The Dickies - The Incredible Shrinking Dickies

Originally released in 1979, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies was the debut release from California punk band The Dickies.  Now, thanks to Captain Oi! Records, it has been reissued on both CD and red vinyl, along with six bonus tracks originally released on 7-inch singles.  In just over twenty-seven minutes, with only one song over three minutes, the original album contains thirteen tracks that are largely fast-paced punk, often bringing to mind The Ramones, full of pop hooks, occasional sound effects and noises, and an almost ever-present sense of humor.  Having said that, almost every tune has some other element added that adds to the uniqueness of their sound.  Tracks like “Give It Back” and the bonus track “I’m OK You’re OK” have some ragged piano that give the songs a garage rock vibe.  “Walk Like An Egg” starts out slow and psychedelic with echoey guitars, before exploding into an all-out punk tune, and along with “Poodle Party”, which includes frontman Leonard Graves Phillips growling and barking like a dog, mixes in a bit of a fifties rock beat.  The addition of sax from the band’s multi-instrumentalist Chuck Wagon (complete with a little bit of The Champs’ “Tequila”), takes the more straight-ahead “Shadow Man” and gives it a fresh twist.  While “Waterslide” is a super catchy track that’s closer to pop punk (including what sounds like old school video game blips), “Shake & Bake” is good, straight-ahead, old-school punk and “Mental Ward” sounds like what you would expect from a song titled that.  It’s noisy, chaotic punk with an almost manic pace and sound effects that include a twisted cuckoo clock.  The rollicking instrumental “Rondo (The Midgets Revenge)” is the only track over three minutes and is a complete left turn coming across like an upbeat Prog tune.  The album also contains three covers, which is something the band has become known for over the years.  This time around they tackle Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, The Monkees’ “She” (written by Boyce and Hart), and Barry McGuire’s “Eve Of Destruction” (written by P.F. Sloan).  They’ve also had a knack for doing great covers of songs you wouldn’t necessarily think a punk band would tackle and there are three included among the bonus tracks here that are perfect examples.  “Silent Night”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence” and my absolute favorite, their take on The Banana Splits Theme, “The Tra La La Song”, which incredibly hit number seven on the UK singles charts.  The final two bonus tracks are “Hideous”, another more straight-forward, less pop, old school punk tune complemented again with piano and some solid guitar, and the mosh pit ready “Got It At The Store”.  For punk fans old and new, this is the perfect time to discover or rediscover the debut from this band that is going strong today with frontman Phillips and guitarist Stan Lee still in the band.

(Captain Oi!)