Customer Reviews

Shock & Awe: Live at Oxford Playhouse

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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".

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.

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

Bill Hicks is taking on G.Bush the First and political/social issues of the late 80's and early 90's. You might say he is mean-spirited in a kindly and folksy way. He makes fun of himself as well and his shorcomings like smoking. To my eyes, he tells the Truth, and in a hilarious fashion. I love "Saddam wants to chop Bush's head off and kick it like a can down the road, and I'm thinking Hey that's what I want.!" (paraphrased) See he pulls no punches.

Bill Hicks is hilarious and I hear no one like him today. Because of his early death in the mid 90's, he wasn't around for Bush II or the WMD War or our post 09/11 world or our first black President, and the Tea Party, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman. He would never run out of material.This is a funny, hilarious album recorded in England. It appears the English audience loved him.

If you are a Conservative, you will hate him and all that he says. That's the beauty of it. He had the guts to say this stuff and see the world in a different way than our mainstream media will ever entertain. A way many of us think of in the back of our minds but perhaps repress.

I just wish there was more of Bill Hicks.

Recorded in Oxford, England this CD is another gem showing Bill at his funniest. This has no new material, but shows how he adapted his act for different audiences and how the English react to his wit and humour. I love it that he can make you laugh and open your eyes wide to the irony in life at the same time. His political jokes are sharp and witty and his life observations are not only true, but hilarious. The jokes about the gulf war and George Bush are especially funny and pertinent taking into account modern developments. Sadly the 'Goat Boy' jokes go on a touch too long and wear a bit thin, but that's a minor fault. This isn't as caustic as Rant in E-Minor, or as fresh as Dangerous, but it is a great album regardless. Not necessarily one to share with your mum, but one to share with all your friends, family and colleagues and as many people as possible!!! Simply brilliant.

Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I'm one of those Hardcore Bill Hicks fans (see profile) & this is one of two CD's of his that I hadn't tried. If you read the other reviews of this CD, you will know that this recording is a shortened version of Bill's performance in the Oxford Playhouse (the full version being Salvation: Oxford - November 11, 1992).
It was released in 2003 in time for the second Gulf War as the 2003 war was a classic example of history repeating itself (i.e. in both 1990 and 2003 Kylie was at Number One, Bush was President and there was a war in Iraq, etc).
Although using another eloquent voice to speak out against the 2nd Gulf War is a good idea (albeit a dead one), I got the impression that this was a bit of a cash-in.

The problem is that it isn't an official release (from the Hicks' estate) and was actually just the result of a few former students cashing in their piece of Bill Hicks legacy.
Yes: the content is awesome and lacks some of the worst excesses of 'Salvation', but it is essentially a fake - the same material released solely to profit from Hicks' resurgent popularity.

Don't get me wrong - it is one of his best performances - but it seems to me to be a similar category to Denis Leary's thieving of Bill Hicks' material (e.g. No Cure for Cancer). Talented people often get stolen off and watered down by people cashing in on their efforts.

Hence I think Bill himself (judging by his 'sucking Satan's c.ck' routine on here) would tell you not to buy this CD as it is a cash-in & a wan imitation of the real thing.

If you want the real Bill Hicks, get Arizona Bay or Rant in E-Minor first. If you want a live performance, then get Salvation and Relentless or the DVD's Sane Man and Totally Bill Hicks. By all means listen to this, but save your money & get the better, longer version - it's even 6p cheaper!

P.S. As an afterthought, am I alone in hoping that Mr Hicks finally did find a woman at this concert who digged Goatboy (and wasn't just into weird poetry)?
Even now, there could be a 16/17 year old young comedian just starting his career in Oxford (born of a single mother & with a taste for porn), who one day may take over the mantle of his dad. Here's hoping...

I think that anything involving this man is Epic. And I find this product to be of no exception.

I play this for friends and they cannot believe that Hicks has been dead for a decade. This seems fresh and relevant now as ever. There is a longer version of this show but I find this the best. Sometimes editing works to pull things in focus.