Phases and Stages

Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks

For the first time since Rykodisc's 1997 mass reissue of Dangerous, Relentless, and the posthumously completed Arizona Bay and Rant in E Minor, there's more sanctioned material from the late great Austin comedian/social commentator Bill Hicks. Reason for dancing in the streets, right? Well, yes and no. Hicks' untimely death at 32 of pancreatic cancer spawned a rift between Hicks' longtime friend and producer Kevin Booth (who owns the comedian's best recordings) and his mother Mary Hicks (who controls the intellectual property). For the previous releases, Ryko had turned to Booth, but this time around, they've teamed with the Hicks family and a different set of resources, with mixed results. Love Laughter and Truth is a compilation touted as containing previously unreleased material, which is something of a misnomer, because even though it features material not on the previous Ryko discs, most rabid Hicks fans know the material from video releases. Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1, meanwhile, is the reputed first in a series of uncut live performances from the peak of Hicks' career. The latter is the greater success -- nothing more or less than a complete Bill Hicks performance. Like any truly great comic, Hicks injected new life into the same routines every night as he traveled from town to town, and it's possible to enjoy what are basically the same jokes numerous times when brought into different contexts. Given that, fans shouldn't mind hearing bits of LL&T they already have heard on the Sane Man video, right? Yes, but unfortunately, the tapes used here as source material in the absence of the Booth archives are often questionable at best. The differences in sound quality from one track to the next are enough to distract the listener and occasionally make you think you've blown a speaker. The real winners here are those who didn't like the experimental technique Hicks and Booth used on Rant and Arizona Bay. They'll be delighted with these more traditionally recorded albums.

(Flying Saucer)

(Love Laughter Truth)