ZZ Top: C/D

Man, another reason to hate Amazon. I've actually had the 10xCD Complete Studio Albums in a wish list for months now, waiting for a slow week to pick it up. It had been $30 for months, including yesterday morning. Now it's $50. I mean, still a bargain, but god it feels ghoulish to spike like that for this reason.

Yeah, Dusty played keys on Tejas. On the OGWT clip Frank is just hitting a syndrum type thing for the "pew! pew!" sounds. But there's no pedals on the stage in front of Billy. (Something I also noticed when I saw them in 2019, stage was spartan.) There's some techno trickery going on in those keyboard sounds, but I'm not quite sure what.

I watched this rig rundown video (featuring Elwood Francis, who's going to be playing bass on the upcoming tour dates) a few years ago; it's from 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x_kg6pOvGU

On that "Cheap Sunglasses" there's def. something playing some ... passing chords? I don't know the right terminology, something beneath Billy's solo. You can hear it around 4:55 or so. At least with Frank you can def. see him hit the Synare.

It's awesome that Elwood Francis has a beard. Or at least he does here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6kDtG8Q5kk

ZZ Top on the Mt. Rushmore of bands to listen to while shooting pool.

who else you got?

Thin Lizzy and two of Stones/Faces/Tom Petty.

70’s Bob Seger

or Skynyrd (pre crash obv do i even need to say it)

<3

yah nice choices. id prob go zz / acdc / little feat / allman bros

ok hmm yeah i need to lay it out

zz top / thin lizzy / stones / skynyrd

sorry bob, ya got bumped
faces & allman brothers are good calls tho

As shared by Elvis Telecom elsewhere, from a few years back. Amazing tales:

https://www.loudersound.com/features/fly-on-the-wall-29-may-1976-zz-top-take-texas-on-the-road

Let's not forget ZZ Top are Buttrock royalty

Grand Funk Railroad v. Foghat: Taking Sides in the Buttrock Smackdown

OK that wasn't the thread I meant to spotlight. Here it is:

The most buttrockin' song on Buddy Blue's list of the top 50 Butt Rock Anthems (search term: buttrock)

Aw man, RIP. I'll admit that it took me a long time to come around on these guys. Being ages 7 and 8 during the omnipresent Eliminator and MTV years meant first exposed to a version that I never really "got" and dismissed as a "flashy video" band. Wasn't until I finally heard _Tres Hombres_ many years later that their particular brand of genius clicked.

in honor of Dusty Hill, I wrote a tribute to how ZZ Top conquered MTV with their Eliminator trilogy, what they meant to New Wave misfit kids, music video as drag, the band's glitter roots, and how Dusty Hill had a photo of Klaus Nomi on his luggage case. https://t.co/e6en8YBfFJ

— rob sheffield (@robsheff) July 29, 2021

Yeah, that was pretty good.

Sheffield is a machine.

re: Tejas

yeah, I love it. the last 90 seconds of "El Diablo" are incredible tranced-out bliss

it's kind of amazing that the label didn't drop them after the singles (It's Only Love" and then "Arrested While Driving While Blind") hit #44 and #91 respectively. I guess the mammoth record-breaking tour didn't hurt.

The album still sold, but the next year's hits set wrapped up their deal with London, and they took their masters with them when they went to Warner's.

ahh that context makes sense, thanks, it's an IDGAF contract-ender record in that context

No, it's too experimental for that, with the violin and whatnot. They were definitely trying something, and when the public didn't respond the label was probably like, "Uh, guys..." and Bill Ham said, "Here's a greatest hits album, see ya later." And then they stayed on the road for two and a half years (Tejas was 1976, Degüello didn't come out until 1979).

even better context, thanks

They took most of that time off so Beard could clean up.

Or maybe not entirely. I see on the Worldwide Texas Tour wiki that it went to New Year's Day '78. And then they took the time off before reconvening sometime in '79 (Deguello was released at the end of the year).

i do love that they tapped Elwood to carry the torch

and like, that it’s their guitar tech, and not some rando ring-in. its nice?

Nick Oliveri kicking a can somewhere.

lol

There are other playlists out there, but here's the Dusty Spotify playlist I put together.

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/billy-gibbons-interview-zz-top-dusty-hill-died-carrying-on-1235031028/

Amazing:

How are you feeling about continuing on with your guitar tech filling in?

Well, it was a direct directive from Mr. Dusty Hill. When he grabbed my arm and said, “I think I’m due to go visit the physician to see if I can bounce back,” he said, “In the meantime, I want you to grab our guitar technician, Mr. Elwood” — Elwood Francis — “and take him out of that tech station and strap him up with my guitar and make him carry on with every single note.” And I said, “Well, if that’s your wishes, I’ll respect that.” And sure enough, we’ve been very, very fortunate to have a stalwart standby to fill in.

What’s really got everybody on the ropes is that Elwood had been holding down the guitar technician post for 30 years as a clean-shaven young fellow. And when the lockdown was imminent, we all gathered for a band meeting, before things got too fierce. And I said, “Dusty, it looks like we’re not going to be able to go do much or go anywhere. What do you plan to do?” And he said, “Well, I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do. And that’s cut the lawn. I’m not going to cut the grass.” And I smiled and said, “Well, I’ll join you on that.” And Elwood piped up and said, “Well, if you guys aren’t going to cut the grass, I’m not going to cut my whiskers.” And when we regathered to commence rehearsals just a week and a half ago, here came Elwood, and I said, “My gosh, you’ve got chin whiskers as long as me and Dusty!”

So when he took the stage the other night, I was looking over the front row and everybody was kind of giving each other the elbow, and they were pointing up and said, “Look, the ZZ Top circus still rolls on. There’s another freak up there.” In fact, I had to stroll over and grab him by the chin to give him a yank, just to show the audience — I said, “Folks, this is the real deal here.” [Laughs.] But he’s honoring Dusty’s wishes, and I know that, wherever Dusty may be, he’s probably smiling, just knowing that all the notes are in place and that the fierceness rolls on.

Yeah, and this too:

Is there one overriding trait that comes to mind about him right now?

Yeah. In fact, just within the last couple of months, we were reviewing a couple of the rough tracks that were starting to come together from the sessions that we were conducting just a few months ago. I remember a night where they said, “Well, you’re the producer. You’ve got to tell Dusty to stick around or let him go. He’s delivered his parts.” And I said, “Oh yeah, hold on a sec.” I say, “Hey, Dust, thanks, man. Great job.” So off he goes, and no sooner had he left the parking lot and gotten well on his way down the freeway than we encountered a very short section that I had overlooked. It was only eight or 10 bars. And I said, “Gee whiz, that goes by in not even 30 seconds…” I said, “Bring me Dusty’s bass,” and I handed it to the engineer and said, “You’re a bass player… It’s only eight bars. Let’s just fill in.” Two hours later, we had passed the bass guitar around to every single living soul in the studio, and we still couldn’t match Dusty’s tone. He had something in that damn right hand of his that can’t be described, other than fierce.

aw man ;_;

That’s great

billy gibbons has a way with words, it hurts me that he's so clearly hurting.

yeah love him

he really gives you the full weight of everything else that’s not said

re that last statement as per neds post : that's bloody brilliant, and very much on brand.

it's kinda mad how insanely OTT their last studio album is.
for old fellas they still made an absolute racket.
while the classic era gets all the love, i listen to antenna/mescalero/la futura an awful lot.

I’m trying to keep a chin up. Despite the fact that you can’t see it.

Ok, Billy. We get it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBvHl_huyM

I just had a Proustian moment to that ZZ Top/Miller Light commercial.

Specifically the part where the woman's dress blows up.

stop me if you heard this one: it's 85. i'm interviewing Gibbons for Rock&Folk.
Q: if there was a remake of "the good, the bad and the ugly" starring you guys, who would play who ?
A: the good would be the music. the bad would be the attitude. and the ugly would be the 3 of us. https://t.co/IsnQpv1jYT

— Cryin Cowboy (@CryinCowboy) July 31, 2021

I'm glad they're keeping it the family and still going, but can this Elwood guy sing, cos Dusty was so soulful and his vocals were my favorite.

^^^ seriously

LET DUSTY SING ONE

<3

Man, the "Burger Man" video is something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJP8wVoTufg

How did Beavis & Butthead never watch that one?

holy shit that burger man video