THE DICTATORS were a band unwilling to wait for punk to materialize. Channeling their love for fifties rock 'n' roll, sixties garage, White Tower burgers, girls, fast cars, and general goofiness through primitive equipment at extreme volume created some of the greatest gut-level rock 'n roll albums of the seventies. The band wasn't looking to end deforestation, demonstrate their social awareness, or show off their lip-trembling sensitivity as artists. Kempner, Shernoff, Friedman, and Blum just wanted to play music like their heroes - music that rocked hard, moved air, and didn't suck. They succeeded.

"Every Day is Saturday" is a mandatory purchase for punk fans first because of the liner notes, which include a piece entitled, "Amazing Fantasy: How I became Lead Singer of the Dictators" by one Handsome Dick Manitoba. It includes pictures of the boys with Captain Lou Albano and the Valiant Brothers, Henny Youngman, Muddy Waters, Springsteen, and Seger. It includes an extensive band history from Kempner, and stories from roadies about food fights between speeding cars. And we haven't even gotten to the music yet.

The 1973 demo tape material is amazing, packing all of the bold guitars and goofy charms of the "Go Girl Crazy" album without missing a beat. "Backseat Boogie" takes off on a Chuck Berry-cum-MC5 riff that rocks the paint off the walls. "Fireman's Friend", a hard-charging number written about an episode of the Superman TV show, comes complete with the usual snaking guitars and even an a cappella chorus at its finale - pretty bold for a bunch of guys you'd bump into at the bowling alley.

Other goodies include a totally straight, schmaltzy version of "America The Beautiful", a fantastic bastardized-BYRDS version of "Sleepin' With the TV On", and the blood raw demos for the "Bloodbrothers" album. Some of the pre-Sandy Pearlman versions of these songs actually pack more punch than the album versions - the guitars are scuzzier and the backing vocals are comprised of reverbed shouts instead of Pearlman's polished melodies. Plus there's a ton of other goodies like radio spots and unreleased tracks for the hardcore DICTATORS legions to enjoy. It's probably the best 12 bucks you'll spend all year, so ante up.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.thedictators.com

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