The arrival of the Dickies Idjit Savant in 1994 came as a surprise. After all, it had been years since the "Just Say Yes" and "Roadkill" singles, both of which did end up on the album. Another surprise was an increasing hard rockin'-ness, evidenced not just in Stan's Brian May style guitar heroics but in Leonard's almost Freddie Mercury-ish moves as well as the less frenetic tempos. The final surprise was a lack of any goofy covers. Sure the boys do Grapefruit's "Elevator (to the Brain Hotel)", the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina" and, most fascinatingly, the final Darby Crash/Pat Smear song "Golden Boys". However, these songs are not triple-time thrashings of overly-familiar standards but are instead seem chosen to place themselves where they feel they belong in pop history. An unusual record that both recalls their early work (and that of many older bands) and yet sounds like nothing else.
Of course the goofiness remains. The final single from the album, after all, was the Star Trek referencing rocker, "Male it So" backed with a live cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."
Download Make It So 7"
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Great to read your Dickies installment,I still have this 7" and think Idjit Savant is their best record,great songs...and remember when seiing 'em live for the first time(early 90's,I live in Italy,so...)I was very pleased to listen their Pretty Ballerina,beautiful song.Cheers,Roberto
ReplyDeleteI love Idjit Savant when it came out, the cooled on it for awhile now I'm just appreciating what an interesting album it really is.
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