More than 10 years after his death, Bill Hicks' brand of radical thought provoking, biting comedy has seeped into America's consciousness. Following his best selling DVD, BILL HICKS LIVE, OXFORD NOVEMBER 11, 1992 captures... more » a legendary performance at Oxford University. This 2-CD set showcases Bill Hicks at the height of his comedic powers. Nearly two hours long and unedited, Oxford is pure, raw Bill Hicks!« less
More than 10 years after his death, Bill Hicks' brand of radical thought provoking, biting comedy has seeped into America's consciousness. Following his best selling DVD, BILL HICKS LIVE, OXFORD NOVEMBER 11, 1992 captures a legendary performance at Oxford University. This 2-CD set showcases Bill Hicks at the height of his comedic powers. Nearly two hours long and unedited, Oxford is pure, raw Bill Hicks!
Kent D. Bentkowski | Buffalo, New York USA | 11/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First, earlier in 2005, we Bill Hicks fans saw a great book released earlier this year; Agent of Evolution, by long-time friend and producer Kevin Booth. Now, we see this wonderful two-disc set of Bill's complete set at Oxford November 11, 1992. Released on Rykodisc, this is a quality sounding set. Also, because it represents an entire full length unedited concert set in the UK --- it is historically important.
It is really interesting how Bill's material seems to be getting more and more pertinent to the times, as the many months had passed since his death. One would think that it would be less so, but here in America, we seem to be trapped and mired in the same issues as we were thirteen Novembers ago. There is a man named Bush in the White House, and we are at war with Iraq.
When us Bill fans get to the dreaded IF ONLY BILL WAS HERE TODAY line of thinking, we often wonder what might Bill think about our world of today? Well, Hollywood is still churning out garbage and corrupting the youth. Washington, DC is still lying to America, and the public is still believing the lies. Most of America are sleep-walking through life, which is disturbing for those of us who are awake.
This release replaces the now unnecessary SHOCK AND AWE: LIVE AT THE OXFORD PLAYHOUSE title, which was an edit of this show, which happens to be the complete performance.
Coming up in 2005: the year of Bill --- Sane Man FINALLY on DVD on December 6th!"
A good, but not great show by a brillant comedian
Jay Garcia | Central FL, United States | 01/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'll skip writing about what type of comic Bill Hicks was. You can read up on that elsewhere, besides, I couldn't do him justice.
This recording is not a five-star product, but it has nothing to do with Hicks' comedy per se. I've heard much of this material before (except the snooker/voting bit, which is brilliant), and I'm not sure where I heard it, but it was likely from his website, or possibly a bootleg. The specific performance I'm refering to was in England as well and is superior to this one for a couple reasons.
The audience in this recording doesn't really seem to be into Bill as much as the other recording. As a result, Bill seems (relatively) subdued. There's a lot less screaming, loud mocking laughter, satan-channeling and audience interaction. Those are the hallmarks of a Bill Hicks performance.
It's likely that this is the only CD on the market where you can get this material. If that is so, buy it. Just realize this isn't Bill Hicks turned up to 11."
Hilarious, poignant, and absolutely perfect!
J. Gypsy Racco | Venice, CA United States | 07/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I like to refer to Bill as the "John Lennon of comedy". It's easy to see his idealism turned upside down with repulsion toward the hypocrisy of the fanatical Christians, the insanity and lies of the government and some of the ridiculous rules of society. He truly gives us an important message presented perfectly in a comedy routine that fills up the belly with laughs! I love Bill and this cd has much of his best routines.
I wonder what he'd have to say about the current [...] regime if he were alive today.
Miss you Bill. RIP"
First and last of his kind.
CynBio | Catonsville, MD United States | 02/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's not Relentless or Rant in E-Minor or the others in the Rycodisc top 5, but it's still very, very funny. If you're a Hicks fan, this will have you doubled over, cackling like a maniac at least once every five minutes."