Shock & Awe: Live at Oxford Playhouse

Bill Hicks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 29, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Invasion
• ASIN: B000096FOC
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,681 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hello Oxford

2. Jimmy White

3. Hooligans

4. Sniper's Nest

5. More About Smoking

6. Vote for Labour

7. Madonna's Sex Book

8. English Porno

9. Basic Instinct

10. Back to Bed America

11. Christians for the Death Penalty

12. Wrong Crowd?

13. Satan Starmaker

14. I Love Film

15. Children

16. Back in My Room

17. American Horseshit

18. I Need to Get Laid

19. On the Bright Side

20. Fuck Artists Only

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little new, but worth the effort, July 29, 2003

By 

Doc Doom "Vic" (Latveria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shock & Awe: Live at Oxford Playhouse (Audio CD)

Imported this album direct from Britain, only to find it was to be released here soon. Go figure.

That said, this live recording from late '92, is another classic Hicks performance. While it incorporates mostly material heard before on "Arizona Bay", "Relentless", and "Dangerous", there are several redeeming aspects. As always, it's fun to hear Bill try out his material on a new audience (English, no less) and with different delivery. There are a few new nuggets here, mostly regarding Madonna's "Sex" book and England (it sounds like Bill was testing the waters with his "Arizona Bay" material.

Quality wise, this album falls near the bottom. Bill's voice is audible and fairly clear. Maybe it was just this particular night, maybe it was mixed improperly, but he sounds an octave higher. Additionally, the tracks don't segue cleanly, like my player was having trouble finding the next track (and this may very well have been the case).

Slightly better than "Love, Laughter & Truth" and "Flying Saucer Tour vol. 1", not quite up to par with the others (saving "Philosophy", of course), this is still a definite comedy must-have. As always, I would recommend picking up Bill's latter two albums, "Rant in E-Minor" or "Arizona Bay" if you're new to Hicks. Cover art is probably my favorite (assuming they don't change it for its release here), though.

Chronologically, I believe this comes after "Love, Laughter, & Truth" but before "Arizona Bay".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just buy Salvation and get the entire performance, October 30, 2008

By 

ninjasuperstar (Iowa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shock & Awe: Live at Oxford Playhouse (Audio CD)

Shock and Awe is essentially an abridged version of Salvation. Shock and Awe is missing a lot of material. The only reason I can think of to buy this over Salvation is if you want the bits broken up into shorter tracks. The tracks on Salvation are a bit long. But still, you'd be missing half of the performance. Skip this one. Get Salvation.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arizona Bay NAKED, June 26, 2005

By 

epsteinsmutha "epsteinsmutha" (At the bottom of Juan Epstein's excuse note) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shock & Awe: Live at Oxford Playhouse (Audio CD)

Beatles reference out of the way. If you heard AB you know what I mean in terms of the musical segues filling out a hilarious but "rag and bone buffet" recording by someone who left us way way WAY too soon. Shock and Awe treads mainly the same ground, with a few variations. I used "Hooligans" from AB to teach diction to my students. Assuming I have a job next year, I'll use the version on Shock and Awe as it is longer and, at least to me, funnier. If you're reading this you probably already own this and if you don't own it, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? Hicks belongs in that tradition of social critics whose ranks include George Carlin, Harlan Ellison, and Dick Gregory. Eleven years after his death, it still holds up and is probably more relevant now than it was then. One more "aw come on" comparison that really do mean. Hicks is the comedic equivalent of the Velvet Underground.

Signed,
epsteinsmutha