Customer Reviews

Flying Saucer Tour, Vol. 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is everything a Bill Hicks album should be. It's not scattered or all over the place, it is a complete set in its entirety. (With the exception of the last bit, which was replaced with another one due to the tape running out. That is explained in the booklet.) "Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1" is an outstanding Bill Hicks album with great material.

Hicks wasn't your ordinary comedian. He didn't do the whole "family" bit or "relationship" bit. No, he tackled edgy and controversial topics without any fear. It's subtle, and yet very refreshing and original. His comedy and sense of humor is dark and sarcastic, but it's all executed perfectly. Bill Hicks was a great talent to admire. There was no end to his brilliant mind.

"Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1" took place in Pittsburg, PA on June 20th, 1991. He talks about drugs, the gulf war, President Bush (not G.W.), smoking, working, the news, the media, and much more.

The great thing about this album is you get to hear the whole act, with the exception of the end. You get to hear the man every step of the way, and see just how cool and calm he can be when the audience doesn't appear to "get him" in the beginning. You get to experience him gradually winning the crowd over as the time goes by without breaking a sweat. The best is when he actually interacts a bit with the crowd when he feels that they're not laughing like they should be. It's really a great thing to hear.

Although the whole album is great, my favorite tracks are "the f-word," "smoking," "trying to quit," "are you guys drug dealers?," "school days," "Beelzebozo," and "great times on drugs." All of the "vs. the audience" tracks are also hilarious.

It sounds like there will be more of these types of albums coming out. I think it's a lot better when we get to hear Bill's material in its entirety without it being out of order or all over the place. If you love Bill Hicks, pick this album up right now. Stop reading the review! Go out and buy this right now. You will not regret it. "Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1" is everything a Bill Hicks album should be, and more.

Bill Hicks: the comedian, the philosopher, the great. Not to forget very much missed.

Also known as "Beelzebozo," clown from Hell. Use him for your next kid's party!

For any Bill Hicks fan, this is a must. It is a rare treat, after several discs of compiled material, to have basically a performance in its (almost) entirety. If you have other titles of his, it is truly an insight to listen to this cd. Here is where you start finding out the depth of his material, how much he thought everything through, and where he could put individual bits. Sure, you've heard a lot of this stuff already, but not exactly the same way. You start to learn about the nuances of comedy in general, aside from his personal style and delivery. Same bit, slightly different wording and delivery, different audience reaction. Here you figure out that Bill wasn't out to get his audiences, or irritate them (although he didn't seem to mind it). He spent a lot of time on the stage in front of them, trying to get through.

You also start learning about comedy audiences. It's hard to tell whether people were bored (as another reviewer states) or angry. They weren't miked- he was. Being in a room and feeling the energy are totally different from arbitrarily hearing an audience reaction. You're only getting half of their reaction.

The amazing thing about Bill was his way of covering touchy issues by making them funny. Sure, he was frustrated about a great number of social and political ills. Making them funny is the key, and not easy to accomplish. It would seem that most American audiences do not care to think when taking in forms of entertainment, be it a movie, music, tv, or comedy. Hicks recognized that, and found ways to burrow into people's minds via humor.

This cd is a great look into a complete Hicks set; how he builds it, his ability to find setups and punchlines that no one else could, audience banter, and atypical comedy. He left us too soon.

This is basically a complete Bill Hicks performance (see liner notes for slight change in the last bit). This shows what made Bill Hicks such a genius. The audience is totally not with him at the start but as Bill gradually wins them over they come to love him by the end. Most the material here is off his first two albums. What makes this so wonderful is the improvised bits where he talks to the audience. His conversations with a guy with a cell phone is priceless. Not to mention his ongoing bit with the pysch student. Even if you have heard this material before it sounds fresh and relevant. I had to keep telling people that he was talking about the other President Bush, not the current one. Even though he comes across as cynical and bitter, you can still see where Bill had a real hope for the future. If you don't own them already, get Arizona Bay and Rant in E Minor for the material that made Bill truly stand out as a stand-up comedian/philosopher.

Bill Hicks was a tragic loss not just for comedy, but for everyone. This guy was raging, completely irreverent, and he was carrying on the work of equally irate and hilarious comics like Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison, who also passed on at a young age.

This disc is hilarious. You can clearly hear the same thread of comic rage in people like Chris Rock today, who rails against
everyone, frustrated by the sheep mentality of people who follow the norms (like government, advertising, etc.)

The highlights here are the drug rants (sampled famously by the band Tool), and interestingly, a segment on the first Gulf War, which of course shadows the second Gulf War (I like the 'elite Republican guard' bit.) Basically, what Hicks is railing against is kind of timeless, and he would be having a field day in today's America.

This disc is almost a complete live performance from Pittsburgh (summer 1991) and Hicks' interaction with the crowd is key. I'm not sure what the deal was as we can only hear one end of it, but it seems the crowd was a bit stiff and hesitant, and Hicks addresses that, berating the people, prodding them, and finally winning them over. It highlights the fact that many people just want to laugh, but it's too much to ask them to think at the same time. Highly recommended.

Bill Hicks' tragic early death in 1994 robbed the world of a unique talent. He was 32 years old and quite simply the greatest standup comedian of all time - although referring to him as "just" a comedian doesn't really do him justice.

First and foremost an acute observer and commentator on issues and individuals prominent in politics, the media and public life, Hicks was never scared to speak his mind - in fact he felt compelled to share his vision of the world with as many people as possible. Although often angry and uncompromising he possessed the ability to convert his most controversial thoughts and aggressive attacks into polemic which was simultaneously thought provoking and incredibly funny. His attitude was that if you were offended by his humour you deserved to be....

I've never grown tired of listening to his stuff and it's a shame that so little has ever seen the light of day. Despite having worked as a stand-up comedian for many years, he only released 2 albums during his lifetime ("Dangerous" and "Relentless") and these were followed in 1997 by 2 posthumous releases ("Arizona bay" and "Rant in e minor") - projects Hicks had been working on before he died, which were completed according to detailed instructions he left behind.

All four albums are brilliant and highly recommended, but not necessarily representative of what a typical Bill Hicks performance was actually like. Although they consist mainly of "live" material, they were professionally produced and carefully edited together from recordings made in front of totally appreciative audiences, in situations where he was aware when he hit the stage that the show was being taped with public consumption in mind.

Hicks was perpetually on the road and sometimes managed 300 performances in a year. He often recorded his shows and kept the tapes for his own use, and by the end of his short life had amassed a vast archive of these recordings which have been gathering dust since 1994. This cd features a show which took place in Pittsburgh PA on June 20th 1991 (it does contain a single edit which was regrettably necessary for reasons explained in the sleevenotes, but otherwise is the complete and unexpurgated 75 minute performance) and is apparently the first of many of Hicks' private tapes scheduled for release, which can only be a good thing.

During this show he waxes lyrical about smoking, the news media, drugs, Operation Desert Storm, pornography and a myriad of other subjects. If you've heard the previous albums most of the jokes and monologues will be familiar, but this one really captures the essence of what Hicks was all about and highlights his ability to improvise, deal with hecklers and interact with the audience.

Paradoxically, he was often at his best when performing in front of unappreciative or hostile crowds. Although there's plenty of laughter and applause throughout most of this show, there are also times when much of the audience seems to be either baffled, intimidated or unresponsive to his attempts to make them think as well as laugh. A third of the way into the show he tells them that they're the worst audience he has ever faced - and after that he alternately berates and encourages them (at one point promising them some toilet humour if only they'll listen to a serious point he's trying to make) until eventually he seems to win them over....

Hicks never got the recognition he deserved during his lifetime and is undoubtedly more popular now than when this recording was made. It's always a pleasant surprise to hear his sampled voice occasionally turn up on other people's records (eg Fila Brazillia's excellent "Maim that tune" features an extended segment of the routine that begins with the words: "by the way, if anybody here is in advertising or marketing....kill yourselves!"), but I wish he was still around to comment as only he could on the issues of the day, and can only imagine how incisively cynical his insights would have been about some of the evils (old and new) that have continued unabated since his death. It's a pity we never got to hear them....

I just noticed a review by someone else of this CD who claimed it was just "not funny". I've heard friends of mine say this after I've played Hicks for them too. It strikes me as odd and I think that the problem is Bill's comedy isn't your run of the mill "whats the deal with airline food" or "black people are this way and white people are this way and it's funny" type of comedy. I personally don't enjoy Hicks because he makes me gut-laugh until tears are in my eyes. What I think is Bill's true strength is coming up with comedy is that he always struck me as someone who couldn't do anything else. When I hear his CD's I don't hear someone up there who just jumps into their routine by saying "so....black people" or what have you. He seems like someone who genuinely has something to get across, and isn't just trying to be funny. He's trying to make people see. See what? I don't even think he knew what, but it was there nonetheless...

Volume One? Does this indicate there are more on the way?

We can only hope. Hicks was perhaps the most talented comedian of his generation - part Lenny Bruce, part George Carlin, part campus radical, and ultimate b.s. detector.

This Pittsburgh performance from 1991 wasn't a typical Hicks set (is there such a thing?), and you can easily sense his impatience with his staid audience that night, but he never loses complete control of the room. Hicks was always better on a bad night than most comics are on their best night.

This CD is a great addition to the Hicks collection, but perhaps wouldn't make the best introduction to him if you are new to Hicks. Try "Arizona Bay" and "Relentless" first (maybe even "Rant in E-Minor"), and add "Flying Saucer Tour Volume 1" to complete your collection, but not to start it.

Unfortunately, I discovered Bill Hicks too late and did not have the opportunity to see him perform live. This CD tries to recreate the experience as the first in a line of albums, each containing an unedited performance selected by Bill's family. At first, I was afraid that disc would just echo his others which have been compiled of various performances or edited. And as I began to listen, I heard familiar material and resigned too early to the fact that since Bill can, unfortunately, provide us with no new material, I should settle in for a rehash. Boy, was I wrong. Even if you are familiar with the material from Bill's other CDs, this CD will not disappoint. If you know some of the jokes, he uses that as a comfort zone to let you think you know where you're at before he hits you with something brilliant, new, and unexpected. He goes down familiar paths sometimes, but shows you new wonders every time and branches off into all new territory.

If you're already a fan of Bill Hicks, then this CD will definitely not disappoint. He has some trouble with the audience, which doesn't result in a shouting match, but makes for some great improv.

If you're not a fan of Bill Hicks, then there is something wrong with you. Often he has been described as a kind of preacher, which is the description I always fall back on. He rants and raves the dark truth at you, whether or not you want to hear it or not. If you don't laugh, it's because you have to sense of humor, no sense at all, or he's hitting too close to the truth. He doesn't pull punches and he makes you think and he's one of the funniest men to ever walk the planet.

You may fall into two camps with this newest Hicks release, your either a big Hicks fan, have all his bootleg stuff and will get this regardless just to hear the one joke you may not have heard anywhere else, or your the casual fan, already owned RELENTLESS for years now and don't need to hear what is mostly a recycled piece.

I'll invent a third camp which is where the premise of where this vol 1 stuff comes from. The idea is to get a whole striaght through no interuptions Hicks performance in one shot, no big cuts or little edits from other shows like previous Hicks albums were, just one big show from one source. Now before you say "big deal" lets twist it around. Lets also put Hicks in front of an audience with material that is now in a cult level that many of us know, but the audience.. not only has never heard it before, but doesn't find him all that amusing, nor do they quite fit in with Hick's tastes. Through the nearly 80 minute show (a minor cut had to be made due to a tape running out.) Hicks must pull every rabbit out of every hat hit every nail on the head and try his damndest not to get overrun by an unruly mob that he dubs his worst audience ever and make it home alive.

Part of the charm of this album is that Bill must struggle and work his way on to the graces of everyone in the audience which is what he must do when you can audibly tell that they are not to keen on Bills material. That includes some mingling, questioning even to grab at a possible joke and ah yes SCREAMING at the audience which in one scene is probably the biggest laugh.

Honestly, I have heard this disc probably 20 times and you do have a sense of being there watching a real guy, a seasoned vet go out there and struggle through a show, pulling it off without halfassing it and still finishing with some success.

Grab this disc if your a fan, the experience is what your buying here, not the jokes (oh yes there are some jokes) but as I said most of the album is a Relentless rehash, though due to the way it is presented, the material sounds better not just Hicks shooting through it. Grab that one or Dangerous first, then move into this one. It isn't as biting as Rant in E Minor, but like I said it's an experience your getting. Now all we need is volume 2.

This is an interesting one. This was actually the first Hicks CD for me so it was an interesting introduction. Though I was somewhat familiar with his (watered down) material from old Comedy Central clips. This is basically the Relentless album. It was recorded right at the same time and it really is with a few exceptions, barring the ad-lib stuff, the same album. What makes this interesting is this album has Bill try to get over on people that fully don't get him. People that you can tell are the antithesis of Bill. Some of his other albums (especially Arizona and Rant that are largely recorded in his backyard in Texas) have a crowd of "his people". They get him and understand him and are going crazy. Especially on Rant. But here you really have a guy who has to fight to entertain this crowd. Bill was great at this because he really did not care if he succeeded or not. I would recommend this as maybe your 3rd Hicks puchase. Dangerous (his first) is a safe introduction. Rant in E Minor should be your last, the kid gloves are WAY off on Rant. All in all any Hicks fan should puchase this.