The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks [Extra tracks]

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

The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks,Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks,Sony,Country-Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks [Extra tracks]

Average customer rating:

Dan is the Man
I'll split the difference
most ... almost
I Scare Myself
Fantastic sound

The Most of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Last Train to Hicksville
Where's the Money?
Return to Hicksville: The Best of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks -- The Blue Thumb Years 197
Striking It Rich
Selected Shorts

ASIN: B0000062FF
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Tracks:

How Can I Miss You
Waiting For The 103
I Scare Myself
Evening Breeze
Canned Music
Milk Shakin' Mama
Slow Movin'
Shorty Takes A Dive
The Jukie's Ball
Payday Blues
Believe
Old Time Baby
Living With A Lie
He Don't Care
By Hook Or By Crook
News From Down There

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

Customer Reviews:

Dan is the Man.......2007-06-02

If you don't know and love Dan by now, what can I say?
This cd is tons o' fun.
The old material here is slightly different from the other recordings you may already have and you will like them, trust me.
A great intro to give someone who doesn't already know these guys.
The master of swing with great backup singers and brilliant musicians.

I'll split the difference.......2006-07-01

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.

most ... almost.......2003-10-22

OK the remastering gave a bit of a sparkle to the CD - but my advice to a potential purchaser (esp. vintage fans) of this CD is - don't bother. Seek out the CDs with the original track listings. I found the bonus tracks pretty lame reworkings of the original. To me, they sound like out-takes that thankfully didn't make it onto the original recordings.
I've been a big fan of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks since first hearing them back in 1976. I have all the vinyl - and later, most of the CDs.

One star for the remastering.

I Scare Myself.......2003-06-23

I scare myself just thinking about how happy I am that I am getting this CD after all these years! This is still my favorite Dan Hicks album, although I do love "Strikin' It Rich" also. This music is so much fun. Of course it brings back early seventies "cooler than thou" memories....frye boots an'all but really it remains fresh and funny and acoustic and just damned wonderful. Reward yourself!

Fantastic sound.......2003-04-19

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.

The Canned Music: The Most of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Average customer rating:

Why mess with a good thing?

The Canned Music: The Most of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Manufacturer: Acadia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005Q6G8
Release Date: 2004-12-27

Tracks:

How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away
Waiting for the 103
I Scare Myself
Evenin' Breeze
Canned Music
Milk Shakin' Mama
Slow Movin'
Shorty Takes a Dive
Jukies' Ball
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 [#][*]

Album 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.

Customer Reviews:

Why mess with a good thing?.......2006-07-01

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