Stukas Over Disneyland

The third studio album from one of L.A.’s most original punk bands, Stukas Over Disneyland rates right up there with the much sought-after The Incredible Shrinking Dickies and Dawn of the Dickies. The early period of the band was fueled by an intense passion and originality that was rarely matched in a genre that became fairly predictable rather early on. The chaotic energy and wry humor of the first L.A. punk band to land a major record deal (back in 1978) is very much at the core of Stukas, which the Dickies began recording in 1980. Cut short when troubled band member Chuck Wagon committed suicide, the band went on hiatus, returning and finishing the recording in 1983 with a new lineup. Highlights include a frenzied cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown,” the hooky “Rosemary,” the giddily romantic “She’s a Hunchback” (“I take her to the football game/she’s my little Notre Dame”), and the lyrically adroit and hilarious, “If Stuart Could Talk,” which refers, of course, to lead singer Leonard Graves Phillips’ talking (and sage) penis. Stukas Over Disneyland is essential for any Dickies — or early punk — fan.