Customer Reviews

Early Muses

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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This recording's sound quality is 5 stars! Excellently mastered from the original analog tapes. Voice of Dan only on The Innocent Bystander, Euphonius Whale and My Old Timey Baby. Listen to the finger cymbals on The Gypsy's Secret -- outstanding! But the greatest treat on this recording is the violin playing by David LaFlamme of It's a Beautiful Day fame. A must-own of any fan of Dan Hicks, or accoustic music in general.

Many of the songs you know and love appear on this CD, but without the Licketts. But you'll have fun filling in the Maryann and Naomi parts ! The sound quality is excellent, considering it's cutting room stuff from the 60's and 70's. Don't wait....order it now ! "It's never to late to be up to date".

Many of these songs appeared on Dan's classic albums and it's nice to hear the earlier, original versions. What's revelatory for me is the relative absence of Dan's sardonic remove, the hip jokester stance that he typically adopts. A number of tunes, "Shall I ask an Elf," "Euphonius Whale," "He Don't Care,"and especially "The Gypsy's Secret" are delivered in a sleepy, dreamy haze that is very evocative and very enticing. If you like the feel of "I Scare Myself," there are several pieces here that suggest that langorous, stoned, sixties sound that Dan Hicks perfected along with his nuttier, funnier jazz hipster stuff.

At the time it was the first material from the 70's that was being issued by this marvelous band. Some of the same songs from several of their regular albums but mostly this is Dan solo acoustic. What it shows you is how well written his songs are. Yes, being presented with his unique blend of band members: violin, female vocal back-up singers and then the usual guitar/bass/drums makes for some of the most highly entertaining, fun, funny and emotionally engaging music available. This album give you the stripped down versions plus some previously unreleased songs and for the DAN HICKS fan it's a goldmine. I'll admit, I don't listen to it as often as I do the rest of his 70's albums but, nonetheless, this is definitely worth owning. I've spent 33 years buying used records and building a record collection that way. This is one of maybe 4 albums I've purchased out of 1,500 or so, and 1,000 more cds, that I purchased new. Because I had to have it. And, like any DAN HICKS fan, I'm very glad I did. chrisbct@hotmail.com

I've been a fan of Dan's for 30 years and he still amazes me