Last Train to Hicksville

 (18 customer reviews)

" A voice keeps calling to me, so loud and so clear....I'll just pretend I'm not here" Classic Dan Hicks lyrics with toe tapping post-hippie mountian swing. The group was able to steer clear of pre-disco rumblings, mainstream "western" twangy, and lost rock taint. It's a musical picture of Hogie Carmicheal with a roachclip. Hey, Skylark.

I (just to be really self-indulgent about this) first heard this group on the old Tonight Show when George Carlin was "filling in for Johnny." Not long afterward they appeared on The Flip Wilson Show. I was hooked. I bought this album on LP way back when, listened to it a lot for a while, then for some reason put it away. I'll crank it up these days, and you know what happens next - the rush of memories is almost overwhelming.Dan's voice was never all that great, but the Lickettes make up for that. His songwriting can't be faulted, though. There's a little more variety here than on their previous albums. I'm not a big fan of country music (let's face it, I can't stand it), but "Payday Blues," a real crying-in-your-beer number, is tolerable: I hear it as a parody. Everything else is even better -- an eclectic mix of jazz, swing, nostalgia, even a little bluegrass. "Sure Beats Me" is straightahead jazz, reminiscent of QHCF. Sid and John are superb...Read more

I was soooo stoked when my ex-boyfriend Joe popped this tape in my car one day. It never, ever, never ever EVER came out of there again....until we broke up (it WAS his, I'm not cruel!) And besides, I found it on Vinyl up in Portland 2 years later! Delicious, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, how can you NOT like everything this guy does? Even my grampa likes this record, and BTW I'm 24, he's 84. :)