ZZ Top: C/D

Listening to lots of The Top today, thanks to this thread. The second side of El Loco reminds me in more that a few places of The B-52s circa Whammy!, setting the stage for their synth-rock renaissance.

the instrumental on Tejas basically invents Calexico

dying @ "Acca Dacca"

We had a rebellious VJ on MuchMusic in Canada who said Zed Zed Top. Needless to say it didn't stick.

Mescalero is just now kicking my ass. Guitar tone for DAYS. The cover of "Tramp" is so ridiculously over the top in all the best ways.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3APxAfzxSw

http://24.media.tumblr.com/690a1b9788d2a9c5b9b388a0e0c6f46c/tumblr_n19m031Pv41qbo6leo1_1280.jpg

More early pictures here

oh my god awesome :D

Music video for "Legs" is pretty amazing. All their 80s music videos rule.

every girl crazy for a sharp dressed man

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/zz-top-nudie-suits.jpg?w=1050&h=1350

My parents saw them opening for Smith (of "Baby, It's You" fame) not long after that prom photo was taken.

proto-Pharrell giant hat action.

That "Zee Zee Top" pic is blowing my mind.

"Hey good lookin', we'll be back to pick you up later."

those giant hats are my favorite thing

amazing

Didn't know Robert Fripp was in early ZZ Top

those giant hats are my favorite thing

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, February 19, 2014 6:04 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just think, those hats could've been their wacky schtick instead of their beards.

But then, their drummer would have to change his name to Frank Hat.

Awesome pictures

Someone in Skynyrd wore one of those giant hats too, they're officially dope

ZZ Top's playing a bikerfest in my area in April. I'll probably go to their show, even if the website says their set will be immediately followed by a wet t-shirt contest on the same stage.

http://www.azbikeweek.com/events.asp?day=5

♫La Grange♫
♫Sharped Dressed Man♫
♫Gimme All Your Lovin‘♫
♫Cheap Sunglasses♫
Got Me Under Pressure♫
♫Legs♫ ♫Tush♫

What do you mean, "even if"?

Been spinning a CDR of Tres Hombres & Fandango! in the car changer this week. The live stuff on the latter owns so hard. Really wish the rest of that show had been issued.

Saw them this week, they're total pros, with a polished "the big hits, plus 3 new songs" setlist and the goofy stage moves you'd expect. They project the videos for Sharp-Dressed Man and Legs when those songs are played, and they bring out the fuzzy guitars for Legs. Kind of wish they played a couple more of their 70s jams, but overall this was a really entertaining show.

nice to hear, I'm probably gonna go see them in August.

did they do I Gotsta to Get Paid

Yeah. That plus Chartreuse and Flyin' High were the ones they did off La Futura.

Gonna borrow that Billy Gibbons pic for pics of dudes without beards who normally have beards

I'll bring it back over here when I'm done.

http://blog.chron.com/thetexican/2015/06/zz-top-to-literally-play-la-grange-in-la-grange/#22138101=0

http://www.zztop.com/2015/billy-f-gibbons-launches-solo-project-the-bfgs-album-perfectamundo-due-out-this-october/

I'm actually really excited to hear that. I won't even make the obvious joke about Eliminator being Gibbons' first solo album...oh, damn.

Yeah, I've heard bands mixing "1950s Latin" with ZZ, Zep---can imagine Gibbons' crew doing it better, or at least as well. Looking fwd to this, thanks.

so what's worth hearing that came out between Eliminator and La Futura

never listened to El Loco before, what an odd record - kinda spacey and laid back, almost gentle

Rhythmeen from '96 is worth looking into.

still rockin that clean+chorused guitar sound, tons of processed vocals, there's just a lot of space in the mix, odd rhythms

xp

Afterburner - This one isn't as fat and dry sounding production wise as Eliminator. It's kinda like Genesis when you get to Invisible Touch, synth technology is heading out of the warm old analog into colder sounding samples and way too much digital reverb. The songs are not quite as good either.

Recycler- The album title is pretty honest. The songs are a bit more bluesy. "My Head's in Mississippi" is a good tune. It's sill way too shiny production wise.

Antenna- Sounds weak, there may be a song I missed, but I didn't like it enough after a couple of listens to even bother it again.

Rhythmeen- CD length kinda kills most of their records. I'd think it would work pretty good as a 35 minute album. They get back to basics but there is still scifi in the production.

XXX- Kinda weak. Better production than Antenna

Mescalero- This one is the one I would say to check if you dug La Futura. This thing is dirty and nasty, probably one of their rawest albums. There are some good tunes on this one and again would have been better at LP length.

I feel like a single or even a double disc compilation of their RCA years (Antenna through Mescalero) could be pretty good. But I've never been able to get all the way through the albums to really know what would go on it.

OK, I actually checked the albums out on Spotify and came up with a 20-song playlist that covers just the RCA albums; here it is:

https://open.spotify.com/user/burningambulance/playlist/3yVE9fSnWQTVTUf486n4qq

1. Breakaway (from Antenna)
2. Fuzzbox Voodoo (from Antenna)
3. Girl In A T-Shirt (from Antenna)
4. PCH (from Antenna)
5. Deal Goin’ Down (from Antenna)
6. Black Fly (from Rhythmeen)
7. What’s Up With That (from Rhythmeen)
8. Vincent Price Blues (from Rhythmeen)
9. She’s Just Killing Me (from Rhythmeen)
10. Poke Chop Sandwich (from XXX)
11. Fearless Boogie (from XXX)
12. 36-22-36 (from XXX)
13. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (from XXX)
14. Belt Buckle (from XXX)
15. Two Ways To Play (from Mescalero)
16. Alley-Gator (from Mescalero)
17. Piece (from Mescalero)
18. What Would You Do (from Mescalero)
19. What It Is Kid (from Mescalero)
20. Que Lastima (from Mescalero)

while freaking out about how bad the new Danzig covers album is I started A/B'ing his versions with the originals to highlight the contrast and man, "Rough Boy" is such a beautiful record. Every aspect of it is just lovingly tailored the goal of establishing this gorgeous wistful head-rush groove. Incredible.

Danzig's version must be heard to be believed. A/B just the opening drum figures and then tell me that's not Glenn himself on the skins, there's no way a real drummer would suffer that to survive the mix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9haef8Wlcg

U dont say

tyvm for the spotify list!!

Mescalero- This one is the one I would say to check if you dug La Futura. This thing is dirty and nasty, probably one of their rawest albums.

agreed.
been playing the hell out of this in the last few weeks.

some time long long ago i briefly mixed up zz top and steely dan, and the result is that still now i can't quite shake the notion that zz are secretly boho hipster intellectuals

i can't quite shake the notion that zz are secretly boho hipster intellectuals

Reading interviews with Billy Gibbons will only make this feeling stronger.

Good interview here---wish there were a bit more music, but it's live in the studio, results mixed yet tantalizing (gotta get off my ass, check album:
http://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2015/11/26/457294147/latin-roots-billy-gibbons-adds-a-cubano-twist-to-the-blues

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/zz_top_fan_recreates_the_tres_hombres_gatefold_meal_and_then_eats_it

Bill Ham, the band's manager from their earliest days till 2006, dead at 79.

Hill said he couldn’t recall how the band got started: “It was the ’60s, man.”

The True Story of the Fake Zombies

Did anybody here know ZZ Top are putting out a live album next month? It's called Greatest Hits From Around The World, and here's the tracklisting:

1. Got Me Under Pressure – New York
2. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers – Las Vegas
3. Cheap Sunglasses – Paris
4. Waitin' For The Bus – Chicago
5. Jesus Just Left Chicago – Chicago
6. Legs – São Paulo
7. Sharp Dressed Man – Los Angeles
8. Rough Boy (with Jeff Beck) – London
9. Pincushion – Berlin
10. La Grange – Dallas
11. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide – Vancouver
12. Tube Snake Boogie – Rome
13. Gimme All Your Lovin' – Houston
14. Tush – Nashville
15. Sixteen Tons (with Jeff Beck) – London