Bill Hicks - Relentless [1991]

Great though his audio CDs are, in order to experience the full Hicks effect, and in order to appreciate his complete mastery of the stand-up form, you have to *see* the performance. You have to witness him pace the stage during the lulls in his act, as he marshals his forces for another onslaught. Wait with the audience, breath held, for whatever happens next. Witness the passion, the power, the theatrics, the master at work.

Seeing a Bill Hicks performance is a lot like seeing a rock concert, and not just in the obvious ways. Yes there is noise, and sweat, and swearing, and sex, but more than that you will see him play many of the same tunes. The old material is at least as satisfying as the new because each time he plays it it's different. There's a new twist, new timing, new language, new emphasis. Sometimes it's better than last time you heard him play it and sometimes it's not as good, but it is always compelling to watch.

This recording is Bill at his best. A man who's time had come, a master of his craft performing that craft in front of an appreciative audience at the greatest comedy festival in the world, and loving it.

Wherever you are Bill this is how you will be remembered! Oh, and tell Yul Bryner I said 'Hi'!


Night of the little dark poet...   July 29, 2000
goliath333@hotmail.com (Where they make the sauce...)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a fantastic video and Hicks was a fantastic comedian. What he sets out to do with his comedy is to highlight and disrupt the hypocritical and bigotted views that much of the world holds as...TRUE. He skips from war to drugs to sex and to music with a dry wrath cutting away at the weeds of falsehood that have grown up around the reality...'The Elite Republican Guard.' 'Non smokers die every day.' and 'Drugs have done good things for us' are just a few of the gems that await anyone watching Relentless. Bill was a comedy genius while he lived, now he is another dead hero...making us laugh and, as equally important, making us think...Buy this video and learn like a blind man to see again...


A spiraling dive into the hard world of Bill Hicks.   July 22, 2000
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Bill Hicks takes you through his thoughts on drugs, music, and the way people behave. His views on some of these matters may offend the prudish amongst us but for the rest of us it is damn funny. You may notice a lot of gags in here that have been "borrowed" by certain US comics of the 90's 'huh-hmm' but remeber Bill was the first to grab these American ideals by the throat and give them a shake. Bill has now departed this earth but is still one of the funniest stand up's I've ever seen. A must buy it!


Surely......   September 12, 2000
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

the funniest man to have lived the second half of the 20th century. Is there anything funnier than the JFK sketch? A tragic loss.