Eliminator

This is for some people out there, but I am not that some people

Album No. 0228 on my list. Cool, I hadn’t even thought that this album would be on the list. I had known some few ZZ Top songs, but never actually had listened to more than two or three in a row. “Eliminator” contains some of the songs I had k known and really showcases this unique ZZ Top style. At the same time, it does indeed sound like an album from the 80s. I’ve generally enjoyed listening to the band’s driven, forward rock style - they’re really living the boogie. I have to admit though that things get a little repetitive around the second half of the album, and I found most of the lyrics rather boring and sometimes a little annoying. I’ll add “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, and “Legs” to my playlist. 3/5 stars.

Zzz

Kind of sucks

It's the same song 11 times in a row. Now, it's a fine song, but I don't need to hear it 11 times in a row.

Very dad-rock vibe. I’m not sure whether to give it a 2 or 3 because I just wasn’t that interested and this isn’t something I’d want to listen to again. I enjoy other dad rock bands like GnR, but this was just like GnR but downgraded a lot. I’m leaning more towards 2 just because of the “listen again” factor.

Some damn cool guitar work. I give these boys a 3 for this bit of fun.

I didn't LOVE this album, but I definitely wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. It's also not what I would expect from ZZ Top, with the few songs that I know from them. Or at least, I thought so. It turns out I know a few of the songs here, I just didn't know them by name. Anyways, I really like the mix of late-70s / early-80s rock with the new wave synths. I do think the album could've been a few songs shorter, though; it got repetitive toward the end. None of the songs really have too much movement. "I Need You Tonight" in particular is way too long. But there was some really cool stuff, too, like the bass on "Thug." Maybe I won't be so quick to dismiss ZZ Top in the future, though I still don't think I'll be listening to this album very much. ----- #0037 Heard on: 2 Nov. 2026 Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (186 / 365) Favorite track: Thug Least favorite track: I Need You Tonight

Texas blues-rock Behemoths trading in a little of their edge for synth and new wave vibes for commercial success could end up being a disaster. Somehow, it works. It's a little more radio-friendly than their earlier work, but they still impart their musicianship and clever wordplay to create a (now) classic rock staple. Fun songs, fun videos if you take the time, and a fun time.

i am now realizing i love dad rock because of this album...

RATING: 5/10 HIGHLIGHT: Got Me Under Pressure LOWLIGHT: Sharp Dressed Man

This is not for me. Tv dinners made me cringe, it's written the way kids cartoon music is written. The lyric writing is uninteresting to me, bordering on uncomfortable. Some of these songs make me feel icky. Clearly not written for the ladies, I can hardly find anything redeeming in the song writing.

Not my kind of thing. Guitar solos were too long. Dad rock type record. There were moments where the synths used were kinda cool but definitely wouldn’t re-listen. The drum machine drums weren’t a winner for me either. Solid 2

D e jo bare masse banger rokkesanger

Not the worst that 1983 had to offer. These songs were overplayed on the radio, and I also had the cassette at the time. It is something I forgot about, and frankly i was glad to put it behind me.

Very boring rock

Eliminator - ZZ Top (1983) Tracks sound a bit similar but pretty good. 7/10

If I ever get a hot rod ill blast this album on repeat yew. Fave song is Tv dinner song thas a banger. "im needin someone like you that I just wanna do love to" and "wave em" instead of microwave them was my favourite bits

why does every song sound like duran duran’s rio

Feels like y I'm sitting in an old bar and there is a jukebox in the corner and a guy with a big beard drinking a beer at the bar. Sharp Dressed Man is a great pump up song. The rest of the songs all blur into one.

this is my music taste

The good songs are really good, and the bad songs aren't even that bad - pretty sick tracks on this album

I always considered ZZ Top a novelty act. I never took them seriously. ZZ Top have a lot of catchy songs that don’t say much. Guitar is the principal instrument. The vocals are rough. They sing about bad girls which is one of the favourite topics of male rock stars. The singles Sharp Dressed Man and Legs are good songs. If you are a ZZ Top fan you will probably like this album. This is an average album. Three stars.

As always, this type of album makes me feel guilty for rating it well. But it’s solid classic 80’s rock with hits and a consistent sound. And I think they’re funny. Thank you MTV. 4 Boolean: True

Favorite Song: Got Me Under Pressure Least Favorite: Legs

ブルースをもとに、80年代っぽいギターの音を合わせた、ハードロック？なのかな。シンセとかの電子音がヴォーカルのしゃがれたおじさんの声にマッチしているかも。いいかんじに古臭くてかっこいい。 このアルバム以外、La Grangeしか聴いたことないけど、La Grangeとはまた違った方向性のかっこよさがありますわ。

This continues to not be my genre. Not that I dislike it, but I know it's not something I'll seek out on my own. But that's why I like this project, I feel like I should know about a lot of these albums and songs. The album is fun and well crafted though!

pretty good but not quite my style

Техас это ковбои, девушки в шортах, шляпы, сапоги, лошади, родео, стада в полях, большие машины, прерии, нефтяные вышки, бескрайний горизонт, перекати-поле и конечно ZZ Top. Хотя они и не покорили мое сердце, но они - часть красивого ландшафта, куда без них. Так что сделаем рукой это знаменитое вжух, провожая летящий вдаль по широкой и бесконечной дороге автомобиль и двинемся дальше. 2-1-(2)

I like ZZ Top

My dad sent me this one a while back. Good, solid classic rock. Gives me pinball vibes

So great! From top to the bottom gone to the top! Brought back so many great memories from my teenage years!

3/5 definitely

Can’t believe every ZZ Top song I’ve ever heard of came from the same album. Wow, banger.

fuck yeah zz top are so fucking cool man repetitive but who gives a shit

The album cover thinks that it is so tough. The old 1980s car is so lame, but at least the ZZTop logo is amazing. I cannot express how much I distain these lyrics. They, along with the overall theming, completely ruin this album. For the first 6 songs ZZTop is practically begging to rape this women, and I mean it. He expresses no care for genuine love AT ALL. Then, in "Thug" he says "I had a friend down in alcatraz, we busted out june 21". NO YOU DID NOT, you did not have a friend you busted out. There is no way. In "If I Could Only Flag Her Down" he says, "I dont want her money, i got connections, I dont want your hide" YES YOU DO, YES YOU DO WANT HER HIDE. Disgusting term btw, but regardless he literally sang for 6 songs saying thats all he wanted. Just disgusting lyrics, horrible message, and awful terminology. The only reason this is a 2 is because I do like the guitar backing on some tracks, and with a completely different set of lyrics, this artist could MAYBE do something. Best Song: Gimme All Your Lovin'. Worst Song: Legs.

ZZ Top is old school rock 🎸 with hits like Gimme All your Lovin’ and Legs! Amplified, deep-throated, grungy rock-n-role!!

mumble and guitar solo mumble and guitar solo Mumble and guitar solo DEAR GOD ITS ALL MUMBLE AND GUITAR SOLO The first few songs are indicative of the potential for this album to be great. Immaculate guitar work is present throughout many of these songs, but it quickly turns unimpressive. It’s terribly repetitive, accentuating the poor aspects and flipping what was interesting into a dull listen.

not my music

Ehhh. I prefer their earlier material. This is too slick. Too sharp-dressed if you will.

They are very similar songs but they are awesome.

Some great songs on here.

mas divertido de lo que pensaba, varias canciones del estilo que suponia pero mejores que mis expectativas.

To be honest, I sighed when I got this album, expecting a bit of a rock-slog. I still tried to keep an open mind and was positively surprised. Although still the rockiest of rock it had enough melodies and enough charm that I was happy to sit through the whole album.

It’s by no means perfect but there are simply too many great tracks here to ignore. I have an urge to go out and buy a motorcycle and crank my hog with my fellow hosses.

This one is packed with so many of ZZ Top's hits. Gimme All Your Lovin', Got Me Under Pressure, and Sharp Dressed Man all on 1 side. Legs is a strong start on the back side and I enjoyed the rest despite not hearing most before. It's just short of a 5 for me as I don't think I'd put on at home often if owned it, but damn if it isn't really good.

Ta bueno, me gusta ese mood clasico, aunque luego el álbum se volvió a little monotono

This is a band that you only appreciate while drinking cheap beer in a dive bar.

Ive heard so many ZZ Top songs on the radio, many of wich are on this album. Ive never enjoyed them a lot and listening to this album dindt make me like them. They have a cool sounds and you know I can listen to "Sharp Edge man" and enjoy it. But not 40 minutes of it. All these songs sound the same, I got tired of it after like, 10 minutes. Its prety clear to me that they were a band who made good singles and not good albums. 2.5/5

Solid rock album from ZZ Top. You can track the slow growth away from southern blues rock to a slightly more modern sound. Reading about how so many of the albums instruments were slowly replaced with synths, drum machines, and dubbing is a little sad. Mostly for the artists that thought they were part of the creation and final project. But maybe their work didn’t cut it. Still a rockin’ good time! Gimme All Your Lovin’ Sharp Dressed Man Legs

It's Hard rock

I mean I really like ZZ Top and everything, and there's some good tunes on Eliminator, but why would you pick this album specifically? Tres Hombres is right there man. 3/5

gostei, um rock anos 80 bem clássico!!

two hits are bangers. rest is fine. lotta sex. AGGRESSIVELY 80s. 3.64/5

The hit songs are classics. Don’t bother with the rest of the album.

ZZ Top are such trash but they're fun trash. Their lame lecherous shtick about cool cars and hot babes is polished to a chrome shine here. Catchy sleaze, occasionally a little too sleazy to get away with it.

An album I don't understand why I don't own. Perhaps because I had it on tape and used to listen to it mainly in the car at the time. Going to redress that omission today anyway. A great one full of accessible/fun/energetic rock. Have to admit I hadn't really bothered listening properly to the lyrics before though and they are for the most part questionable to say the least! Still tame compared to a lot of more recent output nevertheless. Anyway, the beat and the feel overrides that so I can forgive them and still love the album.

Better than the other ZZtop record on this list but still not great. Why on earth are there two ZZtop records on this list. I liked Legs 🦵

Every song is essentially the same, chug chugging along with nothing much to say. Better than the other ZZ Top, but that's not saying much.

I'm now caught up in some sort of '80's nostalgia loop. This is pretty much sell-out bubblegum rock but it works for the time. Sometimes you just want music that makes you smile, and this album does that. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and after struggling through Moz's You Are The Quarry a couple of days ago, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It has a place, there is plenty of room for everything in this world and that's fine by me.

Прекрасный, отличный альбом 9/10

2.5

Hyvää rokkia. Hyvin miksattu ja taidokkaasti soitettu mutta yksikään kappale ei jäänyt mieleen.

Quite liked it. An inoffensive album, typical rock, decent tempo, plenty of guitar riffs, safe vocals never deviating too far. Ome thing that really hit my ear strange on every song, and I searched why, is that the drums and percussion were all digital. They all felt too clean, perfect and uniform, out of keeping with rock etc. Knew Sharp Dressed Man, that's all. Got me Under Pressure was the highest rated song and was decent enough, also liked Bad Girl.

Punchy!

Cock rock. Simple and fun

every song sounds basically the same but occasionally that's ok

This is just fine? Serviceable is the word I use for ZZ top. "Sharp Dressed Man" is the only song on here I knew, and definitely the standout, but "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and "Legs" are decent too

So infectious and funky. They don't call it Boogie Rock for nothing! The 80's surprisingly sound great on these guys. The ultra-processed gated drums contrast very nicely with their bluesmen persona, creating some sort of post-modern feel. And these songs are just a whole lotta fun. You really can't ask for anything else, can you? Key tracks: Gimme All Your Lovin Sharp Dressed Man Legs

Just crushed a beer can on my forehead on top of my red Chevy truck in my denim cutoff shorts. I liked Legs and TV Dinner just bc it kinda made me laugh.

Iconic. They were used a lot in nascar games I had growing up, so there’s some nostalgia there. Uhh yeah. Sharped dress man and I need you tonight are good. Maybe I’ll boot up an old nascar game later. Idk. That could be a cry for help.

Fine, seemed like easy listening

Giver mening med en bil på coveret. Velegnet køremusik. OK i den lidt ensartede rock-genre.

This album totally rocks. The lyrical content is not my favorite, but all in all, the musicianship, style, and production are top notch. The guitars noticably steal the show as they are supposed to, but in my book, the drums are what really shine! Being a classic, "Sharp Dressed Man" is probably still my number choice on this album.

Whatever, list.

I knew my rating before I even started this one: five stars and a BUY. I owned Eliminator when it originally came out, and more than 40 years later, I still love it. Nostalgia certainly plays a part, especially since the videos for “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs” were such a huge part of the MTV era. But take away the Eliminator car, the spinning guitars, and those iconic videos, and these songs are still huge. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” remains my favorite of the big hits. It rocks the hardest, and unlike “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs,” I don’t feel like it was quite as overplayed through the years. But this album is much more than those three songs. There is absolutely no filler here. “I Need You Tonight” is still fantastic, Dusty Hill taking the lead vocal on “I Got the Six” changes things up nicely, and “If I Could Only Flag Her Down” has one of those hooks that gets stuck in your head. “TV Dinners” is still a lot of fun, and I’ll always associate it with that wonderfully bizarre video. My favorite deep cut, though, is “Thug.” That one has always stood out to me. Even the closing track, “Bad Girl,” brings something different. It has a raw blues-rock sound that I could easily imagine fitting on Aerosmith’s debut album. One thing that struck me again while listening is just how massive ZZ Top sounds for a three-piece band. Eliminator combines their blues-rock foundation with the technology and production of the early ’80s without losing what makes ZZ Top sound like ZZ Top. I went into this album expecting nostalgia. Instead, I was reminded why I loved it in the first place. The videos helped make Eliminator iconic, but the music made it last. ★★★★★ Vinyl Verdict: BUY

Love me some ZZ Top.

Have I listened to this album before No How familiar am I with this album Unfamiliar How do I feel about this artist? I don't really know them that well Pre-Listen Thoughts: My dad loves ZZ Top, I may recognize some it but I couldn't name a single song by them. Favorite track(s): Sharp Dressed Man, If I Could Only Flag Her Down Post-Listen Thoughts: The songs all sounded a bit similar but overall this had a great classic rock sound. Does this mean I like ZZ Top? Should I tell my dad?

6/10 - Bit of a letdown from their first album on this list. Tres Hombres was a muddy blues/Texas rock album and Eliminator was a lot more polished and produced. I think this lost a lot of the charm, imagination, and originality that the first had. I would own Tres Hombres and I might add a song from this album to a playlist.

I much prefer Tres Hombres era ZZ Top. This feels like a lot of the negative trends of 80's music incorporated into their Blues Rock and the result isn't particularly impressive to me. 4/10

Quite enjoyed this

i don’t typically gaf about classic rock and its imitators, but the synthy stuff definitely elevates what would otherwise be very middle of the road riffs. not too much to say here, maybe a little overlong but it’s a fun, easy listen. Favorite tracks: Sharp Dressed Man, I Got The Six

This Blues Rock album feels like eating fast food: it's immediately appealing, full of familiar flavours and easy to consume, but after a while everything starts tasting the same, and I'm left wanting more. The crunchy blues-rock guitar riffs, programmed drums, synthesizers and slick production create a catchy, instantly recognizable sound. Billy Gibbons' guitar work provides plenty of flavour, while his raspy, relaxed vocals add a casual swagger. But the songs often rely on similar grooves, guitar hooks and lyrics about women, desire and confidence. I enjoy the occasional musical hook, but the formula becomes predictable, and the polished production makes the music feel manufactured. It's a perfectly serviceable musical snack, but not a particularly saturating meal.

Todas las canciones bastante parecidas, pero muy bueno el estilo. Me gustó. Por alguna razón me sonaba que ya había escuchado un disco de ZZ Top. Escuché Tres Hombres, y me suena que era muy similar a este.

So much to like here. But serious demerits for "I Got The Six (You Got The Nine)" and "TV Dinners." Nothing redeemable there. Another band destined for greatest-hits-only status.

Album starts off strong and was trending toward 4-stars, but “TV dinners” and lyrics like “guess I’ll have to spank my monkey” certainly warrant a full star (if not 2-star) deduction.

Not my vibe

Fabulous.

I think this is the very epitome of 'hard rock' - the soundtrack of road trips and father's day compilations the western world over. A nice, safe 45 minutes of chugging guitars and pounding rhythms but I would have liked the chugging to be heavier, the solos to be more epic, and for the whole thing to be much edgier and aggressive. It's a little too middle-of-the-road for me.

trash

classics riffs, more of blues and hard rock. nice band

Enjoyable, but not too memorable. A little too one-note for me, but they do it well.

Listening to this brought back childhood memories of MTV videos of the girls and the bad-ass coupe. Still some fun songs to listen to even now, but I will always be a fan of their first couple of albums when it was more about the Texas blues and boogie if you will. For nostalgia, giving it a three because it made me want to look up the videos again.

I was interested in listening to this after the listening notes and not having listened to ZZ Top in any meaningful way. It was not what I would have guessed based on the look of the band at all. I expected relatively intense blues rock and lyrics. What I got was more or less an early MTV playlist, all shine, sheen, bops and not too much to say. Musically, it’s OK. Pop rock is going to pop rock, and it feels very precisely designed and produced for that. It’s also not really an album in some respects so much as a playlist of songs - there’s no links or anything, and it’s so poppy that it’s hard to critique it as more than was it a bop? And yes, it kind of was. Polished and disposable in the same way that gym t-shirts are; OK, but you wouldn’t miss a specific one. I keep getting an internal A&R man telling me, well, you can sell it. And yes, it’s accessible and unchallenging. Would I put it on by choice or think of it again? Probably not. Would I be annoyed if someone else put it on? No. It’s a low 2 to 3, ending on a two.

Me gusta el sonido de las guitarras

A few hits makes it a low 4*, but just barely.

I never enjoyed this type of hard rock, drizzled in '80s commercial sheen. It's inoffensive, but it's not very enjoyable or interesting for me either.

I like blues rock, but a lot of this album was meh to me. The song about TV dinners was a real low point. I’m sure I would enjoy this album if it was playing in a dive bar.

Never heard. ZZ Top album before. Just the hits. Had a great time listening to Eliminator, great catchy rock tunes.

Je comprends pas pourquoi c'est drole comme album !! C'est encore un album ok. Vraiment moyen. Ca ne me touche pas du tout. J'en ai ras le bol de tout le temps ecouter la meme chose. C'est pas interessant. 70% on entend une guitare, une personne qui chante trop fort. C'est chiant enfaite. On a toujours du rock, du rock, des derivees de rock. Toujours des gars qui chantent ou sont les filles. Genre c'est bon, ca me gave.