Saturday, June 16, 2012

A Record a Week: Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks - Last Train to Hicksville


















SIDE 1.
COWBOY'S DREAM NO. 19
LONELY MADMAN
MY OLD TIME BABY
VIVANDO
SUCCESS
CHEATER DON'T WIN

SIDE 2.
PAYDAY BLUES
I ASKED MY DOCTOR
SURE BEATS ME
THE EUPHONIUS WHALE
SWEETHEART
'LONG CAME A VIPER
IT'S NOT MY TIME TO GO

This album started off sounding a lot like one of my new favourites, The Gourds. However, it swims through many styles in a seemingly random way. It goes through a sort alt-country beginning, then on to what sounds like Polynesian lounge music and in there somewhere is the slap-bass sounds of 70's disco-infused rock. All encompassing, I would refer to it as an eclectic version of an alt-folk or alt-country album.

Given the time of release (1973) and the Californian roots of the band, I suppose I can see why a folk/country act can end up sounding like this. At the heart of disco time and being from coastal California, those influences would certainly be there.

The name sounded familiar to me, but I feel like I might have just made the 'similar name' connection to Stevie Nicks (not at all the same).  Not sure where this record came from, but I imagine it would have fit in with any of my parental units' record collections. I really enjoyed the songs that were alt-country and alt-folk, but did get lost in some of the slap bass and slower songs. I'm going to look into some of their other work and see if I can find a cohesive album of that stuff.


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