Customer Reviews

Viva Dictators

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've made it this far and are a Dictators fan, shame on you for even needing a review to convince you to buy this! Are you hesitating because of the price? How much have you spent on Dictators albums in the last 25 years? Maybe you're hesitating because you're concerned about terrible sound or a lousy performance. Well, the sound is suberb (a great production job by Shernoff) and the performance flat out rocks. (I'd like to add.....this is not iPod music. This is 200 watts a channel and at least 10" woofers to move some serious air music). The major bonus here is the killer versions of the "Go Girl Crazy" songs. Even the remastered version of the studio album leaves much to be diesired. The songs on this live album finally do those 25 year old tracks justice. Satisfied? So add it to cart now or go to zShops and save a few cents. If you've made it this far on curiosity & your music collection is lacking in the Dictator's department, this album is the album to get. "Viva!" is a great representation of what this band is all about. After one listen you'll be adding all the studio releases to your collection fairly quickly.
I only have a few minor "issues" to bring up. So, if you are not a fan of the band already, just skip my ranting below, buy the cd and come back to read this later. Ok? The below may be considered blasphemy and I may burn for it. But I need to get them off.
The only beef I have about the sound is the imbalance in the guitar mix. Ross's guitar in the right channel is set on about "10" while Top Ten's guitar in the left channel is set on about "7"; and this is a very picky, long time fans criticism.
Second, this is not a true live album per se rather than a collection of live songs. Songs put together with very little between song chatter and audience participation. Some songs actually fade out to silence. All this gives the album more of a "live in the studio" than audience live recording feel. The last song "Cars & Girls" was recorded at an audience free sound check and sounds no different than the rest of the album. I was really hoping to hear a few between song sermons from Manitoba and it was not to be.
Lastly, no music from "Manifest Destiny". This may be a contractual issue however and not an oversight by the band.
But the one thing that overshadow's all my nitpicking is Ross The Boss. If you have all the albums on vinyl, then you know where I'm coming from. Ross's playing here blends the ferocity of the Stooges James Williamson with the melodic playing of "Buck Dharma" with a little bit of Ace Frehley thrown in. He's never, never, never, never, never sounded better.
That's it.....

LIKE MR. TOY I TOO WAS AT THE BOWERY BALLROOM AND MAXWELL SHOWS AND TRUST ME THIS BAND CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF WHAT ROCK IS ABOUT. HANDSOME DICK HAD THE AUDIENCE IN THE PALM OF HIS HANDS SOUNDING AT TIMES LIKE A FIERY PREACHER. ROSS AND TOP TEN TRADE ELECTRIFYING RIFFS WHILE ANDY AND JP KEEP IT TIGHT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET PICKING THIS ALBUM UP AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DICTATORS LIVE NY,NY., DICTATORS GO GIRL CRAZY AND D.F.F.D

to buy the new dictators live cd or not...well this is coming from a guy that first read about the band in cream magazine.this got me interested enough that when i finally found "go girl crazy" around 1976 or so,i was curious.it looked so cool & so different.& being about 13 @ the time,it was the perfect lp & band for a white,teenage,suburban punk.i was hooked.warped my brain & changed my life.literaly...ross the boss was one of the major reasons i started my career as a lead guitarist.so,i've followed & bought everything they released ever since.no,i wasn't @ these shows that were recorded,but i saw them 2 or 3 times way back,& again @ little steven's underground garage blowout.& the dictators killed.as always.this is another great
dictators release.no complaints,except it could be longer...hell
a 2 or 3 disc set...but this band never disappoints,get this cd,
add it to your collection,or find out what america's great unsung band is all about.cool selection of material,decent recording.turn this mother up!dictators forever/forever dictators

One of the greatest live albums nobody will ever hear. I was at the Bowery Ballroom show, it was a spiritual revelation. VIVA DICTATORS comes pretty damn close to capturing the Rock n Roll Rapture that I experienced. The performance is unbelievably tight,great guitar mix. Ross IS the Boss! Buy it, play it for your kids, show them how it's supposed to be done

This is the greatest live cd ever made! My favorite live cd has always been The David Johansen Group Live. Viva Dictators has bumped it to the number two spot. This cd is filled with great songs, killer guitar playing, and fantastic harmony vocals. Almost every song here is better than the studio versions, especially Stay With Me and Cars And Girls. Who will save rock n roll? Everyone should buy this cd and help The Dictators save rock n roll. Also, check out The Dictators D.F.F.D.,which is probably the best comeback cd ever made. Although the band would probably tell you they never broke up. Enjoy!!

Why this band isnt legendary boggles my mind! They could have easily released a double live album just because they have so many great songs plus they killed the audience at Little Stevens Underground Garage Festival several months ago. They were just as good as The New York Dolls and The Stooges. One great song after another. This is rock n roll!

If the above reviewer thinks the record opens slow then he really doesn't understand the masterpiece song New York New York. This is a fantastic live record of one of the best rock n roll bands ever. This is what the Dictators sound like on stage, loud, brash and near perfect ROCK N ROLL.

First some perspective. I bought Go Girl Crazy as a 16 year old in 1980 and the I like this band for the same reasons as 25 years ago. The Dictators have a very unique thing about them and I'll try to list as many attributes as I can. They have a unique way of blending humor, sass, confident humility, musical ability, and power. They are serious about the music but not about themselves which is 180 degrees out of phase with the rest of the industry. I don't think it is intentional but I hear the following in their music: Ramones, Dolls, Nugent, Zappa, and The Who.

Go Girl Crazy is a masterpiece, especially in the context of what else was going on in 1975. For that, I give them a lot of credit. The tracks are musically varied so it is tough to label the "type" of band they are.

Manifest Destiny has some good tracks, is well produced, and is smooth but it lacks energy. Their style lends itself to over-driven Les Pauls and Marshall amps.

Blood Brothers is great. Some of the variety is lost but their personality comes through clearly. I keep the CD in my car.

The first live album has tons of energy. The concerts it was recorded from sound great. The production quality sounds like the live Greatful Dead tapes all of those idiots I knew in college traded and jabbered about. Sounds like it was recorded under water.

Manitoba's Wild Kingdom was good but the humor was drying up and being replaced with a a touch of anger. Plus, the tracks sounded the same.

DFFD wasn't perfect but it was a welcome addition to my collection. The Dictators sounded like they were trying to get back to basics -to rediscover what made them so great in the first place. They don't quite get it but it's a hell of a lot better than Wild Kingdom. HDM's vocals have lost something and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's that I heard some Lemmy in there....and the Motorhead style is a little too dark for what I believe The Dictators stand for.

Now for my review. Great CD, I love it. Some other reviewers' comments about HDM not being warmed up are over-stated. I see where they are coming from but I guess it doesn't bother me as much. My one and only complaint (besides the fact that the CD is too short) is their rendition of Master Race Rock. MRR, in my opinion, defines The Dictators: powerful, inventive, and funny. The bass guitar riff and the following guitar solo are lame. The original 1975 version is right on: fast and POWERFUL. The guitar solo overwelms in terms of style and volume. In Viva, both are flat when I was hoping to feel that itching in my ear drums.

Other than that, Viva was all I was hoping for and then some. My favorite track de jour is Cars and Girls, which was not only 100% true to the original but was stylishly done in a way that only a true Dictators fan would understand.

And guys, if you read this, don't get upset at the my critique. The Dictators have ALWAYS been in my Top Five favorites. Thank you for saving rock and roll for me. Thank you for proving again and again how it ought to be.

Keep up the great work.

The Dictators!..that's who...if you DON'T want your soul rocked, your funny-bone tickled and your spirit lifted, than dont get it...A+ on all counts...one of the best r'n'r live documents of all-time

I prefer the ROIR one (New York, New York but we all know the real title is F*** 'em If They Can't Take A Joke) but there's always room for more Tators! Ross burns throughout.

Check out Mighty High...In Drug City. Cover art by the same guy who did D.F.F.D.