Customer Rating: 
Summary: This is why you listen to Dan Hicks
Comment: I've been listening to Dan Hicks for 30 some years. There is a major difference between his studio-produced albums and his live albums. Whereas Hicks and his Hot Licks have great lyrics, melodies, and musicianship on every studio album, none of the studio works come close to matching the energy they bring to the stage. The other advantage to live recordings is that you get to skip the weaker songs given try-outs in the studio. I love this album and it gets heavy airplay in my various music players.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Ho-Hum Boooooorrrrrrriiiiinnnnnggggg!
Comment: Boring is a compliment. Dan is an accomplished musician but this isnot one of his finest collections. 'Nuff said. Go with his earlier stuff and forgt the live performance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Too-hasty follow-up to Beatin' the Heat
Comment: I could be wrong, but this disc seems like a hasty effort to follow up on the surprise success of Beatin' the Heat. Taken from one show, the tunes are a little uneven. Low points are How Can I Miss You (When You Won't Go Away?); Dan sounds like he's sick of doing this one, and he adds an annoying country drawl to the tune (this happens elsewhere on the album). Fans of the original recording will not be happy. Four or Five Times is done as a sing-along with some sloppy scatting, and The Buzzard Was Their Friend sounds hurried. On the plus side, the band is sweetly melodic on Cello, The Piano Has Been Drinking, and Wild About my Loving. Wild About My Loving and the Duke Ellington instrumental Caravan are the two most pleasant surprises on the album. I Feel Like Singin' and Where's the Money retain their freshness after 30 years, and Comes Love has a lovely subdued, bittersweet feel reminiscent of songs like News From Up the Street.It's hard to be objective about this release, since it comes hard on the heels of the very excellent Beatin' the Heat. Hardcore fans will buy it, of course, for the previously unrecorded tunes, but first-timers and casual fans would do better to arm themselves with Beatin' the Heat, or a classic like Where's the Money?, Last Train to Hicksville, or Strikin' It Rich.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lickin' Tongue In Cheek
Comment: Dan Hicks always gives you a good time. He's relaxed, smooth and having a good time on this great live set. The set opens with a scratchy intro like an old phonograph record that tells us the flavor is retro. The songs smoothly sway. "Where's the Money" is great jazz swing. "I Got Mine" blows soft and breezy. "Shootin' Straight" is a sweet samba. Hicks punctuates the set with his wry brand of humor. For "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away" he tells us, "This is the four billionth time I've done this one." -- And practice makes perfect! He handles a heckler with a little bathroom humor describing the cleanup that will make you chuckle when you brush your teeth! :) He has great live banter for Tom Waits' gem "The Piano Has Been Drinking." "My Cello" is Dan Hicks meets surf music. His version of "Wild About My Lovin'" polishes the beautiful melody and is a great update from Jim Kweskin's or the Lovin' Spoonful's version. Scat singing fuels "I Feel Like Singing." "Comes Love" is a great silly blues song for manic depressives. Dan has some country/western fun on "Payday Blues." "Caravan" and "Four Bathers" are jumping little tunes. "Four or Five Times" has some way silly singing. The CD ends with a jazzy bit of whimsy, "The Buzzard Was Their Friend." Susan Rabin and Annabelle Cruz add great backing vocals. My only complaint is directed to Surfdog that tracks the CD so each song introduction is with the preceding track which makes shuffle play mode irritating. But Hicks is in fine form and sure to put a smile on your face and set your toe to tapping with this fine live set. Enjoy with tongue in cheek!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The hottest Hicks of the Licks
Comment: Dan is absolutely one of the last true sixties icons still playing and recording and making jokes. The Alive And Lickin'CD is just one crown of his records. Alive and Lickin' again. He can swing through decades as hot as possible.
