The first time I heard Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks happened back in the early seventies. From that point on, I was totally hooked, playing the life right out of his albums. Hoping that someday I'd get a chance to see them in concert. Well, here it is the twenty-first century, and I finally got the next best thing, the newly released album by Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks called, "Alive & Lickin'"(2001 Surfdog). A live performance that was recorded earlier this year, while on his 2001 U.S. Tour. This is the first live album recorded by Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks, since his "Where's The Money" album released back in 1971. I'm not a big fan of "live" recordings, there's usually too much background noise, or the artist goes off on these long drawn tangents, either way, it takes away from the music. You won't find any of that here with "Alive & Lickin'", the sound quality is sharp and clear, as if your sitting at a front table close to the stage. Any buzz from the crowd, is part of the banter and audience participation that make a Hicks concert so special. This new album is laced throughout with witty observations and the driest of humor that Hicks is so well known. The music itself, is a mix of the old favorites, "How Can I Miss You, When You Won't Go Away?"(yodel along), "I Feel Like Singin'", and new tunes like, "Wild About My Lovin'". The strength of this new album is the unique style of the music itself, which you can hear on every track. A blending of jazz with country, ragtime with doo-wop, swing with honky-tonk, and folk with blues, resulting in a smoothly delicious, toe-tapping good time. For those of you who have recently discovered Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks, I highly recommend "Alive & Lickin'", it has the best of both past and present. To all his long-time fans, this album is a "must have" for adding to your collection. This new release is so well mixed, you feel as if your right there. Until that time when do I see them live, I'm sure to wear the life out of this album too.