Last Train to Hicksville

Dan Hicks, Dan Hicks And the Hot Licks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Mca N'ville
• ASIN: B000002PD5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,224 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Country > Western Swing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dan and the crew ride the mellow train to yesterday, June 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Train to Hicksville (Audio CD)

" A voice keeps calling to me, so loud and so clear....I'll just pretend I'm not here" Classic Dan Hicks lyrics with toe tapping post-hippie mountian swing. The group was able to steer clear of pre-disco rumblings, mainstream "western" twangy, and lost rock taint. It's a musical picture of Hogie Carmicheal with a roachclip. Hey, Skylark.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You know it's good, it's good to be back., October 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Train to Hicksville (Audio CD)

I (just to be really self-indulgent about this) first heard this group on the old Tonight Show when George Carlin was "filling in for Johnny." Not long afterward they appeared on The Flip Wilson Show. I was hooked. I bought this album on LP way back when, listened to it a lot for a while, then for some reason put it away. I'll crank it up these days, and you know what happens next - the rush of memories is almost overwhelming.

Dan's voice was never all that great, but the Lickettes make up for that. His songwriting can't be faulted, though. There's a little more variety here than on their previous albums. I'm not a big fan of country music (let's face it, I can't stand it), but "Payday Blues," a real crying-in-your-beer number, is tolerable: I hear it as a parody. Everything else is even better -- an eclectic mix of jazz, swing, nostalgia, even a little bluegrass. "Sure Beats Me" is straightahead jazz, reminiscent of QHCF. Sid and John are superb instrumental soloists.

Each of the Lickettes gets her own well-deserved solo spot. Naomi sings and plays some violin. Maryann has, for me, a more appealing voice. Compare her version of "Sweetheart" with Maria Muldaur's.

The missing star is for the skimpy information in the CD packaging - you get a list of the songs and the personnel, and that's it. With the original LP you also got composer credits (they're not all by Dan), photos of each of the band members, and, on the inner sleeve, all the lyrics! The latter might come in handy with something like "`Long Come A Viper." This band could do so much, and probably should have been even more popular than they were. "In dreams I can make you my own." Ahh...the memories...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Last VW to Hicksville, June 6, 2006

By 

Super Heroine "dopechick" (The O.C., baby) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Train to Hicksville (Audio CD)

I was soooo stoked when my ex-boyfriend Joe popped this tape in my car one day. It never, ever, never ever EVER came out of there again....until we broke up (it WAS his, I'm not cruel!) And besides, I found it on Vinyl up in Portland 2 years later! Delicious, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, how can you NOT like everything this guy does? Even my grampa likes this record, and BTW I'm 24, he's 84. :)