Customer Reviews

It Happened One Bite

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As big a fan as I am of Ralph Bakshi, this "soundtrack" stands so well on it's own I don't even care that the acompanying film was never released.

I've been a big Hicks devotee since 1970, and this is easily as good as anything he has ever realeased - with or without the Licks, Lickettes or Acoustic Warriors, although there are appearances by a Lick or two.

Opening with the raucous "Cruizin", you'll soon understand the "theme" of what's ahead. I won't give anything away except to say that you need to find a photocopier to enlarge the liner notes and get the big picture from Hicks's own words. It's almost impossible to read as is.

"Garden in the Rain" and "Cloud my Sunny Mood" are instant Hicks classics, while "Vinnie Lookin' Good" and "Mama I'm an Outlaw" show how far this man can swing! "Vinnie" is one of the best cuts off ANY Hicks album. You'll love it! "Mama" goes more in the direction of, say, "I asked my Doctor" from "Last Train to Hicksville", and EVERYBODY loves that (even though it's under a minute long)!

The musicianship, as always, is stellar - loose and sure, and full of fun licks! No bad notes. No bad songs (albeit a few could be better or shorter).

If you at all appreciate the Hicks legacy, you MUST have this collection. Don't let the import price scare you off. It's worth it to own this newly re-discovered gem just in time before he releases what will probably become his most commercially successful recording to date (a disk of duets of his music with the likes of Bette Midler and Ricki Lee Jones to name just a few! ). This one is worth every penny! SPEND IT!

I spent the 70's buying used records from the local record shops and obtained all the 70's DAN HICKS and his HOT LICKS lps that way. All excellent condition. This album has some of their finest songs ever: Cruizin', Garden in the Rain, Boogaloo Jones and Cloud My Sunny Mood. The presence of these songs alone makes the album a 5 star release. The other songs from the original album are also great, just not spectacular classics like these songs are. Again, the band has their unique sound: bluegrass/smarty pants/swing/hint 'o jazz/hint 'o rock/violin/harmonizing/strongly written humous and emotional songs. I have not heard this version with the extra tracks and will purchase it as soon as I can afford to. To have bonus tracks from their 70's period is a gift given that the 70's were the prime period for this band. I can hardly wait. chrisbct@hotmail.com

I just ordered this CD, but have had the album for 20 years. I found it in a cut-out bin and it is still one of my favorites. Naomi Eisenberg is not here, but MaryAnne Price, John Girton and Sid Page are. It's a darned shame that they never released the animated film these tunes were written for. Maybe it could have been a serious rival to Fritz the Cat. The only gripe I have about the CD version is that, like the vinyl, the play list does not follow the liner notes that Dan wrote.

Whether you are a serious or casual Dan Hicks fan, this belongs in your collection. It's still the home of the happy feet.

This vinyl album was my introduction to Dan Hicks. My wife had a copy when I first met her and she loves it. Listening to it now brings back a lot of memories for me.

Sound quality is excellent and I love all the liner notes explaining the genesis of the music as a soundtrack for a Ralph Bakshi animated film (and ultimately what happened to the film). There is a whole other album's worth of bonus material on the disc: some alternate takes of the original songs and quite a bit of improvisational material done in the studio. The latter stuff is good, but it's not how I remember the album, so I give this 4.5 stars out of five. (I've split the music into two different playlists on my computer, so I can easily listen to whichever half I'm in the mood for.)

If you're a Dan Hicks fan (how could you not be?) this import CD is worth the few extra bucks it costs. There are a number of things to like about it, but the bottom line is this: you can't live the rest of your life without hearing Vinnie's Lookin'Good (I can play this song a hundred times in a row and never get tired of it!) and Crazy Cuz He Is. It isn't his best CD, but it's all relative. I've loved Dan Hicks stuff since the early 70's and this is a great addition to his more readily available works. If you're new to Dan Hicks, try this and any of his more readily available stuff. I'd especially recommend Where's the Money? and check out Sid Page's violin solo on I Scare Myself (on the Strikin it Rich album). Also, Original Recordings songs like Jukie's Ball, Evening Breeze, How Can I Miss You..., and Milk Shake Mama are beyond fantastic.

One can be a passionate fan of Dan and still not embrace this particular work. On this one, the upbeat, carefree style which is so effectively conveyed in songs like Cowboy's Dream No. 19 and You Got To Believe sounds forced. The songs about Boogaloo Jones and Vinnie might fit the corresponding characters in Bakshi's cartoon, but that's not good. True to the Bakshi method, the portrayals are just blah stereotypes of street-wise hipsters. That is a major disappointment given how Hicks is otherwise so consistent in bringing his uniquely skewed sensibility to everything he touches. And last of all, the customary ensemble precision ain't there. The music sounds under-rehearsed. Mary Ann is flat on practically everything she sings. If you are a completest who must have every recording from this edition of the band, you'll of course want IHON. All others should look elsewhere.

This CD is classic Dan Hicks (and most of the Hot Licks). The songs are short but snappy. I love "Crazy-'Cause He is", that is one of my very favorite Dan Hicks songs (and I have the whole collection). "Vinny" and "Waitin'" are other classics. The music throughout is great, and includes what must be one of the very few kazoo instrumentals in recording history. If you love Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks--get this CD, it's worth the import price.

I understand why this album didn't do very well when it was first released. It just didn't have the pizzazz that the previous ones did, but I bought it and loved it anyway. A few years ago I ripped my own CD from the vinyl that I've cherished for all these years and I rediscovered Dan's genius in these songs. Like all of his changes over the years, there are always fans who have complained that they don't like Dan's "new sound". Yeah, this was way different from the toe tappers and downright silly songs on the albums that brought him fame, but if you really listen, you will really appreciate the artistry of this album. I'm so glad to have a clean CD of this now, although the hiss and pops on the one I made from my album adds some character to it. And it finally completes my CD set of the original Dan Hicks albums, which I still have on vinyl.

Well, I LOVE this band, have since I caught the "Last Train to Hicksville" in '73, BUT............ this is the music to a movie which never got made and although I doubt it was the soundtrack that killed the project it couldn't have helped. I was eagerly anticipating something as compelling as the other fine work with which I was familiar, BUT..... this aint it.