You ready for ZZ Top? G*d D*mn it you better be!!
Man, there's almost nothin' i love more than those tres hombres, the greasiest, coolest cowboys ever to serve up a boogie riff southern fried and country-fied -- the Li'l Ol' Band from Texas: Ladies and gents, the fantastic, ZZ Top!
Don't be thrown by the schtick of matching beards, and kinda cheesy videos that are the band's trademark for the past 20 years. These boys' boogie will KILL you. No lie. No one rocks it harder or simpler than Billy, Dusty and Frank.
Fandango! (largely a live album and "pre-facial hair) was one of the first rock records i ever fell in love with, and the love continues to this day.
If the only ZZ Top you know is "Cheap Sunglasses" and "Legs" (which are great songs, btw), do yourself a favor and check out the following cuts off the following albums:
First Album -- "Brown Sugar", "Backdoor Love Affair"
Rio Grande Mud -- "Just Got Paid", "Whiskey'n Mama"
Tres Hombres -- "Waitin' for the Bus", "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers"
Fandango! -- "Thunderbird", "Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings"
Of course, there's been a rusty pickup truck load full of great material from the 'Top since these albums, but these first four are just about my favorite four consecutive albums from ANY band (tying Zeppelin's first four, in my mind). If these don't get under your skin make you tap your toe and start to crave some wet bbq and a little tequila with a cervesa back, then the boogie just ain't in ya, pards....
And speaking of the Boogie, the driving force behind the 'Top's nastiness is the tasty guitar work of the great, the Reverend, Billy Gibbons. The cat is a tone monster with more licks than 10 fingers covered in bbq sauce. One of the reasons is his pick -- while most players use plastic or some other synthetic material for the picks, Billy G uses an actual Mexican peso, ground to the shape of a guitar pick. That's partially how he gets his bad-ass tone, including those screaming pinch harmonics. Plus, the Rev just knows how to play it tasty....So go git ya some ZZ Top. It's good for ya....
Hope you agree. Go in peace....
G.O.T.
