Eliminator

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

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

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

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

Great in the 80’s plus memorable videos.

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.

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.

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

Great beardey rock

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.

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.

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.

Really fun.

Awesome album

pretty fun hard rock 8/10

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.

Love this album. Iconic songs.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Nice

4/5

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.

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

Love it! New ZZ Top fan, right here!

8/10

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.

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.

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

8/10. Surprisingly good

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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.

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.

Muy buen sonido, me encantó.

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

Great stuff 👍🏼

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

ZZ top tunes

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

Loved this Album…

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?

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

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

Some classics on here

ZZtop need I say more

Good foot tapping classic rock and roll 8/10

Great album Classic rock :)

The boys doing what they do best

A quality hard rock album. Some of ZZ Top's best.

Fun album. I recognized most of the songs.

Surprisingly enjoyable. Good, hard R&R. Useful to drown out sounds of roommate hanky panky.

I'm enjoying this more than I expected!

Listening to this, it seems so unlikely that these guys were as big as they were in the 80s. But the songs are generally pretty good. Also, when I hear the song Legs, I picture a video where a woman is going around, kicking guys in the nuts. So, extra star.

Pleasantly surprised! Makes me want to explore more ZZ top.

Gimmie All Your Lovin' is a banger. Remember that from the GTA IV days. Oof. Got Me Under Pressure, sounds like a groovy trucker tune. Excellent guitar work. Sharp Dressed Man sounds like a reworked version of Gimmie All Your Lovin', not the most creative effort on the record. Still got a groove, no doubt. I Need You Tonight, a slow pit stop from the rest of the album. Calm little jam. Definitely one for the fluffer mix. I Got The Six brilliant energy reinforcer. Legs also brilliant. Nice ballad. Thug, interesting bass work. Very trucker funk. I like it. TV Dinners is a steady tune. Dirty Dog makes me wonder if they know any other timings for their guitar work.... If I Could shows some variation...nice Bad Girl sounds a little...repetitive. Funny to say after most of the album is repetitive guitar work, but solid mixes and tunes overall.

You've got to love "Gimme all your lovin'", it's such a classic. Really enjoyed this whole album although I didn't expect to.

Ich kannte die Band, hab aber noch nie ein Album durchgehört. Gar nicht mal so schlecht! Da sind zwei drei Lieder drauf, die man (unbewusst) kennt - funzt aber auch gut am Stück. Also: Zack, aufs Motorrad und dem Sonnenuntergang entgegen :P

Very Good

Great album!

Quite enjoyed it, especially Gary!

.

8

Pretty good

Good upbeat jams to listen to

Pretty mellow, pretty good.

Pretty good!

Fantastic listen; a lot of very good songs packed in here.

Fun classic rock and roll

Bangin

Bon album a mettre avec papa

gr8

Awesome!

Hard rock soul, memorable riffs, and a lot of blues. I love it!

Great driving music, as shown by the hot rod cover

Easy to forget how hard ZZ rocks sometimes. Inspired me to make an Old Head Rock playlist.

Entertaining classic southern rock album.

Very fun

groovin

sharp dressed man, legs, gimme all your lovin - some classics here. Texas rock blues

Goooood. I like it. Have always heard of ZZ Top but never gave them a listen.

Pretty sweet guitar riffs

Angst lyrics but 90’s rock sound.

Liked this much more than anticipated. Somehow, I never listened to any ZZ Top before. But they had some nice and groovy songs like "sharp dressed man" or "legs"

Bears guys got good guitar again.

Fed rock. Fed guitar og og fængende sange. 3.5 stjerne

Very good - surprised I don’t have this.

Great

Hard to believe this album came out in the 80s

A few of these songs have been burned into my memory after years of hearing them, but this is catchy stuff. Couldn't bring myself to give it less than 4/5.

You can find some great songs and some mediocre songs on this album. But overall, it's unpretentious straight up fun.

Underwhelming mostly, but not offensive

It really surprised me in a good way

ZZ Top is a band with exactly one mode. That lane is blues forward riff based 70s arena rock. If that’s not your flavor, nothing on this or any other zz album will be your speed. It’s very nostalgic for me, especially the three big hits, but the rest of it is basically just worse versions of those songs. Sharp dressed man, legs, and gimme all your loving will always be classic rock staples, and nothing on the album makes me die of boredom, so three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mejor

Spanking his monkey? Really?

Meh

An album best described as not weathered well ! Its sure a blast from the past but soon gets very boring unfortunately a lucky

Banger honestly, I love it, but it sounds a bit one dimensional after a while.

ZZ Top shreds. They can't actually sing, most visible on I Need You Tonight, but anything in their typical yell/sing register works with the guitars so well. Makes me want to start ripping darts and work on my car.

Was not expecting much from this album...it's just ZZ Top has always seemed like the most generic classic rock band of all time. Wasn't all that bad though, not something i would probably seek out again, but didn't hate it.

I've fallen so far behind, so in one day at work I will attempt my catch up. I've been a fan of ZZ Top since hearing them on classic rewind radio with my mom.

Takes hard rock into the 80s, some popular hits but not as good as their 70s work in my opinion.

A lot more production than I’d ever expect on a ZZ Top album having only listened to them sporadically beforehand. Drum machines and synths manage to mostly work with the guitar riffs. A fine album it you like old school rock with a singular theme (girls). Otherwise it’s a bit one note.

I didn't hate it. Feels like decent 80s rock, though not particularly unique.

first thought was "damn zz top again?", second thought was "damn zz top made 8 albums?", third thought was "damn zz top kinda hits". favorite song is definitely Legs, also love I Need You Tonight. strong 3

Enjoyed! A lot of songs I already knew

Much like someone else said, the other songs on here besides the hits just sound like less good clones of those hits, which I kinda true. While I liked some of those deeper cuts, the sound definitely got old once I was halfway through. Still something I'd totally be fine to listen to again, but nothing that sticks with you all that much. Still though it's hard to hate too much, so 3/5 for me.

It’s ZZ Top, what rise needs to be said.

Fett ändå!

finns det något gubbigare?

Jävla bra gung i hitsen, ett tugg som inte går av för hackor. Är det synthbas som gör det? Ett för bra instrument ibland. Sen blir det ju lite väl enformigt och gubbigt ibland men aldrig att det är dåligt. Sen ska man inte glömma att det är en fin bil

Decent rock

Solid bangers on this album. Always enjoy ZZ Top.

I found this album a little cheesy but fun. After a few tracks it starts to feel all a bit similar to me. Wouldn’t mind relistening to a few of the songs when I’m in the right mood, but I’m not sure I’d come back to the album again. Fav song: Gimme All Your Lovin’ Least fav: TV Dinners

I was hyper-exposed to the singles from this album in the early days of MTV. I still love those songs, but the rest of this doesn't do a lot for me. I still can't believe "Legs" used to be on MTV and the radio unedited, but I guess people (including me at the time) couldn't understand what they were singing.

Pretty good

Conflicted because I loved the instrumentals on this album, but lyrically this fell flat. Pretty mid-album, which is pretty surprising because I typically love Rock. -S Tier- Gimme All Your Lovin' -A Tier- Sharp Dressed Man -B Tier- I Got the Six -C Tier- Got me Under Pressure Legs Bad Girl -D Tier- I Need You Tonight Thug If I Could Only Flag Her Down -F Tier- TV Dinners

The hits are great, the rest is just okay. It front-loads all the best songs. The band play together great, even without a lot of technical skill outside of Gibbons. I also appreciate that the one member whose name is literally Beard is the one member without the famous ZZ Top beard. 3/5

Maybe I'm mad because I listened to an Eric Clapton album yesterday, but all of the ire towards ZZ Top here could 100% be directed at Eric Clapton and it would still make sense. At least ZZ Top never acted like they were god's gift to rock and roll. Unpretentious blues rock is fun and this album is no exception.

When people think of ZZ Top it is this era that springs to mind the most. Pretty good hits, some misses, still good.

Pretty basic bitch 80s rock but they are cool guys and were in Back to The Future 3 so they get an extra point for that. 3

Delicious. 3.1/5.

If I had to pick a favorite song, I didn't mind sharp dressed man or gimme all your lovin'. But overall, not quite my beat of music. It was fine but not great.

A solid classic rock album, but a bit generic. This has a bunch of their hits, but it's missing 'La Grange' and 'Tush', which are their two best. The album really petered out toward the end; the good songs are all in the front half. Not much else to say about this, we've all heard ZZ Top before and know what they are, a serviceable blues-rock band from the 70s and early 80s. Nothing spectacular here, but nothing bad either. Decent 3/5

fav song: got me under pressure least fav song: i got the six my first time listening to this band! love the overall vibe of this album. feels like soundtrack from a movie where the scene of main character driving a car is necessary.

Just scraped a 3 because sharp dressed man was pretty good

A huge album for the band. Elevating them from Southern boogie to international pop/rock stars. A formula created that along with MYV saw them become unlikely pop stars.

3.5/5 80s rock

This is the ultimate ZZ top album. Ready to roll up to Chili's with Nance while sporting some jorts and sunglasses.

Like being at a summer time backyard BBQ in the 80s

Good fun, but not troubling my shelves Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★★☆☆ (6/10) Total reviewed : 335 Already owned : 76 Purchased : 16 To buy : 3 Nope : 240

This was a solid rock album, just feel good, out for a good time, horny man fun.

Chill typ

3/5

Perfect fine chugging hard rock that has a nice groove. I'm not going to go back to this but I didn't hate it.

Four pretty cool songs, but it really is boiler-plate stuff. Every song more or less sounds the same, has the same innuendo and might as well have a drum machine going. Still, a handful of great tunes helps.

Exactly what I expected

Some of their songs, certainly 4, but a lot of similar material. I think a 3+ is fair.

++: Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Thug, Dirty Dog, If I Could Only Flag Her Down +: Gimme All Your Lovin' +-: I Got the Six, TV Dinners, Bad Girl -: I Need You Tonight 7,0/10

Ich wollte ja nichts zu den Videos schreiben. Aber diese hier sind so pubertär-dämlich, dass es mir peinlich ist, da zuzuschauen. Egal, ich habe die 70er von ZZ Top immer gemocht: La Grange, Tush, Blue Jean Blues, Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, Just got paid... aber mit diesem Album trennen sich langsam unsere Wege.

The album perfectly captures ZZ Top’s unique cheesy-but-cool charm, blending 1980s style with bluesy, groove-driven rock. But I still prefer the rawer, more grounded sound of Tres Hombres overall.

Enjoyable. Good band.

Fast paced, high tempo blues, with a lot of soloing. ZZ Top have a distinctive sound, and this is consistent throughout the album. It was...ok

Like, this was a crap ton of fun. But also -- when it's all so consistent and so generically rock-n-rollin' awesome-sauce, I can't help but question the artistic level going on here. It's hard not to enjoy this music. And today, that feels like a slight issue to me. Other than the middle few songs, all solid hits.

Okay, so I would’ve easily given this album a 4, it’s a fun time all the way through, BUT……. The drums…. How the HELL can a “hard rock” album have drum sounds like this? This shit sounds like a backing track for a guitar hero version. Like a Drum Learning app that makes this sound when someone messes up the part they’re supposed to play. Now at first I thought they were electric drums played by a person, which just makes my skin boil. But it’s more like a drum machine, which makes it a tiny bit better, but still. What do you mean a bunch of tough rock dudes with beards and hot rods and choppers make music with shitty electronic drum sounds that sound much worse than what i can now do in Garage band on the toilet??? I think the hot rod on the cover should be replaced by a TESLA bc of this. FUCK electric drums. They’re for practice. Would love to, but can’t give it lower than 3, bc its full of bangers if i listen on speakers far from my ears.

tv dinners rules

Overall a good album

Kinda whatever. Didn't do anything for me but it wasn't actively terrible. First time in my life I've wished for less guitar solos.

I’m not that familiar with ZZ Top’s sound prior to this album, but a lot of the other reviews on this site seem to act like this album was a betrayal to who they were. I didn’t bring that baggage to my listening of it, so I only heard the album through fresh ears and it’s fine. It’s starts really strong with some catchy songs that will get stuck in your head, but by the end of the album it’s a bit less memorable and a bit more monotonous. The songs are all a little too similar with a driving beat and don’t feel quite as catchy as the openers.

I have always been a bit ambivalent about ZZ Top and this record encapsulates that experience. I really like the heavy blues inspired guitar work, but the vocals and pop hooks are more Robert Palmer ecsque. I kind of want them to pick a field and plow it. Some good tracks though!

Kind of can't believe we are getting two ZZ Top albums in close succession, but I guess that's the way of the randomizer. This album represents ZZ Top's highest achievement in what they do well: fun, silly, high-energy, catchy singles. Like the blues-rock version of the B52s. But ... come on. (The filler tracks by the B52s are much better than what's here, for what it's worth.) It never occurred to me that one would ever sit and listen to a whole ZZ Top album start to finish, and especially not this one, where the cleverly-dumb, commercial aspects have been amped up so thoroughly. You take the singles you like from an album like this, put them on a playlist with other, equally dumb-fun singles of a related vibe, and listen to that playlist in the car when the mood takes you. You don't sit and listen to the album in its entirety. (Right?) Evidently, different individuals' mileage may vary. There's something funny about "Legs (Edit)" ... with no full length version to be found elsewhere on the album, not even at the end, of maybe the full length cd release or what have you ... that's some accidental postmodernism right there. Or something. I Need You Tonight sounds like a filler track from a late 70s Peter Green album. Good guitar work, not much of a song there. It's hard to believe there was a lawsuit over ownership of as lousy a song as Thug. Though, apparently the guy got cheated out of cowriter credits on the hits. Which sucks. Songs I already know and enjoy, songs I find it tough to get all the way through ... and not a lot in between.

There's something almost sugar-y about the blend of pop and rock here. And you gotta love the horniness.

The true definition of fine dad rock. This whole album is on classic rock radio rotation it feel likes. 6/10

In the summer of 1983, ZZ Top's distinctive Texas boogie rock could be heard everywhere. A series of cool music videos for “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharp Dressed Man”, followed later by “Legs”, propelled the blues-rock group to become one of the world's most successful bands. In reality, however, it was three old dogs presenting their eighth album, which they had adapted to the contemporary new wave sound of the 1980s. Notably, Frank Beard’s drumming was largely replaced by a drum machine and the tempo was adjusted to the Hi-NRG standard of the time, around 125 bpm. The result was danceable blues-rock pop that, while accessible to the masses, had lost much of the original charm of their early albums. From today's perspective, the 'more modern' Hi-NRG sound seems significantly more dated than the timeless Texas blues sound of classic albums like "Tres Hombres" (1973) and "Fandango!" (1974). Undoubtedly, the album contains numerous catchy tunes and is a classic of the '80s. However, objectively speaking, it is not ZZ Top’s best album.

This was one of the few bands my dad and I bonded over when I was a teenager. Weird now to realize how old they seemed (and sounded). Definitely felt more like old person music at the time. Extra star for nostalgia.

Fun 80s rock. I think it blended the pop-metal styles of the time with some great beats to make an enjoyable record.

I like this one a lot and loved them when I was a kid.

Some really really really fun rock and roll music here with big riffs. But an entire song about tv dinners is….non good.

ok.

This was fine, unlikely to reach for it again but an enjoyable enough commute

3 stars for Sharp Dressed Man. I could take or leave the rest.

Against all odds and expectations, I really enjoyed Gimme All Your Lovin’ and didn’t mind some of the other songs in there too. It sounded big, it was kinda silly and fun and I way preferred this over the other ZZ Top album we had. Interesting considering this one is from 10 years later. not sure if this is maybe them selling out?

Good

Redneck music with great guitars, other albums from ZZ are better

About as deep as a sheet pan, but there's some pretty groovy riffs.

Enjoyable and solid. Not as good as Tres Hombres as its devolved into more guitar cock-rock and less blues but the guitars are good. Thankfully this wraps the two ZZ Top albums on the list because I was worried we were going to get some off-the-wall cuts

A lot of famous singles, but some hidden gems in there. Not something I'd normally listen to, but a welcome change for me.

One time I was blitzed at a bar in one of the Carolinas and I told this blondie that I was the drummer to ZZ Top and she fully believed me. Spent the rest of the night hitting on her mom and pretending to play the air drums

Dad rock before dad rock. Grandpa rock? Uncle rock? Just some dudes and some beards playing some music adequately. Sharp Dressed Man is a fun song, but is it good? Not particularly, no.

fun but likely won’t revisit

This is fine. Gimme All Your Lovin' and Sharp Dressed Man are classics, they kick ass. The rest of this is fine. There's nothing in here past those two songs that made me really care, but there was also nothing in here that was really bad. Legs is solid if I had to pick something else, but that's the most I have to say.

(Previously rated June 2025) I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Possibly because it reminds me of youth. "Gimme All Your Lovin" "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" were huge back then. The rest or the album shares that slick sound. A sound that is both thoroughly 80's yet completely timeless.

Ahhhhh gringo y barbón

It's alright. Got some classics. But not something I would ever listen to normally.

dqdovski redneck rock ama e mn qk

Their beards are more impressive than their music

Ok

Iconic band with a signature sound and style. They do one sound and do it well, but it unfortunately grows old after a song or two. Didn’t hate it, but I’ve never been much of a fan.

I should love this - but the ZZ Top schtick gets tiring long before the 45 mins of Eliminator passes by. It's a high 3/5 but a 3/5 nonetheless. Not much else out there that sounds like ZZ Top - great riffs, great production but these guys really only have like 3 chord progressions and every song is about getting down with your old lady. I did like Dusty Hill's Van Halen screams on a few tracks and I think the singles are iconic. Perhaps ZZ Top is America's AC/DC?

Average at best. First 3 songs are good however it get more repetitive the longer it goes on. Definitely of its time

This album starts off with a blast. 3 really good songs that got me already thinking of 4 or even 5 star rating. Sadly the rest of the album fall short for me. The songs weren't bad but they were just meh. I did enjoy listening to them but they didn' get to the same level as the first 3 tracks. Still thi is solid 3/5 album. Best track was Got Me Under Pressure.

Me gustó gimme all your love y i need you tonight

Some big hits. Some straightforward stuff the rest of the way. It's fine.

Buenos riffs, buenos temas, buen disco en general. Si no era por esta sugerencia nunca hubiera escuchado un disco completo de los ZZ.

classic driving music, big fan of this albums sound (mainly bc it sounds like the stuff i like from this era) honestly, the whole album is just good. its driving music which means i sometimes miss when the songs switch but i dont think thats a bad thing. the whole album is a good experience my individual thoughts on each song werent very varied, i think honestly i wouldnt seek out these songs bc there are so many others like them but if they were on a playlist i'd really enjoy them maybe the most 3/5 album yet (i'd give it a 3.5/5)

Didn’t give this a proper listen but went through the whole album. Was pretty generic 80s rock to me some decent songs

Old countryside rock style

Fun album. Get's a little delirious about being on the road but I think that's the point.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did, I expected it to be bluesier but this was straight rock with a more new wave, synth laden sound. I guess I’ll enjoy Tres Hombres more as it will be more in line with my expectations. Having said that, there are 2 very famous singles here that formed my image of the band growing up, along with their unforgettable appearance, and this was largely an enjoyable outing. Another to return to and appraise properly.

this was fine

I grew up in a hick town in the Midwest, so ZZ Top was part of the fabric of my youth. This isn't a great album, quite a drop off from the hits to the other tracks and definitely not as enjoyable as their earlier work.

Really good for what it is -- the hits are great but mostly not for me.

I liked it, 3/5. Just discovered blues rock, and honestly, it’s such a chill but iconic vibe.

Otro album rutero. Vibes hiper yankees. I need you tonight y TV dinners estan buenas. No es mi onda pero bancamos.

I do like this album, with the 3 classic songs on it, thumping Rhythm

Half point off for TV Dinners.

i enjoyed this more than i thought i would, but the bar was pretty low.

This was one of the 3 CDs we had when we first got a CD player so I have very fond memories of it. It's funny to read how it was originally panned due to the extensive use of synthesisers, because when I was young, this was as rock n roll as anything could be; guitars, cars, beards and babes. Still enjoyed it today

It was fun and full of confidence, an anomaly of what kind of musicians make this in the first place. And every girl crazy about a sharp dressed man

It feels like ZZ Top were more of a singles band. Nothing new here worth listening to beyond the stuff we already know.

Lacking enough variation between songs to be really good, but some great songs. best song: Sharp Dressed Man (ofc)

первая половина- скелетик с гитарой "ЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕЕРОК" 2ая половина- drained

Bien

Mid

Slick production and clever videos propelled this album back in the MTV days and the songs are pretty good. The music does wear on you after awhile. Although this isn't part of the review there are one of the worst band to see live.

Get away from the singles I'm familiar with, this album is better than expected

A big seller, but I prefer earlier ZZ when I listen to it.

No sabía que podían sonar tan pop y synth A veces un poco kiss, a veces un poco retro. No es garantía de calidad que pueda ser escuchado de un tirón, mucho menos si no se ignora que es terriblemente subjetivo, pero al sexto tema ya es todo una masa amorfa del mismo tema. O eso parece a primera oida, no le dedicaré otra hoy

попсовый рок, что это, глэм рок, да? я просто не очень шарю, похоже на кисс, наверное глэм приятный инструментал, но все звучит почти одинаково, разнообразия инструментального нет не драйвовый вокал, проесный и быстро надоел вокал звучит где-то далеко, скучно 2.8

Great players, great look, I can never get past their bar band blues thing that they do. They’re great at it but not for me

Good riffs but good grief do these guys need to go to horny jail.

I've heard the obvious 'hits' before and quite liked them, but have never listened to a full album before. Having now done so I'm a bit disappointed because there isn't as much variation between tracks as I'd have thought there would be. It's not awful and it is listenable, but just a bit samey.

Paar haarde bangers, over het algemeen vrij eentonig en een paar missers

Enjoyed it more so than I thought I would. I imagined a lot more metal, just didnt really know much of ZZ Top. Couple good ones, a couple not so much

All the hits, boogie in overdrive Gimme all your lovin, Sharp dressed man Legs

80s pop rock kings. I like the singles, everything else didn’t really seem to add much for me.

A solid album from the classic MTV era. The hits are fun, you can understand why they were hits, and there's even some solid b-sides in "Dirty Dog" (maybe the best song on the album) and "If I Could Only Flag Her Down." This is one of those albums with too much 80's drum machine and synth cheese, especially from a band that was capable of cooking without all the electronics, but the new wave was here and the charts required it. But we're going to hear non-synth ZZ Top as Tres Hombres is also on the menu for this exercise. Did we really need two ZZ Top albums?

Fav- sharp dressed man 2.5/5

O sea, me gustó pero hasta ahí, no logré conectar mucho sinceramente. Quizás porque de por sí ya no le tenía fe desde un inicio. Aunque por lo que veo en las reseñas, el factor psicológico no tiene nada que ver, simplemente es un álbum "meh" y ya está. (Es de los proyectos que se escuchan una vez y no lo volvés a reproducir nunca más en tu vida).

Bogan mullet music, a couple of classics ⭐⭐⭐

Sharp Dressed Man is probably my favorite ZZ Top song, I never get sick of hearing it and it's a 5 all on its own. There's some other great tracks on here too, but the B side has some real trash too. Thug has some of the worst attempts at funky bass solos I think I've heard, and Bad Girl seems like an attempt at creating a hair band track that made me want to pull mine out. I'll come back to Sharp Dressed Man any day, any time, so coming back to this I'd likely only ever listen to side A and then move on. 3/5

Good, hard charging rock from the 80’s. Fantastic guitar work. It just gets repetitive towards the end.

еееее рок!!

I liked this as a teenager. Grown past it now. A few fun songs - "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man."

The hits were great fun, the rest of the album more of the same, but inferior. And then there’s a song about tv dinners…

Pretty standard rock n roll

Good reminds me of pop

I liked the album overall. Good voice.

This sounds like a beer commercial for lite beer, still, it was better than I expected

liked this

Pretty solid

The Car! Sharp Dressed Man! Gimme All You Lovin'! 1983 was the time when metal was taking off in a big way, and ZZTop were certainly riding that wave I loved how this album connected with people of all ages, in a way I hadn't seen that often before Good to hear this one again, but for me the magic didn't really continue to their other ablums

One of my recent albums made me think a lot about musical hybrids - true hybrids, where the combination of styles makes something new, as opposed to music that is a hodgepodge. "Eliminator" is definitely the former - by combining gnarly blues-rock with new wave, ZZ Top made something aggressive, slick, and truly new. You can hear its robotic, penetrating style in bands like Queens of the Stone Age, 20 years later. All that being said - the singles are great, and all you really need from this one. Therefore it is a solid - THREE STARS

Now That's What I Call Dad Rock! Volume 1435. pretty good guitar work, pretty rough lyrics writing and vocal performances. sometimes struggles to reconcile the rigidity of a drum machine with the desired fluidity of guitar playing.

Like the hits, but listening to this music is like mozzarella sticks, you regret more than 3 in one sitting

There’s some pretty good songs in here, but some of it sounds a bit redundant.

Solid rock, enjoy the vocals and classic guitar riffs. Album cover does not lie, great driving album.

I like the boogie rock aspect of the album, not knowing really what to expect. It did become a bit one-note and repetitive as the album went on though. Southern, soulful, catchy were my takeaways.

Nice but no songs stuck to me

Just average….

It's kind of hard to take ZZ Top seriously but I think they are ok with that. This is definitely their quintessential album and really captures this very specific moment in time - the crossover from the analog rock sound of the 70's to a more modern computer-aided sound of the 80's and 90's. I think ZZ Top were able to bridge that gap for a lot of music listeners. It's undeniably catchy and I am not surprised it was as popular as it was (and still is today) but it doesn't really do it for me from a musical perspective.

This album sounds like the 80s. It’s flashy, it’s gimmicky, it’s a bit dirty, and there’s just so much cocaine. Anyway, I enjoyed the hits, not sure if I really wanted to stick around for the whole album.

Haha fun. Decent album. Great working tunes

Of all the 70s rock bands that embraced synths in the 80s, ZZ Top may have sounded the most natural doing it. The core of Eliminator is still their meaty guitar riffs, and the album has a boogie rock swagger that isn't interrupted by big hooks. The synths subtly bubble under the rock, to the point where you can almost miss them. The hits here are good, even if I can't hear "Give Me All Your Loving" without picturing an 80s movie montage underneath it. The non-hits...mostly sound like the hits. As much as I'm down for a turn-your-brain-off rock album, the songs here aren't quite good enough and the 80s polish is a bit too clean for the lack of variety to not show. And songs that do switch things up, like the slow "I Need You Tonight," don't always work. Undoubtedly fun but undoubtedly lacking substance.

очень удивлена что шарп дрессд мэн оказывается не самая популярная их песня. снова милый альбом, успела не забыть что они не одно и то же с эйсидиси. но не хватает за душу)

This is a glowing 3 star review. I am so happy that Eliminator exists. I don’t think it does anything unique or interesting, but dang it it’s fun. Just some dudes ripping sick riffs.

The classics are pretty solid, but this album could've had a few less songs OR shorter songs.

Cool album, tunes etc, not my style so much :)

Fun album, though I prefer their bluesier stuff

This was fine. Some strong rock songs, but they are all kind of the same.

As músicas parecem sempre as mesmas kkkk. Mas é muito bom e divertido

A few songs were familiar. Good background music for getting ready in the morning.

I can appreciate that every song on here is a classic, and definitely deserves a place on this list. My own musical tastes pulls this down a little

Return of ZZ Top, and their final list album to boot. I listened to Tres Hombres a looong time ago, way longer than I remember. It was just over 200 albums ago - how horrifying. I don't remember much about their previous album, truth be told. I think it was a mix between metal and hard rock, which are both genres that I'm not particularly animated by. There's a ten year gap between these two albums, though I'm not expecting the music to have changed much between then. ZZ Top strike me as a band who are very much locked into their lane. Anyways, let's get into it. Wow, quite a lot has changed in ten years. They've really shaped up. I remember Tres Hombres having a lackadaisical and amateurish production, whereas these songs have a fuller and more refined sound. Hard rock, sadly, isn't really in my wheelhouse. I made a testosterone pact with the hormone devil in order to live my life as a snivelling little nerd who writes about music for free on the Internet. Any albums that are intended for men with dicks are a lost cause on me as my testosterone is being funneled straight to hell or wherever else the illicit hormone trade is taking place. At least I know of some cool myoosik, however. Anyways, getting back on track. This music is pretty alright. The guitars have a cool, thundering feel to them, and I like the rough, raw solos which are peppered throughout this album. There's a good bit of dynamism to the guitars, too. The album can go from more subdued offerings like "I Need You Tonight" to jumpy ones like "I Got the Six" without creating any real sense of whiplash. There's less to remark about the remaining instruments, however. The percussion is decent, though it is obviously second fiddle to those guitars. Same goes for the vocals. I enjoyed this album for much of the first half, though by the time side B rolled around my attention was beginning to wane. Book time. "...they conjured an electro-boogie masterpiece..." Sold 10 million copies. Wikipedia says this album had four hit singles, roped in a younger audience thanks to some popular music videos, was well-received by critics but was somewhat controversial with ZZ Top fans as a result of the move to digital production. It was a smash hit across Europe and the West, yet had the lowest placement on the American weekly charts out of every Western country, funnily enough. Yeah, all of these are solid qualifiers. I cosign this inclusion.

Zzzzzzz!!!!!!

I mean, what can I say. I need a different rating system for albums full of glossy-ass singles and then the rest of the album is there too. It gets a 🎩 out of 3 🦵 or something

vroom vroom really front loaded. no one cares about side b, huh. zz top is, imo, a singles band - this was Okay as an album

It's fun (This album is what I presume it feels like to have a big beard)

3.5 maybe 4 on more listens

Soms strong songs. Very consistent. I like the exploration into new wave. But also a bit simplistic, and repetitive, across the entire album. For an 11th album, some pretty strong tracks.

I was a kid in the 80s in midwestern USA, so ZZ Top has a lot of associations for me, some good some bad. The album is ok, but I wouldn’t add it to the rotation.

Hey didn’t rock my shit but deffo notice an unconscious head bop here and there

Fun, classic rock and roll.

Classic ZZ Top is never a bad thing and there are some great hits on here. I wasn’t a huge fan back in the 80’s but they always had fun videos.

ZZ Top was a fine 70s rock band that was remade into pop-rock stars in the early 80s. Turning away from their guitar driven, gritty rock hits like Tush, La Grange and Cheap Sunglasses, this album started the remolding of their image into a more upbeat, pop friendly music group with a playful attitude. MTV packaged that with great music videos, full of those spinning furry guitars, the sunglasses and long beards and those cool old cars. The band became very visual and image conscious but it made them very commercially successful. They followed this formula to longtime success but left their ‘real’ rock roots behind. I liked the hits this produced when I was younger, but looking back now, I wish they had stuck with their early stuff more strongly instead of selling out.

It's obviously a massive record, and the shift to that synth-heavy, user-friendly sound is something that has to be respected. Songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin' and "Sharp Dressed Man" are undeniably catchy, and Billy Gibbons' guitar tone still manages to shine through all the heavy production. But honestly, it feels like a lot of their original soul was lost in the process. The raw, swampy Texas blues that made their earlier albums (especially Tres Hombres) so great was largely replaced by rigid drum machines and sequencers. Because of that heavy reliance on technology, the rhythm section ends up sounding a bit sterile and mechanical to my ears. Also, once the big hits are out of the way, the rest of the album starts to blend together since the tempo and groove aren't varied much. Overall, it's a fun listen with some iconic singles. But the polished, almost robotic feel keeps it from being a true masterpiece for me. So in the end, this albums gets a 3.1/5 from me.

Good album but overall, but just okay. 3/5

Between a 3 and 4, much better than their previous album on the list, but still had some low tracks

Good 80s rock stuff, I really like the hits but there are quite a bit of misses here as well. Fairly memorable stuff.

Pretty basic 80’s rock album some good hits but not memorable

Whilst this is an album very much of the 80’s- the synths, the drum machines, the smooth production, the reliance on videos. The heart of this is still what ZZ Top always did blues grooves, boogies and solos topped off with gravel tough vocals. World changing no, massive fun, yes

80s radio rock. It’s a competent example of it, but I’m not a fan.

My favorite concept album about oral sex.

3.25

I prefer earlier ZZ Top, but still a decent album.

*1983. *All their big hits on one album (Gimme All Your Loving, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs). *I liked this better than I thought I would - there were some jazzy/bluesy bits, and pretty high quality musicianship, but just not my cup of tea. RATING - 6/10

3,1/5

A classic but I just don't care for it.

394/1089 - Yet another Blues Rock album.