashiness that is in the best rock and roll."
Billboard (Recommended LP) 10/17/81
Twelve
forearm jabs of brute simplicity for a world of unnecessary
refinement, if they indeed can't take a joke."
NME UK
A huge
spirited live greatest hits collection with boisterous stage
banter by Handsome Dick Manitoba."
Maximum Rock n' Roll
Ugly
motherfuckers with an attitude problem that would make
Saddam Hussein seem like a reasonable geezer."
Kerrang UK
A superb live
testament to a great rock n' roll band." OP
One of the
most rabble-rousing outfits to ever stalk the planet." New
York Rocker
One of the
loudest, fastest, most aggressive and angriest bands of them
all." Cashbox
The Dictators
are one of the monster bands of all time. Long before the
Beastie Boys, they were there posin' at the White Castle as
a heavy metal joke, a bunch of punks before there was punk
with all the subtlety of a body slam - loud, obnoxious and
fun." Maximum Rock n' Roll
The first
great white hope for punk supremacy." Richard
Meltzer
ROIR is a
great idea. Cassette-only, wow! The Dictators' cassette is
by far their best - buy this!" Ear Of The Kat
If you're a
fan, this should be on your Xmas list. Another great package
from ROIR. I can't recommend it highly enough." (Al) -
Flipside
Knocking
their brains out with a maximum of brilliance. A killer
cassette and not available on vinyl." The Aquarian
11/4/81
The Dictators
(1976) slotted early into the 'fuck art let's rock' niche.
They represent the bridge between the New York Dolls and the
Ramones, adapting a stance which can be seen to compile
elements of both."
"We were like
punk, we wore leather jackets, wise-guy know-it-alls. We
were certainly anti-glitter." Andy Shernoff
Both above
from From The Velvets to the Voidoids, A Pre-Punk History
for a Post-Punk World by Clinton Heylin, Penguin
Books
Special note
- The Dictators have asked ROIR to enclose as a special gift
to you some international currency for your next vacation
abroad. (Talk about attitude!!)
