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Bill Hicks
Those unfamiliar with the comic genius that is Bill Hicks will never get a chance to hear anything new from him. Unfortunately, he died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, never quite achieving the acclaim he so richly deserved. Only after his death has there been an increase in interest about the man from both big personalities (Radiohead and Tool have dedicated albums to him) and regular folk. Hicks wasn't so much a comedian as he was a social sermonist. He would lecture about the many futilities in our twisted, twisted world, about the Kennedy assasination, about US drug policies, and about Sonic the Hedgehog and Clam-lappers Volumes 1-90 (his Blockbuster video receipts showed these as his most frequent rentals). Some of his routines have seemingly been borrowed or flat-out stolen by other comedians (Denis Leary's routines about smoking are dangerously close to Bill's) but no one did them as well as Bill. Unfortunately, there has been very little available from Hicks that truly show the genius of this great loss to comedy. There's a few bootleg videos floating around of him, and a few official ones on Sacred Cow Productions and BBC Channel 4 Video. The best evidence continues to be issued by Rykodisc, who have released seven Bill Hicks CDs, two just recently.
For the uninitiated, 'Philosophy: The Best of Bill Hicks" is probably a good place to start. It's a collection of tracks from the first four Rykodisc CDs with no added material.
Bill started out rather tame if you consider his later, expletive-ridden, Lenny Bruce-like rants. 'Dangerous' was recorded in New York over several nights, and it's just dead hilarious from the onset. His takes on smoking and drugs, staying in hotels, the state of modern music (George Michael and Debbie Gibson are HUGE targets), and the like may seem dated now, but you can think of more modern equivalents and just wonder what Bill would have said. Considering the fact that the work is over 10 years old, it still holds up very well. Bill shows early on that he doesn't take his job lightly, and that wherever he goes he's takin' you with him, kicking and screaming if necessary. The CD also contains one of several classic Bill Hicks show-enders: a speech about feeding the hungry of the world so we can explore space together. It may seem corny, but coming from Bill it's practically a revelation.
'Relentless,' by far, is my favorite of the series. Some of his earlier material is here, just in a different form. His rants on smoking and drugs have new slants, and his stance on the news, his ideas for stunts in major motion pictures, and his take on the Persian Gulf War are priceless. Plus, they're just as timely today, with the son-of-the-Bush planning to take us in for what Daddy couldn't finish. 'Relentless' also features a new facet to the Bill Hicks aura: music. The last track on the album is a song called "Chicks Dig Jerks," performed by Marblehead Johnson, Hicks' band with producer/engineer/friend Kevin Booth. It's not that great a song, but the way they present it on the album—with Bill seeming to leave the comedy club at the end of the night, getting in his car, and finding the song on the radio—is classic.
Next in the series is 'Arizona Bay,' a title taken from Bill's belief (and hope) that Los Angeles will eventually be "flushed away like the turd city it is" in a major earthquake, leaving ocean-front property in Arizona. This CD was one of two completed mere months before Bill's death, and represents a major step forward. Music is present on this album more than any other, integrated into the album for segues and complete songs. Bill is in rare form, especially his analysis of the LA Riots, which he narrowly avoided to perform a few shows in London. One of my favorite bits of Bill's ever is his scathing diatribe on the Kennedy assasination: at one point he remarks that people always tell him it happened a long time ago and to let it go; Bill's response is "Okay, then don't bring up Jesus to me. I mean, as long as we're talking shelf life here." The music isn't all that great, but considering the fact that it's Bill on guitar it's a pretty good mix. The album closes with yet another classic Bill ending: his Elvis impression.
The last in the original series, 'Rant in E Minor,' is taken from Bill's final performances. It's also his most offensive material ever. Not that it's a bad thing, at all. It has less music, which is also not a bad thing, either, as it leaves more room for comedy. Bill pulls out all the stops on 'Rant' to provide a twisted view of consumer culture. COPS, Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh, artists doing commercials, pro-lifers, and religion in general take a firm bashing, as Bill lets it be known that he will tolerate NONE of it. "You do a commercial and you're off the artistic roll call, and that goes for everyone... except Willie Nelson. Twelve-million-dollar tax bill, Willie got a little looser than the rest of us. I just have to turn my head when he does Taco Bell commercials." The rendition of said commercial that follows deserves entry into the Comedy Hall of Fame. It's easy to see why so many prefer this CD, as Bill is at his most honest, like an open nerve exposed for all to poke at and examine. That alone makes for brilliant comedy, but also gives us insight into the man behind it, as well.
The two new releases are unique because of their material, but also because of their circumstances. Where Kevin Booth, Bill's best friend and producer in most everything, was involved in the first five Rykodisc CDs, he's completely missing here, as these sets were brought to life by Bill's family. Bill apparently recorded most every show he performed (standard for a lot of comedians), and those tapes belong to his family, so we are promised more unreleased Bill Hicks material. 'Love, Laughter, and Truth' is a collection of material that cannot be found on the other discs, and, most probably, any of the videos of Bill, either. It is also the shortest of all the releases, with just a little material being highlighted in its forty-five minutes. It also has terrible sound quality, something that the engineers have tried to correct in bringing the CD to light but haven't really made vast improvements on. This is one of those CDs that people will want to own so that they can have the entire collection (I bought it, and several of his videos in PAL format from foreign sources; now all I need is a multi-system VCR). Not for the casual listener, but still fantastic and better than most any comedian you'll hear nowadays.
The crown jewel in the set is the complete and (mostly) unedited Bill Hicks stand-up routine. 'Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1' is the first in a promised series of such recordings, chosen for their content, situation, and quality. The show is unedited, except for the fact that (perfectly situationally humorous) the tape ran out before the show was over. So, they cut the portion that didn't fit and added the ending from another show. This particular show was also chosen because of the audience Bill was performing for. The powers that be noticed that Bill put on better shows when the audience didn't "get" him, and that was certainly the case more than once. Bill's reaction is by turning into the pale-faced demon he used to proclaim himself and doing his absolute best to win them over. Here and there, he succeeds. But for me, it is yet again a reminder that no matter what happens the show must go on. Bill is having the most horrible show of his life (one of the tracks is actually called "Worst Audience Ever") but he still does his best. Considering that, and the fact that the show serves as an even greater reminder that he didn't ever gain popularity, it's the best of the series. You want to know why Bill was banned from David Letterman? Why Tom Waits says "he will correct your vision"? Why Dennis Miller and Brett Butler call him one of the greatest comedians ever? Finally, you will.
samples from Relentless:
 
samples from Arizona Bay:
 
