Still Got Live Even If You Don't Want It

Originally released on cassette-only label R.O.I.R. in 1986, and originally entitled We Aren’t the World, this live document of punk progenitors the Dickies was recorded over a number of years, from 1978 to the early ‘80s. Riffing on another album title (a live Rolling Stones record, Got Live If You Want It), this later version of the release was remastered for CD, and the sound quality is, overall, surprisingly sturdy. Still Got Live offers much to be impressed by: the unadulterated energy with which the Dickies attacked each live performance, the enduring quality of their songwriting, the gutsy (at the time) interpretations of classic rock “hits,” and of course, their unwavering quirkiness. Sure, they fit right in with other early SoCal punks like the Weirdos and the Dils, but then again, they didn’t; not an easy feat. The first four tracks are the early demos with which they landed their A&M Records deal back in ’78. Raw and very primitive, the A&R folks must have been stunned by Leonard Graves Phillips’ machine-gun vocals and their gymnastic abilities, especially on what would become the beloved “You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla).”