Eliminator

pretty good, easy listening. 4

-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.

The tightest band ever and this is their tightest album. 4/5

Better than I thought it would be.

Classic. This belongs on the list.

I literally own a vintage Eliminator tour jacket (in slight need of repair, but it kicks ass). Probably says enough about how much I love ZZ Top, even though I'd take Rio Grande Mud or Tres Hombres over the 80s stuff

Never been a fan of ZZ Top, but I did find myself tapping my feet to this. It was fun, but I wouldn't actively seek it out.

Gimme all your lovin is an incredible song. The rest is fine. I can’t believe this song was only in two things. I swear it was in bill and teds excellent adventure but soundtrack claims it wasn’t. Must be thinking of the two heads are better than one song

This album was huge when it came out, I was in middle school and it got a ton of airplay. I was pretty indifferent to it and over the years most of the hits just became background noise. Listening to it in its entirety I have to give them props—while they turned the gritty Texas sound they were known for into something highly-produced, I did enjoy some of the tracks that weren't played to death such as Got Me Under Pressure, TV Dinners, and Bad Girl. Giving it a 3 but I'm really a 3.5 on it.

Not my thang.

When I hear ZZ Top all I think is 'old tired rock' due to all the rock radio I listened to as a kid. However, I will say, even though it is overplayed and tired these guys are/were pretty talented. Plus this music just makes me wish I was driving a fast car through some long desert roads.

Het album met de hits. Legs, Gimme all your lovin’. Volledig gemaakt, opgenomen, geproduceerd om te scoren. Nog steeds met de good ol’ ZZ Top vibe. Dit in tegenstelling tot het aanpassen van de voorgaande albums om beter aan te sluiten bij de jaren 80. Persoonlijk houd ik meer dan Rio Grande Mud en Tres Hombres - dus in de gerestaureerde ehm originele versie! Toen ik eind jaren 90 bij een concert van ZZ Top was bleef de zaal volledig stil staan tot de nummers van Eliminator voorbij kwamen. Een blokje badmutsen en bontgevoerde gitaren (die Billy en Dusty ronddraaiden) en daarna was het weer tijd voor Southern Boogie… en de zaal stond weer stil.

Fun bluesy rock, reminds me of playing GTA with my brother

This album definitely hast he well known hits, but I am not in to the production at all. It certainly rocks, but it is not for me.

Dang, what a cool album. Metal, synthy, with a cool industrial beat. It’s fun and a great album to get pumped up to. Makes me want to go real fast in my car haha. A ton of great singles but a very cohesive album overall

T3B 1. Sharp Dressed Man 2. Gimme All Your Lovin’ 3. Legs

i value my time more than to listen to boring 80s dad rock albums all the way through. why do all the songs sound the same?

It is what it is. Not much light and shade, but it’s well produced.

Boooooo

I listened to most of this. Not bad but if you've heard 5 ZZ Top songs you've pretty much got the gist. Really boils down to what kind of vibe you're looking for; today is not a ZZ Top day for me.

Love it. Always have.

Music to ride your motorcycle to Fav song - TV dinners???? - Hilarious, reminded me of superfast jellyfish by gorillaz - Also liked the guitar breaks as a change of pace Least Fav - I need you tonight - Too long, too many rambly solos - I feel bad for their bass player

Some nice pentatonic riffs. They didn’t really bring anything unique to blues rock, besides top hats.

Very rock. Not memorable, sorry.

For southern rock it is leans a little more rock. Good reminder of my youth, but probably won't be on a playlist.

It's fine, but not for me. 3/5

This is tremendous. Gets a bit samesy in parts, but the good bits are ace.

Some great songs for sure, not my favourite, but would listen again.

Nice guitar work

Durchgängig solides Rock-Album mit 2-3 herausragenden Titeln.

meeeeh

Wouldn’t have listened to it, not my genre… still nice

Rock solid all the way through. I was quite familiar with all the singles, and have listened to the album completely several times in the past, and as usual it sneaks up on me just how good it is. Great balance between polished production and the fuzz and grunge of the distorted guitar. Memorable guitar work, catchy choruses. Everything that rock 'n' roll should be.

This is what i feel about hard rock of 80's!Overall Classic but not stunning.

Fy faen endelig noe ordentlig rock. Ganske Harry i blant

loud but dull

Nicw

-First time listening to ZZ Top -Like chunky Guitars -Actually heard sharp dressed man before: like it -like singers tone and sound -super 80's esq lyrics - I Need you Tonight: boring and bad rock ballad, too fucking long - I Got the Six: good energy, lyrics sounds off (dif singer?) -Legs: kinda sick, cool weird synth beat, one of my fav so far -Thug: nice bass line, make me think of flea, bass line best part of song this rest is pretty boring - TV Dinners: What the fuck is this song, who thought a song about tv dinners was a good idea lol, has to be the worst song on this album, -Dirty Dog: forgettable song -If I Could Only Flag Her Down: sounds like singing in a bag, good beat and guitar but singing super inconsistent -Bad Girl: Is Steven Tyler singing?? kinda mid 80's rock song Overall: pretty typical 80's rock, guitar holds the mess of vocals together. Don't know if there are multiple singers but is very off putting to listen to. would be irrelevant album if the guitar play wasn't soo good. Fav tracks: -Sharp Dressed Man: classic I didn't realize I knew -Legs: Fun and dif than that I expect from 80's rock Worst tracks: -I Need You Tonight: most generic and boring rock ballad -TV Dinners: This might be the worst song I've ever listened too, easily in the top 5 if not the worst ever.

Sharp sounding album

I mean, it's fun for sure. But all the singles are just so played out for me at this point, and the deep tracks range from cool to super forgettable. I would have enjoyed this a whole lot more 10 years ago lol.

Rough open, and a snoozer or 2, but some of these chugging songs are strong enough to keep it securely in 4 territory.

This is classic dad rock. It's fine, and there are couple classic rock songs, but the album gets repetitive very quickly. Like most 80s music, they don't seem to know how to end songs, so most end with a long slow instrumental fade. Songs like Legs and TV Dinners are almost a meme as well. Best Songs: Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin' Worst Songs: I Got the Six, Dirty Dog

Better than expected

Classic rock is classic. Fun to think of this hard rock banger coming out in the midst of New Wave revolution.

Fun album!

Huge fan of the earlier ZZ Top stuff. Although this album has a few good rockers, it's not one I enjoy all that much.

You know, I don't care for ZZ Top, but this was quite decent. Would I play it again? Probably not. I wouldn't be bothered by it, though.

Mah. I never really got ZZ Top, but I had one of their early albums just last week and realised they did start out kind of legit in the 70s. They’ve refined that now and condensed it down to a simpler, more pop oriented sound. I was leaning towards a 4 but when the album finished, I got Radar Love by Golden Earring as a suggestion. It immediacy felt more driving, funky, energetic and focused. ZZ Top are just super average.

Fuck yeeeeaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There’s something very punchy about the production on this album… and some real bangers scattered throughout… strong 3

R R R Real Rock Shit

I find this combination of boogie, blues, and synth rock to be really interesting and Eliminator does have the chops to pull it off. I might not like the over-reliance on guitar noodling between the chorus and verses, but it otherwise is a fun listen.

What a great rock album this is! My knowledge of ZZ Top is very little but this album was awesome to listen to!

Take out the four singles, play the other tracks. How many stars? 3. 3.5 if they did half-stars. So add four singles back in, and difficult to argue with at least 4 stars. Why not five? What is done is done brilliantly, but it is only the one thing that is done.

So many hits and great rhythms.

Gibbons and Hill have some of the best playing and tone in blues-based rock music. This album builds nicely from their prior records while incorporating synths and more electronic sounds for the 80s. Generally fun, simple lyrical themes. Good times all around.

Great bluesy, metal rock album by one of the most recognizable bands of the 1980s. Four singles were released from this one album, the most successful being "Legs." Billy Gibbon's guitar style is fun to listen to, while his addition of synth and drum machines make these songs rock even more. This was definitely a memorable album and was an obvious inclusion on the list.

Guitars, hotrods, suits, and beards. You know what you are getting from the start with this album and it drives all the way through with flames shooting out the tailpipe. Is that good for the car? For the world? I don't think it matters b/c it is lots of guitar on top of more guitar.

Perfectly fine classic rock sound that is really iconic...I just got tired of it by the end of the album. Not something I would ever go to in order to listen on my own. Do think their look is hilarious though. 2.5/5

decent southern rock, liked it more than i thought

One of the hardest albums for me to listen thoroughly. It felt like a one, long song, with an unchanged drum pattern and sleepy riffs in the background (except for few solos, which were very good, but not enough to wake you up from the coma). I'm trying to remember anything about vocal, and honestly, I can't. That means is as forgettable, as it can be. Not the record for me.

Not a huge fan of 80s Top, mostly cause of the tacky slap bass that ruins Thug. Sharp Dressed Man is a killer tune though - highly recommend watching The Beards like a version.

A nice listen, they go well together, front end has some hits.

Always down for some rockin' blues. I don't think I've ever heard this album from start to finish, though I know most people should be familiar with at least 3 or 4 of these tracks. Definitely my first exposure to their music back in the day.

This is just a fun album to listen to. It does a great job of taking ZZ Top's southern bluesy guitars and adding just enough new wave to really make some fun jams with some wide appeal.

Excelente rock clásico de los 70-80 con guitarras rítmicas y con bastante pegada. Míticos y con canciones pegadizas.

Bon, il y a 2 hits sur cet album qu’on aime bien entendre de temps à autres. À part de ça, c’est très linéaire comme tounes. Il ne se passe pas grand chose d’intéressant. Ça sonne plastique, surtout les drums (les crashes...). Ça me donne l’impression qu’on essaie d’asceptiser du blue-rock.

Je reconnais que Gimme All Your Lovin' et Sharp Dressed Man sont des gros hits du groupe. Je salue le désir d'adapter le son à ce qui se faisait à l'époque en incorporant des éléments du New Wave. C'est probablement ce qui a contribué à leur succès et qui a fait en sorte qu'ils cadraient bien pour apparaître régulièrement sur MTV. Donc je reconnais qu'il faut écouter cet album, par contre, ça ne m'accroche pas du tout et ça vieilli mal comparativement à d'autres band de l'époque. Le 45 minutes qui n'est pas si long pour un album m'a apparu comme une éternité. Même si je ne suis pas un fan du groupe, je préfère le ZZ Top de Tres Hombres.

cool

Lotta classics I wasn't expecting

avg rock album nothing special

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. 

Mmmnaah

Not bad <Obama face>

Kinda fun. Although we have been having a lot of music on the list that's pretty similar to this

Weird - sleazy lazy boogie that is good when it is one of the hits, and terrible otherwise

Bad girls and thugs and more girls and legs and TV dinners and girls and sharp dressing and girls and crank up the synths and drum machine and if every track hasn’t been used in a montage in the middle of a movie from the 80s it would not be surprising.

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

Under pressure is so nearly a classic - the riff is sublime but the verses and lyrics ruin it - a real shame. With a little adjustment it could have been a massive hit. Same with I got the six. When they manage to match verse & lyrics to a riff, the result is spectacular - hence 3 huge singles on the album. Guitar is utterly magnificent all through the album. Billy Gibbons is an awesome riff machine and fab guitarist. The album has a distinctive sound which tore through 1983.

Never herd of them… A generic drum pattern brings on the albums opener gimme all your lovin’ it’s solid but just a very of its time 80’s rock song which is awesome but not a favourite. I love the playful yet crunchy guitar riff on got me under pressure, the lyrics seem to be that generic “ rock n roll” stuff but it’s not badly done. Sharp dressed man is a song that I definitely vaguely recognise as one of the better written songs of the 80’s, the chorus reminds me a bit of nick caves “ red right hand” by the way he sings the line “everybody’s crazy about the sharp dressed man”. I love the long intro to the 6 minute long song I need you tonight, this song has a sense of grandness that the rest of the album seems to lack until now. I got the six is a very odd choice to close off the first half of the album being a short rocker not memorable but not bad. The album goes in a poppier direction with Legs I love the synth work on this one but it’s just not a “must listen” song overall. Thug sounds odd having a robotic yet tribal instrumental and some cool bitty guitars break. The lyrics are still not great but they’re not the worst thing ever. The album goes back to its normal feeling with TV dinners great instrumentals dull and stupid lyrics. I don’t know why but dirty dog ( instrumentally) sounds like a dark sister track to legs with the repetitive bouncing synths . Lyrically, well no this band can’t write well in that department. The penultimate track on the album If I could only flag her down is solid, well written, poppy but slightly bluesier. It feels a bit filler amongst this album but not bad. The album closes on Bad Girl an odd pick for a closer ( even if there’s nothing really to pick from) it just feels poorly done. Typical 80’s pop rock great singles a few other good songs but no real substance to it.

All I understood ZZTop to be was this incredibly 80s, incredibly American sound. So I look forward to hearing Le Grange etc for the totally different sound. Never a huge fan of the singles, though they're obviously big old pop songs and you can't fault the craft. Tbh I think only Gimme all your Lovin had a serious impact in the UK. For me anyway. Great for any time I'm feeling in the mood for big daft rock such as this - not in anyway to denigrate it, those times and places do happen.

ZZ Top is a weird band to me. They’re very distinct mostly because of the amazing guitar work but also a lot of the less popular songs sound like a standard 80s rock band like Def Leppard or something. The popular songs like sharp dressed man on this are very distinct from the rest of the album. Still good either way though

Amazing

Fantastic first half but it takes a dive in qualify after Legs. Gibbons guitar playing is something else. And though not brilliant, a fun album overall.

good album, missing some tush tho

Classic. Highlights are the ones I hear on the radio.

The only band that successfully married boogie with the '80s. The album is way stronger than I thought it would be.

4.25

Driving beat, classic tunes, plenty of samey fillers

Very nice

Highlights: Got Me Under Pressure Sharp Dressed Man I Need You Tonight If I Could Only Flag Her Down Artwork: 5 / 10 Rating: 7,5 / 10

Fado

some good hits, some utter shit.. also reading about it don't like how they ripped of their pal

Most tracks have a really nice groove going. Enjoyed this one.

Definitely not as goofy as expected. Quite enjoyed this!

Aparte de La Grange nunca he prestado mucha atención a sus canciones. Su imagen les precede. Este disco está entretenido pero no me ha entusiasmado.

In which three bonobos tap into their jungle roots and lay down as much funk as they do dumbell boogie and metallic riffing. A minor triumph and, given the year of release, reminder to the overglammed, overemoting, honky, horndog arena rockers of the time that the basics are just groovy on their own, thank you very much.

Good old fashioned hard blues rock. Like the other ZZ Top album I reviewed, there is some filler here but the rest is killer.

Não empolgou, reconheci um hit.

There's something irresistible about ZZ Top, and this album exemplifies that special something.

Totally C average rock. As enjoyable as a Big Mac and fries. Any song from this album would fit in nicely on the soundtrack to a 1980s teen comedy.

Fine southern rock. I get it's popularity but it was a time and a place for me in HS.

Una de les autorreivencions més exitoses del rock. 10 anys després de posar el món del blues rock del revés amb 'Tres Hombres', donen la benvinguda als '80 amb un disc que abraça tots els tics de l'época, especialment l'amor pels sintetitzadors i les melodies contagioses. Vist amb la perspectiva del temps, el canvi, tot i ser majúscul, manté però l'essència de la banda texana. 'Dirty Dog', 'Bad Girl'... podrien pertànyer a algun dels seus discos dels setanta. En qualsevol cas, els grans singles que contenia el disc són del millor que va donar la primera part de la década, i plenament disfrutables tants anys després. Encara seguirien per aquest camí amb dos discos posteriors fins a tancar la década. Però les cotes d'inspiració ja no tornarien a ser les mateixes

Enjoyable. I have been passing on the fact that most rock music during the dreadful 80’s kept the good music going

Good solos, pretty good synth incorporation, but no where near peak zz top

Temas energéticos, con buen rollo y con las bases del rock and roll

Will never be my favourite music, but more too it than I would have thought.

Fun album, with some solid songs and great guitars.

A bit more "pop" sounding rock album. There is some catchy songs on here. However, I find most of it to be somewhat bland. At most it's decent. Highlights: I Need You Tonight

This has not aged well.

The classics were ok, but got pretty bored after that.

This album was fun to listen to. I enjoyed the classics at the start but as the album moved on I began to feel like I was listening to a guitarist jamming over a backing track or a youtube guitar instructional video.

There is something elegant in the simplicity of the concept here - like with the Ramones. But really, in this case it's not for me. Trivia question - which is the only ZZ Top member without a beard - the drummer, Frank Beard! And then there is the Sesame St parody for the letter Z - classic line and the end from the Billy Gibbons muppet: "Only band I've ever played with that can fall asleep and keep playing the blues"!

Not a bad 80s rock album.

Makes me want to go to a Hard Rock Cafe and drink a £6.99 lemonade.

A classic album, one of their very best! Perfect blend of blues, southern rock and new wave.

Starts off great. Rather single faceted towards the end 3/5

I just love it

Great in the 80’s plus memorable videos.

Brilliant. But Deguello is the one for me

Gruff vocals, plenty of screaming guitar solos but a little bit samey and not really my cuppa tea. But to be fair, it was ok rock music.

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

Archetypal rock but better than I had anticipated

It may be a bit cheesy rock, but they're not taking it too seriously, and made a good album for good times. I'm torn between giving it a high 3 stars or a low 4 stars.

Enjoyed this album, classic hard rock! There were a couple of tracks that dragged a bit, but then pulled right back up with another hit. Gotta love Gibbons' guitar work.

Ese sonido de guitarra se extraña en la música actual. Le pongo 3 porque si bien hay canciones buenas, hay rellenos por allí.

Peut-être à 5$

The hits are the hits. The rest is fine but not memorable. Cover art 5/5 instantly recognisable

Rockend, maar toch zeer dansbaar! De mannen van ZZ-top weten hoen ze bluesrock moeten maken. topalbum

One of the first records I ever bought with my own money. All killer No filler.

Eliminator is one of those rare, magical records that contain mega-hit after mega-hit, but the band obviously coasts on some of the filler tracks, most egregiously the 6-minute-plus snoozefest of "I Need You Tonight." The good news is even when ZZ Top is coasting they're better than 90% of other bands.

Semi-decent fast paced rock. I enjoyed the use of synthesizers on a few of the songs, which I wasn’t expecting from a ZZ Top album. Biggest turnoff we’re the lyrics consistently being creepy or just simply boiling down to “I want to have sex with this pretty woman”. 5/10

Machinelike cool.

It's very good!

Its all pretty mediocre Dad rock

Genre: Hard Rock 3/5 6 albums ago, I received the other ZZ Top album, Tres Hombres, a much more straight blues rock album with some slick lead guitar work, but overall it didn't bust my nut. I could almost copy/paste that sentiment for Eliminator, but I'd replace "straight blues" with "heavy synth". The 80s is all over this, but ZZ Top doesn't let it get too much in the way of their rockin' ways. Gimme All Your Lovin and Sharp Dressed Man are both great hard pop rock jams, both huge hits, both dripped in synth backdrops, and both with knockout lead guitar playing from Billy Gibbons. The rest of the album was entirely formulaic, with not much to comment on, but the bass playing in Thug is essential listening and nearly each song features Gibbons lettin' loose in some way, which is always a good time. Decent album.

So I loved the videos back when I was young. Songs are decent but I love the older ZZ Top much better.

Every song on this album has been used in a montage in an 80's movie.

Great beardey rock

Not quite as fun as the Bon Jovi but still pretty good!

Just a straight up fun album with lots of energy and some great musicianship! What's not to love about ZZ Top? This album also has some of their biggest hits! Put it on and enjoy from start to finish! Oh mercy!

Not a big fan of cars, but I guess that shiny red eliminator is pretty fascinating. That's how I felt throughout the entire album. It's an interesting and fun take on blues rock in the '80s domain. The singles are great, but it has a considerable amount of fillers. Synthesizers and drum machines are so good at turning music into noise that the entire second half became boring. Still a fun album, but perhaps just outdated.

ok

80’er rock, Sharp dressed man, rimelig tung elguitar

This was such a HUGE a record in the MTV 80’s. It’s interesting to go back and listen. There’s such a distinct fuzzy tone with the dance-y beat layered under it there’s no mistaking it for anything else. Also, those vocals are pretty great. Still, is it GREAT? Hmm.

Not so good

I have already forgotten everything that wasn't Sharp Dressed Man

Rock.

This is ZZ Top's 8th album, and it's their most successful one - selling 20 million worldwide and being certified diamond in the US. This was the first ZZ Top album to have a breakout outside the states and achieve worldwide success. The album also sold ten times more than any previous ZZ Top album in the US. The music can be categorized as hard/blues/synth rock, since at the time the band was evolving from blues rock to a more mainstream synth rock and new wave sound. The tempo of the songs on this album was also faster than previous albums. A portion of this album's popularity can be attributed to multiple music videos that were produced and aired on MTV regularly. The changes made by the band for this album paid off, with the album making the band become newly popular with young people, as well as satisfying the older fans. This may just be the best ZZ Top album!

Texan rock and roll, and childhood memories. Love it. I think the is the best ZZ Top album

Status Quo with beards

Don’t hate it, don’t love it. Would give it 2.5/5 if I could

"If I blow my top will you let it go to your head?" Perhaps the only time I've heard a popular song lyric that I'm pretty sure is a euphemism for giving someone a facial. How can you not love that? Seriously though, ZZ Top is pretty cool. Lucinda Williams loves them, so I guess that's good enough for me. I do think they were better before they tried to break through to more of a mass audience though. Great guitar. 3 stars.

This is the ZZ Top album with all the hits... but not as good as Tres Hombres or La Futura.

It's fun for a bit. There's definitely some fun, catchy riffs. I can't imagine not enjoying at least a few songs here just for that alone. The vocals aren't so great. Some songs don't work for me at all. I don't have a heap of praise but it really was a enjoyable listen for the most part.

This album is a lot of fun. It was massive when it came out and it's just as catchy now as ever. One thing that stands out to me is how mechanized their sound is, something that's very different than the ZZ Top of the 70s. It was a brilliant move, because the band created this sound that rocked hard, but still fit in with the more electronic-leaning stuff that was dominant on MTV. Apparently the move didn't sit well with many of the band's longtime fans, but they really carved out a unique space in music that doesn't really sound like anything else. Many of the resulting songs are true classics. Fave Songs: Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Gimme All Your Lovin', I Need You Tonight

Fav songs: - Gimme All Your Lovin' - Sharp Dressed Man - I Need You Tonight

Lekker album. De bekende hits staan er op, en ook de andere nummers zijn heel goed te luisteren. ZZ Topper! ****

Great albums. Sounds great from beginning to end.

Pretty average, some good songs

I only new the singles going in. Really holds ups. Great guitar sound.

Pretty straight forward 80s type rock, but good stuff at that. The hits are mega hits, the other tracks are good overall.

Glossy Radio Rock 2.1

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Gimme all your lovin, I got the six, Legs

Great rock album by ZZ, I can hear that 80s evolution on this one.

Gimme all your lovin

Good album, enjoyed it. Strong guitar riffs, catchy

Beards at the ready! Thrusting power chords evoke visions of American road trips. Decent enough

02/04/2022 A CLASSIC! Will never get old. Easiest 5-star yet.

Really fun.

I didn't expect to like this, but it was actually pretty fun... at first. I don't know if the album just drops off or if it was too much of the same thing, but I got bored by the end.

Awesome album

It’s funny how I sort of think of “Gimme All Your Lovin’” as a Christmas song because of The Santa Clause even though that song makes no sense being in that scene in that movie. This album has cool riffs and fun vibes though.

Enjoyed this album by ZZ Top. Felt like a pretty typical 80s rock album filled with rocking songs to drive to. Album went pretty quick and only a few songs that weren’t too great. Some classics on there though too. 7.2/10

Incredible guitar ruined every time by shouting 😂

3.5

pretty fun hard rock 8/10

This is such a fun album, definitely more of a "pop" outing for ZZ Top than they're more bluesy stuff but it's a bop from front to back. Lots of classics in here, opening with Gimme All Your Lovin and just riding that wave through to the end.

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

ZZ Top are one of them bands that are just brilliant at what they do. They just quietly go about their business and make classic songs that don't get the recognition they deserve. Their endurance and simplicity is clear with this album.

A fine album, nothing I'm going head-over-heels for but an easy listen with some familiar tunes.

Love this album. Iconic songs.

This whole album is a bop, as the youths say (said?🤷‍♀️). Great rock that I enjoyed beginning to end!!

This is ultimate ZZ Top. As my dad puts it, “ The great Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill along with Frank Beard….Created a great Blues-Rock fusion unparalleled in modern rock. Turn it up, open a cold beer and ENJOY!!!!” This is so true. Of course you have 3 of their biggest hits on this album (Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin, and Legs” but “I Got the Six” and “Bad Girl” are so fun.

A little more grungy than Tres Hombres. Still loved it, but the grooves and guitar are a bit clearer and smoother in Tres Hombres.

Give Me All Your Loving is a great boogying tune. Its not just the singles that have this deep and abiding sense of groove. What a kickass album.

This album reminds me of my dad. He was (is?) super into this band. He also had a massive beard.

I rather did enjoy this. Read somewhere that this album was successful because it was a complete departure from what they had ever done before. Very over-produced, and lack of musician participation was also another reason it was a commercial success. Pretty funny.

Stellar album. 4 absolute bangers and the rest of the album holds its own. Very enjoyable.

Love ZZ Top, I do prefer their earlier more raw blues albums, but this one is so much fun and has so many hits, so can’t not give 4 stars.

This was exactly what I expected from a ZZ Top album. The opening song was great and Sharp Dressed Man is a classic I was already a fan of, but it got samey quite quickly. Not a bad album at all, just not for me

Sharp dressed man is always a good song. Tv Dinner was really weird lol. Solid album I liked it plenty of guitar throughout

I love the groove of ZZ Top. This isn't my fav album of theirs, but is still great.

Not my favorite

Good slbum

In all honest, it does trudge a bit, but Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme All Your Lovin are great fun. Not an all time one. But not altogether unwelcome.

Really good rock. I like this better than Tres Hombres.

I never listen to ZZ Top but I like them. This record - from what I understand having watched a documentary a while back - was the crossoever that this band desperately needed after years of middling chart performance. They paid a lot of dues before recording this record. I don't need to say more than that. This record deserves to be on this list and it is a strong showing.

So, I like ZZ Top, but I don't think they're really that good. I appreciate that it's three guys and they were like, "Hey, let's stick to a shuffle on the drums, eighth notes on the base, a single guitar tone, and write a buncha songs about girls and cars. Oh, also, we'll have cool beards and spin our guitars around." And - to their credit - it worked. They are iconic in the sense that you can play 5 seconds of any of their songs and people will be like, "oh, that's ZZ Top." The part of me that loves this music wants to rate it favorably. The critique in me can't get past the horrible slap-bass on Thug (or the general "okay-ness" of the entire album). Given that I believe ZZ Top has a place on a "top 1001" list, and given my assumption that this is the only one of their albums we'll encounter on the list - 3.

"Sharp dressed man" är otrolig, allt annat är lite meh. Överaskande bra kvalitet med en riktigt tight bas på vissa låtar. Kunde i min åsikt, (desamma gäller den tidigare ZZtopsskivan också), gott vara en singel. Det är ju inte dålig musik men heller ingenting som bör hålla sån här status? SOLID goob-rock.

Inte superspännande men har svårt att inte tycka om ZZ. Gimme all your lovin och Sharp Dressed Man är toppenlåtar. Däremot mycket ganska intetsägande låtar även på den här plattan. Cruisar hela vägen till en trea

Det är inte bra bara. som rock fast sämre.

zz top-ne top

Good

Loved it.....besides the hits there's some class other tunes in there

Nice

Just good old fashion southern rock'n'roll. This is a perfect album for driving with the windows down.

Good rock and roll

I'm not sure why these guys have such a devoted following. I was trying to figure out what 'Legs' would've sounded like if it was written by women. "She's got legs, and she knows how to use them" ...would be changed to... "He's got money, and he knows how to save it?" And what would they look like? A trio of hairy women in trench coats and sunglasses, perhaps? And it was with that exercise that made me realize that it was more fun than listening to this music.

Is ZZ Top peak rock and roll? Anything more quintessentially rock and roll than ZZ Top and Billy Gibbons' whole aesthetic? And is there anything more peak of the peak than "TV Dinners?" They wrote and recorded and, I assume, repeatedly played, a bluesy rocker of a tune about the necessity of a microwaved meal. "TV dinners, I'm feelin' kinda rough TV dinners, this one's kinda tough I like the enchiladas and the teriyaki too I even like the chicken if the sauce is not too blue" Amen, Billy, amen. I've never understood the early 80s so well. Of course, they do follow it up with a rather creepy song about wanting to catcall a pretty girl in a nice car. Again, the 80s... "Gimme All Your Lovin,'" "Legs," and "Sharp Dressed Man" were probably Billy Gibbons' greatest achievements... until his recurring role as Angela's dad on "Bones," at least.

When I first started working, I was on a project with a retirement age gentleman. The main thing I remember about him is that my coworker told me his daughter was the woman in the Legs video. Well what did google pop up when I searched for “ZZ Top legs girl”? A 2013 nostalgic blog post by an 80s music video aficionado where he tracked down the Legs woman and sort of interviewed her. She remembered, “I think the most memorable scene (although some would disagree, preferring the lingerie shot) was being placed by the biker up on the counter and spinning to kick off my boyfriend’s boss. In the process, by accident, just a peek of the crotch of my underwear showed. I was ahead of Sharon Stone. A true slip and never brought to my attention.” https://www.noblemania.com/2013/07/the-girl-in-video-legs-1984-part-1-of-3.html?m=1 The guy tracked down and interviewed a number of lesser known 80s music video stars, like all five women from Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love. The site is a hoot for consumers of 80s MTV. I watched the Legs video for the first time. All I can say is that special effects were poor in 1983, amazingly so. ZZ Top are at their best when the guitars are driving things forcefully with a steady beat from the drummer. Songs like Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and Bad Girl. It’s a bit boring otherwise.

4/5

Rock al palo. Nada de cosas raras. Con un par de hits para que todo el mundo se sienta familiarizada con la banda

-"Gimme All Your Lovin'" is such a catchy tune and the riff after the chorus is awesome -"Got Me Under Pressure" is such an awesome song and I'm surprised it isn't a bigger bit. Something about it is just so awesome. The guitar riff grooves, and the pattern of the lyrics makes it super catchy. Although, I do prefer the live version where the lyrics have a bit more oomph -"Sharp Dressed Man" is a ZZ Top Classic. Great riff, and I personally love the "...black tie (black tie)" bit. -"I Got the Six" is a totally rad song. The drum riff thing in the choruses is great, and the drumming just keeps an awesome beat behind the slick guitar work throughout. Some of these sound pretentious but it's cuz I would just be repeating myself for half these songs. Also the scream after like the second chorus is pretty crazy -"Legs" is a total classic, and the synth riff is pretty sweet, with plenty of "live" work over the top -"Thug" was actually the first song I heard from ZZ Top after knowing "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Cheap Sunglasses" for years. The syncopated slap bass stuff is so cool, it's like catchy and unpredictable. -"TV Dinners," "Dirty Dog," "If Only I Could Flag Her Down," and "Bad Girl" are all solid, but don't have some big standout feature -Overall super solid and grooving album

7/10

The hits are hits for a reason, all that guitar is goddamn catchy shit and I'm here for it. But the album does become quite monotonous as it goes on. Thank you for giving us "Legs" and knowing how to use them.

This album’s got Legs and I love to listen to it while eating my TV Dinners. BTW, its also got Gimme All Your Lovin, Got Me Under Pressure and Sharp Dressed Man. This is the album where they broke into a more mainstream sound from their blues band past. My favorite ZZ Top album. 5

2021.11.19

Rock. On. This was energetic as all hell and I am totally here for it. Lyrically, it was not life-changing, but that is fine. I was head-banging anyway.

Really not something I would come back to very often....But i really did enjoy it. It was a pretty solid sounding album.

If you don't like this, then frankly, there's no help for you. Absolutely rattles along with dirty funky riffs galore.

Slick production and hugely influential - if a little formulaic in the middle. If I ever get a job as a long haul trucker this album will help keep me fired up through the twilight stretches.

Pretty decent

Enjoyable rock for a Monday morning

Fairly standard MOR rockers, some better than others. 'Legs' is a nice change of direction, and I'm fascinated by the fact they stopped thinking about sex for just long enough to write a song about TV dinners.

Love it! New ZZ Top fan, right here!

8/10

Guay. 3

Still love it.

notttt really to my tastes - every drum beat the same - all songs seemed to be the same tempo. some nice vocals and guitars though i'll give them that

I've long heard that Eliminator is THE ZZ Top album to beat, but I've never listened to it, so here goes. The sound of the album is a bit of a shock. It's pure 80s corporate arena rock. The rhythms are robotically precise and thuddingly literal. There's that 80s sheen and slickness, the gated reverb and chorus on the vocals. The sound is compressed--my guess is that if you looked at a waveform of this music, it would look like a brick. And yet it still sounds like ZZ Top, just the MTV version. If all of this sounds like a putdown, it really isn't. Somehow, ZZ Top went for the biggest, dumbest, most commercial sound possible without coming across as sellouts. They even manage to incorporate synths and sequencers into their sound without making you want to barf. How? Wisely, the traditional guitars and vocals remain paramount--on Legs, for example, the sequenced synth comes across as a grace note, a single layer of modernity in the typical Texas boogie. Same goes for the drum machine on Thug. Interestingly, ZZ Top opts to steadily make the drum machines, synths and sequencers more prominent in the arrangements as the album wears on, but never so much that they lose the essence of their sound. As it turns out, Eliminator is a master class in updating a band for the MTV era, a path that is littered with the corpses of 70s era bands. Good for them. The songs themselves are sturdy constructions without being especially memorable, with the exception of Sharp Dressed Man.

I used to own a tape of this when it came out. Classic album that I haven't listened to for years.

meh not my type of music but was okay

Hit singles lifting a solid rock album that wears its blues history on its sleeve as a badge of honour. Nostalgia and knowing wink glosses over the sexism. A step into the mainstream for a jobbing rock band.

Nokkrir bangerar. Fín plata!

Another prominent star in the constellation of my pop adolescence. Friday Night Videos standards for many months. Clearly guitar is the star here, and it doesn’t get much better for this style of American heavy rock. The singing shows its weakness whenever the material gets slightly challenging though, and the lyrics at best have a slick but superficial stylishness, at its peak in Sharp Dressed Man.

Decent listen. Several hits that were fun, most of the others were ok but a lot of the same sound.

Good ol' classic rock and roll. Deserves a 3.5 but I can't quite get it to a 4.

Drum machines in pop music are almost always a mistake. They're a special shame here as the fusion of hard and Southern rock is nearly immaculate. The tracklist is a bit uneven, but the best-known songs are not the best ones and at this BPM you're all but required to turn your brain way down.

I tend to think of zz top as gezers but they seem like they might have been pretty hip back in the 80s. pretty decent classic rock album but likely not one I'll come back to often.

Classic, but definitely not classy.

Legs is one of the best rock tracks of all time, Give Me All Your Loving has been used to death in adverts so just makes me think of sofa sales. The rest is nice but it all blends into one for me, it’s very of it’s time and not my cup of tea.

Pretty cheesy but a solid album and fun to listen to 6/10

Surprisingly good, recognized more of the songs than I was expecting. 7

8/10. Surprisingly good

Boring. 5/10

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Real mixed bag here. Lots of fun songs but starts to get a little repetitive. The hits like "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" alone are worth it though. Also really liked "If I Could Only Flag Her Down" which I'd never heard before. 3.5 stars.

glad i listened - almost didn't - but now i know that one montage song from 30 rock when tracy and jenna go shopping, and that is priceless

Friggin' great record!

I'm not sure that there are actually 11 different tracks here --- more like two and a half. What I'm saying is, some of these songs sound the same. Except Thug, which sounds like the theme from Seinfeld. But what the heck --- it's peppy and fun and I had a good time bopping around the kitchen making dinner and waxing nostalgic about high school cheerleading as I listened.

Now that I have the ability, I am changing the low 2 star review I gave this album over 3 years ago to better reflect my feelings. In my defense, it was the 4th album I got assigned here and I was still calibrating my rating scale. Still, there is little excuse for giving Eliminator a 2. I am revising this rating, leaving my original review below intact. I regret the snootiness that lead to this erroneous review. My apologies to ZZ Top. Original review follows -------------------------------------------------- A lot of guitar. Never listened to this whole album before. Doubtful I will do so again… Loved hearing all the bigger hits that I have not forgotten. “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs”. “I Need You Tonight”. Nice break from the faster songs. I remember this song but couldn’t have identified it. “TV Dinners” - don’t know that I’ve ever heard this but enjoy the silliness. Why is it called “Dirty Dog” when it appears they only sing about a “Scurvy Dog”? While I don’t regret listening to this album. I enjoy ZZ Top’s guitars more in smaller doses.

One word Wednesday: Dusty And I have to add that this album is better than most give it credit. Almost 40 years of several tracks being overplayed and several retrospectively-Uber-cheesy videos don’t help either. Also some great tunes that seldom hit the radio - “ I Got the Six” & “TV Dinners” 4.5 stars, but I’m rounding up in memory of recently departed Bass player Dusty Hill. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Listworthy = 👍

great album for southern rock noodling. Knew lot of ZZ top but only actually recognized a few from this one. Love how an album can be so unabashedly horny, and still devote a song to tv dinners.

This album is great blues influenced rock. So catchy and so fun. I love this record. If you don’t smile during TV dinners you may need to talk to a professional.

Muy buen sonido, me encantó.

Gubbigt

I liked it. Of course I have heard all the hits. If the songs were all like that it would be an easy 5. 4.4.

Razor sharp guitar playing over a watertight rhythm section. These songs make up an album of classic ZZ Top tunes. I loved the colour of the riffs and solos, and the feel of the music perfectly fits the album art. Will be listening again.

nice zztop album, fast rock and roll, 2 hit songs but the rest follows right after

Straight up rock. Aight

Great stuff 👍🏼

Decent rock album

What a great album. It's nothing but jam after jam that manage to just barely avoid being cheesy and, instead, come off as truly iconic. Just a really fun album.

Letztens die Doku gesehen. Tolle Band, besonderes Album!

Lustige Mischung aus schlichtrock und guten Sachen

Noh brilliant nor bad…

Oooh this has sharp dressed man, dope. I mean it's good for what it is. I'll give it four stars.

ZZ Top was the face of blues for millions following the release of this album. ZZ Top were quite vocal about their blues roots and their influences in legends like Howlin Wolf or any of the Kings. After all, they made huge contributions like the renovation of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. This album was a transition period into a much harder sound incorporating synths typical of the 80s. But these songs still follow true to the blues formula, found in most of the songs, especially the guitar solos. Of course the highlights are the three singles. My personal favorite is the lesser known of the three "Legs", probably because of the computerized synths and lighter tone. I liked a lot of songs, especially on the second side, to be weak. Why? Well, I like the variety in funky synths. And the blues sound is there... sometimes. But it sounded too much like other hard rock or synth of the era. It tried too hard to be commercialized, and in the end the songs themselves did not stand out. And I wonder if any of the songs would have stood out if not for the MTV heavy rotation. Overall, it is an enjoyable experience with great radio staples but tried too hard to be something of its time.

ZZ top tunes

Definite Classic. Very strong 4/5. Lots of great songs. Maybe just a little bit too commercial.

Very 80s rock production, sadly not enough ZZ Top blues for a higher score, but a solid album.

I like ZZ Top but this is just basic classic rock. Nothing spectacular

There are some amazing songs on here, but there are also a couple that kind drag on… for me they balance the album between not quite being incredible, but not quite being a bad album either

Loved this Album…

They were great in their time. Liked their music more then then now.

One of the classic rock greats!! This album has almost all the ZZ Top Top Hits. I thought I had listened to this album a long time ago and maybe I did because the other songs on the album, while decent, didn't do much to stick out to me, besides TV Dinners due to its weirdness. When your album has Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs, there isn't much more you need on it so the fluff didn't bother me. These are songs that have followed us through childhood and remind me of summers lifeguarding and Santa Clause. Not to mention the epic album cover with the fancy car shootings its lights into the distance.

At the risk of jinxing it, I'll say it: it looks like we're entering another classics week! ZZ Top, what a world. These guys are pretty goofy classic rock simpletons, and I don't fault them for that at all. The beards are a hilarious gimmick. "TV Dinner" are you kidding me? Can anyone be mad at this kind of music? I certainly can't. This album has THE hits too, in "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Sharp Dressed Man." Is it all that fantastic or special? No, but it holds a place in my heart. Favorite tracks: Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man, Dirty Dog, Legs, I Got the Six. Album cover: ABSOLUTELY ICONIC. I never saw it up close like this before, never realized it was a drawing rather than a picture. Bright, bold colors for the car and the text/band logo. This one is a classic. 4.5/5

I love the energy of this album. It definitely has that 80's electronic rock feel good vibe going for it.

ZZTop. Classic. Old men with huge beards singing about cars and women and with loud, tangy guitars. What's not to like?

It all sounds the same but it’s as classic rock as it gets

A fine album...very listenable. The hits are great but the album cuts are strong as well. 4 🌟

This is a fun listen. I appreciate the eighties electronic textures. Favourite track is TV Dinners.

Started off strong and I like the album artwork, but lost interest towards the end. Some strong guitar and bass but a bit uninteresting overall for me.

Every song sounds the same, but honestly, I liked the vibe.

Awesone

Some classics on here

Great album, start to finish. Even enjoyed hearing a song about TV dinners.

I liked the non-hits as much as the hits, but the entire album is knocked down one star by the TV dinner mess of a song.

ZZtop need I say more

Sharp Dressed Man is one of those songs I've heard 100 times played by cover bands, but I don't think I ever listened to the actual song until now. Really good stuff, tasteful synth usage on top of the standard rock sound. They sure made the most of the minor pentatonic scale.

Alright, but not fantastic. A few good songs, but unfortunately, the rest are not very interesting.

This brand of 80s rock doesn't do much for me.

I def dislike this but it is an unheralded ingredient of mainstream 80s rock for sure

Good foot tapping classic rock and roll 8/10

Great album Classic rock :)

The boys doing what they do best

another rock album to the collection, heavy on the guitars and more upbeat which is good. but still not my favorite.

At first it sounded ok but after a couple of songs I lost interest, too noisy