Exhausted from the overwhelming work load, they took a three-year break, then switched labels and returned to form with Deguello and El Loco, both harbingers of what was to come. By their next album, Eliminator, and its worldwide smash follow-up, Afterburner, they had successfully harnessed the potential of synthesizers to their patented grungy blues-groove, giving their material a more contemporary edge while retaining their patented Texas style. Now sporting long beards, golf hats, and boiler suits, they met the emerging video age head-on, reducing their "message" to simple iconography. Becoming even more popular in the long run, they moved with the times while simultaneously bucking every trend that crossed their path. As genuine roots musicians, they have few peers; Gibbons is one of America's finest blues guitarists working in the arena rock idiom - both influenced by the originators of the form and British blues-rock guitarists like Peter Green - while Hill and Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support. The only rock & roll group that's out there with its original members still aboard after three decades (an anniversary celebrated on 1999's XXX), ZZ Top's music is always instantly recognizable, eminently powerful, profoundly soulful, and 100% American in derivation. They have continued to support the blues through various means, perhaps the most visible when they were given a piece of wood from Muddy Waters's shack in Clarksdale, MS. The group members had it made into a guitar, dubbed the "Muddywood," then sent it out on tour to raise money for the Delta Blues Museum. ZZ Top's support and link to the blues remains as rock solid as the music they play.

ZZ Top's First Album - 1970

ZZ Top's First Album may not be perfectly polished, but it does establish their sound, attitude, and quirks. Simply put, it's a dirty little blues-rock record, filled with fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang. They have a good, ballsy sound that hits at gut level, and if the record's not entirely satisfying, it's because they're still learning how to craft records - which means that they're still learning pacing as much as they're learning how to assemble a set of indelible material. Too much of this record glides by on its sound, without offering any true substance, but the tracks that really work - "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree," "Backdoor Love Affair," "Brown Sugar," and "Goin' Down to Mexico," among them - show that ZZ Top was that lil' ol' blues band from Texas from their very first record on. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (2:30) Shaking Your Tree
02 - (5:24) Brown Sugar
03 - (2:50) Squank
04 - (3:24) Goin' Down To Mexico
05 - (3:33) Old Man
06 - (2:20) Neighbor, Neighbor
07 - (3:29) Certified Blues
08 - (3:54) Bedroom Thang
09 - (4:16) Just Got Back From Baby's
10 - (2:44) Backdoor Love Affair

Rio Grande Mud - 1972

With their second album, Rio Grande Mud, ZZ Top uses the sound they sketched out on their debut as a blueprint, yet tweak it in slight but important ways. The first is heavier, more powerful sound, turning the boogie guitars into a locomotive force. There are slight production flares that date this as a 1972 record, but for the most part, this is a straight-ahead, dirty blues-rock difference. Essentially like the first album, then. That's where the second difference comes in - they have a much better set of songs this time around, highlighted by the swaggering shuffle "Just Got Paid," the pile-driving boogie "Bar-B-Q," the slide guitar workout "Apologies to Pearly," and two Dusty Hill-sung numbers, "Francine" and "Chevrolet." There are still a couple of tracks that don't quite gel and their fuzz-blues still can sound a little one-dimensional at times, but Rio Grande Mud is the first flowering of ZZ Top as a great, down-n-dirty blooze rock band. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (2:55) Francine
02 - (3:50) Just Got Paid
03 - (3:46) Mushmouth Shoutin'
04 - (4:24) Ko Ko Blue
05 - (3:20) Chevrolet
06 - (2:48) Apologies To Pearly
07 - (3:24) Bar-B-Q
08 - (6:51) Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell
09 - (3:22) Whiskey'n Mama
10 - (2:27) Down Brownie

Tres Hombres - 1973

Tres Hombres is the record that brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process. It couldn't have happened to a better record. ZZ Top finally got their low-down, cheerfully sleazy blooze-n-boogie right on this, their third album. As their sound gelled, producer Bill Ham discovered how to record the trio so simply that they sound indestructible, and the group brought the best set of songs they'd ever have to the table. On the surface, there's nothing really special about the record, since it is just a driving blues-rock album from a Texas bar band, but that's what's special about it. It has a filthy groove and an infectious feel, thanks to Billy Gibbons' growling guitars and the steady propulsion of Dusty Hill and Frank Beard's rhythm section. They get the blend of bluesy shuffles, gut-bucket rocking, and off-beat humor just right. ZZ Top's very identity comes from this earthy sound and songs as utterly infectious as "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "Move Me on Down the Line," and the John Lee Hooker boogie "La Grange." In a sense, they kept trying to remake this record from this point on - what is Eliminator if not Tres Hombres with sequencers and synthesizers? - but they never got it better than they did here. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (2:54) Waitin' For The Bus
02 - (3:33) Jesus Just Left Chicago
03 - (3:28) Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
04 - (3:31) Master Of Sparks
05 - (3:18) Hot, Blue And Righteous
06 - (2:31) Move Me On Down The Line
07 - (3:11) Precious And Grace
08 - (3:55) La Grange
09 - (4:06) Sheik
10 - (3:20) Have You Heard?

Fandango - 1975

Blessed with their first full-fledged hit album, ZZ Top followed it up with Fandango, a record split between a side of live tracks and a side of new studio cuts. In a way, this might have made sense, since they were a kick-ass live band, and they do sound good here, but it's hard not to see this as a bit of a wasted opportunity in retrospect. Why? Because the studio side is a worthy successor to the all-fine Tres Hombres, driven by "Tush" and "Heard it on the X," two of their greatest songs that build on that album by consolidating their sound and amplifying their humor. If they had sustained this energy and quality throughout a full studio album, it would have been their greatest, but instead the mood is broken by the live cuts. Now, these are really good live cuts - and "Backdoor Medley" and "Jailhouse Rock" were fine interpretations, making familiar songs sound utterly comfortable in their signature sound - and Fandango remains one of their better albums, but it's hard not to think that it could have been even better. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1 - (4:11) Thunderbird
2 - (1:57) Jailhouse Rock
3 - (9:57) Backdoor Medley
4 - (2:51) Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings
5 - (4:47) Blue Jean Blues
6 - (2:39) Balinese
7 - (3:07) Mexican Blackbird
8 - (2:30) Heard It On The X
9 - (2:16) Tush

Tejas - 1976

ZZ Top was riding high in the mid-'70s on the strength of Tres Hombres and Fandango, but they were starting to run out of steam by 1977's Tejas. Its predecessor was padded with a live side, but even if it was close to padding, it was still enjoyable. Tejas, despite sounding pretty good, is just forgettable. It has the patented, propulsive ZZ boogie, but none of the songs are particularly memorable, even if the whole thing sounds pretty good as it's playing. ZZ Top and their label, London, must have noticed this too, since even though the album went gold, they followed it months later with The Best of ZZ Top, which contained none of the songs from this album. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (4:24) It's Only Love
02 - (3:09) Arrested For Driving While Blind
03 - (4:23) El Diablo
04 - (3:00) Snappy Kakkie
05 - (3:27) Enjoy And Get It On
06 - (3:42) Ten Dollar Man
07 - (3:15) Pan Am Highway Blues
08 - (3:09) Avalon Hideaway
09 - (3:03) She's A Heartbreaker
10 - (3:32) Asleep In The Desert

Best Of ZZ Top - 1977

ZZ Top closed out their tenure with London records in late 1977 with The Best of ZZ Top, a basic but terrific ten-song retrospective of highlights from their first five albums (well, four, actually, since the underwhelming Tejas is ignored). There are no surprises here, just album rock favorites, which means it does draw heavily on Tres Hombres (four songs, total), adds Fandango's "Tush," "Blue Jean Blues," and "Heard it on the X" for good measure, then rounds it out with two songs from Rio Grande Mud and a selection from the debut. Yeah, there are a couple good album tracks missing, but as a ten-song summary of their early years, this can't be beat. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (2:19) Tush
02 - (2:54) Waitin'' For The Bus
03 - (3:32) Jesus Just Left Chicago
04 - (3:35) Francine
05 - (4:30) Just Got Paid
06 - (3:55) La Grange
07 - (4:46) Blue Jean Blues
08 - (3:20) Backdoor Love Affair
09 - (3:26) Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
10 - (2:24) Heard It On The X

Deguello - 1979

ZZ Top returned after an extended layoff in late 1979 with Deguello, their best album since 1973's Tres Hombres. During their time off, ZZ Top didn't change much - hell, their sound never really changed during their entire career - but it did harden, in a way. The grooves became harder, sleeker, and their off-kilter sensibility and humor began to dominate, as "Cheap Sunglasses" and "Fool for Your Stockings" illustrate. Ironically, this, their wildest album lyrically, doesn't have the unhinged rawness of their early blooze rockers, but the streamlined production makes it feel sleazier all the same, since its slickness lets the perversity slide forth. And, let us not forget, the trio is in fine shape here, knocking out a great set of rockers and sounding stylish all the time. Undoubtedly one of their strong suits. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (3:27) I Thank You
02 - (2:24) She Loves My Automobile
03 - (4:54) I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
04 - (4:18) A Fool For Your Stockings
05 - (2:37) Manic Mechanic
06 - (3:10) Dust My Broom
07 - (2:51) Lowdown In The Street
08 - (2:26) Hi Fi Mama
09 - (4:50) Cheap Sunglasses
10 - (3:32) Esther Be The One

El Loco - 1981

El Loco follows through on the streamlined, jet-engine boogie-rock of Deguello, but kicking all the ingredients up a notch. That means that the grooves are getting a little slicker, while the jokes are getting a little sillier, a little raunchier. The double entendres on "Tube Snake Boogie" and "Pearl Necklace" are barely disguised, while much of the record plays as flat-out goofy party rock. Not necessarily a bad thing, but much of it is a little too obvious to be totally winning. Still, the most telling thing about El Loco may be the rhythm of "Pearl Necklace," its biggest single and best song, which clearly points the way to the new wave blues-rock of Eliminator. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (3:06) Tube Snake Boogie
02 - (4:50) I Wanna Drive You Home
03 - (4:25) Ten Foot Pole
04 - (3:18) Leila
05 - (4:25) Don't Tease Me
06 - (5:13) It's So Hard
07 - (4:08) Pearl Necklace
08 - (2:45) Groovy Little Hippie Pad
09 - (2:34) Heaven, Hell Or Houston
10 - (2:50) Party On The Patio

Eliminator - 1983

ZZ Top had reached the top of the charts before, but that didn't make their sudden popularity in 1983 any more predictable. It wasn't that they were just popular - they were hip, for God's sake, since they were one of the only AOR favorites to figure out to harness the stylish, synthesized grooves of new wave, and then figure out how to sell it on MTV. Of course, it helped that they had songs that deserved to be hits. With "Gimme All Your Lovin," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs," they had their greatest set of singles since the heady days of Tres Hombres, and the songs that surrounded them weren't bad either - they would have been singles on El Loco, as a matter of fact. The songs alone would have made Eliminator one of ZZ Top's three greatest albums, but their embrace of synths and sequencers made it a blockbuster hit, since it was the sound of the times. Years later, the sound of the times winds up sounding a bit stiff. It's still an excellent ZZ Top album, one of their best, yet it sounds like a mechanized ZZ Top thanks to the unflaggingly accurate grooves. Then again, that's part of the album's charm - this is new wave blues-rock, glossed up for the video, looking as good as the omnipresent convertible on the cover and sounding as irresistible as Reaganomics. Not the sort the old-school fans or blues-rock purists will love, but ZZ Top never sounded as much like a band of its time as they did here. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (4:05) Gimme All Your Lovin'
02 - (4:04) Got Me Under Pressure
03 - (4:19) Sharp Dressed Man
04 - (6:20) I Need You Tonight
05 - (2:55) I Got The Six
06 - (3:36) Legs
07 - (4:21) Thug
08 - (3:51) TV Dinners
09 - (4:08) Dirty Dog
10 - (3:41) If I Could Only Flag Her Down
11 - (3:17) Bad Girl

Afterburner - 1985

Well, if you just had your biggest hit ever, you'd probably try to replicate it, too. And if you were called visionary because you played your blues to a slightly sequenced beat, you'd probably be tempted to turn on the drum-machine and graft on synthesizers, too, since it'll all signal how futuristic you are. While you're at it, you might as well visualize how space age this all is by turning your signature car into a space shuttle. From this viewpoint, Afterburner makes perfect sense - ZZ Top are just giving the people more of what they want. Problem is, no matter how much you dress 'em up, they're still ZZ Top, they're still that li'l ol' blues band from Texas, and blues-rock just doesn't have a kick when it's synthesized, even if ZZ Top's grooves always bordered on robotic. So, Afterburner, their most synthetic album, will not please most ZZ Top fans, even if it did go platinum several times over. That's just a sign of the times, when even hard rock bands had to sound as slick as synth-pop, complete with clanging DX-7s and cavernous drums. As an artifact of that time, Afterburner is pretty good - never has a hard rock album sounded so artificial, nor has a blues-rock album sounded so devoid of blues. Apart from the chugging "Sleeping Bag," not even the singles sound like ZZ Top: the terrific post-new wave rocker "Stages" is the poppiest thing they ever cut, the ballad "Rough Boy" is far removed from slow blues, and the full-fledged synth-dance of "Velcro Fly" is a true mind-bender. Above all, Afterburner is merely an album of its time - the only record ZZ Top could have made in 1985, and it remains forever tied to that year. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (4:07) Sleeping Bag
02 - (3:36) Stages
03 - (3:51) Woke Up With Wood
04 - (4:54) Rough Boy
05 - (3:05) Can't Stop Rockin'
06 - (4:08) Planet Of Women
07 - (3:31) I Got The Message
08 - (3:34) Velcro Fly
09 - (3:16) Dipping Low In The Lap Of Luxury
10 - (3:42) Delirious

Recycler - 1990

The continuation of Eliminator's synthesized blues-boogie made sense on Afterburner, since it arrived two years after its predecessor. ZZ Top's choice to pursue that direction on Recycler is puzzling, since a full five years separates this from Afterburner. It's not just that they continue to follow this path, it's that they embalm it, creating a record that may be marginally ballsier than its predecessor, but lacking the sense of goofy fun and warped ambition that made Afterburner fascinating. Here, there's just a steady, relentless beat (Frank Beard is still chained to the sequencer, as he has been for a decade), topped off by processed guitars turning out licks that fall short of being true riffs. Put it this way, apart from "Doubleback," a continuation of the arena pop of "Stages," the other number that really works here is "My Head's in Mississippi," the closest they've come to the greasy boogie of "La Grange" since Deguello. When it arrives halfway through Recycler, it not only sounds refreshing, it puts the rest of the album in perspective, showing how tired the once-bracing synth-blooze-boogie has become. And the worst thing about it all, it doesn't seem like the band realizes how uncomfortably ironic the title of Recycler is. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (3:50) Concrete And Steel
02 - (3:27) Lovething
03 - (3:48) Penthouse Eyes
04 - (4:50) Tell It
05 - (4:26) My Head's In Mississippi
06 - (4:04) Decision Or Collision
07 - (3:35) Give It Up
08 - (4:46) 2000 Blues
09 - (3:21) Burger Man
10 - (3:58) Doubleback

Greatest Hits - 1992

This isn't a perfect roundup of ZZ Top's superstar years of the '80s, but it comes pretty close. It dips back into the '70s for "Pearl Necklace" and "La Grange," with a couple of selections from the post-peak '90s, but this does offer the MTV-era basics: "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Rough Boy," "Tush," "My Head's in Mississippi," "Doubleback," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Sleeping Bag." What slows this record down are some new cuts and album tracks that don't deserve to be here, along with a remix, not the original version, of "Legs." Still, that may just be quibbling for some listeners, since the basics are all here, making this a good complement to the '70s-focused The Best of ZZ Top (although it would be nice if a definitive disc, with all the hits, would appear on the market). - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (4:00) Gimme All Your Lovin'
02 - (4:16) Sharp Dressed Man
03 - (4:54) Rough Boy
04 - (2:16) Tush
05 - (4:21) My Head's In Mississippi
06 - (4:07) Pearl Necklace
07 - (4:48) I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
08 - (4:50) Viva Las Vegas
09 - (3:57) Doubleback
10 - (3:41) Gun Love
11 - (4:01) Got Me Under Pressure
12 - (3:30) Give It Up
13 - (4:48) Cheap Sunglasses
14 - (4:05) Sleeping Bag
15 - (4:06) Planet Of Women
16 - (3:53) La Grange
17 - (3:05) Tube Snake Boogie
18 - (4:33) Legs

Antenna - 1994

Like precious few bands from the '70s whose best work is mummified daily thanks to classic rock radio, ZZ Top just keeps rolling on into the next decade. There's much to love here, from the downright nasty stomp of "Fuzzbox Voodoo," the powerhouse slow blues of "Cover Your Rig," the bass-pumping looniness of "Girl in a T-Shirt," to the slow grind of "Breakaway." While Billy Gibbon's guitar tones on this album are highly reminiscent of Tres Hombres (an early high-water mark for the band), the high production sheen from their '80s albums remains intact. But Gibbons hasn't played with this much over-the-top abandon since their pre-beard 'n' babes days, and that's what separates this album from the three that came before it. - Cub Koda

01 - (4:34) Pincushion
02 - (4:59) Breakaway
03 - (4:10) World Of Swirl
04 - (4:44) Fuzzbox Voodoo
05 - (4:12) Girl In A T-Shirt
06 - (4:45) Antenna Head
07 - (3:58) PCH
08 - (4:40) Cherry Red
09 - (5:51) Cover Your Rig
10 - (5:11) Lizard Life
11 - (4:08) Deal Goin' Down

Rhythmeen - 1996

ZZ Top's long-awaited return to the blues finally arrived in 1996, well over a decade after they abandoned their simple three-chord boogie for a synth and drum machine-driven three-chord boogie. Like Antenna before it, Rhythmeen is stripped of all the synthesizers that characterized the group's albums since Eliminator but the key difference between the two albums is how Rhythmeen goes for the gut, not the gloss. It's a record that is steeped in the blues and garage rock, one that pounds out its riffs with sweat and feeling. Though ZZ Top sounds reinvigorated, playing with a salacious abandon they haven't displayed since the '70s, they simply haven't come up with enough interesting songs and riffs to make it a true return to form. For dedicated fans, it's a welcome return to their classic "La Grange" sound, but anyone with a just a passing interest in the band will wonder where the hooks went. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

01 - (3:56) Rhythmeen
02 - (4:31) Bang Bang
03 - (3:35) Black Fly
04 - (5:23) What's Up With That
05 - (6:07) Vincent Price Blues
06 - (4:17) Zipper Job
07 - (3:52) Hairdresser
08 - (5:00) She's Just Killing Me
09 - (4:09) My Mind Is Gone
10 - (3:50) Loaded
11 - (4:43) Prettyhead
12 - (5:15) Hummbucking Part 2