ZZ Top
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1969-) - Frank Beard -- drums, percussion
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- American Blues (Frank Beard and Dusty Hill) - The Cave
Dwellers
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Rio Grande Mud Company: London Catalog: XPS 612 Year: 1972 Country/State: Texas, US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: original textured cover and inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5201 Price: $15.00
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As much as I liked ZZ Top's debut, 1972's "Rio Grande Mud" was even better. To be honest, with the exception of the atypically pop-oriented 'Francene' (Dusy Hill proving he was the band's best singer), the sound wasn't really all that different from the debut, though this time around the band sounded far more comfortable and enthused. Credited with penning most of the twelve tracks Billy Gibbons deserved considerable credit for turning in what may have been the trio's most consistent and enjoyable album. Kicked along by Gibbon's snarling slide guitar and Beard's rock steady drums no-frill blues-rockers like 'Just Got Paid', 'Chevrolet' and the instrumental 'Apologies To Pearly' (the latter dedicated to Gibbon's Les Paul guitar) were simply killer. At the same time the low-tech sound might serve as a major shock to folks who loved the band's mid-1980s top-40 successes. Anyone not into conventional blues-rock probably wouldn't have much use for the likes of 'Mushmouth Shoutin'' (they were lucky to not have been sued for ripping off Rice Miller's 'Crazy 'bout You Baby'), 'Sure Got Cold After the rain Fell', orr 'Ko Ko Blue'. Propelled by an opening slot on The Rolling Stones US tour, the LP hit the US charts, peaking at # 104. Elsewhere London tapped the LP for a classic single in the form of 'Francine' b/w 'Francine (Spanish)' (London catalog number 179).
Piece of meaningless trivia, the flip side cover reflects the only picture I've ever seen of Gibbons sans beard ...
"Rio Grande Mud" track listing:
1.) Francene (Steve Peron - Condroy) - 3:33 2.) Just Got Paid (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 4:49 3.) Mushmouth Shoutin' (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 3:41 4.) Ko Ko Blue (Billy Gibbons - Dusty Hill - Frank Beard) - 4:56
5.) Chevrolet - 3:47 (Billy Gibbons) - 3:20 (side 2) 1.) Apologies To Pearly (instrumental) (Billy Gibbons - Dusty Hill - Frank Beard - Bill Ham) - 2:39 2.) Bar-B-Q (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 3:34 3.) Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell (Billy Gibbons)- 7:39 4.) Whiskey 'n Mama (Billy Gibbons - Dusty Hill - Frank Beard - Bill Ham) - 3:20 5.) Down
Brownie (Billy Gibbons) - 2:53
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Genre: rock Rating: ***** (5 stars) Title: Tres Hombres Company: London Catalog: XPS 612 Year: 1973 Country/State: Texas, US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 310 Price: $15.00
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True story - "Tres Hombes" is one of those albums that sells the minute I get an original copy of it listed. Over the last ten years, I've probably sold twenty copies. Anyhow, about a year ago I got an email from a customer who was looking for a pristine cover - didn't care about the album iteself; didn't even need to have the vinyl, but the cover had to be near mint and he wanted it right away (overnight express). Needless to say I was a little concerned that he was a crank, but he paid right away, including the extra postage costs. Turns out the guy was a restaurant owner and he was looking for a nice copy of the album so he could display the inner sleeve in his TexMex restaurant. So in case you've never seen it:
"Tres Hombres" inner sleeve
And let me tell you the ten songs on this album are every bit as delicious as the inner sleeve photo. If you're a certain age (say born in the late 1950s, or early 1960s, this is an album you probably grew up with. I certainly did. In fact, under the influence of a couple of older friends, it was one of the first albums I ever bought. Rode my bike to the Penguin Feather in Herndon, Virginia ... It's also one of those albums that I've probably heard over a hundred times. Such familiarity makes it hard to come up with anything groundbreaking to say about it. Seriously, what hasn't already been said given the hundreds of reviews out there ?
"Tres Hombres" track listing:
1.) Waitin' for the Bus (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 2:59 Geez, talk about a song that represents a band ... the opening chords on 'Waitin' for the Bus' simply scream ZZ Top. Powered by Billy Gibbons raunchy guitar (talk about one dirty sounding gutar), after all these years, it's still one of the best things they ever wrote. And judging by this live clip (which includes the 'Jese Just Left Chicago' seque), some forty years later it still sounds devasting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nMFg7ws394 rating: **** stars 2.) Jesus Just Left Chicago (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 3:29 Musically 'Jesus Just Left Chicago' was a pretty basic blues number, but with that wicked ZZ Top edge, was another killer track. Interestingly when I was growing up radio stations routinely played 'Waitin' for the Bus' and 'Jesus Just Left Chicago' as a combined suite (the way it appears on the album). If you believe the story, the songs were never intended to segue together, rather it happened when a studio engineer accidently spliced the tapes together. rating: **** stars 3.) Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham - Frank Beard) - 3:23 A straight ahead rocker and one of the group compositions on the album, 'Beer Drinkers & Heel Raisers' was a rarity in that it featured bassist Hill on lead vocals, with Gibbons providing harmony and backing vocals. rating: **** stars 4.) Master of Sparks (Billy Gibbons) - 3:33 The slinky 'Masters of Sparks' was always my favorite tune. Urban legend had it the song was based on a pastime where a bunch of guys built a big steel cage. The drunkest/stupidest member of the group would get strapped in the cage which would then be launched out the back of a speeding pickup truck, resulting a curtain of sparks. So insane there has to be some truth to it. Regardless of the song's meaning, it's one crunching tune. rating: ***** stars. 5.) Hot, Blue and Righteous (Billy Gibbons) - 3:14 'Hot, Blue and Righteous' ended side one with an unexpected change in direction - a beguiling, bluesy ballad with some nice Gibbons-Hill harmony vocals. One of the prettiest songs they've ever written with one of Gibbons' prettiest solos. rating: **** stars
(side 2) 1.) Move Me On Down the Line (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 2:30 To my ears one of their most commercial tracks (with some blazing Gibbons guitar), it's simply hard not to fall in love with the blazing 'Move Me On Down the Line'. rating: **** stars 2.) Precious and Grace (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham - Frank Beard) - 3:29 'Precious and Grace' is one of those tracks that epitamizes the band's unique sound - dark, slightly ominous and muddy as the Rio Grande. Love it. rating: **** stars 3.) La Grage (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham - Frank Beard) - 3:53 Their best known song ? And it was apparently intended as a heartfelt tribute to Miss Edna's Boarding house ... You can look it up if you don't know the history. How many top-50 hits can you name that were inspired by a whorehouse ? YouTube's got a dozen live version of the song (it's a long standing staple in their live shows). Here's an extended one from a 1980 performance on the German Rockpalast show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zKVnpUIJPY rating: ***** stars 4.) Shiek (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 4:04 ZZ Top gets funky ... Seriously, if you didn't think they could pull if off, then you need to check this one out. rating: **** stars 5.) Have You Heard? (Billy Gibbons - Bill Ham) - 3:14 A fairly pedestrian blues number, 'Have You Heard?' always struck me as being the album's weakest tune. Other than Gibbons' slinky lead solo, the rest of the song was pretty forgettable. rating: *** stars
As mentioned above, the album spun off their first major hit:
US stock 45; Belgian, Japanese, German, and French picture sleeves
-- 1973's 'La Grange' b/w 'Just Got Paid' (London catalog number 45 203) # 41 pop
Backed by the hit single and a short US tour (17 dates), the album went top-10 peaking at # 8. To this day, probably my choice for the best album they ever recorded. Yeah, it didn't achieve the mega sales they enjoyed in the mid-'80s, but song-for-song, this is the best thing they ever recorded with half of the songs standing as true rock classics. A must own set for any true rock fan.
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: World Wide Texas Tour Company: London Catalog: PS-X-1001 Year: 1976 Country/State: Texas, US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: radio station promo; minor ring, edge and corner wear; pop on 1st side, 1st band Available: SOLD Catalog ID: SOLD Price: SOLD
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As a promotional tool London also saw fit to release a radio-only sampler.
"World Wide Texas Tour" pulled together 12 tracks from the band's first four studio sets. Sure, you've heard all of these
tracks before, but it made for one dandy "best of" set !!! As for the asking price,
I've only seen one copy in 20 years ... "World
Wide Texas Tour" track listing: 1.) Waitin' for
the Bus (Billy Gibbons - Dusty Hill) - 2:59 (side 2) 1.) Nasty Dogs and
Funky Kings (Billy Gibbons - Dusty Hill - Frank Beard) - 2:42
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