Go Girl Crazy

A couple of these songs would probably cause an uproar today, but if you read the lyrics, they’re not what their titles suggest, but rather they’re mostly misguided (if viewed through the lens of present day) humor and sarcasm. Still, those choruses probably shouldn’t be blared out of your car stereo system on summer day when you’re stuck at a traffic light. That aside, this is a solid early punk record, with some really good guitar playing and songwriting. It’s fun, funny and it rocks. Fits pretty solidly with the mid 70’s New York punk scene, I think. All that said, I have to deduct at least a star because of Handsome Dick Manitoba (Richard Blum). Back in the the early aughts, he threatened Dan Snaith with a lawsuit over his band name, Manitoba. Snaith, an actual Canadian, changed the name of his project to Caribou to avoid the lawsuit. How can you sue for the rights to the name of a province? Also, very punk of Handsome Dick to threaten to sue a guy on an independent label making music out of his house. Super cool move, Dick.

Fun. Simple. Not extremely substantial, and that is ok.

This album is like the grandfather of punk rock. It certainly sounds punk: adolescent humor, repeated shouts of "Let's go!", and tracks that were clearly recorded in one take. Some of it is really fun, but there's a lot of dumb here, and that's hard to overlook. Best track: Two Tub Man

Like a deeply discounted Kiss

August 24, 2021 The album cover is off-putting. I wanted to like this, and I can see how it influenced a lot of the later music I like, but I was just uncomfortable and a lot of this was pretty dumb.

High energy and catchier then expected protopunk that doesn't take it's self too seriously. Hilarious cover of I Got You Babe. Also liked Cars and Girls. Lots of shredding scattered throughout as well. "I think Lou Reed is a creep." Also protopunk is fun to say. PROTOPUNK. I would buy this if I came across a hard copy so I'm giving it the big five.

This was incredible! How have I never heard this before?! It’s funny, creative, an absolute joy to listen to.

Never heard of “proto punk”, but I can definitely hear some of my favorite punk through this, Jeff Rosenstock included

This was a really fun album and I loved the I got you babe cover

Fun and silly proto-punk, but lacking some substance (that might kinda be the point of the album, though)

Somehow back when I was exploring the big proto-punk bands like The Stooges, MC5, Velvet Underground etc I never got in The Dictators. Boy was I missing out. This is so much fun and I definitely can tell that they were super influential to many other bands I like. 4 stars for the album, the 5th for the big time influence power

Ah, an album I've listened to endlessly. It's crass, it's dumb, wilfully offensive every now and again but it possesses so much attitude, cheek and zap-rock power that I find it irresistible. Part of the CBGB scene, and they have a good claim to have been there or thereabouts at the birth of the NYC punk scene. This, and their third album Blood Brothers, kick ass. I live for cars and girls.

I actually loved this album. It was so cool and had such a sick vibe. I wanted more at the end!

lmao what an album. So punk, so camp, great irony. Love the personality, and some of the music

Well this is bat shit mental. But I quite like it! You can hear how this influenced bands that came later like the Ramones and the Beastie Boys. Rock n Roll punk with something to say. Its also pretty funny in places. Majestically mad. 4/5

The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! Not sure if I’ve heard of The Dictators or not. The name sounds familiar but it also sounds like the name of a lot of bands from the mid to late 70s who presaged or followed punk. I thought it might be more like that Germs album, but it’s more listenable than that, reminding me a lot of the New York Dolls, with that sped up frenetic glam rock and blues rock sound, and a bit of the Ramones (esp the cover of California Sun), but without being quite as good or as exciting as either of those bands. I can see how this would be influential on punk and puncturing some rock posturing, and while some of it is decent, California Sun, Weekend and Cars and Girls, and some of it is a dumb sort of fun, like Back to Africa, Master Race Rock and Teengenerate and the rest just sort of dumb and not that much fun. One of those albums that, although I didn’t fully enjoy, I'm glad to have heard, even if I’m unlikely to come back to. Solid 2. 🤪🤪 Playlist submission: Cars and Girls

If I could give this album 0 stars or negative stars I would. It not only has two racist songs but also all the songs are just bad. Bad musicians. They didn’t contribute anything to punk or music at all. Maybe we should pay more attention to a band like MC5 because they were activists and were part of the civil rights movement. Way more important than this joke of a band.

Fresh 70's anthem rock!

5 out of 5. Banger album from a banger band.

proto punk. new york. ross the boss manowar

All killer no filler. Dumb, snarky, sarcastic, camp, very danceable, everything that punk music should be.

I discovered this band as a teen. After reading in a Trasher magazine issue that some skater named them in their favorite music to skate to but cant remember who. Took me years to actually find a cassette of them in Puerto Rico. They were too old and too raw for the stations. I had never heard a whole album after the 80s until today. Would just have my 2 fave songs in my mix tape. Theor importwnce for the scene and the genere is incalculabe. They are part pf the first generation of punk hard rockers that could actually play and write. They are hardly ever named or mentioned but they are rowdy and loud. Love this hope everyone hears this album cause its great.

How have I not heard this before? It feels like the Sonny and Cher cover was literally made for me. The lyrics are clever and pretty funny, the band clearly had a great time playing these songs. Master Race Rock really feels like it came from the Frank Zappa school of 'write the dumbest thing you can think of and make it funky'. One thing I wish that future punk music would have taken from this album also is great sound mixing! But I suppose it's easier to play like shit when nobody can tell what's going on. Side 1 is fantastic, the only weakish song on here is Back to Africa. First track on side 2 was good, but when California Sun started playing and that bassline kicked in I was hooked properly. If I were a music journalist in the 1970s and I heard this, then I too would have become a massive dickrider for punk music. This album totally explains (but doesn't excuse) the mass hysteria that music journos experienced at the time. 5/5 would get fucked up to this album

5/5. Now this is punk, full of satire and aggressive sounds, something to piss off anyone it's trying to. The amateur sound is what brings this above other "punk" like the Ramones and the Clash, a clean studio sound really takes away from the passion of not giving a F. The lyrics are a little silly sometimes but there are definitely some political statements throughout, enough to upset the right people. (To be clear those people are those who support the felon). Best Song: Master Race Rock, Two Tub Man, I Got You Babe

Ridiculous and silly and a ton of fun. I loved it. On another day it might not have hit the same, but today it just hit right even though some of the lyrics are really stupid. Probably really a four but I'm reading it at five so that I see it on my list of fives. So don't forget about it the next time. I need some silly fun on a road trip.

I can hear punk undertones in the music. It seem tongue in cheek for many of the songs. It was enjoyable.

I'm loving this. Very 70s NYC. Anyone who hears Kiss, now knows who Kiss was emulating. This has more in common with the Ramones. I had to check, but of course they worked with Joey Ramone, and the lead singer is from the Bronx. You can hear it. The irreverence, the humor, the stupid silliness, it's all pure old New York. "Fuck you, if you can't take a joke", is our town motto. Where has this record been all my life?

Amazing, great energy, they are up there with the Ramones IMO

Were these lyrics written by Gene Belcher? I think Cars and Girls especially showed strong Gene Belcher vibes. Overall, fun music, good to drive around with your windows down. Utterly shocked when I opened the wikipedia section to learn this was the first punk rock album and not a prime example of jock rock.

When I read about this before listening I was kind of not excited. Then when I played this I found it to be a total blast! These songs are weird and wild and I enjoyed this completely even if there were a few spots that didn’t age well.

I always wanted to enjoy punk rock from the 70s but had not particularly enjoyed much of it besides The runaways… this album was eye-opening

Before today I'd never heard of the Dictators. They are an early punk band who sound quite a bit like New York Dolls, with the farcical attitude of Turbonegro. Apparently, one of their guitarists, Ross "the Boss" Funichello went on to join Manowar after the band went on a hiatus. There was also, in their early days, a member of the band "Handsome Dick Manitoba" whose sole role was to be the band's mascot (he is seen on the cover of this album). Overall, an excellent album! I really like how the band doesn't take themselves too seriously. The foundations of what these guys were doing would go on to facilitate the formation of punk. These guys just didn't catch their break like New York Dolls or the Ramones because of a few failed record company deals. They would always remain an underground favourite, and they gained a new fan today! Favourite songs: (I Live For) Cars and Girls, California Sun, I Got You Babe, Two Tub Man, Back to Africa, Weekend Least favourite songs: Master Race Rock 5/5

Straight forward 70s punk with a couple of covers. Very enjoyable.

Straight forward rock, proto-punk, punk, whatever you want to call it. Some decent shredding, too. Songs are simple and funny and you can see how this album would go on to influence so much other music that I listen to all the time. One of the few albums that I wanted to put back on again right after listening to it. Great stuff.

Nice theme

Really enjoyed this album! Never heard of the artist before and I'll definitely be listening to it again. Two Tubs Man is a great track, but I equally enjoyed the first four songs on the album. Saved!

10/10 super fun punk album great vibes

Rock and Roll and Wrestling and Handsome Dick Manitoba rule so this gets 5 stars

Great, raw punk sound.

amazinggggggg

Oooops

super fun pop punk

Way more melodic and fun than I was expecting based on reviews.

Somehow people listened to this and said "yeah, this is a new genre" while it's basicly RocknRoll with funny lyrics. Anyways, better than most punk that came afterwards

Liked some songs

Wow! This is great garage band punk!

Goofy and knowingly stupid; reminded me a little of Andrew WK.

I had fun with this one and listened to it twice. I'll definitely come back to this.

Good stuff all around here. Fun listen.

It’s a pretty solid early punk(-ish) album. Fun and snarky.

This is like if Deep Purple met The Ramones. You can definitely identify the similarities with The Ramones here, but I believe this record came first. I love punk, and this is probably the first example of punk rock that's identifiable, hence the label proto-punk. The album definitely trailed off toward the end, but man the covers on this album were great. I Got You Babe and California Sun (Ramones did it better though) were so good. I honestly can say I enjoyed every song on this album, probably with the exception of 'Master Race Rock', that was a bit weird. This album was a super fun listen, and the instrumentals were on point. It's not perfect though, and I couldn't see myself running back to listen to this one in a single sitting again, but I've already added a few songs to my playlists. Glad to see some punk rock history appearing on this list.

This was an awesome surprise. I was initially sceptical when I was told this was early punk/protopunk and saw the global rating. I was imagining some swampy gurgling over the top mess performed by people with so many piercings they would cause a national tragedy if they stood too close to an MRI machine. What I got however was a very accessible album with was solid to good all the way through. I don't know why my expectations went the way they did. Hearing the protopunk makes so much sense. It really sounds like a metamorphosis between 60's-70' classic Rock 'n Roll to something with a little more edge to it. The lyrics are all pretty nonsense but it fits with how silly the album feels as a whole. I really liked the lead guitar in this, especially whenever they got a moment to just shred away on their own on songs like Teengenerate and California Sun. I'm kinda surprised with how low the global score is on this one. From what I read it seems like quite a few were from people who were not impressed with the lyrics on songs like Back to Africa and Master Race Rock. Both songs were too goofy for me to find myself offended by but I don't know how I'd feel singing the hooks to some of these songs out loud. Also, last but not least I'd like to shoutout the bands Backup Vocalist/Poster Boy/Self Described 'Secret Weapon' Handsome Dick Manatoba. He was pretty funny in the songs he was in the back of and I liked his pro wrestling style and how he cut little promos before some of the songs he was on like The Next Big Thing and Two Tub Man. I feel like these guys would be pretty cool to see live. So yeah, surprisingly awesome album. I feel like it's just on the cusp of being a 5 for me if it maybe had 1 or 2 super stand-out songs. The only one I wasn't a big fan of was Cars and Girls but while everything else is good I wouldn't say I was completely in awe with them. Great album nonetheless that deserves a bit more recognition for the goofiness on display

3.5 rounded up i think i kinda hate handsome dick manitoba but this was pretty solid tbh highlights: master race rock, (i live for) cars and girls (aug 19 2024)

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Silly early punk fun

3/4

Good old time rock and roll...fun album. Could easily have heard some of these songs in "School of Rock".

Enjoyed The Next Big Thing, Back to Africa, Weekend. Covers of I Got You Babe and California Sun.

Просто для тех времён, для нынешних это сложно

Прикольный протопанк! Понравилось

Had never heard of, but quite enjoyed this one. Definite +0.5 for the album cover as well which is excellent. The early punk vibes are strong with this one - enjoyable thrashy nonsense

Ended up listening to this about 3 times yesterday. Definitely a gem from a band I didn't know before.

You know, for being one of the first punk albums ever, Go Girl Crazy does its job very well. The instruments and rhythm were all fun and lively and the album also cut a pretty fast pace which i really like in a punk album. Granted the lyrics are really stupid throughout a majority of the album but it is a punk album so you really shouldn't expect Shakespeare like lyrics from music like this. I really don't have too much left to say about the album, Its just a fun and good one that is worthy of a 3.5 Best Song: Master Race Rock Worst Song: Two Tub Man

Divertidos.Proto-punk

Some ripping guitar playing and a wild authentic punk recklessness

I love this fun, early punk album

Nice energy from the electric guitarre.

I listened to this last night and I enjoyed it, and then I listened to it when I went to the gym today and it was alright. Then I listened to it again and it was pretty good. I feel like there is probably other stuff out there that sounds exactly like this, but it was a fun listen.

how do these guys have less than 37K monthly listeners on Spotify bc they are kindve really good.

Interesting precursor to punk. I didn't read about this album beforehand so I had no idea when it was made while I was listening. I originally thought it was early post-punk. It reminded me a little bit of The Hives, but I could be convinced that other famous bands took inspiration from this as well.

that was fun

Great! 4*

These guys are great, kind of crazy! 4 stars

Goofy, solid rock that I laughed out loud to multiple times. It's fun hearing that proto punk sound including the 70s era rock solos, they can feel very out of place, but I think that's at least partially driven by most punk drifting away from that. Listening to those solos feels like a observing an intermediate species in the path of evolution.

Great album, definitely an underrated classic.

Enjoyable, punky, short. Some fun covers.

This album was a lot of fun! Can’t believe I’ve never of this band before.

Liked this, it is simple, it is stupid, but also feels more vibrant than all the other Yank garage rock we are supposed to respect. Excellent guitars, great vibe throughout

Better than I was expecting. Fun lyrics and somewhat melodic punk.

Really enjoyed this one. It reminds me a lot of Ramones, but slowed down. I like the sassy attitude shit a lot too. They are a good time. 4/5

Liked this more than I thought I would – it has a sense of humor

Looking at some of the other reviews, I see one talking about how dumb the album cover is and others talking about how the songs are dumb. That's the point! As another reviewer said, it's just good dumb fun. Don't take it so serious. When the Ramones sing "Beat on the brat with a baseball bat", do you take that literally? Lighten up and just enjoy the stupidity. You don't actually think the guy on the cover is trying to be taken seriously, do you?! It's the same with the songs -- they're just fun. Relax and enjoy. (Another reviewer said this was a poor version of Kiss. I actually think it's the other way around.) Musically, I would probably just give this 3 stars, but given its influence and how many people seem to misunderstand the music, I'm actually rounding up to 4.

I love a satirical album as much as the next guy but I do think there is a point where you go over the top with it. It’s a lot like SNL, we get it you’re being satirical about people you don’t like, it doesn’t make you clever. And a lot like SNL I’m sure that it hit better in the 70s than it does today. Music does rock though.

Real dumb and fun new yawk proto punk.

Some depth and even politics!

Honestly, one of the funnier albums I've had on this list. Starting it off with a guy boasting about how much money he already has and how he's only doing the crowd a service by showing up is just peak comedy for a punk album. Feels like punk with just very rounded edges. The covers keep it rather interesting as well. 7/10

Can't believe I never came across this album. Absolutely awesome. Awesome guitar work. I really like how the lyrics can easily seem really offensive but if you look at the context it's all a joke.

This is my type of punk. Less screaming and more music. Really like it.

cant believe i missed this! I can see where the DNA of so much original punk came from in this album.

Surprisingly, I liked this. It was a lot of fun — especially the cover of “I Got You Babe.” I wouldn’t mind listening to this again.

Ik zie de hoes, lees de wiki en huiver. Dit gaat ongelooflijk slecht worden. Maar op het moment dat de gitaar aangeslagen wordt, klinkt het eigenlijk best goed. Die gitarist kan meer dan alleen maar 4 akkoorden zo snel mogelijk achter elkaar proppen. Het is duidelijk bijna 50 jaar oud, maar het is een soort glamrock meets Led Zeppelin meets Neil Young. Ze nemen zichzelf niet zo serieus, het is een grote schijtlolligheid, ik moet bij het 2e nummer gelijk aan Beavis & Butthead denken. Deze gasten kunnen prima spelen en er zit veel meer muzikaliteit in dan "1-2-3-4 raggen maar!". Ze zijn niet zo bekend bij het grote publiek als de Sex Pistols, de Ramones of andere glamrock protopunk bands. Waarschijnlijk omdat er afgezien van het schijtlollige het verder stiekem best braaf is. Er is niemand op een tragische manier aan zijn einde gekomen, ze hebben geen knallende ruzie gehad en ze hebben zo te zien geen heftig verleden met allerlei wazige verdovende middelen (aldus niet volgens de wiki pagina's). En onbekend maakt onbemind bij het grote publiek. Ik heb me hier kostelijk mee vermaakt. En omdat ik gelijk het ergste vreesde aan het begin, is dit een enorme positieve verrassing.

At least five times more memorable than the Led Zeppelin album I got two days ago what the hell

No sé qué le pasó después al punk, pero este disco suena bien y con un montón de matices.

Na medida a dose de punk.

Not bad but may feel better about it if I didn't wake up with a headache today.

Love this punk and glam rock crossover!

Punk before punk was even a thing.

Listened Before? No Vocal sample opener is pretty bold. Followed up by some big room rock riffs. Reminds me a bit of Iggy Pop or Twisted Sister mixed with Bowie. Gotta say I far prefer this cover of I Got You Babe over the Sonny and Cher original. Back to Africa is a jam. Sick guitar solo work through the first half with punchy drum work alongside. Seems like an obvious Beach Boys reference on (I Live For) Cars and Girls. I'm sure there is meaning or some tongue in cheek meaning there, but I've been too distracted to pay attention to lyrics. I enjoyed this album a lot. I mean first impressions were great with the quality album title and cover. Music itself was varied and quite enjoyable. This strikes me as some middle ground between punk (a la Ramones) and arena rock (a la Kiss or Twisted Sister). I would say the former influence wins out given the subject matter and production (dusty, lo-fi) with solid instrumentals and vocals to boot. This is something I wouldn't have found otherwise, but enjoyed it enough to go back to back on consecutive listens. This is a low-solid 4 / 5 for me. Added to Library? Yes

This was far more fun than I expected. Stupid in the best of all possible ways, and a gem I'd never heard of before. The Ramones probably owe them some royalties...

Wacky fun, childish humor, lot's of yelling, basically a High School party on most tracks. Categorized as Punk Rock, which is arguable, but still has more "Fuck you" than "I'm fucked" which is how I usually separate Punk from every other form of music. Anyway, lot of unexpected fun.

I think I found my new favorite version of I Got You Babe. California Sun, not so much. This was fun, full of energy, and seemed to inspire a great deal of artists.