Reviews (page 11 of 13)
So... This is the album ACDC were listening to before dirty deeds. Track 2 is definitely Ride On. Even Ed Sheeran couldn't defend that one. Overall an enjoyable album, not sure I'll revisit. Only track 2 really stood out as noticeable. Very very short. 3/5 quite enjoyable, but clearly quite influential.
Can't really go wrong
Nije loše ali svejedno su u pitanju počeci sredovječni bijelac svira blues u garaži žanra😃
bili su mi uvijek okej, nekad stvarno paše takva glazba, pošto je ovo southern rock, onda bi rekao da je njihova glazba za takve toplije, vruće dane. dobar. maksimalno 3.5., ali više na 3.
I respect ZZ Top, especially their early work. Good, hard driving, and bluesy. 3 stars.
Didn’t enjoy this album as much as their previous one but it was a good listen anyway. 3*
A lot of Dad rock recently... this was of a piece.
solid cock rock
Solid enough blues rock album. Can’t say there is really a bad song here, just nothing that exciting or notable. La Grange is obviously a classic rock staple, I enjoyed Hot, Blue, and Righteous and Master of Sparks. A solid listen overall, just wouldn’t search it out. There are much better blues rock albums I would rank higher than this.
le père d'eltrapeze
ZZ Top pas du tout à la hauteur, je vais en toucher deux mots à mon paternel, qui comme vous le savez est un très grand fan.
+Sheik +La Grange Nothing in this album really stuck with me.
- Never listened to a ZZ Top album before - Different to what I expected but I liked it - Not always a big fan of this type of music but I enjoyed this - Fav songs: Jesus Just Left Chicago, La Grange, Have You Heard?
Listened to this while driving into Knoxville, TN on a sunny Saturday. It definitely kinda works in that type of soundtrack to a Southern car ride, though for sure would've been better to swap out Tennessee for Texas. (Though, thank God I wasn't driving there.) But in some ways it's difficult for me to hear anything here other than one of the world's premiere white boy blues bar bands. Maybe it's because I just watched that Elvis movie and had cultural appropriation on the brain? I don't know. The 'Top put their own spin on things and, of course, took this sound to a very different area later on. But of the batch here my favorite was easily the ballad "Hot, Blue and Righteous." It stands out to me as having one foot in Southern Rock, three toes into country & western, and only like two toes into the blues. Lots of drunken slow dance opportunities with that number.
Decent album. Didn’t particularly like or dislike it in anyways, there were a lot of guitar parts I was impressed by in the ways of wondering about composition, but otherwise it felt pretty mid tier, for my personal tastes.
I can understand the appeal, and some songs were good, but never been a fan of ZZ Top, so this was a personal preference rather than objective.
Some really good riffage, but mostly kind of boring otherwise. Standouts: Waitin' for the Bus, Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, La Grange
Destination: Rock Direction: Straightahead La Grange is monumental Can give or take the rest
Interesting album, ZZ Top is much more bluesy then I thought they were going to be.
3.5 stars. Blues-y southern rock starts slow and builds into more energy halfway through. Standout is "La Grange" which takes it's iconic guitar groove from a John Lee Hooker boogie blues song.
This is not bad, but I can't really bring myself to care about it all that much. Probably more of a me problem tho.
Rentoa rock n' rollia jota on helppo kuunnella.
Aitoa, rehellistä rokkia bluesvivahteineen. Toimii aina vaikkei sielua sinänsä saa säkenöimään
Det är zz top. Stabil platta
It’s fine, but I wasn’t blown away by any means. La Grange is obviously the best song off this album and is a classic.
I thought I'd already listened to this and didn't have much enthusiasm. Bit I ended up enjoying this more than the last ZZ Top record that came my way. Very Rolling Stones. Best song Waiting for the Bus.
I didn't realize this record was from so early in the 70's though their music has been a staple radio during the 70's and on classic rock stations. They've been on my radar since I was a teen, I like their music, but it didn't engage me enough and I didn't have the desire to buy their records or see them live. Above average 70's rock, there's lot more enjoyable bands/music, but if you're forced to listen to something on the radio, Zed Zed (I'm Canadian) is okay and not the worst choice...
The first track had me kind of excited for some blues rock, but it turned out to be kind of a let down I tuned out as it progressed. Luckily "La Grange" came in to save the day near the end, but overall I didn't like "Tres Hombres" as much as I was hoping.
7/10
Nice blues rock album by ZZ Top. It's got great guitar licks, but is missing the earworm songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Legs" or "Tush".
Chill
I feel like my dad would love this 3.5/5
A cool bluesy, outlaw country sound with some iconic guitar riffs. Too bad the singer sounds like a drunk uncle performing karaoke at the family Christmas party. 3/5
Mid rock album, only two songs caught my attention so it wasn’t terrible
Meh
Crunchy Southern bluesy rock. Enjoyable listen. I definitely wouldn’t mind listening again. Although I don’t know if I’ll return to this one because there are just so many rock bands I like better. This album wasn't THAT good. Listening to this made me want to go listen to the first Blue Oyster Cult album.
geggjuð gömul
"Hot, Blue and Righteous" is about the Navi. "La Grange" is a banger even though it's been overused in pop culture. A lot of the rest is just kinda decent blues rock.
Enjoyable blues rock
The days of this album, 1973, change my perspective on it no end. They sound a lot more like Kings of Leon of the day than the puppy ZZ Top of.
Compared to their hard rock contemporaries, ZZ Top stayed faithful to their blues roots. A remarkably bluesy guitar and vocal style layered with heavier, doomier bass and a tough image and lyricism. The instrumentation stands out to me, especially those kick-ass guitar solos. There are plenty of weak songs here, with only guitars keeping me engaged. I felt "Move Me on Down the Line" tried too hard to mimic glam rock contemporaries, but there was still plenty to enjoy. But in retrospect, the only thing genre-breaking is the landmark hit "La Grange", and I'm disappointed nothing else even comes close to it.
3.5/5
An alright collection of blues/rock that did get a bit samey half way through. I would imagine that if you knew the songs well, they would be great to sing along to in the shower.
Thought it would be like some foreign language country music and that I wouldn't like it from the cover, but this is surprisingly.. decent? So far. (Hot, Blue and Righteous) Oh goodness "Jesus Just Left Chicago" I REALLY don't like this one. Skipping! Master of Sparks - decent
tämä on oikeaa rokkia. ei mitään nössöily indie hömpötys new wave liberaali post punk vittuilua. oikeaa saatanan rokkia. ukot pelaa kunnon vitun musiikkia, paskoo pöksyihin, kusee housuun, ehkä oksentaa ehkä jopa vittu kuolee pois... en tykkää billy gibbonsssin äänestä. kova live bändi. noh la grange paras
Odd to hear zz still working out their sound - legendary songs at the end and a sense of their swaggering sound
ZZ Top maybe not my favorite. I appreciate it, but generally found it boring
Correct.
ZZ Top are a fine band, don't get me wrong. But I never quite got on with them as much as I feel like I want to. I feel like being in my 30's and from South West England I'm from the wrong time or place, or more likely both, to really appreciate what they do. That being said I really enjoyed this album, more than I thought I would if I'm honest and of course it has the absolute banger "La Grange" on it which massively goes in its favour. Although the version I heard is a 2006 remaster, the production and recording style of this album is very much of its time, the guitar and fuzz just sounds so 70's in that instantly identifiable way which if I'm honest isn't my favourite recording style, I prefer a more generic timeless production. The song writing is great and catchy but again very old school at this point. Not bad but not something I'll likely put on again any time soon. 3/5
Not bad but unfortunately another missed opportunity as I just think the harder rock style of La Grange fits them much better than the softer rock style of the rest of the album
Right on Rock and roll from the early 70's. Great rhythms
7/10
Reconheci um hit clássico do rock americano.
La Grange and other songs you might not know that are definitely recorded by ZZ Top
2.5 stars for the album 0.5 stars for the beards. It's not the greatest thing ever but it's ZZ Top I can't give them less than 3 it would be a crime. I like La Grange, who doesn't?!
Nice sound, not very exiting though.
Good blues rock sound, but ultimately an uneventful listening experience for me.
Chugging bluesy Rock
Pretty cool but doesn't wow me - 3 stars
Although it's an album I doubt I'd ever come back to in its entirety, I do quite dig this. Lots of great guitars and driving rhythms, alongside some solid bluesy rock.
Actually a very fun, extremely digestible album - good solid guitar music, bordering on (early) metal I suppose, rhythmic, bluesy, rocky, punchy. Lyrically unambitious but satisfying. Could listen to it quite happily driving down a motorway near a new town in the late 70s or whenever it was released.
Ya like 12-bar blues?
Feel like this is a 3.5. Enjoyable blues rock and a fun listen from a band I really only knew for their beards
Super 1 dimensional but some badass rock.
La Grange is real solid
This is one of those albums I feel like I'd need ot hear in its place and time. Today, there's not much that stound out to me on here. The lead (only?) single "La Grange" doesn't sound much at all like the rest of the album. There is only a bit of the ZZ Top signature sound here, that would follow in the '80s. What I've always thought of as a buzzsaw guitar sound. This album is not bad, but not memorable.
적절히 그루비하고 적절히 신난다.
Not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes it's blues rock but it's so energic that it finally gets to you.
Not as bad as you'd think, but still pretty boring.
Blues rock - meh - but good for what it is
Another generic blues rock album to add to the long list of this challenge, but at least the ZZ Tops have personality and a sound of their own. And, as a bonus, some hits. Nothing special here, but I was happy to listen to it.
mid, good sound but more background music for me mostly.
This started off really well and, particularly with Master of the Sparks, I was enjoying the album quite a lot (certainly more than Eliminator). The second half didn't quite hold up for me though, and other than La Grange I found it difficult to latch onto anything. I'll still give it a 3 but it's much more on the 2-3 borderline rather than the 3-4 I was considering halfway through, which is a shame
rockero
Kannte ich vorher nicht. Obwohl es als Rock-Album so durchläuft, schlägt es für mich versöhnliche Töne zum Gesamtwerk von ZZ Top an, dem ich eher gleichgültig bis ablehnend gegenüberstehe. Noch drei Sterne.
Cool
La Grange
p305. 1973. 3 stars No frills quality 70s southern blues/rock. No track longer than 4 minutes, so it never outstays its welcome or gets bogged down by guitar wankage. Prefect driving music. On the other hand... a lack of standout tracks, a lot of them sound the same.
1. Make a riff 2. Add lyrics 3. Give it a guitar solo 4. Repeat this 9 more times *also for some reason end the album not with an epic guitar solo but with an annoying repetitive chanting instead.
Definitely more blues rock than the ZZ Top "Sharp Dressed Man", "Gimme All Your Lovin" 80s pop rock that I grew up with. I did recognize "La Grange" and generally enjoyed the album overall, wasn't particularly wowed by it but definitely listenable and catchy.
love me some bluesy rock. proto-stoner rock vibes.
Pleasant, but not much more. Kind of disappointing. Highlight: La Grange
Guitar special. 5/10 tho
Waiting for the bus, Jesus just left Chicago, Beer drinkers & Hell raisers, Hot, blue and Righteous - classics, feel good rambling music Amazing album, catchy tunes, good for a vibey afternoon or a themed party. Has limited creativity, but comes from the heart
Surprising album knowing only their later hits. Not my style, but nice to listen to.
La Grange is sooooo damn good that it accounts for most of these starts.
Couldn’t really get into it but wasn’t bad at all
Somewhat trapped in time. Languid guitars and slightly lethargic beat to the song.
2 or 3 great songs
I like the bluesy riff on this album, however half of the vocals I could not understand. Also there are a couple duds on here especially in the frist half. My favorite song on this album was MASTER OF SPARKS. With it southern rock charm. So over all not a great introduction to zz top but not terrible
Much better than I thought it would be. Pretty enjoyable.
Great grooves, nice sound, but every track is pretty much a slightly worse version of "La Grange".
It’s giving… playing cards on the decking, drinking wine from the bottle, dancing in the kitchen with your besties. Stand outs were “Hot, Blue and Righteous” and “Sheik”. Very into the slick guitars and the throaty vocals. Kiss kiss.
Rough and tumble type classic rock. Great start, great end. Less captivating in the middle. Still a solid album
Decent listen with no surprises
It was average. I did like a couple of songs.
La Grange is solid but everything else was fairly vanilla.
Enjoyable
This was alright. Le Grange rules, but the rest is a little unmemorable
Nothing memorable, nothing bad. Very average.
inizio 16:45 06/08/2022 diciamo non sono proprio dei lyricists un po rock country T.1 e 2 per me è no la 3 non è male non mi dispiace il sound però quando on parlano spaccano i testi fanno un po' schifo Beer drinkers and hell raisers SI Hot blue and righteous meh non male carine le doppie voci lenta ma ci sta move on down the line molto da pub carina ci ballerei ma dopo un po' me so persa la grange spacca "Dedicato al “miglior piccolo bordello del Texas” (appunto La Grange)" negli anni 70 erano matti forte sheik 2 cojonsss bella la chitarra e il basso ma a na certa hai rotto er cazzo quando non vedi l'ora che finisca è un brutto segno close track have you heard non orrenda ovviamente ma un po' noiosa. In conclusione un paio carine lagrange bella salvata il resto non lo riascolterei direi un 6/10
LE VRAI ROCK Prefs: Waitin' For The Bus/Jesus Left Chicago, Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers, La Grange Moins pref: Sheik
Nice pacing, decent enough.
Solid album overall, La Grange was the only real stand out track.
Good recording quality La Grange :) Half the songs are pretty good, half are meh
O ile sama nazwe bandy ZZ Top mialem gdzies z tylu glowy i pewnie wczesniej slyszalem ich granie radiowo, ale jest to pierwsza plyta ktora przesluchalem w calosci, tres hombres z 73 jest trzecim krazkiem w dyskografii bandy i ich komercyjnym przebiciem do muzyki mainstreamowej, chociaz dziwnie brzmi okreslenie tak specyficznego stylu jakim jest poludniowe rokowanie jako cos mainstreamowego, ale jestem sobie wyobrazic, ze targetowana demografia musiala byc porwana muzyka zespolu, tworzonego jak nazwa wskazuje przez trzech ziomkow, Billy Gibbons jako gitara i glowny wokal, Dusty Hill na basie i ewentalnie wspieranie wokalne oraz drumowiec Frank Beard, ktorego z takim nazwiskiem nie posadzalbym o brak brody, ktore jednak sa jednym z charakterystycznych elementow bandy, bo nawet jak osoba nie sluchala ich muzyki, a wie ze graja ja jakies brodate dziady, to cos jest na rzeczy, a grane jest polaczenie roka i bluesa, ktore jest okreslane stylowo jako texas blues, w graniu ZZ Topsow wpadaja w ucho najbardziej pomyslane, ale nadal przyjemnie proste gitarkowe riffowania, ktore maja miejsce dzieki niezwykle rownemu drumowaniu i basowej lini melodycznej, czesto pojawiaja sie takze wylacznie instrumentalne fragmenty, ktore pozwalaja to jeszcze lepiej uslyszec, dodac do tego wokal za ktorym czuc charyzme pana Gibbonsa polaczna z lirykami dla prostego czleka opowiadajacymi o zwyczajach zycia redneckowego, wiec zabawy mobilkami, dziwkowanie, pijatyki i wszystko co dobre w prostym zyciu, ale nadal brzmi to uczciwie, nie czuc tutaj naciaganej na sile kreacji, a raczej spiewanie o swoim, wiec tak jak byc powinno, na 33 minutach zmiescilo sie 10 trakow, wyjatkowo rownych, ale na plejke dodam openingowy waiting for the bus, bo jestem suckerem dla harmonijkowych brzmien oraz najwiekszy szlagier zespolu wedlug spotifaja, wiec burdelowy song la grange
Elkhart County 4H Fair
Texas Blues can't be more Texas. 3.5/5.
I had no idea ZZ Top were so religious. How did they go from Jesus band to party band so fast? The music here is almost perfect rock, it's like the template for rocking. I'm not so keen on the voices though. This is my failing rather than theirs, I'm fussy about voices. Regardless, this is a fun listen.
Eliminator is way better.
2.5. Always difficult for me to get into an album like this.
It's fine...
Nice to have a shorter album after a streak of pretty long ones recently. Overall a decent showing from ZZ Top, really only know La Grange from this album. The other tunes were alright, nothing spectacular but decent blues and rock.
Fav songs: - Have You Heard? - Jesus Just Left Chicago - Hot, Blue and Righteous - Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
This was a decent bluesy rock album. Felt like eliminator was a better ZZ Top album. This album was quick and still had some good songs but I would lose interest in the middle. 6.5/10
I hadn't expected there to be a quaint ZZ Top album, but here we are.
Not as good as I would've imagined but very decent nonetheless
Great album with lots of hits
The Zaza kings. Only song I know from this album is La Grange so I was pumped to listen to this one. I love ZZ Top, and I appreciate these roots of not being as hard rock and more so country rock. At least to me. While this album isn't as good as some of their others, I enjoyed it.
Our second from the bearded boys, and it's really funny to me that this comes right after that Bowie album. Any critic in the world would tell you that Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is better than this or any ZZ Top album, but man, gun to my head, I'd rather listen "La Grange." It's dad rock, no pretense. All I need sometimes. Favorite tracks: La Grange, Waitin for the Bus, Move Me On Down the Line. Album art: Very basic, blocky style. Seems uncharacteristic of ZZ Top, like some bad travel agency layout. But the color and font is a pretty nice combo. 3.5/5
Decent, but very samey and full of sloppy (but still pretty fun) live versions of a few of the same tracks at the end of the remastered edition. Really fun, and surprised me how many songs I knew. Tres hombres, tres 🌟
Southern rock generally isn't my vibe but even I've gotta admit that this album is chock full of great riffs.
Un tanto soso... pero con el megahit La Grange
La grange. Bien
Rock sureño y relajado. Con buenas guitarras y ritmos suaves
For some reason I liked this a lot more on a second listen than I did on the first one not that long ago. "Lagrange" is still the obvious highlight, and the whole album *is* a fairly straightforward early/mid-70s southern rock boogie thing, but I liked it this time round.
Inconsistent
the guitar, the melodies, there's no mistake with zz top being on this list. "waitin' for the bus" and "jesus just left chicago" back to back--there's just something about it. "la grange" is easily the most standout track here. hm hm hm hm. ultimately, i'm just not a huge fan of zz top! still a worthwhile listen, and i did discover i enjoy "jesus just left chicago".
Boring
Thought i'd hate this but it's decent. The constant rhythm track was pretty cool but by the end I found it a bit repetitive and predictable to go higher than a 3
Listened Before? N Solid listen. These guys have always intrigued me because of their close relationship with the blues. While some songs on this album just don't work, there are some great highlights here. La Grange of course, but I particularly like the distortion-drenched "Jesus Just Left Chicago" Added to Library? P Songs added to Playlist: Jesus Just Left Chicago, La Grange
Feel like a Texan going to a Mexican restaurant and ordering some beef chimichangas.
Solid
ZZ Top always makes me think, "pretty good". The bangers on this album really kick, but there are a few too many skips. The band appeared in a back To The Future movie, but it was the worst of the three films. They performed during halftime of a Super Bowl years before it was a coveted gig. One of the band member's actual last name is Beard, yet he's the only member who's clean shaven. All three members of ZZ Top look like they could drink Skynyrd under the table, but never have any of Skynyrd's good drugs. La Grange is the obvious big song here, but I'm glad I was introduced to the first two songs. Jesus may have left Chicago, but that lil'ol' band from Texas had enough tricks in their beards to warrant two albums appearing on this list.
70's Blues, but some is good to rock out to. La Grange elavates it.
Genre: Blues Rock 3/5 As far as this genre is concerned, this book certainly seems to enjoy it more than I do, especially all the anglicized versions of it. But, this ZZ Top album is pretty good. ZZ Top is one of my dad's favorite groups of all time. They played a cheap version of blues, but they played it pretty good, and they had the attitude and look of a group with much better chops. The long beards are an iconic look. As far as Tres Hombres is concerned, Waitin' for the Bus and La Grange are the big hits here, the main purpose behind this album being in the book in the first place and both songs are great, but there are some decent deep cuts in here, too. Some straight blues jams are rather boringly executed at first, until all of a sudden Billy Gibbons starts rippin' a great solo. Precious and Grace is probably the best example of this. Overall, the album was short and sweet, and it does the job. Probably not essential, but the hits hit.
Catchy blues rock. A little tame.
Good album. Easy listening, very nice to listen to while driving. Favourite song: - La Grange
Rating: 6/10
Short, sharp, clean bluesy licks with a surprising amount of funkiness. Some good moments here, but I wasn’t blown away, even though from an overall perspective I didn’t mind this album.
2e écoute pour moi de cet album. C’est l’album où l’on retrouve La Grange, le plus gros hit du groupe. Je ne suis pas un grand fan de blues rock, mais j’ai encore une fois bien apprécié mon écoute.
2/24/22
Beer drinkers and hell raisers :D En oo aiemmin oikeestaan kuunnellu näiltä muuta ku La Grange joka on toki full bängeri, ja on tässä muutama muukin ihan ok riffittely. Ihan kunnioitettavaa myös biisien lyriikoiden minimalistisuus. Laulajan ääni on tosi ärsyttävä. 3/5.
Hmh, ZZ Topin hitit on siistejä ja muutenkin meno on teknisesti takuuvarmaa alusta loppuun. Mutta aina hämmentää, miten ne hittien ulkopuoliset biisit tuntuukin niin tylsiltä. No on tää silti 3/5, perusfiilis kuitenkin kiva ja mukavan chilliä.
Het blijft zz-top! Maar ze hebben wat mij betreft beter week geleverd
Toch iets minder goed dan ik had gehoopt. Sowieso eeuwige credit aan deze band die de ultieme jaren 80 videoclip maakten met Gimme al your lovin'
Coole band zeg. Beetje onderbelicht gebleven bij mij, maar dit kan ik zeker waarderen.
Het grooved, rockt, swingt....go go ZZ top!👉
Deed me soms denken aan QOTSA.
Jkiff la grange
The third album from ZZ Top was their breakthrough album in the US. It released to decent reviews, not perfect scores, but did well enough to become popular. The southern rock and blues rock on this album serenades you with thoughts of the Tex-Mex border. And this album has aged like fine wine. This is the first album from ZZ Top that I have listened to and now I like their music.
La Grange is 10/10 but everything else was lacking.
Two guys with big beards and the drummer who's called Beard but doesn't have a beard play a mix of southern rock and blues. Pretty good if you like this sort of thing but it's nothing very special. Best Tracks: Waitin' For The Bus; Jesus Just Left Chicago; La Grange
'La grange' is een fantastisch nummer. Ik vind ZZ Top wel leuk voor even. Maar de rest van deze plaat is wat veel hetzelfde
3 1/2
Blues by the beards. Bit less boogie than I expected which was a positive thing.
Standard ZZ Top
A short little bluesy rock album. I wouldn't be upset if somebody put it on around me, but I'm not thinking "this was a great album I need to remember".
3.6 - It's good as far as boomer butt-rock goes - I actually write that as a compliment recognizing butt-rock as a distinct sub-genre. It's ZZ Top way back before any synths were introduced. Theirs is an elegant but beefy guitar sound with razor sharp riffs and blues guitar solos that scream and moan. I love the stripped down feel, mostly showcasing only 3 instruments. The minimalism helps the instrumentation sound modern, unlike other 1970s rock that can suffer from too many overlays and loops that muddy rather than augment. As for my criticims: a) the song themes sound very dated, they reference "honky-tonks" and the New Orleans/Chicago blues channel, b) "Sheik" makes them sound ignorant of other cultures, in an average-white-man-of-the-1970s kind of way. Like, it's awkward that the first verse references "Mozambique", "Congo", "Mexico" and "burrito." Conclusion: I'd be syched to see it in the jukebox and might even pick a song off it, but I don't foresee listening to it in full that often.
Decent dadrock! First time really listening to ZZ Top. When the opening track started I was pleasantly surprised, it felt groovy and had a cool riff. Then some decent tracks and then dipped in the middle and felt a bit generic. La Grange was good, then went back to average for the final couple of songs. Still, some cool stuff on this one.
Vibes
Good but not great.
Live låtarna på platta är otroligt bra
Good stuff
classic rock.. anyone's wondering?
It's ZZ Top, it all sounds the same to me.
Not awful
T: 8 P: 6 G: 5
average has the one song
Bueno, me gusto
It's ok, La Grange is overrated
dad vibes
BLUES. Its a nice nice sound. I wish there were a little more soul in the tracks, and even more guitar solos as well, instead of the steady rock sound. Top Tracks: Jesus Just Left Chicago, Hot Blue and Righteous, La Grange, Have You Heard?
Good back to basics
A good exploration of genres while sticking to a certain sound, all kinda rooted in southern rock. Some slow songs, jazz funk, blues, and heavy rockers. “Move me on down the line” seems very kinks inspired which I appreciated. A very solid album, just not particularly my taste and I doubt I’d come back to it very often.
This album has some really great moments especially where Billy Gibbons’ slide guitar playing takes over. It’s a solid rock album.
The aural equivalent of being rolled around in barbecue sauce and left out in a bowl of chicken wings in a faux-Mexican chain restaurant. It's ZZ Top, getting their hands dirty (but mostly following the recipe) with a smoky, sleazy helping of southern bluesy rock. "Tres Hombres" seems at ease with itself, content to evoke blues rock without being completely authentic. I never got the impression they were giving it all they had, that every note mattered. But I did get the impression that they were happy in their lane, which gave the album a slack, devil-may-care appeal. I found the album a lot more enjoyable when approaching it with this frame of mind. The hit, "La Grange", is an intoxicating shuffle that works in its simplicity, but there's also fun energy in "Move Me on Down the Line", and the segue from "Waitin' for the Bus" into "Jesus Just Left Chicago" is very satisfying, making the clean guitar strums of the latter all the sweeter. It's not all just bearded men farting around copying the blues, mind you. There is some strong musicianship at play in many of the songs. Take the deceptively complex guitar playing: at first glance shrugging, non-committal; on further listens deft, melodic, serving and even lifting the songs. The slide solo at the end of "Previous and Grateful" elevates the song above a standard throwaway, and "Sheik" has some solid wah-jamming. This is a cheap-night-out of an album, a comfort-over-style deal from a one-trick band who will never change my life. Did I enjoy it for its conformity, the way I enjoy barbecue chicken wings at that chain restaurant? Sure. Would I be sad if I never heard it again? Let's wait and see...
In what is becoming a refrain, I don't think a list of 1001 "Essential" albums including the offerings of rock, hip hop, jazz, funk, soul, folk and more of better than a half century requires multiple offerings from ZZ Top. I think I refer this more blues forward era of the band overall though.
A few classics! 3/5 Solid.
A previously dismissed band by myself due to tge crap tgey produced in the 90’s, pleasantly surprised by this.
First time that I've heard this album. Interesting mix, with glimpses of where they'd end up (...Eliminator). Definitely more of a bluesy power trio here. Will give this another go, soon
I always thought ZZ Top were jokey redneck rockers so this was a nice surprise, a bit of earthy hard blues rock. Not my scene but I appreciated the effort.
Beards
Master Of Sparks was a brilliant tune. If only the second half were as good as the first.
Sounds like a ZZ Top album
Every song is simple and too the point. I can hear echos of this album's influence on countless other artists that I listen to.
Good album. The ZZ top this album presents is different than what I am used to. Great blues sound. A Strong 3.4
Not for me
Most songs on here are good but average, but the good songs are really great. Favorites are Master of Sparks and La Grange
Sounds like dirty roadside bar music. It’s a look.
Substantially more gritty and authentic feeling than eliminator
Guy sounds like he's gargling marbles and some of the tracks are a bit iffy (Sheik), but still a fun album and worth a listen
I LOVE the drum tone on this whole album, super tight.
Old school blues
pretty fun, not completely my style
Was aight.
Great album, loved the opportunity to listen to more than just their radio hits.
That transition from Bus into Jesus When they go hard, very country Motorhead Hot Blue I really disliked Beer Drinkers, Mr Sparks, La Grange Sheik was cool but went on too long
A semi-decent blues-rock album. 7.5/10
c'est moins bourrin que ce que je pensais c'est pas si mal mais je réécouterai pas ça avant 1000 ans. 6.
Nice music to slug whiskeys to. Could do with some slower numbers though.
Very much enjoyed this. Loved the bluesy riffs and guitar work in general. I'll certainly revisit and glad to learn that the Top aren't a joke band.
The hits are obviously gold here, but the deep cuts honestly don't do a lot for me. Still a pretty nice record though.
Fantasizing about walking into a bar and watching this trio rip (or should I say, spark) as I sip a cool beer.
You can see a gem forming, but most of this album sounds rough to me, I dunno. But if course then there's La Grange, which I have to assume is the only reason this album made the list.
I had no idea ZZ Top were so religious. How did they go from Jesus band to party band so fast? The music here is almost perfect rock, it's like the template for rocking. I'm not so keen on the voices though. This is my failing rather than theirs, I'm fussy aout voices. Regardless, this is a fun listen.
Old school ZZ.
Later ZZTop albums were in the era where I started to get picky about guitar denominated tunes. This stemmed from getting sick of most heavy metal and other heavy guitar dominated music. ZZ Top wasn't that heavy but they were in the neighbourhood so I kept my distance. This album was before I switched off but I didn't listen to this until now.The first three tracks show that these lads know how to play and it's fun enough to keep my review and rating polite. In track 4 they start to cross the line to the stuff I hate but they got back to the bluesy boogie stuff. The opening to The Grange sounds like the old Slim Harpo tune "Shake Your Hips". I guess blues is blues is blues. I enjoyed this album. It's a decade away literally (and a century away figuratively) from their hits and accompanying videos with spinning guitars and enough hotties that it could be mistaken for a beer commercial.
I liked it. Reminds me of family parties growing up
.
La Grange + friends. straightforward driving rock. all the songs kind of blur together for me.
Repetitive but competently so
Really good fun without being outstanding. Would be happy to listen again but won’t be rushing to.
Listened to like half, there were some fun songs
Pretty enjoyable
It was actually quite good i thought, I really liked the first couple of songs!
Not my thing
Was expecting to hate this but it was actually decent. Would give it 3.5 if I could.
3/5
I avoided these guys when I was a yoot, but in retrospect, they're not so bad. They're more blues based than I remember, and I was less of a blues fan then. These days, with a dearth of guitar solos, it's nice to hear an album that has 20 guitar solos in 10 songs.
It's ok.
3.2 Das Manufactum des rocknroll, wa. Sehr solide.
Groovy Swamp rock with some solid singles.
Un tanto soso... pero con el megahit La Grange
Good, but not my style. Too much rock/blues for my taste
Helt ålreit. Fikk ikke med at jeg hørte på de mens jeg jobbet, bortsett fra la grange som er en av verdens kuleste sanger
eher boring, aber me muess safe o chli dricho
idk why but i got strong long island vibes from this album.
Yeah, La Grange is FIRE. The rest? Somewhat smouldering….
Solid music, not my style
Eh
La Grange is the best song.
Fun, but maybe I wasn't in the mood for it
At first it seems like just a blues album but quite a lot more going on.
So nearly a 4! I had boxed ZZ Top into the style they played in the mid-80s onwards. Really liking this album! Rate 3.8/5.
Good ol' Texas rock and roll
la grange is a banger but the rest is not that memorable, probably has a better effect when played live
Actually my second time listening to this album. Think I enjoyed it more on the first listen, but it came and go, not overstaying it’s welcome but not giving a whole lot either.
Bluesy. Had me in the first half, but aside from "La Grange", it just kind of tappers off for me. Solid licks as always. Favorite tracks: "Waitin' For the Bus", "Jesus Just Left Chicago"
1973. Key Songs. La Grange, Precious And Grace, Jesus Just Left Chicago
I didn't hate it or love it
ZZ Top rocks pretty hard. This is just kinda solid cool rockin music. La Grange is a classic. 3/5.
Musically it didn’t do a lot for me but it was short, which definitely improved my perception of it. I will definitely never listen to it again but it’s brevity meant it hasn’t done any lasting damage.
Seems oddly timed the day following Frank Beards passing. More blues rock fare, and although much more rooted in blues than rock, I still have problems with it. Songs sound formulaic, the guitar tone is horrible on some songs with these horrible treble overtones, lyrics are banal (“blue, hot, and righteous”. Really?) and overall did very little for me. They can play, but not the kind of music I enjoy.
Listening session: august 18th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: heard one song before Thoughts: they’re not bad but it’s just too boring for my liking. More something for american dads I think Favourite tracks: Jesus Just Left Chicago & La Grange
Best thing I can say about it is La Grange was on this album and I will continue to listen to that song, sometimes
Unoriginal and generic, only 2 good songs
Beardy
Not for me right now i guess
Rock n’roll en estat pur. Potser li falta cohesió al disc i veure’l com una unitat de sentit global. Alguns temazos i altres cançons més fluixetes.
completely zoned out for like 70% of this but it was funny when he went eh hao hao hao
Good blues record, though I didn't really find anything special aside from of course La Grange. So.. yeah, I like it, I do like the blues, but after half an hour of the same thing it just seems kind of... boring. Sorry. Enjoyable record for sure, but not something I'd turn on regularly.
Nothing exceptional, rifts were kinda flat falling, few nice songs but not enough for the walk home
by the end i was a bit like "ZZ Stop". not for me.
Boring, didn't catch me
I liked the idea of this more than the reality of the same fu ky beats over and over
Okay, this will be fun: For a previous album (Dire Straits) I said it "reminds me of that thing where boomer blues rockers in wraparound shades move their face forward and back on their neck in time with the music instead of nodding or shaking their head" and also sometimes "a kid I knew who used to drop his pants and strum his junk like a guitar and go 'deener-neener-neet neet neet neet neet.'" But this one has way more head-bobbing white blooze man energy! I give it 6.5/10 neck-sliding white blues men, a new record, and hence crown it the king of the head-thrusting blues rockers. Who will dethrone it??! (If an album in this competition is really hard to take, I'll also assign it a "junk-strumming kid." This one is kinda bland, but you wouldn't say "hard to take.")
I have been aware of ZZ Top and their hits for many years, but have never gotten excited for their music or for the southern rock genre in general. Listening to this did not move the needle at all for me. It's decent enough music but just isn't my jam. I'm puzzled by the title. Tres Hombres seems to imply some Latin infusion or influence... but I didn't hear that at all.
I could never have named La Grange (or the band) but this song has been everywhere in my nearly 50 years.
Just not a fan of these guys.
More like ZZ Plop. I’m so confused about this record and why it’s on this list. Reading other reviews makes me think I may have even listened to the wrong album. It’s so plodding … and the production is just awful! The guitar riffs all sound the same, the singing is okay but there is just a serious lack of catchy tunes or songwriting skills. That being said- I bet it would be fun to play on guitar hero! Move me on down the line is okay
The kind of southern rock I should be in to but doesn’t click with me for some reason
Is this the second or third ZZ Top album I've had on the list? Either way, more than one for such a nothing band is a bit ridiculous. Again, if I were doing this list I'd put a two album cap on every artist. This wasn't very good. I held out on giving it a three for as long as I could, but it's a two. Aside from some interesting stories in the lyrics, there's little to go on. Pretty bad vocals play over forgettable riffs, with no memorable melodies to be found. I don't like giving rock albums less than three stars, but there was a lot better being made at this time, before, and since, and this just about scrapes by on being average.
ZZ Top has a ton of swagger on this album, delivering slab after slab of blues rock. A few tracks, like "Master of Sparks" and "Precious and Grace," have a nice groove to them. Others are more drawn out, closer to traditional blues. And some, like "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," just sound clumsy. While there's nothing outright bad here, this sound has been done better by other artists, and the band doesn't bring all that much new to the table. "La Grange" was a big hit and has a memorable riff, but structurally and lyrically it's a pretty empty song. Probably a lot of fun while tearing down a desert highway or at a barbecue, but not as interesting for dedicated listening.
[ shrugging ] It's Rock.
At Least La Grange is good, the rest is forgettable and bland
Partially known. One great song and the rest was fine.
It’s alright. I’ve never been huge on them but it was a fun listen. I can say that I’ve listened to a full ZZ Top album now instead of just a greatest hits comp so that’s cool.
It’s ok….nothing exceptional
Mediocre and short rock album. The riffs were cool, but the singer is not it for the most part. I found the songs on this album really drag. When ZZ Top leans into the blues rock this heavily, I just find it unbearably boring.
There are probably hundreds of albums that should not be on this list, and i think i just found the first one that i can positively say has no business being here. I really have no idea what i just listened to. The only thing i consistently like is the guitar work, it’s basically AC/DC esque classic rock mixed with blues. But it’s horrible. I really didn’t enjoy this Highlights: Hot, Blue & Righteous, Move Me On Down The Line, La Grange - The only tracks that were close to being good. The guitar solo on Move Me On Down The Line is actually pretty cool Lowlights: The rest
Cheesy but just about listenable
I feel like I’m the only one who feels this album was just boringggggggg looking at the reviews
Nah, I don't vibe with this sound at all This was a bit of a struggle
I enjoyed the other ZZ Top album on this list but I couldn't really get on with this one. It's pretty repetitive and it doesn't have the cheesey pop hooks that Eliminator did. Overall it felt longer than it was.
They all look the same and all of their songs sound the same too.
5 stars for being short, but music is closer to 2.
Southern Rock, food and Sexism. Ich habe das Album schon mal gehört, nach dem es eine unglaublich positive review auf Pitchfork hab, und es schon da nicht verstanden. Granted, die Band klingt gut und wenige Songs haben eine schöne weirdness. Aber ansonsten ist das banaler Southern Rock, der Blues und Rock'n'Roll verbindet und auf den ich verzichten kann.
La Grange und dann wirds hart langweilig. Wer braucht so Musik und für was, ausser Soundtracks?
Always had a soft spot for La Grange and Precious & Grace. Forget Eliminator, this is the only ZZ Top LP you need.
Surprisingly listenable.
Generic middle of the road rock. Kind of boring, nothing special. I did like Waitin' for the Bus, and have added it to my playlist; it had cool guitar work and a nice vibe. 2/5 stars.
There was nothing wrong with this album but there also wasn’t anything super right with it
Give me Legs instead.
Classic rock with blues influences. It's very tight, clean and well produced but I found it a bit boring. La Grange has a nice riff but I don't enjoy it much as a song. The drums aren't too bad though.
america baby
It was not what I expected, but it’s been a couple of days, and to be honest it wasn’t very memorable
ZZ Top definitely a much better meme than they are a band. Totally fine and mostly forgettable.
Really just one song
Fine
Definitely not in spanish
rockslop
solo conozco la grange, despues masomenos, no me esperaba esa voz en los otros temas
I’m not gonna hate on this because I think these guys are cool looking. I get it’s like kind of rock ‘n’ roll and all that. I don’t know whatever there’s a couple of classic songs I don’t care. I’m not gonna hate on it. Two stars though.
I've never been so underwhelmed by a rock album.
pretty much nothing to say here. i forgot this as fast as i listened to it. i had it on while doing cardio which normally is a great time to focus on music except this was immediately right back out. got to the end and didn't even register that the music stopped at first because it was legitimately that much of background music lmfao. even on relisten, complete background music. maybe the reason i don't appreciate this kind of 70s bluesy rock is that my dad died when i was 12.
4/28 Other than La Grange, nothing else really stands out to me. Prefer the later albums from ZZ Top
This is a slightly better ZZ Top invention than the one I had to listen to before but still pretty msierable.
Another day, another album. I don't see why "Tres Hombres" is on the list. However, I'd rather have that on the 1001 albums list over anything by Areosmith as an example of 70s hard rock. None of the songs seemed to impress me. The tracks are so samey that I don't have a favourite among them. 2 stars for "Tres Hombres".
like tuff but then again not my cup of tea guys voice very good nice beer belly afternoon drunk cowboy vibes