Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
1973
Album Summary
Tres Hombres (English: Three Men) is the third studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released by London Records in July 1973 and was the band's first collaboration with engineer Terry Manning. It was the band's commercial breakthrough; in the US, the album entered the top ten while the single "La Grange" reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.
WikipediaThis is a great record, honestly. It only gets docked a star because it's not ALL great. Just MOSTLY great. But the songs that are great are REALLY great. "Waitin' For The Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," and, of course, "La Grange" are just ... man. So good.
Few albums kick this much ass. Almost a precursor to metal in some ways, this is HARD hard rock that deserves to be played on a windows down kinda day. If I could give half ratings, I would. Only four and half because of a few duds that drag on first listen, but probably hold up on more. STANDOUTS: -Waitin’ for the Bus -Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers -Move Me On Down the Line -Precious and Grace -La Grange -Sheik
Soon as this album gets going you're thrown into the soundscape of some musty hard rock pool hall complete with a few biker guys, cigarette smoke, and a well used jukebox providing the cohesive glue of American blues rhythm of ZZ Top that pulls it all together. By the time you're three tracks in, you're already riding a motorcycle, and your beard is long enough to get caught on the zipper of your leather jacket. A pillar hard rock crafted from blues and the precursor to a sound that would be further explored by bands AC/DC, Motorhead, and Mötley Crüe; ZZ Top's first top ten album delivers on the American Harley dream. Tracks like Waitin' for the Bus,Jesus Just Left Chicago, and of course La Grange utilize the guitar fueled yet ever steady rhythm that is synonymous with throwing on your shades and riding out into the horizon. While these a bit homogenous in the delivery of this type of sound over the course of the album, frequent and sporadic guitar flourishes keep things interesting as you ride along the introspective vibe of wandering the country or getting access to that whorehouse in Texas or simply waiting around for the bus for too damned long. This tale of wanderlust expands beyond waiting for busses and covers other locations in Jesus just Left Chicago and even some out of country locations in Shiek. The track Master Of Sparks stood out to me with interesting time changes throughout the song compared to what I had heard up until it, which was a nice surprise. Sheik also ends with with a bit of a psychedelic outro which also spoke to me thorugh my favorite genre. Very cool. In the end though, La Grange is where it's at, and to be honest, if you've heard just that, then you've heard a decent amount of the album. Favorite Track: La Grange Honorable Mention: Master of Sparks
As a teen in the 80s it was impossible to avoid Zed Zed Top in their highly successful if not overly commercial era (MTV videos in heavy rotation). Wasn't bad, wasn't my taste. Just there. I was aware of a handful of their older tunes through radio but never thought about them. At the time I remember working a restaurant job late one night on cleanup and one of the older guys blasted this album while we worked and I was pretty surprised "Jesus Just Left Chicago" was the same band that did "Legs" - almost a 180degree turn in production as this album is super dry, simple guitars/bass/drums and barely a hint of reverb anywhere. While southern-tinged bluesy rock isn't something I really reach for, this is a fun album and definitely has a sound and place.
Love this album, and ZZ Top is always a fun listen. Billy Gibbons is fantastic as always, Dusty Hill is so solid, and Frank Beard lays it down nicely. Just three guys playing some groovin' bluesy rock. Still sounds great fifty-ish years later.
Awesome album. Watertight rhythm section and expertly executed guitar lines that cut like laser. Stunning.
I know several ZZ Top songs, but only one of them is on this album, so I'm excited to listen to their other material. What a crisp version of blues-rock music. Great guitar soloing, solid grooves, the drumwork adds so much. Track uniqueness surprised me, not every song follows the typical blues chord pattern. Best track: had to be 'La Grange'
Solid American bluesy rock and roll here. It flags a bit with Move it down the line which includes cliched riffs and lyrics like “big wheels keep on turning” 🙄 but its saved by the excellent single La Grange with the signature ZZ Top geetar sound. I like how they mixed up the tempo and mood with Sheik also.
Music for a blue collar bar in a suburban strip mall. Hot, Blue and Righteous stands out as a sweet song to end side A on an otherwise greasy collection.
Straight forward, unpretentious, beardy blues rock. Enjoyable for what it is, but not pushing any boundaries. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: La Grange Date listened: 04/08/22
La Grange is an all-timer and the rest of this album slaps alongside it!
Great example of their basis in blues, storytelling, and Texas boogie.
This is at least a 4, maybe my first 5!? Several songs I really like. I'll listen closely to the rest.
What a classic!! Growely vocals, jamming blues guitar, slick drum riffs. I listened to "Master of Sparks" at least 5 times in a row - I couldn't get enough of it. I've heard a lot of songs off of this album, but not all of them, and not all together.
I actually own this album on vinyl. Every track is exactly what you want from ZZ Top. Great guitar work and the opening three tracks are just a perfect album lead in.
Probably represents ZZ Top's sound better than any other album they released. Solid rock & blues. Bought it when it was released, listened to it periodically since. A great album. Didn't need to add it - owned it for decades.
An amazing album, with just about the greatest collection of guitar tones ever.
Un discazo de principio a fin. Cortito, al grano, y lleno de buenos riffs. Aunque no deja de ser rock en el estilo Texas, la verdad es que en estas dosis pequeñas y bien cuidadas no tiene desperdicio y no se siente como un gimmick repetitivo. Tal vez si me echara toda la discografía o un disco de éxitos me cansarían, pero en este caso se ganaron sus 5 estrellotas.
I already loved ZZ Top but I didn’t know that every song on this album was a banger! Great one to listen to. I saved the whole track list.
Near flawless in its simplicity. You aren't getting much unexpected, though multiple solos involve pushing a guitar just to the edge of listenable. The trio gets their slow cuts in without breaking up the listening experience with a sudden mood change.
This is a great album, and its absolutely crazy how completely together and tight ZZ Top is as a band. All great tracks - 5/5
Great breakthrough Album for ZZ Top. Lots of love and radio play for most of the tracks rockin blues grooves throughout. Only soft spot for me was “Move me on Down the Line” -just doesn’t measure up to the rest of the album.
Loved the fuzzy guitar sounds. It's funky but also hard rocky, and the combination interests me a lot more than I expected.
This one's on my list of albums that everybody else should hear before they die.
ZZ Top is Texas Rock. This album gives groovy blues & touches of early metal. I've always loved La Grange, and Beer Drinkers & He'll Raisers is classic metal - who would've thought they could rock this hard? I'm glad I'm finally listening to a ZZ Top album in its entirety. Being born & raised in TX, this band reminds me of home. They've got some heat in this album - if someone were to ask what the Lone Star state sounds like, I'd play this album. Gonna listen to their entire discography thanks to this challenge.
Love it, a classic hard rock sound! Saved tracks: Waitin' for the Bus, Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers, Master of Sparks, La Grange,
Despite their great 80s albuns this is still the best ZZ top album as it contains Waiting for the Bus.
A proper blues rock album with riffs reminiscent of later hard rock that shows the underrated influence of the band on everything that came later. The production is great, while still raw and filled with bar venue energy. Maybe a few more big hits or stand out songs to make it even better, but still deserves the full 5 stars from my end.
Raw, gritty, old school Texas blues and hard rock. Led by one of the greatest guitarists to ever do it, Billy Gibbons. If you play electric guitar, you need to hear this album.
This took me by surprise. My knowledge of ZZ Top was hostorically 80s ZZ Top. This album is a banger!
One of my favourite albums. The perfect mix of dirt, party vibes and a sweet hint of salvation. Praise be!
Great guitar licks. I feel like I need to be in the middle of a Texas field party drinking Miller High Life with a 100 of my closest friends around a big bonfire to appreciate this properly. I hate Texas, but we all need to get out our comfort zones from time-to-time. This is a great album.
Get me a beer and a ciggie immediately. Such a perfectly simple but supremely cool album title to go with such simple and supremely cool set of songs. Love how loose the live version of La Grange is.
Despite being from Texas AND liking the rock/blues style, ZZ Top has never been my favorite. This album is good, objectively, with La Grange being the best track. For me, it doesn't reach 5 stars, but it's better than 3 stars as well. I guess that leaves it at: 4 stars.
Would give it a 5/5 but don’t think it musically deserves it. Too many songs I don’t fully fuck with but the ones I do I love.
Classic guitar licks. It’s everything you expect from a blues guitar, bass and drums. Small group with big sound. Love the variation from a blues rock, ballad and rocking’ classic in La Grange.
First time listening to a whole zz top album. They had me with bus stop in the name of the first song.
Classic Americana Rock with heavy blues influences, but neither too pop-y or too bluesy
Mistura muito boa de blues com rock, com o classico La Grange coroando o album.
One of the best 1-2 openers ever. If you were raised on the MTV version of the band, this album was a revelation. It's a shame "La Grange" is so overplayed, because when you revisit it after 5 or 10 years, it's really good.
Bon album, du bon blues rock qui s’ecoute bien. La grange est une hit qui est intemporel et l’album se meriterai un 5 juste pour cette toune. Le reste amene cela a un 4
Was für coole Typen; geiles, geradliniges und doch auch verspielt vielschichtiges Rock Album, a an dem sich die manche Nuller-Band (Kings of Leon, Black Keys, ...) orientiert haben dürften. per los tres hombres: 3.8
A storm of blues rock from Texas, in the year when southern rock was at its peak. All a statement!
I liked this one lot, it felt like classic rock and the songs come together
Like this one way more than I thought I would. Typical bluesy dad rock, but still fun. I could put this on in the background while I do something else and I think it would help me stay focused.
I listened to the 2000-something remaster, and I was pleasantly surprised!
The songs you think of when you hear "ZZ Top" and consider riding a motorcycle. All around pretty good energy.