Search - Dictators :: Viva Dictators

No Excuses....Add To Cart ASAP!!!

"The Woj" | Downers Grove, IL | 08/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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....."

Become a two-tub man...

S. litvak | rochester,ny | 09/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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"

GOD BLESS THE DICTATORS AND EVERYTHING THEY STAND FOR!!

Anthony F. Diliberti | NJ. | 08/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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"