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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fevered Egos - Bill Hicks | |||
| 2. I m Talking To The Women Here - Bill Hicks | |||
| 3. My Favorite New Kid - Bill Hicks | |||
| 4. Marketing & Advertising - Bill Hicks | |||
| 5. Artistic Roll Call - Bill Hicks | |||
See all 28 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Drugs Have Done Good Things | |||
| 2. Rockers Against Drugs Suck | |||
| 3. We Live In A World | |||
| 4. Drugs Have Done Good Things Part 2 (Previously Unreleased) | |||
| 5. Ding Dong | |||
|
See all 22 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 3 | |||
| 1. DVD: The Early Years: Stand Up. Includes Houston, TX 1981, Houston, TX 1984, Indianapolis, IN 1985, Houston, TX 1986, The Early Years TV Interview (Previously Unreleased). | |||
| 2. DVD: The Outlaw Comics. Includes The Outlaw Comics Performance, and the Origins Of The Outlaw Comics (Previously Unreleased). | |||
| 3. Photo Gallery | |||
| Disc: 4 | |||
| 1. DVD: Ninja Bachelor Party | |||
| 2. DVD: About Ninja Bachelor Party | |||
| 3. DVD: Austin Bootleg Series. Includes November '91, December '92, June '93, & October '93 (Previously Unreleased). | |||
| 4. DVD: About The Austin Bootleg Series | |||
Editorial Reviews
Bill Hicks' extraordinary social commentary is as fresh and stunning today as it was in the 80's and 90's. He confronted mainstream beliefs and hypocrisy. Bill often engaged his audiences, encouraging them to travel with him and evolve. He described himself as "Chomsky with dick jokes." Hicks' career was short in span but powerful in impact. His rigorous touring schedule from the early 80's into the early 90's often tallied over 300 nights performing per year. Hicks appeared on Late Night with David Letterman eleven times during his career.
The Essential Collection is a 4 disc set (2 CD / 2 DVD) that encompasses Bill Hicks short but powerful career as a satirist, social critic and stand-up comedian. The 2 DVD discs feature over five hours of performance footage from Bill Hicks personal archives. The video content includes rare, never before seen performance footage of Bill from the early 80 s. Also included is the cult short film, NINJA BACHELOR PARTY (starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth and David Johndrow), interview footage with Bill, and a DVD photo gallery with pictures from Bill s personal archives. The 2 CD discs feature over two hours of Bill s best stand up material. Included are never before released performance pieces by Bill from a San Ramon, CA performance that was found in Bill s archives. The package also features liner notes from Henry Rollins, noted UK author Paul Outhwaite and UK journalist/tv personality, Clive Anderson. Also included in the package is a download card containing 11 original song recordings by Bill entitled, Lo-Fi Troubadour.
The Essential Collection is a 4 disc set (2 CD / 2 DVD) that encompasses Bill Hicks short but powerful career as a satirist, social critic and stand-up comedian. The 2 DVD discs feature over five hours of performance footage from Bill Hicks personal archives. The video content includes rare, never before seen performance footage of Bill from the early 80 s. Also included is the cult short film, NINJA BACHELOR PARTY (starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth and David Johndrow), interview footage with Bill, and a DVD photo gallery with pictures from Bill s personal archives. The 2 CD discs feature over two hours of Bill s best stand up material. Included are never before released performance pieces by Bill from a San Ramon, CA performance that was found in Bill s archives. The package also features liner notes from Henry Rollins, noted UK author Paul Outhwaite and UK journalist/tv personality, Clive Anderson. Also included in the package is a download card containing 11 original song recordings by Bill entitled, Lo-Fi Troubadour.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By it's me!
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This set has 4 discs.
2 discs of audio, and more importantly 2 DVD's.
The 2 audio discs are culled from all of Bill's previous releases, with
a handful of tracks from a previously unheard tape.
Bill's material is brilliant, however it could have used some clever editing.
It seems like someone just made a 2-disc compilation at random.
These 2 audio discs are beside the point. Consider the 2 discs as extra's.
Now....
The 2 DVD's are something I've been waiting many years to see.
These are an absolute goldmine.
I'm still absorbing all that is here. It's a lot of performance footage.
First, we have a full 1981 performance from Houston.
It's amazing that this footage exists at all.
All of Bill's releases are from 1989 to 1993, so it's
nice to get some balance to these early years.
Then there's a long set from 1985. Maybe my favorite.
Bill does an amazing Tom Waits impression....I have
read that Tom Waits is a fan, so I imagine him
getting a real kick out of hearing Bill talk about him.
This is followed by more Houston performances from 1986.
Bill seems dark and weary. There is also a long poolside
interview with Bill on some of the details of the
Houston Outlaw Comics.
THEN, my friends...we have NINJA BACHELOR PARTY in excellent quality!
The audio is perfect. The video is great. The Karate action preserved.
I've had this on dubbed VHS for years, glad to have it in DVD quality.
NINJA BACHELOR PARTY is the Citizen Kane of Ninja Bachelor Party movies.
A sweeping epic. In the DVD notes, Kevin Booth mentions a future expanded
NBP release. Thank Allah! Since there is an excellent promo for the film,
tons of outtakes, a sequel that involves tennis...Can't wait.
...and we still have 4 long clips from 1991-1993 performances in Austin.
All of them filmed by Bill's brother, Steve, at the Laff Stop
where Sane Man was filmed.
I am thrilled to see these. Although they aren't full performances, they
are mostly focused on material Bill didn't use on the albums.
We finally get to see a great Elvis & Charlie Hodge routine.
I really hope there is some viable way for these full performances to
be released some day. It's hand-held camera footage. I prefer it
over expensive fixed-cam for some reason. Anyone with me on that?
you also get access to a download of an album of Bill's music,
via a cool card and the Bill HIcks website..
Here's a side of Bill we haven't heard. If you know his Arizona Bay
music, or his Marblehead Johnson music - this is different.
It's some gorgeous music. I have only had time to sample it, but
"The Moon is Smiling" will really get you all flipped inside out.
Buy this set. It's full of rare archival video.
The sales may encourage more video releases.
Please, bring on more audio and video recordings.
2 discs of audio, and more importantly 2 DVD's.
The 2 audio discs are culled from all of Bill's previous releases, with
a handful of tracks from a previously unheard tape.
Bill's material is brilliant, however it could have used some clever editing.
It seems like someone just made a 2-disc compilation at random.
These 2 audio discs are beside the point. Consider the 2 discs as extra's.
Now....
The 2 DVD's are something I've been waiting many years to see.
These are an absolute goldmine.
I'm still absorbing all that is here. It's a lot of performance footage.
First, we have a full 1981 performance from Houston.
It's amazing that this footage exists at all.
All of Bill's releases are from 1989 to 1993, so it's
nice to get some balance to these early years.
Then there's a long set from 1985. Maybe my favorite.
Bill does an amazing Tom Waits impression....I have
read that Tom Waits is a fan, so I imagine him
getting a real kick out of hearing Bill talk about him.
This is followed by more Houston performances from 1986.
Bill seems dark and weary. There is also a long poolside
interview with Bill on some of the details of the
Houston Outlaw Comics.
THEN, my friends...we have NINJA BACHELOR PARTY in excellent quality!
The audio is perfect. The video is great. The Karate action preserved.
I've had this on dubbed VHS for years, glad to have it in DVD quality.
NINJA BACHELOR PARTY is the Citizen Kane of Ninja Bachelor Party movies.
A sweeping epic. In the DVD notes, Kevin Booth mentions a future expanded
NBP release. Thank Allah! Since there is an excellent promo for the film,
tons of outtakes, a sequel that involves tennis...Can't wait.
...and we still have 4 long clips from 1991-1993 performances in Austin.
All of them filmed by Bill's brother, Steve, at the Laff Stop
where Sane Man was filmed.
I am thrilled to see these. Although they aren't full performances, they
are mostly focused on material Bill didn't use on the albums.
We finally get to see a great Elvis & Charlie Hodge routine.
I really hope there is some viable way for these full performances to
be released some day. It's hand-held camera footage. I prefer it
over expensive fixed-cam for some reason. Anyone with me on that?
you also get access to a download of an album of Bill's music,
via a cool card and the Bill HIcks website..
Here's a side of Bill we haven't heard. If you know his Arizona Bay
music, or his Marblehead Johnson music - this is different.
It's some gorgeous music. I have only had time to sample it, but
"The Moon is Smiling" will really get you all flipped inside out.
Buy this set. It's full of rare archival video.
The sales may encourage more video releases.
Please, bring on more audio and video recordings.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Magic Lemur
Format:Audio CD
Artists who die prematurely & who have enduring fame (e.g. Bruce Lee & James Dean) tend to be followed by a spate of amazing material that seals their legacy. This is very much true of Bill Hicks as his posthumourous material IS what made him famous (with the sobriquet 'the funniest dead guy in the world').
Regrettably these releases can dilute the legacy & each subsequent release has less & less of the good, new stuff to go on. This has happened a little with Bill Hicks, as is evident by the CD release: Shock & Awe (which is the same material as Salvation, though admittedly it wasn't an official release).
So, is this a great collection or more of the same?
Well, it's a mixture. Essentially the further you progress through the collection, the better it gets, as the CD's are poor, but the MP3's are priceless.
***
From the beginning then - the CD's. Both CD's lack any form of structure and are a lazy mixture of the best material from all his other CD's. Those who've heard Philosophy: The Best of Bill Hicks will recognise most of the material, and all that seems to have been done here is to blend unreleased tracks that are mostly worse versions of already released routines (e.g. 'Elvis', 'Beelzebozo' and 'Drugs have done good things').
There are 5 truly unreleased tracks (of 50 on both CD's), but these are either very short (e.g. 'Audience member/ Dental Assistant') or familiar (e.g. Handguns UK vs USA).
To be fair, there is some content from the excellent Love, Laughter and Truth, but a lot of potential good stuff (e.g. 'Australia' and 'Family Trip') is absent.
Scraping the barrel? With the CD's, sadly Yes.
Watching the DVD's makes you feel you haven't wasted your money.
On the first, there are 5 early routines (1982-1986) showing whole shows of copious unfamiliar material, and later routines in embryonic form. The best routine (IMHO) is the 3rd one (Indianapolis), where Bill is dressed like some English country yokel (with Farmer's flatcap on) and appears eerily mellow in his delivery (I wonder why...!)
Also on this DVD is a routine of Bill compering an 'Outlaws' gig and then an interview with him about the 'Outlaw Comics' of Houston (including an interesting Jackanory-song about them).
Lastly, there is a gallery of photos and 'Outlaws' posters.
And this is just one DVD!
DVD 2 has the entire B-movie Ninja Bachelor Party. Like the Outlaws section, this includes notes on each bit of the DVD, with Kevin Booth writing about 'Ninja Bachelor Party' and his elder brother (Steve Hicks) writing about the Austin performances.
Ninja Bachelor Party is good, consisting of a grainy filmed pastiche of Kung Fu cliche (i.e. Bullied-kid-learns-karate-&-beats-bully).
Bill himself takes the role of the Guru / Bruce Lee figure (Dr Death), which must have proven an interesting Alter-ego!
Second on DVD 2, there are 4 more bootleg performances (with more notes), but this time they are all from Austin, Texas and towards the end of his career (1991-1993).
The first thing you may notice about these is that Bill is far better as a comedian in these performances than in the early ones - his confidence is immense, he seems more at ease and he seems really on top of his material, with not a second of it wasted.
The other thing is that there is new material (e.g. a long routine about Elvis' assistant who brought his 'cigars & water' and a truly hilarious extended piece about 'Pro-Life Pictionary').
Although some of the material repeats stuff on the CD's and the shows overlap, it is worth persevering to see previously unreleased video versions of much of his best material (e.g. 'Hooligans', 'Pussywhipped Satan' and a whole load of material from Rant in E Minor and Arizona Bay)
Both DVD's don't disappoint in the sheer volume & quality of material.
But the best part (which will be totally unfamiliar to all but the most zealously die-hard fans) is the MP3 album 'Lo-Fi Troubadour'.
Not only does this album contain NO material that has been previously released (except 'Moon is Smiling'), it also introduces you to a totally new side of Bill: the soulful musician.
Big-time fans might be familiar with Bill's guitar playing (on 'Arizona Bay', 'Rant in E-Minor' and may even recall the song 'Chicks dig Jerks' (off Relentless (CD)). These, however will ill-prepare you for the awe-inspiring beauty of songs like 'She's a Woman' or the trippy (soon to be classic) 'Moon Is Smiling'.
Most moving of all was track 10 ('I Never Really Cried for You'), which seems to be about Bill's ex Girlfriend and first love (subject of his routine 'I'm not Bitter') & the sheer pain wrought in the song is palpable.
So touching & poignant were the songs that I felt like the guy out of that 'taste that bring you back' advert. It was like the songs took you back to 1990 & you were there in the studio with him!
I thoroughly recommend tracks 2, 6, 8, 9 & 10, all of which display an untapped ability in an already famed comedian.
***
Overall then, I would recommend this collection, but only for the DVD's and MP3's. There are some liner notes & a small poster with it but, aside from Clive Anderson's memorable comments about Bill's thirst for comedic knowledge, they are fairly standard.
Do buy this collection, especially if you are new to Bill, but also buy Philosophy and Totally [DVD] (if you haven't already) and prepare to be amazed by the World's greatest comedian, but also one of it's least saluted musicians...
P.S. Oh, and for the fanboys: if you haven't seen it, you really should watch American - The Bill Hicks Story - a truly underrated film (released on Amazon.co.uk (Region 2) but not yet in USA (see comments)).
Regrettably these releases can dilute the legacy & each subsequent release has less & less of the good, new stuff to go on. This has happened a little with Bill Hicks, as is evident by the CD release: Shock & Awe (which is the same material as Salvation, though admittedly it wasn't an official release).
So, is this a great collection or more of the same?
Well, it's a mixture. Essentially the further you progress through the collection, the better it gets, as the CD's are poor, but the MP3's are priceless.
***
From the beginning then - the CD's. Both CD's lack any form of structure and are a lazy mixture of the best material from all his other CD's. Those who've heard Philosophy: The Best of Bill Hicks will recognise most of the material, and all that seems to have been done here is to blend unreleased tracks that are mostly worse versions of already released routines (e.g. 'Elvis', 'Beelzebozo' and 'Drugs have done good things').
There are 5 truly unreleased tracks (of 50 on both CD's), but these are either very short (e.g. 'Audience member/ Dental Assistant') or familiar (e.g. Handguns UK vs USA).
To be fair, there is some content from the excellent Love, Laughter and Truth, but a lot of potential good stuff (e.g. 'Australia' and 'Family Trip') is absent.
Scraping the barrel? With the CD's, sadly Yes.
Watching the DVD's makes you feel you haven't wasted your money.
On the first, there are 5 early routines (1982-1986) showing whole shows of copious unfamiliar material, and later routines in embryonic form. The best routine (IMHO) is the 3rd one (Indianapolis), where Bill is dressed like some English country yokel (with Farmer's flatcap on) and appears eerily mellow in his delivery (I wonder why...!)
Also on this DVD is a routine of Bill compering an 'Outlaws' gig and then an interview with him about the 'Outlaw Comics' of Houston (including an interesting Jackanory-song about them).
Lastly, there is a gallery of photos and 'Outlaws' posters.
And this is just one DVD!
DVD 2 has the entire B-movie Ninja Bachelor Party. Like the Outlaws section, this includes notes on each bit of the DVD, with Kevin Booth writing about 'Ninja Bachelor Party' and his elder brother (Steve Hicks) writing about the Austin performances.
Ninja Bachelor Party is good, consisting of a grainy filmed pastiche of Kung Fu cliche (i.e. Bullied-kid-learns-karate-&-beats-bully).
Bill himself takes the role of the Guru / Bruce Lee figure (Dr Death), which must have proven an interesting Alter-ego!
Second on DVD 2, there are 4 more bootleg performances (with more notes), but this time they are all from Austin, Texas and towards the end of his career (1991-1993).
The first thing you may notice about these is that Bill is far better as a comedian in these performances than in the early ones - his confidence is immense, he seems more at ease and he seems really on top of his material, with not a second of it wasted.
The other thing is that there is new material (e.g. a long routine about Elvis' assistant who brought his 'cigars & water' and a truly hilarious extended piece about 'Pro-Life Pictionary').
Although some of the material repeats stuff on the CD's and the shows overlap, it is worth persevering to see previously unreleased video versions of much of his best material (e.g. 'Hooligans', 'Pussywhipped Satan' and a whole load of material from Rant in E Minor and Arizona Bay)
Both DVD's don't disappoint in the sheer volume & quality of material.
But the best part (which will be totally unfamiliar to all but the most zealously die-hard fans) is the MP3 album 'Lo-Fi Troubadour'.
Not only does this album contain NO material that has been previously released (except 'Moon is Smiling'), it also introduces you to a totally new side of Bill: the soulful musician.
Big-time fans might be familiar with Bill's guitar playing (on 'Arizona Bay', 'Rant in E-Minor' and may even recall the song 'Chicks dig Jerks' (off Relentless (CD)). These, however will ill-prepare you for the awe-inspiring beauty of songs like 'She's a Woman' or the trippy (soon to be classic) 'Moon Is Smiling'.
Most moving of all was track 10 ('I Never Really Cried for You'), which seems to be about Bill's ex Girlfriend and first love (subject of his routine 'I'm not Bitter') & the sheer pain wrought in the song is palpable.
So touching & poignant were the songs that I felt like the guy out of that 'taste that bring you back' advert. It was like the songs took you back to 1990 & you were there in the studio with him!
I thoroughly recommend tracks 2, 6, 8, 9 & 10, all of which display an untapped ability in an already famed comedian.
***
Overall then, I would recommend this collection, but only for the DVD's and MP3's. There are some liner notes & a small poster with it but, aside from Clive Anderson's memorable comments about Bill's thirst for comedic knowledge, they are fairly standard.
Do buy this collection, especially if you are new to Bill, but also buy Philosophy and Totally [DVD] (if you haven't already) and prepare to be amazed by the World's greatest comedian, but also one of it's least saluted musicians...
P.S. Oh, and for the fanboys: if you haven't seen it, you really should watch American - The Bill Hicks Story - a truly underrated film (released on Amazon.co.uk (Region 2) but not yet in USA (see comments)).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By J-Dubs
Format:Audio CD
I have been a Bill Hicks fan for years and was excited when i heard this "essential collection" was coming out.
The first two cds are somewhat of a "Best of" collection with a lot of his old material re-packaged but there are a few unreleased tracks on there. The main point of this set is the DVDs. Us longtime Hicks fans love finding unreleased footage of Hicks even if we know the lines by heart. Whats interesting is you get you see a very young Hicks whos about 19 or 20 getting his feet wet starting his stand up career. Over the course of the DVDs you see his act progress from regular stand up comedian to the funny social critic he would later become.
The DVD also includes Kevin Booths silly short film Ninja Bachelor Party, and while the film is low budget and silly the picture quality on the DVD is much better than the majority of Ninja Bachelor Party bootlegs out there.
All in all i give it four stars as its not perfect, but if you love Hicks and his work its refreshing to see more footage of the legendary comedian.
Word of advice=
If you are new to Bill Hicks you probably dont want to start with this collection, you should first pick up the DVD "Bill Hicks Live-Satirist, Social Critic, Stand Up Comedian".
Or if you want to get a good CD of his pick up "Philosophy" or "Rant in E Minor"
The first two cds are somewhat of a "Best of" collection with a lot of his old material re-packaged but there are a few unreleased tracks on there. The main point of this set is the DVDs. Us longtime Hicks fans love finding unreleased footage of Hicks even if we know the lines by heart. Whats interesting is you get you see a very young Hicks whos about 19 or 20 getting his feet wet starting his stand up career. Over the course of the DVDs you see his act progress from regular stand up comedian to the funny social critic he would later become.
The DVD also includes Kevin Booths silly short film Ninja Bachelor Party, and while the film is low budget and silly the picture quality on the DVD is much better than the majority of Ninja Bachelor Party bootlegs out there.
All in all i give it four stars as its not perfect, but if you love Hicks and his work its refreshing to see more footage of the legendary comedian.
Word of advice=
If you are new to Bill Hicks you probably dont want to start with this collection, you should first pick up the DVD "Bill Hicks Live-Satirist, Social Critic, Stand Up Comedian".
Or if you want to get a good CD of his pick up "Philosophy" or "Rant in E Minor"
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible
I really really don't find it funny to talk about "hunt and kill billy ray cyrus" . The graphic description of chasing him down and shoving a shotgun down his throat and pulling... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Stevo
5.0 out of 5 stars
very good
This was very good purchase. I would would recommend to anyone who is interested in comedy and/or standup comedy shows.
Published 2 months ago by Brandon Ruloff
5.0 out of 5 stars
But I'm frustrated because I can't download the songs!
Be warned: 2 cd's & 2 dvd's!! (I wish I would've read that more carefully!)
I got this product because I really like the song 'Hey Mama' but you have to download it... Read more
I got this product because I really like the song 'Hey Mama' but you have to download it... Read more
Published 6 months ago by kathleen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Bill Hicks Package - Support the Legacy of Bill Hicks
Listen up!! This an essential Bill Hicks item. American doesn't have public figures like Bill Hicks anymore. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Guam Reggae
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great snapshot
Bill has left an amazing legacy that we must continue. I have everything of Bill's to date but this is still an excellent snapshot of an incredible career and is ideal for someone... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Willow
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very intimate look at one of comedy's unsung heroes.
A very intimate look at one of comedy's unsung heroes. Ninja Bachelor party reminds me of my day trippin' on acid in the Faulkner dorms. Read more
Published on February 19, 2011 by miamigroove
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection, for both the casual fans and die-hard completists
I've been a fan of Bill Hicks ever since I saw him on TV back around 1990, when there was also so shortage of stand-up shows on cable. Read more
Published on January 21, 2011 by Bill M.
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Bill is good
This is wonderful. Though the cds are basically Philosophy expanded, the new edits are enlightewning and usually better.
The DVDs are the real gem.
The DVDs are the real gem.
Published on January 18, 2011 by D. Tracy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bill Hicks
I just watched the most recent documentary made about Bill Hicks and I continue to be so impressed by his genius as a comedian and I don't use that word lightly. Read more
Published on October 18, 2010 by KatieKay
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have for Bill Hicks completists
If you're like me, you've owned the initial four Ryko releases for years and hesitate to purchase any "best of" compilation because you already have everything on it. Read more
Published on October 13, 2010 by gonzoriffic
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