Customer Reviews

Last Train to Hicksville

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

" 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.

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...

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. :)

First heard this music as a freshmen in college (1974) and loved it for it's quirkiness then. Then sometime in the late 80's, i found a copy of the CD in a bargin bin somewhere and bought it on the spot. Though my wife of the time couldn't stand it, my young son requested it often (he particularly liked "Euphonius Whale"). And though i've bought and sold many CD's in later years, this one will always be a keeper. "Payday Blues" is the corniest of honky tonk country, like telling a joke with a straight face, and a classic of the genre. My personal fave has always been "Sure Beats Me" which reminds me of Bob Wills with Django Rheinhart. In fact, this music has so many facets it's hard not to find something to make you smile. I read somewhere that Ricky Lee Jones guested on a later Dan Hicks album...how appropriate. Highly recommended!

This release is absolutely one of the coolest around. Sassy is a good word for the female back up singers. And, who sounds smoother than Dan Hicks? No one.

I still rank this as my very favorite. The music is so snappy & twangy and has so many layers that one hears something new and fresh each time. And of course the lyrics beg to be sung along. "Thanks, Dan!"

Really, once you're a fan, you can't overlook this album. There's too much on it that delights. More of the same vein of music that the band cranked out to perfection on 'Where's the Money' and their other 70's albums. Light hearted, fun, emotionally involving. It's gotta be a combo of the song writing and the various musicians who blend together to make this magic sound. There's not the same consistency of classic songs here but it's a lovely album nonetheless. Been listening to all their albums from the 70's since the 70's and they all age very well. chrisbct@hotmail.com

Or Spike Jones meets Asleep at the Wheel? Cowboy music for city slickers? Dan's band was a revolving door with many permutations and pretty tough to classify. The one thing you can tell is that they sure did have fun making this music. 'Last Train to Hicksville' has always been my personal favorite. It's their tightest (all things being relative--these were pretty loose folks) sounding effort with an eclectic mix of songs for all ages and the best corp of Lickettes.

dh&thl, are one of a kind. every tune is enjoyable, the next even better, play it again. their voices mellow and sonorous, instrumental arrangements are fun,but skillfully done. not a boring cut on the album. i love it. in fact my first album wore out years ago (original 1973 vinyl), and i'm replacing it, at last. the catches in the grooves, finally trashed my stylist. no worries. both the album and my turn table were shot. i'm no longer groovy...cd's now, baby!

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks only recorded four albums during their career with "Last Train To Hicksville" the final one. Their final effort shows them at their best with their classic sound blend of folk, country, jazz, blues and a dash of humour thrown in. That blend of music made for an utterly different sound that no other music group at that time was even coming close to copying. It was because of that different sound that attracted me to them and still to this day makes The Hot Licks one of my all time favorite music acts. All the elements were there in the group that lend to their success. Dan's song writing was always clever and with the "Lickettes" singing back up helped to compliment his voice. Throw in the outstanding musicianship of members like Sid Paige on violin and Jaimie Leopold on bass just mingles in well with the singing that was going on. The music on this disc also shows it wasn't from a lack of creativity that the group would split up. The songs are fresh and the lyrics as innovating as they were on the other three albums they made. The Hot Licks time together was a short one but oh what great music together they made!