Howdy one and all, I come to you with word and feedback on the latest Bill Hicks released dubbed "The Essential Collection", which starting off by mentioning that it's a 2CD/2DVD set plus an additional download of "Lo-Fi Troubadour" (a collection of unreleased music written by Hicks) the term "essential" seems pretty freakin' accurate. For those who are die hard comedy fans or fans of Hicks, getting this album is a must if not for the DVDs in the package.
For more details and to get a copy go to Amazon and fucking buy it already!
For the double CD portion of the collection, it more or less is a "best of" from previous Bill Hicks albums like "Dangerous," Relentless," "Arizona Bay," and "Rant In E-Minor." To liven things up several tracks are featured from an unreleased recording of one of his shows in San Ramon, CA. Such new tracks contain back-and-forths with audience members, his bit on hotel housekeepers (dubbed "Please Do Not Disturb,") and his proclamation that drugs have in fact done good. Now having heard all but the San Ramon show already owning all Hicks' album it was still nice to hear of a new release, however I will admit two things kinda disappointed me.
First, and this is probably relevant to any fan of any artist with albums, I would have probably had a different selection and order of tracks. Granted, I know what MY favorite versions of his jokes are on each album but whether that was arguably the best against the examples in his catalog is a tough call. I would've personally like to hear more tracks off his "Salvation" album (only two tracks made it onto the disc) which was recorded at Oxford in 1992, such as his bit on the Hooligans. Also I would've loved to hear some of his material from his HBO/BBC specials "Relentless" and "Revelations", however with the exception of "Relentless" (albeit a different performance entirely) these do not exist in audio only/album form. However I would assume beyond that reason legal entanglements possibly would've played into it not making the cut, so for those who wish to see him belt, "PLAY FROM YOUR FUCKING HEART!!!" and deliver his genius and infamous "It's Just A Ride" speech it only exists on those specials in video form.
On to the DVD sides, they pretty much feature video footage of Hicks early on along with the "Austin Bootleg Series" shot by his brother Steve at The Laff Stop between November 1991 and October 1993 (roughly five months before he would eventually die from pancreatic cancer.) Watching the early footage of Hicks, when he was just starting out as a teenager, it's quite surreal to watch knowing that for 16 years of him doing stand up he never lost that spark or the ambition to making people laugh. And also watching the footage as he progresses going from a kid (who at this point never smoked, drank or did drugs), to when he was more or less a drunk mess on stage, then to his comedic guru status towards the end was very intriguing to witness if not first hand. For those uncertain about investing the $30 for this, the DVDs alone are worth it since you have several different shows that accumulate well over three hours collectively (each set, ranging from between 15 minutes to 40 minutes from one show.) The longest set viewed is his show on Oct. 1993 at The Laff Stop because it was towards the end of his life, where he had already been diagnosed and was being treated (and had already had his recorded set from Letterman banned,) and as pointed out by Steven Hicks in the liner notes of the album (which also features words by Clive Anderson, nephew Ryan Hicks, niece Rachel, and Henry Rollins) Bill showed no signs of pain and apparently when up on stage felt none what-so-ever. To me, anyone that committed to what he loves is well worth the respect.
Also featured on the second DVD disc is the infamous film, the only one Hicks ever starred in, called "Ninja Bachelor Party." I know the title may fool you but I assure you this movie isn't serious. It follows a Robitussin addict Clarence Mumford (played by Hicks' frequent collaborator and friend Kevin Booth) who tries to over come his addiction and get his girlfriend back by becoming a ninja warrior, learning under the tutelage of Master (played by Hicks' who does the majority of the dubbed voices, as it is done in the style of a samurai/Jackie Chan movie.) The movie is reminiscent of the kinda short films you used to make with your friend's in your backyard with your dad's camera that you did for fun, and apparently after eight years of making shit up and filming this is the product. On the DVD Kevin Booth makes note that every one of their family members and friends thought it was absolutely insane yet the two of them thought it was funny as it was very slap-sticky. Really it's a fun flick to watch (only 30 minutes long) and shows a completely different side to Hicks.
Finally we come to the final piece to this bundle which is the download only copy of "Lo-Fi Troubadour" included. Although there is no disc it does come with a neat card that features on the top side the drawing of Hicks smoking that can be viewed on every one of his albums' disc labels. These are demos recorded by Hicks himself and feature him on guitar and vocals on "lo-fi" recording equipment such as a tape recorder and a four-track. Several months ago a sneak peak of this part of the album worked it's way onto the iTunes downloads as a single dubbed "The Moon Is Smiling", which if you listen to it in comparison to the final print quite a bit of cleaning up was done with the audio. A lot of it is very melodic but also very strong lyrically with such Willie Nelson/Bob Dylan-esque with such songs like "The Road Can Be Hard" and "I Never Really Cried For You." This is much of a departure from his band Marble Head Johnson which did cover a barometer of genres (examples of their work can be found on "Arizona Bay" and "Rant In E-Minor.") Had Hicks been alive and thought to release a full on music album, either under his own or Marble Head respectively I think it would've been very well received.
In short, it's awesome, worth the money, go and buy it or I'll kick your ass. See you next time, kids.
=Sketch/Ed
Additonal Links
Bill Hicks on Amazon
Bill Hicks on YouTube
Bill Hicks' banned Letterman set
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