Search - Dan Hicks :: Where's the Money

From the Land of Happy Feet . . .

Gary Popovich | Chesterfield, VA USA | 04/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dan Hicks enjoyed a remarkable degree of commercial success in the early `70's playing a cross-pollination of jazz, folk, and cowboy music that was decidedly non-mainstream. Think of what would happen if Lyle Lovett, Stephanne Grapelli, the Andrews Sisters, and Roy Rogers had decided to form a band, and that may give you an idea of what Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks were about - or, as Hicks puts it, "Hey, I don't have to describe my style. That's for a guy trying to get a job somewhere, and I'm not looking for a job." This live recording was the first that featured the best-known evolution of his Hot Licks (violinist/mandolin player Sid Page, bassist Jamie Leopold, and "Lickettes" Maryann Price and Naomi Ruth Eisenberg - guitarist John Girton would join up later), and remains an eclectic masterpiece today (The title cut wound up concluding a recent "Sopranos" episode). The musicianship is marvelous, the energy level infectious - and Hicks' deadpan patter between numbers is priceless (Sample - "This song is about - well, it's about three minutes long." Well, it's funny when HE says it). My personal favorites include the moody, mysterious "News From Up the Street", "Dig a Little Deeper" and the hilariously non-PC "Is This my Happy Home?" But the whole CD is a hoot - and if you aren't tapping your feet to this, you are either dead or a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir."

ONE OF THE FORGOTTEN GREAT LIVE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

s.ferber | New York, NY United States | 01/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The question often pops up, during bull sessions amongst fans of popular music: "What's the greatest live album of all time?" And the answers that invariably pop up are the Allman Brothers' "Live at the Fillmore" and the Grateful Dead's "Live/Dead" album; and then someone will chime in with "Frampton Comes Alive," and somebody else will opine that his/her fave is the Woodstock soundtrack, and so on. Then things will heat up, as Grand Funk's "Live Album," Hendrix' "Band of Gypsys" and the Jefferson Airplane's "Bless Its Pointed Little Head" are thrown into the mix. (And I happen to love that first Hot Tuna album; the live acoustic one.) Not cited too often, however, is "Where's the Money," Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks' marvelous live album from 1971. And yet, this wonderful disc is at least as good as any of the others, and contains 12 perfect tunes that are each little gems of songwriting and performance. What an incredible show this must have been to sit through! Recorded at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in February 1971, the energy of each of these peppy tunes is quite infectious.
I've always had a difficult time describing Hicks' music to people who are unfamiliar with it. It's not rock, not blues and not folk. There ARE elements of country and swing in it, though, and the tight harmonies by backup singers Maryann Price and Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (aka the Lickettes) will indeed remind some of the Andrews Sisters and other swing singers of the 1940s. The music is toe-tappingly irresistible, and contains invariably witty lyrics. I've seen Dan Hicks several times in concert, but have never seen a show that compares with the one recorded for posterity here (although he is still wonderful to see live). And nobody, but nobody, offers such hilarious between-songs patter as Hicks, as amply evidenced at this show.
As I mentioned, each of the 12 tunes on display here are little gems. The band is as tight as can be, and consists of acoustic guitar, violin, stand-up bass, mandolin and some percussion shakers. You wouldn't think such an outfit could swing and boogy with such, but man, do these guys ever! One of my favorite tunes on the album is "News From Up the Street," a moody and quite beautiful piece of music. "Traffic Jam" will certainly appeal to anyone who's ever been stuck in--well, you know--and "Hook or by Crook" will have your foot tapping a mile a minute. "Reelin' Down" will stick in your head for days, and "Caught in the Rain" features some really lovely backup by those Lickettes. I can't say enough about this wonderful album, actually. I have owned the vinyl copy ever since it first came out over 30 years ago, and play it three or four times a year with renewed appreciation of its many fine qualities. Each time I give this album a blast, I am blown away by how remarkable a concert this must have been. This really IS one of the forgotten great live albums of all time. Trust me on this one!"

Incredibly Tight, Energetic Acoustic Jazz Live CD

s.ferber | 12/11/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD recorded live at the troubador in Los Angeles is an incredibly fun album. Recorded at the band's peak, the harmonies and precision of the playing are studio quality. Excellent sound. This is the original swing/jazz filtered through Dan Hicks weird sensibility. Deserves to be popular with all of the recent converts to swing and jive music. One of the best (or the best) live recordings that I know of, and great fun that will leave you smiling."