Bill Hicks - Love Laughter & Truth

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Music reviews of Love Laughter & Truth

Music Review: missed opportunity
Rating: 2 Stars

So why two stars? This cd is a compilation of material taken from a number of shows at various points in Hicks' career that wasn't included on any of the available cds released in 1997. As such the sound quality is absolutely all over the place, going from perfect to bootleg quality (the booklet admittedly does emphasise this...but so what? It doesn't work, it just makes for a very haphazard listen); the material is arranged in a way that bears no relation to how Hicks used to fashion his shows - he always used to build up to a big finish; some of the routines are truncated, the most heinious example being the "Speaking Of Homosexuality" piece where the finishing line pointing out the hypocrisy in the attitudes he talks about is missing and completely alters the tone of the routine (I have a tape of the show the routine is originally from); there are glaring omissions that should and could have been on this cd (it is only 47 mins long) - where are the Goatboy, the It's Just A Ride, & Dick Clark pieces, to name a few? And the photographs in the booklet are rubbish - badly reproduced, no dates or locations (which can also be said about the lack of similar info on the material) etc.

Really what it boils down to is that a comedian like Hicks can't be overviewed like this in a mere 3/4hr, his act evolved tremendously over a number of years from a Sam Kinison alike in the early/mid 80's to finding his own voice in the late 80's/'90's. It would have been a far better option to have released full shows that included the unreleased material with the full production values that raised his last Arizona Bay and his Rant In E Minor cds out of the ordinary. The cd released simoultaneously with this one, "Flying Saucer Tour Vol 1" is a more satisfying release, though even that one is still problematic due to almost all the material being already widely available and having no editing or production to speak of.

I imagine that most people looking to buy this cd will already be familiar with the nature of Hicks' comedy, those that aren't should definitely look at buying the first four cds previously released by Ryko. Expectations were high for the first Hicks releases since then (bar last year's absolutely pointless compilation 'Philosophy', to which most of the above criticisms can also be levelled), and in my opinion have not been fulfilled. A missed opportunity - get your act together Ryko.

Description of Love Laughter & Truth

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