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Eliminator

ZZ Top

1983

Buy At Rough Trade
Eliminator
Album Summary

Eliminator is the eighth studio album by American rock band ZZ Top. It was released on March 23, 1983, by Warner Bros. Records, and rose high on the charts in many countries. Four hit singles were released—"Gimme All Your Lovin'" which reached the American Top 40, "Sharp Dressed Man", "TV Dinners" and their most successful single, "Legs". A Diamond certified album in the United States, Eliminator is ZZ Top's most commercially successful release, with sales of 20 million worldwide.Recorded in 1982, the album represents a further step of modernization by bandleader Billy Gibbons. Since El Loco in 1981, Gibbons had been edging the band's boogie and blues rock sound toward the popular new-wave/synth-rock aesthetic while retaining ZZ Top's signature electric guitar emphasis. For Eliminator, he increased the tempo and used more synthesizers and drum machines, producing a "tighter" album with a steady, driving beat. Pre-production engineer Linden Hudson collaborated with Gibbons in Texas on the album tempo and songs, then producer Bill Ham and engineer Terry Manning joined Gibbons in Memphis, Tennessee, to carefully craft the sound of each song after the full band was done recording, controversially replacing much of the contributions of bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. Ham claimed the album was solely the work of ZZ Top, denying the involvement of others, but in 1986 Hudson won a lawsuit establishing himself as composer of the song "Thug". A series of music videos served as successful promotional tools—the similarly themed videos for "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" received regular rotation on MTV and helped the band gain popularity with a younger base. A customized 1933 Ford coupe, depicted on the album cover, could be seen in three of the four videos. Following Eliminator's release, ZZ Top embarked on a worldwide concert tour. The video for "Legs" earned the band the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group. Rolling Stone named Eliminator number 398 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was listed at number 39 in The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s. A remastered version was released in 2008.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.4

Votes

15502

Genres

  • Hard Rock

Reviews

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Sep 29 2021
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4

Classic, but definitely not classy.

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Feb 08 2021
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3

I’m having trouble describing how I feel about ZZ Top. For the most part I love their hits, and so Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme All Your Lovin’ were great listens, as always. I really don’t care for their slower songs, and this album has two of those, including the hit, Legs. The rest of their songs kind of feel like slightly less good clones of their hits, making this a pretty consistent record, I suppose. For me that was really frustrating. Listening to the deep cuts was king of like… listening to your favorite song on a radio station whose range you are on the very edge of, so you’re getting some static and maybe someone reading off baseball scores. It would be better to just change the station rather than try and listen in those circumstances. And so as I made my way through this album, I just found myself wanting to go back to the singles at the top of the record, or not listen to it at all. By the way, all their records are like this for me, and I hope another one doesn’t show up on here. The exception that proves the rule is their greatest hits, which is pure fire. As far as belonging on this list, it’s mf’ing ZZ Top. It’s worth pointing out that basically all of my favorite artists list Billy Gibbons as a massive influence to them, so for that I am grateful. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

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Jan 17 2022
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1

Without doubt one of the worst albums i've ever heard, the musical and emotional range of a toddler on sherbet.

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Oct 11 2023
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1

I’m pretty sure I’ve listened to this entire album while sitting and eating at a Hard Rock Cafe. During the song “I Need You Tonight “, I googled how long does it take to bleed out and die, this song was longer. Tempting. Guitar solo after guitar solo. I started to enjoy the ad pop ups and begged for longer ones toward the end of the album. TV dinner- Enchiladas. Never want to hear another ZZ Top song again. 1/10

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Sep 19 2022
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3

-S Tier- Gimme All Your Lovin’ Got Me Under Pressure Sharp Dressed Man -A Tier- I Need You Tonight -B Tier- Legs -C Tier- Thug Dirty Dog -D Tier- If I Could Only Flag Her Down Bad Girl -F Tier- TV Dinners AVG SCORE: 2.8 / 5 - - - I love ZZ Top up until right about…1983, and this album. It marked an evolutionary moment for the band. Their music, once bluesy and soulful, started leaning hard toward Pop Rock. And it wasn’t all bad. When you fire up Eliminator, you’re hit with some instant classics. But as the album wears on, you start to notice something: this shit is formulaic and hollow, and it all starts to sound the same. Sadly, I think it was a prophecy for the remaining life of ZZ Top. The band slowly degraded into some generic Rock trio, offering nothing of substance beyond a few cool music videos. Their sound would become over-processed. Their brand would become a caricature. And it all started with this forsaken album.

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Oct 17 2022
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3

From the stark paranoid android landscape of OK Computer, we come to the party-time metronomic robot blues/pop of Eliminator. What a weird premise. Super processed guitars, thick sequencers, Frank Beard's syncopated quarter-note drumming, and blues-infused guitar producing some of the biggest hits of the '80s. Not to mention the entire album centers around Billy Gibbons' obsession with chasing (and catching) dirty women. But when it works, it's really good. The super-thick-slick sound is an accomplishment on its own, and when the riffs are good and the songs are solid, and Gibbons' incessant guitar work is flowing, this kills. But then there's the rest of the material. Some of the B-sides are just fine, but when Gibbon's sings "TV dinners, they're going to my head," it's really clear that the band is out of ideas. Where most of of the misogyny and adolescent lyrics are delivered with enough of a wink to excuse it as one big party, the weaker material makes the high points a lot less glossy. When this is great, it's a 4+, but the weaker material drags this down to a 3.14159265359...

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Oct 18 2023
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1

this really sounds like music a sexually frustrated dad would listen to in his square body pickup in the late 80s

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Oct 17 2022
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1

Cool. A 45-minute summation of why the 80s sucked. Good sound, misogynistic lyrics. Sharp-Dressed Man’s OK. Give Me All Your Lovin could have been a Huey Lewis song. I give this album one star and five lines of coke. P.S. ZZ Top's origin story is worth looking up. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/fake-zombies-zz-top/

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Jul 09 2022
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1

The music is far lower quality than La Grange, their first album , which was on 1001. Eliminator was made for and shows the impact of MTV. Good music was replaced with long beards, spinning guitars and enough hotties that you might think you were watching a 1980s beer commercial. On Spotify all that's left is the music. 

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May 10 2021
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5

Second album in a row that absolutely rips. The first few beats of the drum track that kicks off 'Gimme All Your Lovin'' is a free shot of dopamine every time. I think the songwriting is one point, the guitar playing is chewy, and Gibbons' rough voice contrasts wonderfully with the buzz and whoosh of the synths. They never really cracked it again properly, in my estimation - not totally - but as a synthesis of Texas boogie and new wave instrumentation, this was unique and never bettered.

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Jun 11 2021
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4

I love Billy Gibbons (I was just listening to 'La Grange' the other day). He's an incredible guitarist, great vocalist, great songwriter, and a wonderful showman (in the most positive sense of the word). I do like this album and a lot of ZZ Top's work. When an artist (or anyone, really) is genuinely having fun at what they do, it's infectious. I lean more towards their more raw, "dirty blues" stuff because I do that generally when it comes to blues-based rock, but this is a fun album.

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Mar 15 2021
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4

A guilty pleasure album for sure. Not a bad song on it, but the music isn't that great. It feels artificial somehow. I was very surprised to learn this was 80s music. It feels very 70s but with 80s production. I feel bad giving it a 3, but does it earn a 4? It's a 3.75.

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Jul 23 2024
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3

I’m not sure that the type of music ZZ Top plays needs to be this slick and overproduced.

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Jun 18 2024
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3

Really nice groove which is unfortunately fairly monotonous throughout. The vocals/lyrics were less discernable and thereby less abrasive than Van Halen. I don't think I'd return to this unless I was hosting a themed party or something.

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Mar 16 2024
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3

These dudes were diabolically horny.

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Jun 28 2022
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3

This is a very good album, the story of how they dicked Linden Hudson really kind of sours it.

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Jun 06 2023
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2

slick guitars, solid n consistent drums, fun and sometimes lame AF lyrics it's missing some heart in a few places... after awhile it gets quite repetitive and SUPER predictable. missing depth. on the upside it does make me wanna drive a muscle car with the hood down. pretty good on that front... not enough to save it tho fave songs : gimmie all your lovin', sharp dressed man, legs, least fave : I got the six would I listen again? no

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Apr 02 2024
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5

It only heard one or two of the singles from this album and of course of my life. Now that I've heard the whole album I really get why the band was so popular. They're a pure driving rock band in a very defining way. I ended up listening to it twice today.

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Nov 28 2024
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4

Big beards and synthesizers... ZZ Top were Shoreditch hipsters with Texan accents. All I knew about the boys was their look, I didn't expect them to be combining southern boogie with new wave. On the first side the mashup is seamless and contains all the singles I somehow already knew. After Legs it begins to wear on me, especially when they inadvisably slow the tempo down on TV Dinners (the single I didn't know, for good reason). A really welcome surprise of an album for me after a run of disappointing rock records on my feed. The not-as-old-as-they-looked dogs showed they had new tricks.

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Oct 01 2024
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3

Eliminator Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs - all cheesy as balls but also hugely enjoyable 80s pop rock bangers. The combination of metronomic drums and new wave synths and sequencers with their blues and boogie guitars is a winning formula and gives the songs a satisfying robotic precision and sheen. The rest of the tracks follow that same pattern to varying degrees of success, without ever quite reaching the immediacy and potency of the three big songs. They are, however, all united by an undeniable enjoyability, even if it’s a rather fleeting and not particularly profound one. Nothing much more to say apart from that overall it's a fun listen, like an intensely sugary snack. Not necessarily something I want for every meal, but at the right time and place definitely one I’ll munch on again. 🚘🚘🚘 Playlist submission: Legs

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Jun 19 2024
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3

No. 202/1001 Gimme All Your Lovin' 4/5 Got Me Under Pressure 4/5 Sharp Dressed Man 4/5 I Need You Tonight 3/5 I Got the Six 3/5 Legs 4/5 Thug 3/5 TV Dinners 3/5 Dirty Dog 3/5 If I Could Flag Her Down 3/5 Bad Girl 3/5 Average: 3,36 Good classic rock album.

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Jun 13 2024
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3

I remember when this album came out. The videos were in heavy rotation on MTV. I like it but it's not my favorite ZZ Top album.

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Oct 25 2022
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3

My dad had this record. I don't think he had any of their earlier albums until much later, but this one pierced his Led Zeppelin shield. At the time all of the lyrics on this record were basically over my head as a single digits earthling but the guitars sounded boss and the car was cool. Later I'll come to ZZ Top's Rio Grande Mud through a brilliant cover of Just Got Paid by some noise rockers who really should've named themselves better. The casual Texas objectification aside, Eliminator is a solid album and I can see why, along with the beards, these guys were a big enough deal that my POP! (as he prefers it stylized) would've picked it up.

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Oct 17 2022
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1

The sunglasses and beards are to hide their surprise at being on this list. I am pretty sure that if MTV didnt exist, neither would ZZTop.

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Apr 19 2022
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1

This was just shit, what were they in about? A whole song about a lady who can use her legs jeez man. Terrible terrible

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Nov 26 2024
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5

Great album. I love ZZ top and their gritty gasoline fuelled ruggedy rock. It's packed with energy and sounds good, even though the lyrics might not be much haha. All I can think of is blue jeans, hot rods, and the open road.

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Nov 19 2024
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5

Finally something I can get my ear holes stuck into! This is the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for. Some iconic songs and lovely sounding guitar. Love that Frank Beard made a living out of playing the exact same drum beat in every single song, and also love that he was the only member not to have a beard. It’s a big fat succulent 5 stars from me, putting ZZ Top of my rankings.

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Nov 19 2024
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5

One of my parents favorites, and I can understand why. Killer tunes and great fun.

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Nov 14 2024
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5

It’s very good I already knew I liked it before

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Oct 26 2024
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5

You know how I said Highway to Hell was some perfectly serviceable classic rock? Well, to paraphrase a great thinker of our time, finally, some good fucking classic rock. I can't remember when I last would have listened to this as an album, if ever (I sure as hell don't remember ever hearing Thug before), but this is just bangers all the way down - taut, propulsive, riff-driven country rock, cocky without being pretentious, and just straight-up good fun.

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Oct 26 2024
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5

What can I say, it's a stone cold classic of the genre - I know I grew up with this and nostalgia may be playing a heavy part in this rating, but each song hits just right - solos are great but don't outset their welcome, songs tend to be just as long as they need to be, and it's just generally amazing! I took apart ACDC for their incessant talking about sex and women, but here there's at least a self-deprecating current running underneath it all that shows that ZZ Top aren't taking themselves too seriously - the songs end up with them being snubbed by or scared of women, eating meals alone and wondering what to do next, which gives the whole album a playful side that I honestly really enjoy. Easy five stars. Faves: Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Thug (that slap bass line!)

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Oct 14 2024
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5

Goddamn this makes me want to get drunk.

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Sep 30 2024
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5

If you grew up in the 1980’s ZZ were on Top of the World and you couldn’t hide from them. Most of their “Best of…” came off this album. One of the favorite songs (…I admit it’s misogynistic but compared to their earlier work this is church ready…) “Legs” combined Frank Beards’ steady drive behind the set with Billy Gibson’s Texas-blue-eyed blues riffing and vocal scratch and Dusty Hills rhythmic bass with synthesized backings. It’s one of those songs that makes you want to run a marathon (I think I did use this for the Bolder Boulder playlist).But the hits don’t stop there! Other songs include Got Me Under Pressure, Gimme All Your Lovin’ , Sharp Dressed Man, and six more just for fun. Honestly, fair weather ZZTop fans can get a way with two albums: Eliminator and Tres Hombres, which are exactly ten years apart. So strap on your beard and let’s roll boys! This is a classic!

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Sep 27 2024
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5

This was for me, peak ZZTop. Just the icing on the cake-pinnacle of their catalogue.

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Sep 23 2024
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5

While a bit inconsistent this is a true classic with some truly amazing songs.

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Sep 20 2024
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5

Honestly this is pretty awesome. Everything so tight and well paced, the guitars sound amazing and so dark. I got a little bit bored towards the end of the record but I really really enjoyed it. 4/4.5

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Sep 20 2024
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5

Добротный альбом, хард-рок с налётом 80-ых, есть прекрасные баллады.

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Sep 17 2024
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5

Just a great album to listen to from start to finish.

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Sep 09 2024
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5

I didn’t realize I knew this band until the Silk Suit Black Tie song from Duck Dynasty. Really enjoyed it!

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Aug 27 2024
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5

Oh... My.,.. Goodness! I feel guilty even starting a review on this. They're not my all time favorite band (though Dusty Hill was one of my influences as a bassist), but I don't believe I've ever heard a ZZ Top song I've objected to. This release in particular has 11 tracks, five of which were at least minor hits; Gimme All Your Lovin', Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and TV Dinners. There's not a single slouch among the remaining six tunes either. The entire release is heavily doused with what I've come to refer to as "ZZ Top Cool." They're laid back, rockin', cool, humorous, seem like they have a good time playing - and why wouldn't they! Just throw this on - even in the background - and I promise you'll be satisfied. Obviously when Dusty Hill died it left a void. You don't lose something that's been an integral part of you for 50 years and not notice it. But at Dustys' request, his bass tech Elwood Francis took over and they still sound really good. Elwood IS really good, even though he looks a little like a psychotic, grey haired werewolf running around the stage, he's much more than just a sufficient fill-in.

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Aug 19 2024
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5

Discazo, me encantó. Creo que nunca había escuchado un álbum completo de ZZ Top y me sorprendió lo mucho que conecté y me prendió. Todo lo que me gusta de estas bandas y épocas lo tienen estos barbudos. Genial.

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Aug 08 2024
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5

One of the best in its category. Very effective. 4.51

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Aug 06 2024
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5

10/10. I am a sucker for this kind of hard rock music. It featured great songs after great songs. I felt a lot of really good vibrations while listening to it. I should check out more of ZZ Top's work. This was sick! :)

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Jul 30 2024
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5

Surprised by how much I liked this one! The singles were ubiquitous in the early 80s, and seemed like a bit of a cliché, but that’s not giving them enough credit for the virtuosity with which they were played. And the album tracks are arguably even better! Just straightforward American rock, very clear in its intentions.

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Jul 30 2024
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5

Complete guilty pleasure of an album. It’s just fun straight up bluesy rock and roll. ‘I Need You Tonight’ is just incredible. Everything just powers along with such driving rhythm. Can’t help but turn it up. The cheesy videos were iconic and of that golden MTV age. Love it all.

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Jul 27 2024
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5

It may be an album about 69ing and eating Chinese takeaway but there wasn't a second of this I didn't enjoy!! For a morning painting the back door I frankly don't care how shallow it is. I had a blast

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Jul 09 2024
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5

This is such a tight album. A fantastic blend of blues and rock, all while mixing in a more modern (of the time) feel.

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Jun 21 2024
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5

What else do you need from an 80s blues album than innuendo and blues? Nothing. Perfect album

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Jun 08 2024
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5

These white boys were cooking for real

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Jun 01 2024
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5

Is it the best ZZ Top album? Depends on who you ask. It is full of great tunes that dominated the radio and MTV in the mid-1980s. Gimme All Your Lovin', Legs, and Sharp Dresed Man were all major hits and helped revive blues-oriented rock from its coma. Without Eliminator, you don't have Stevie Ray Vaughn's commercial success. The thing is, it was a popular album and watered down the Texas blues that ZZ Top was known for. It made them mainstream famous but for previous fans of albums like Tres Hombres, it seemed like a bit of a sellout. Overall, it's a great album, maybe not one for the purists, but for the rest of us.

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May 28 2024
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5

I can't help but love cheesy 80s rock. Hardly cerebral (TV Dinners lmao) but a fun listen the whole way through. Stand outs: Gimme All Your Lovin', I Need You Tonight, Dirty Dog (when I look past the blatant misogyny in the lyrics), and Bad Girl.

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May 13 2024
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5

Very easy to dismiss as a beardy novelty band, but holy crap ZZ Top were ahead of their time. I guess it was like Dylan going electric, but the simple addition of synths gives every track such a malevolent, hard edge. Did Nirvana use synths? Did Guns 'n Roses? Oasis? No! THEY CAN ALL DO ONE.

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Apr 29 2024
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5

Straight off 5 ⭐ So musically pure and simple, with brilliant riffs. For such a brilliant album, it's next to impossible to pick a "best track". But, I'll give it a shot - for me, it's "got me under pressure"

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Apr 27 2024
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5

They come runnin' just as fast as they can 'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man- ZZ Top

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Apr 24 2024
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5

This isn't so much a "Fuck it, it's a 5" so much as it is a "I don't give a fuck what anybody else thinks, it's a 5."

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Apr 23 2024
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5

A behemoth of a record. inspired by Billy digging Depeche Mode and Ministry.

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Apr 09 2024
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5

YESSs also btw give bjorks album another listen. debut

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Mar 21 2024
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5

Really fun album - Texas fried boogie blues. Eliminator contains a bunch of classic ZZ Top songs. With the long beards and fuzzy guitars it is really easy to overlook how solid a band they were and how good a guitarist Billy Gibbons is.

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Mar 21 2024
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5

To me, ZZ Top is the American AC/DC because they have the same basic guitar and driving beat in pretty much all their songs, yet they are SUPER FUN to always listen to. This album is pretty much the one that put ZZ Top on the map. It’s essentially a greatest hits (of their popular radio stuff anyway). I know they have other bluesy stuff, but this is the album to dive in on. Not exactly a no skipper, but a great listen nonetheless.

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Mar 18 2024
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5

Classic guitar squealing rock....love it.

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Mar 13 2024
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5

Heavy, tight, awesome. Favorite track: Gimme All Your Lovin'

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Feb 27 2024
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5

Simple lyrics but AMAZING music. GOATS for a reason. M

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Feb 26 2024
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5

Some of the cleanest guitar of the 80s. Every song is basically a satisfying delicious ear worm.

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Feb 24 2024
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5

my dad would beat me if I didn't rate this album a five - he likes it that much.

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Feb 23 2024
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5

Rock del lento, rock rápido, rock del bueno, eso es este disco.

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Feb 23 2024
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5

Fun energetic album. The solos are poems in the air!!

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Feb 19 2024
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5

אחלה של רוק! לא כל המוזיקה מהאייטיז לא משהו

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Feb 14 2024
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5

HEAVYYYY blues. I love it. What a fun album. Favorite track: Bad Girl

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Feb 07 2024
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5

About time that we got a real banger again. My last 5 star rating was 26 albums ago. ZZ Top just rock, that's all there is to it, but that can be quite a lot in itself. My main criticism of the previous ZZ Top album we've had was that some of the arrangements sounded a bit too sparse. The modest synth accompaniments and added tightness in percussion through the drum machine really pull their weight in solving the sparseness issue. My other criticism of the other ZZ Top album was that the quality difference between the highs and lows was pretty big. This one is pretty much straight fire throughout. If the low-point is something like the unremarkable (but still solid) Thug, that's a straight A in my book. Great album. More like it, please. Song highlight: Sharp Dressed Man

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Jan 30 2024
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5

Pure rock start to finish. Not a bad song on the album. RIP Dusty. Standout tracks: Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man, I Need Your Tonight, Legs

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Jan 23 2024
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5

Wow this album is good. Only heard the popular ones from this like Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme all your lovin. I love the theme and the sound that goes with the album. The cover fits it a lot. ZZ Top's guitar is legendary as ever

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Jan 19 2024
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5

Great album. Good fast paced rock. Lots of popular songs.

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Jan 16 2024
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5

Good album. Many songs we enjoyed listening to. Like the rhythm and blues music.

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Jan 15 2024
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5

1983 - I was 16. Definitely in my Top 20 from High School!

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