The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Dan Hicks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 29, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062FF
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,053 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although the title might be questionable, this compilation of Hicks's 1969 debut Epic album, Original Recordings, with seven tracks intended for an unreleased follow-up is manna for longtime fans. The Hot Licks' eccentric combination of folk, country, and old-timey parlor music with often Zappa-esque absurd humor still sounds fresh today, perhaps because it already sounded apart from its time 30 years ago. Hicks recorded two of these tracks for last year's excellent Beatin' the Heat comeback, but Original Recordings is the one that put him on the map. It's the one college kids listened to in dorm rooms while doing whatever throughout the first half of the 1970s. It's the one that inspired Thomas Dolby to cover and score an alternative hit with "I Scare Myself." "Milk Shakin' Mama" remains one of Hicks's all-time best efforts, and, with one exception, the demos fit right in, each of them a newly discovered gem. A true hippie classic. --Bill Holdship

Product Description

Reissue of his debut Epic release, remastered from the original tapes with 7 bonus tracks, 'Payday Blues', 'You Gotta Believe', 'My Old Timey Baby', 'Living With A Lie', 'He Don't Care', 'By Hook Or By Crook' & 'News From Up The Street'. Includes extensive liner notes. 2001. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic sound, April 18, 2003

By 

kireviewer (Sunnyvale, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks (Audio CD)

I admit that I am giving this 5 stars just because of the fantastic sound quality. This is not Dan Hicks best album musically, but it sounds the best. It does contain early versions of many of his most popular songs.

Dan Hicks recorded one album for Epic records, called Original Recordings. It had 11 tracks. He also recorded a number of songs for a second album that was never released. This CD contains 9 of the 11 tracks from Original Recordings, plus 7 tracks that were meant to be released on the second album. The CD is 65 minutes long. I don't know why 2 tracks from Original Recordings were left off of this CD. I have never heard the LP version of Original Recordings, so I don't know what those 2 missing songs are like.

Original Recordings did not sell well, and Dan Hicks moved from Epic Records to Blue Thumb Records. He released a number of albums for Blue Thumb. Through the years, he redid most of the best songs on Original Recordings and put them on his new Blue Thumb albums (like Strikin' It Rich and Where's The Money).

The problem is that most of Dan Hick's CD re-issues have horrible sound. MCA bought out Blue Thumb. MCA has done very cheap CD releases of classic albums from their catalog. The sound quality is very poor. It is flat, muddled and has no dynamic range. Also, the packaging is very cheap. Only the front side of the album cover would be reproduced. The production details would be typed on the backside. I admit, that I bought my CD's (Striking It Rich, Where's the Money, Last Train to Hicksville) when they first came out. There is a possibility that MCA has improved the sound since then.

On this CD, The Most of Dan Hicks, the sound quality is excellent on the first 9 songs. It is crystal clear, with a high dynamic range. It just resonates. On the last 7 tracks, the sound quality is also very good, but there is a high end buzz that can be heard when cymbals are played or during the female vocals. But even with the buzz, the sound quality is still better than the MCA CD's.

On the first 9 tracks, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, have an even more stripped down and accoustic sound than usual. Some parts are just vocals and a guitar or violin, with no bass or drums. It still sounds great.

This album contains early versions of many of the Dan Hick's classics, such as I Scare Myself, Canned Music and News From Up The Street. I prefer the later versions of these songs, where they are a bit more amplified and more rock oriented. But, since the CD's of the later verisons of the songs have such bad sound, overall, I like this album better.

This album does contain some goofy songs in the middle, but overall, I really enjoy.

I once saw Dan Hicks play in a bar in Tucson. He had broken up the Hot Licks and was now playing in a band called Dan Hick's Accoustic Warrior, which had no female back up singers. His popularity was down. He was scheduled for 2 shows, but the second show did not sell well. They gave free tickets to those who attended the first show. I only saw the second show. Dan Hicks was so drunk that he forgot the words to a song and had to start it over. All in all, it wasn't a very good concert. But, I have seen him at verious reunions of the Hot Licks, and he has been very good.

Interesting note: David LaFlamme, from It's A Beautiful Day, was the original violin player in the Hot Licks, but left before an album was recorded. He was replaced by Sid Page, who also appeared on many other people's albums (including It's A Beautiful Day) and did the soundtracks for tons of movies.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why mess with a good thing?, June 30, 2006

By 

paul pirate (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Most of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks (Audio CD)

Yes, great to have the Epic recordings on CD along with the unissued stuff from the great lost second album, however unfinished. No, the reordering and absence of songs from the first album is inexcusable. We liked it just the way it was, y'know? Strange minds out there. It's bad grammar, baby....

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Acquainted or Re-acquainted or just ainted, February 26, 2002

By 

"swift_eddie" (Our Nation's Capital) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks (Audio CD)

A friend had several vinyl LPs of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks that he would break out at the apex of our partying days in the 70s & 80s. Then I heard excerpts from "Beatin' the Heat" which came out very recently after a long hiatus from recording. I thought, "hey, maybe they're releasing their old stuff on cds" & went searching. This is a wonderful introduction to Dan for the uninitiated, but try to lay your hands on "Strikin' It Rich" and "Beatin' the Heat"...you'll thank yourself for the effort.