Reviews (page 7 of 14)
Hyvää jytinää! Paras ZZ top tähän mennessä.
not the best ZZ Top album by any stretch. This is when ZZ Top started to sell out for commercial appeal
The Good: legs… The Bad: Not seeing the video’s while listening to the songs… The Ugly: The elimination did not start sooner… Like many of my contemporaries teenage idiot, we really dug ZZ Top when their videos started showing up in the mid ‘80s. Flashy cars. Flashy clothes. Flashy beards… and flashy girls. I don’t care if the lyrics are deemed misogynistic by many, or that the use of synths and drum machines ruined the sound… the singles that launched from this album were hits, and they still sound nice to listen to… The problem is that the album is 11 songs long, and really there are only 3 great songs on it, where the remaining 8 sound a lot like the afore mentioned three… and then there’s Mr. Gibbons guitar soloing, which starts getting on one’s nerves after all a while, as it’s the same trick, over and over… not that it sounds bad, but should be limited to the 3 hits… So, that means that the score of this album should reflect 3 hits out of 11, which equals 2*… should I be nice and make it three?...
Good punky vibes
Okay album - kind of just a classic, but there arent many memorable moments for me. Like the guitar tone on sharp dressed man. No bad songs though. Another 3/5
Otro dia que lo que me toca se sale de mi zona de confort totalmente, podria ser la musica que suena de fondo en el Paso o en el Coyote, no soy yo muy rockera. Alguna que conocia de antes no ha sido del todo infumable, como "Sharp Dressed Man" pero tampoco disfrutona, solo soportable. No he podido terminar de escuchar la mayoria la verdad.
Fun enough in its own way I suppose, but also very dated and cheesy, without particularly strong songwriting to underpin it; not for me
Bueno
Sharp dressed man.
A juggernaut, more sleek and sophisticated than it first appears to be
Some great stuff here. Overall a good album. 3.5 stars.
This album goes so hard! Gimmie All Your Lovin, , Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Dirty Dog. The mix of synth and dirty guitars is my shit!
My second or third favorite ZZ Top album, still great though
Not as heavy metal or tough to listen to as I expected!
perfect
5/10 - it was alright. I see the charm but not my favorite
Didn’t have the same groove and energy as their other album on the list, which resulted in uninteresting hard rock that I am not a fan of
Good album, real rock & roll. 7.1/10
too glossy, too weirdly crass… i dig their earlier work but this just sounds like a coke-fueled reagan era nightmare for the most part
Solid classic rock album. Almost a greatest hits album.
Tøffe karer som lager tøffe lyder. Innsett at hvis jeg gir 4 stjerner til Bob Marley, kan denne ikke være lavere i det minste. Har nok gitt litt for lave stjerner tidligere ja.. 4,5/5
Hyper varié en fait !
C'est du vrai rock
Probably closer to a 3.75, liked the sound and the energy but felt that the music wasnt very distinctive. got some bangers at the front of the album, but the rest of it didnt really grab me. not bad as a whole though
Hope their earlier work is on here, the production and drums are too slick compared to what I like about them
C'est quoi ce son 80s kitsch nul ? Moi je croyais que ZZ Top c'était des barbus du Sud profond qui jouent toujours la même chose.
Very strong start, first side is exemplary. Tapers off with 'Thug', the almost-risible bass soloing and synths outro is far too long and meandering. Better when it's bluesier, and TV Dinners gets the album back on track. Three and a half, pushing a four, suspect time has dulled the impact it would've had in 1983, but I still think it would have been better as a straight blues rock album, without the sequencers.
Such icons of the 80s. Some of the lyrics made me blush.
So many good hits. This album is a vibe overall though, I’ve heard it before and still love it. A lot more bass than I remember, it’s a groove. Enough silliness to be fun. Solid 4, not in the regular rotation but these guys are still amazing.
strange i have always disliked zz top but to listen to a full album in context they hit different. focused more on the guitar and bass, less on the vocals and visuals which are what mostly annoy me i guess. huh. well played generator
85% Best: Gimme All Your Lovin'; Sharp Dressed Man; Legs; If I Could Only Flag Her Down Must-Hear? Sure
Okay, pretty good rock, not screechy, one pretty good song
more hard rock. (seriously, there are too many of these albums with a similar sound in this list...)
Massive guitars, catchy songs, flawless heavy blues playing, and the synths work well with the blues. A true classic and gem from the 80s.
Good standard rock without being miserable (again, Def Leppard). Sing about tv dinners really did it
An interesting album, in that I don't ever actually need to hear any of the big hits off of it, really. They rather saturated both MTV back in the day, and classic rock radio ever after. But they're enduring for a reason, just excellent 80s pop rock. I'm not mad when they come on, you know? The album cuts are... there, I guess. "Thug" is trying to do something. What that is, exactly, I'm not sure, but the bass is wilding out and that's kinda fun. Generally speaking, the 80s were pretty rough for the big, influential acts of the 60s and 70s. I mean, look no further than Jefferson Starship to illustrate the point. With this record, ZZ Top fared a little better than, say, Steve Miller. You can still hear that lil ol band out of Texas under all the glitzy sheen of 80s production, at least. And good for that one lady in "Legs." I assume that's a feel good story of triumph over the adversity of being unable to walk, but now she has legs and knows how to use them?
- Gimme All Your Lovin' - Sharp Dressed Man - I Got The Six
Metal guitar gods
When he says he just wants someone to do love to I cry evertim
This album annoys. I don’t want to like it (because I know how it was made.) But I do like it. Good album.
Dirty, raw, sounds full of cheap beer, cigarettes, and STDs. I have no notes. More please.
Great rock album and some really classic songs on this album.
Not bad, not really my cup of tea but some good tunes on there..
Fun but
Albums like these are exceedingly hard for me to rate. On one hand, this is a very fun album to mindlessly listen to. On the other hand, it’s lacking in creativity and is quite dated. Does ZZ Top have anything profound to tell us? No. They like expensive things, cocaine and loose women. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I think it’s pretentious to say that an album must have a deeper meaning or substantive message in order for it to be great. I enjoyed listening to this, sue me.
The epitome of “it’s fine.” I can see why it’s on this list, I just have a real hard time caring one way or the other about this album. Growing up rural in the 80s/90s, I know I’ve heard the hits on this album a million times. The other songs all sound like something I should have heard, but I can’t place at all; nor can I bring myself to care enough to listen again.
Tired af
all feels steady and similar, samey. each song starts and then it ends. not necessarily bad; would be good for background music as it’s not diverting, but on the flip side! not really interesting or engaging
I quite like ZZ Top but I did greatly prefer Tres Hombre to this album, even though I was more familiar with the songs on this one. Rating: 3
Running boogie music through MIDI quantization is how to sterilize it. Ludicrously dated.
It's ZZ Top, you know exactly what you're getting. To be clear, that's not a bad thing.
Smooth as 80g sandpaper but not offensively
Not eliminating this album
For its time, great blues sound. Listening today, the lyrics aren't great, and songs were wildly overplayed on every rock station growing up.
Most excellent! :) I forgot how much fun they ZZ Top are to listen to! :)
Badass riffs and badass beards. Sometimes you gotta turn your brain off and just enjoy some dumb dad rock.
I'm not sure about this. It's got a a typical dad rock sound. It reminds me a little of ACDC, but has a very different mood.
Obviously a fun album
this is not the best zz top project but it's okay first track drums taken directly from don't bring me down second track bassline is booboo buns but the vocals are tight and the guitar sound is nice third track is sharp dressed man. nuff said fourth track has very nice intro guitar. very good whining sound fifth track is called i got the six. fix this. sixth track is legs reminds me of being a kid and listening to 103.7 good song and very classic guitar riffs seventh track thug is just straight doodoo butt eighth track tv dinners is good if the sauce is not too blue ninth track dirty dog bro barks tenth track same old same old eleventh track functions fine as a closer
I remember when this album came out, and a band that had been just sort of an interesting piece of background noise in most people's musical perception became suddenly omnipresent. The hot women in their music videos were a big part of that, I suppose. But the songs themselves are just plain fun to listen to, even forty years later.
Greats are great, the rest is forgetable and very alike.
Altijd een goeie
What can I say? I like dad rock.
classic, kind of trex with a couple of synth romantic songs
Im not sure ZZ top is anyone's favorite band. They are the textbook definition of average rock band
Nice
Solid enough boogie rock. But a bit limited and I’m not sure this belongs on a list like this if there’s no Quo. Top were no better than average for me.
Singles are bangers, but it does drop off after that.
I remember when this came out in high school, I loved it. Still holds up, not a fan of the synthesizers but sharp dressed man, give me all your lovin, I got the six all good
Dad rock at its finest - too long for this kind of music though.
whatever
1Star A lot of 80’s hit. Not my cup of tea.
Some good hits but not a go to album for me.
Poor
Dad rock done really. It sounds good and definitely rocks, but still Dad rock.
Great album. You hear the blues influences.
3.5
Boring lyrics, repetitive guitar. Didn't like the guys voice either.
enjoyed, can defo spot the singles, the filler tracks didn't land anywhere near as well, second half of the album was fairly beige - gotta love sharp dressed man though
favorite song: Sharp dressed man. Overall score: 7,4/10
Kind of boring and uninspiring American 80’s rock. Feels mostly like an American AC/DC with the simple drums and main focus on guitar and vocals but just no where near as good. The vocals are significantly worse than a Bon Scott or Brian Johnson and the guitar holds nothing to an Angus or Malcolm Young. It wasn’t bad though just extremely mid and not something I would ever really want to hear again unless it was playing somewhere, the hits are pretty good though I guess especially the first one. Also, the guitar tone was quite weird aswell, it felt like it was muted sometimes and the lyrics were just really generic and pretty awful, not as charming as other in your face rock acts like AC/DC again. Overall, 5/10.
Great guitar tones, catchy hit singles, but ultimately ZZ Top are just boring to me. Repetitive riffs and beats, a lack of songwriting flexibility and creativity, and they just don't seem to have much to say beyond "women hot."
I can’t lie, I was kinda shocked by this one. I recognized the hits but didn’t expect to like anything else. These dudes rock though.
Pretty solid album from the men with the big old beards. Has that sort of badass bluesy/country rock type feel. Really tight-playing band and all the tracks keep that move on. Will say that towards the end a lot of the tracks sounded similar to me, but I liked it overall.
My first foray into ZZ Top! They've always been one of those bands I've perpetually meant to get around to someday, so I'm ready to do this. Eliminator has a nice, almost slow at times, smooth classic rock feel. All the things you'd expect, you get. All the guitar parts and solos were really good. Lyrically, nothing to write home about. Good 80s vibe. Some slap bass! Standouts were "Gimme All Your Lovin'" "I Need You Tonight" and "Legs" This was a fun listen. Musically it's great, but a little samey by the end. A solid 4 stars for me!
4/5 pop-like rock. Fun and catchy
Sick guitars Sick album art Sharp dressed man slaps Not too many standouts
top
At first I thought this was a rap album, but NO IT IS NOT. Imagine the most completely generic default awful dad rock song ever. Then imagine it about 8 more times. That’s what this fucking album is. They aren’t bad it’s just I swear to god I was listening to the exact same song over and over, just with very slightly different lyrics each time. This has not enriched my music experience at all and I will not ever be listening to this nothing album ever again, it’s still probably not the worst thing this website is gonna make me listen to though, so I’ll give it 2 stars.
This reminded me a bit of Status Quo , Dad rock. Nothing offence , middle of the road with some catchy melodies.
AA Bottom
Pretty bland 80s pop rock that somehow captivated the MTV audience. Despite this and the fact that all the songs sound the same, this album has something about it that I like. Can’t figure out what that is but it is an easy and pleasant listen.
Insert standard 1001 review. ‘The singles are decent enough, but the rest of the album is just less good variations on the same theme’. Personally I just found the blues rock just Ok. The main thing that got me about this album was the very basic drum track. It got more tedious as the album went on. To replace your drummer with a drum machine for a whole album is a bit weird and insulting. I’m assuming the wads of money this album hauled in was the contributing factor to the drummer not quitting.
A huge change for ZZ Top both in sound and in image. Eliminator takes the band’s blues rock and speeds up the tempos, replaces most of the drums with machines, possibly the bass with sequencers too. It’s fun and gave them their biggest hits, helped by a clever series of made for MTV videos featuring the vintage hot rod and sexy girls. It’s very 1980s and not the album I would choose if I choose to put on some ZZ Top. Some of the guitar sounds are excellent (Billy Gibbons loves pinch harmonics…) but the electronics, while not the worst sounding of the decade, leave me a little cold.
Just fun rock music. A little silly and dated, but a good listen.
Boogie rock'n'roll. ZZ Top will never not be cool. Hard hitting riffs combined with simple and relatable lyrics.
How can you not love an album containing Give Me All Your Loving, Legs, and Sharp Dressed Man? The rest are good too, if a little samey. You know what you're getting with ZZ Top
Sure
Like so many things that have been iterated on into oblivion, I definitely respected the album for maintaining a solid, signature characteristic 80s, classic rock chug-along feeling throughout, but I can't imagine many occasions for me to listen to this again unless I wind up driving through the desert for several hours. It just feels like music made for a different lifestyle. Billy Gibbons pretty much sets the benchmark in my mind for bend-heavy, pentatonic-based blues/rock guitar solos. However, I always imagined ZZ Top to be one of those bands that would have a much more profound effect when they're playing in front of you than listening alone on headphones. Solid 2.5-3 as a personal listening experience. Several hits, no particularly bad song and he even shares his experiences with getting sick from eating TV dinners. You rarely get that kind of honesty in music anymore. Favorite song: Legs
I'm calling bullshit. So, ok this is a quintessential ZZ Top album, but seriously adding it to this list is a joke. I'm willing to gamble that everyone who needs to hear this album before they die has already heard this album and either immediately put it in rotation or said that was cool, I'm done. The point is that this is not a contribution, it's a cop out. Yes, everyone should hear Eliminator, but we already have and it's really not that amazing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS- # 57 Don’t eliminate ZZ TOP from your playlist! 🎧🎸🥁 10 years on from their early solid classic rock release Tres Hombres, the men in beards lean into a much more pop laden sound that spawned some of the biggest chart topping hits of their career. In the ever-shifting landscape of popular music, reinvention is often the key to longevity. Few bands have managed to pull off such a transformation as seamlessly—and as successfully—as ZZ Top did with their 1983 album Eliminator. Long revered as Texas blues-rock traditionalists with a penchant for sleazy grooves and tongue-in-cheek swagger, the trio of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard traded their dust-covered boots for chrome, drum machines, and synthesizers. Eliminator is the eighth studio album by ZZ Top, released in 1983, and it stands as both a reinvention and a high point in the band’s long career. Known previously for their gritty Texas blues-rock, Eliminator saw ZZ Top fully embrace 1980s technology, integrating synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines into their sound without abandoning their blues roots. A huge part of Eliminator’s success came from its embrace of the music video. The custom 1933 Ford coupe (the Eliminator car), fuzzy guitars, and mysterious leggy women in music videos became iconic. ZZ Top, with their matching beards and shades, became household names. 🎧 Classic Track: Gimmie All Your Lovin’ 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Bad Girl 🎧 Personal Favorite: Sharp Dressed Man The band, particularly Billy Gibbons, had taken an interest in the emerging new wave and electronic sounds of the era. Working with producer Bill Ham and engineer Terry Manning, they leaned into the studio as an instrument. The result was both daring and calculated: a sound modernized for the ‘80s without discarding their bluesy DNA. The use of digital studio tools was controversial at the time — some fans and critics argued it diluted their sound — but it ultimately rejuvenated the band. 🖼️ Album Artwork: Deer in the headlights! Lyrically, Eliminator stays true to the band’s trademark themes: sex, confidence, style, and rock ‘n’ roll rebellion. But what distinguishes these songs is the tongue-in-cheek humor and sly awareness of their own absurdity.
- ziemlich geiles, energiegeladenes Album - kannte vorher bewusst nur "Sharp Dressed Man", was sowieso ein Banger ist, aber die ganze Platte ist ziemlich geil, kann ich nicht leugnen
Wish I could give 3.5 stars. Since I can't, I guess I'll give it 4.
Samey, guitar rawk with drum machines. Dodgy, sub-metal lyrics. Piffle.
Couldn’t get through it, not my genre. Way to old, gray and slightly racist white man music
Some popular songs on this album. All their songs have a similar sound though.
Never really cared for ZZ Top, but the older I get, the more I wanna put on some jorts, a cut off, mow my lawn, and drink an ice cold sixer in my garage! It ain't poetry, but that guitar gets me going.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The good songs are good. The rest is whatever.
strong 6
Sonic cliche, but no so horrible.
Yes it’s very obvious and straightforward. That isn’t always fun or interesting, but when it works it really works
nice rock album but nothing that blew my mind. 6,5/10 fav songs : Sharp Dressed Man & TV Dinners
I enjoyed this album - even more than I expected to. Nice collection of well known and lesser known numbers. Almost a 5*, but not a "classic" in my mind.
ZZ Top - they make traditional hard rock with their own brand of weirdness. Catchy and 80's.
While ZZ Top can sometimes be ponderous and undifferentiated, this is a good album with lots of hits to enjoy, and a good sampling of the genre that ZZ Top is a leader in.
Good stuff.
I think this might be the zenith of indulgent rock. After this it became all too much.
Fav: Sharp Dressed Man Least Fav: I Need You Tonight Didn’t mind the big hits but it’s the classic case of boring, one-note songs that you get with most of these types of rock albums
Never been a fan of this band and the songs you have heard were played to death. If it hadn't been for Mtv no one would have cared about this. There are a couple decent songs here. Got Me Under Pressure and TV Dinners are the only decent songs on this overrated album
very classic sounding rock. it was nice but i don't think i will go back to it
Nice enough, in parts sounds great but not hugely memorable.
Pants men
Thought they were more 90's Metallica, how wrong I was lol.
Only 4/11 songs worth listening to. Mostly lyrically lacking. 2/5
7/10 Slightly generous, maybe, but it is solid, chunky rock.
The zenith of ZZ Top. They finally merged their 70s guitar sound with some very effective synths. In my opinion, it is the only ZZ Top album that matters. I didn't know at the time that Billy Gibbons was into the sounds of Depeche Mode and Al Jourgensen's Ministry, but it becomes quite clear in hindsight.
pretty good actually
Fire mostly classics but some good tracks I hadn’t heard before
Always love ZZ Top. They and Flea were the reason I started playing bass. This is a mature version of an otherwise immature band. They have all the power of arena rockers with all the grit of the Texas Blues sound that built the band. With that said, as I get older and fussier, a full album composed mostly of lechery starts to feel more disgusting to me, so enter at your own risk.
If unapologetic rock is what you're looking for, this will probably fit. It's a bit repetitive, but can get you pumped nonetheless.
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.
solid dad rock
I love the 80s and I love rock music, which should have made this a perfect match for me and my tastes. Unfortunately, though it's a good record, I found this album to be a bit below my expectations. Certainly, this is ZZ Top's most commercially successful effort and one that appeals to the masses. It didn't hurt that their long beards made for a very original look that was best captured in the MTV video age. But chalking up their success with this record solely to that novelty would diminish what they had accomplished musically with this album. There are undoubtedly a series of catchy hooks on here. Gimme All Your Lovin, Legs, Sharp Dressed Man, and Got Me Under Pressure are all rightfully still played on radio today, which is a testament to their sound and songwriting. I looked up the chart success and this album only made it to #9 on the charts and yet, despite this, they sold 10m+ copies of it. That doesn't happen because of a flash in the pan, it happens because the songs have staying power. That all said, the rest of this album was pretty generic to me. There are a few other good tunes like I Got The Six and Thug (what they do with the bass early in this song is very cool), but then there were songs like TV Dinners which left me asking “what the hell?” That song shouldn't even be a B-side on any record. It was like the label said "we need X number of songs" or "we need it to be long enough" and the band said, "sure, let's throw that one on there." To be honest, I waffled between 3 and 4 starts because the highs are pretty high, but the lows are very low. I even gave this a couple of listens to see if it would impact my thinking either way. I ultimately landed where I did simply because while the hits are great, it is not a complete album for me.
Some good solid rock and roll! Enjoyed it. Nice songs through the entire album. Best song: Sharp Dressed Man
Fantastic midlife crisis soundtrack. Some absolute bangers rubbing shoulders with some leery creepy ballads. Dirty old bastards. Love it.
82/100. A solid hard rock/southern rock album. The first half is packed with iconic tracks and unforgettable riffs, some of my favorites from my childhood. While the latter part doesn’t quite maintain the same momentum.
Enjoyed the first half second half was a steep decline lyrics make some of the songs pretty much unlistenable for me
I really liked the classic rock vibe the album has and the witty lyrics. Got bored towards the end.
One of those that reminds of an era. Some classic 80s chart tracks and a certain blues groove. But ultimately a bit throw away and the drum machines sometimes grate with this kind of overlay.
***An ok album
Holy shit this was trash
The singles are ok. The other songs either sound like the singles or are about TV dinners. Not my cup of tea.
First time hearing. Not great. Not terrible. Several recognizable songs. But mostly stupid.
Groovy rock, erg lekkah
RCS
Not as good as I remember it when it came out. Full of hits, but the same sound everywhere. I have listed to mostly older ZZ Top when I listen to an album of theirs and those where great. I think this album was a push to get super popular by the label or something because the sound definitely changed
45 minutes of car-advert riffs.
3.6 - some good solid rock songs, but actually felt a little bit underwhelming. Maybe its who I place them against now.
3/5
They went popular on this one, and probably made piles of money. But their older stuff is so much better.
Regular
Just a solid 80's rock album. TV dinners was a little odd.
There is some cool technical guitar work with synths overlaid (very 80s). But the subject matter/lyrics just have the same ol same ol "lusting after hot woman" theme that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, just live tv dinners do. "Legs" is actually one of the more respectful ones and has my favorite instrumentals.
I've never listened to ZZ Top before and only know them because the one guy was on Bones and they had the theme song on Duck Dynasty. Pretty cool album, I liked the Blues inspiration, and the TV Dinner song was hilarious. Pretty easy 4/5 for me
"Sharp Dressed Man" used to be my pre-date psych up song. Still a 5/5 banger. But I never listened to the rest of the album. And now that I have, it's pretty good. Good guitar work, unique-ish vocals. Good stuff. 3.5 rounding up.
I can't take an album with an ode to the TV meal on it seriously if it isn't a from a band that is actively trying to be a comedy band.
This was also a bit of fun but nothign really stuck out to me. Maybe I need more sleep.
A fun album to slightly headbang to, but after a couple of songs it sounds too repetitive.
Bon rock un peu hard, fait penser au Ronin de Sturgill Simpsons par moment
Is this what Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers would sound like without the janglepop influence? Just riffy southern rock swamp sludge? To be certain, this album does not hold up and does not belong on this list. Super one note. And yet, I hesitate to give it one star, because I don’t hate it. It’s fun and carefree and rocks steadily. Every song sounds the same, sure, but it’s a decent song. Maybe it’s the once teenage guitar student in me that thinks this would be a fun album to sit next to and learn to play, and it would be. But that and movie trailers is about all it’s good for.
Some more ZZ Top. Good album.
Okay, some great tracks. Not enough for me to rate much higher.
Interesting range from ZZ Top, but I just don't care for it.
bopping my head...me gusta
The are some classic gems in the album, very classic 80s album.
their beards are a lot more entertaining than the music
First part is good, cheesy but good. Second half.. oof.
It was all right
Not annoying but not good either
I actually liked this one a lot better than the Tres Hombres album. Also, this is the first instance of a second album by an artist that has already appeared on my 1001 albums generator. I feel like the mastering on this album was significantly better than the previous one. Even if it did feel like it was targeting a more mainstream sound, shoot maybe that's why I liked it more.
4.0 - Very Good
Good album, rather ridiculous
I loved this record. I used to draw this album cover. Let’s try it in 2025! So far charmingly misogynistic in an 80s beer commercial way.Is Thug the Sienfield theme?
Fun!
Rating: 2.5 Notable songs: Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man. Not to my taste. It's okay but I've never been a huge ZZ fan. Production etc. Sounds great just nothing catches my attention.
Good product, crappy music, lame lyrics. ZZ Top went from being outlaws to pop product with this album, and while it made them a bunch of money, it's only notable for being a prime example of that 80's pop rock sound. See also "Pump" by Aerosmith, anything by Motley Crue, Poison, etc. Absolute schlock rock.
Classic redneck rock and roll. It's a bit too corny and simple for my liking, but it's not terrible.
Yet another of this list's mediocre albums by a once-brilliant artist. But using drum machines and synths on a ZZ Top album was, and remains, pure sacrilege. I’m glad Frank went into rehab. I’m glad Billy made a bunch of hits and the money they all deserved. But as far as albums you need to hear? This is WAAY down on the list of ZZ Top albums you need to hear. Go, right now, and listen to Rio Grande Mud. 350 albums in, my sublist now includes David Bowie (Young Americans), Metallica (S&M), U2 (Achtung Baby), Bruce Springsteen, the Cure, the Black Keys, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Paul Simon, Prince, Miles Davis, and the Go-Betweens. Given the GREAT music that those acts are responsible for, It's remarkable how many that this list .
Long ago on VH1 Classic, I watched Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath describe ZZ Top as "Good ol' Texas Boogie" There's something special about hearing those words in a thick Birmingham accent, and it has always stuck with me. But how right he was. ZZ Top is always a good time, and its pretty impressive how well they made the jump from 60's blues rock to 80's synth rock stars. This album is commercial and poppy as hell, but it is undoubtedly some good ol Texas boogie. This album's gotta be one of the best examples of a band clearly aiming for the masses, while staying true to their roots. Also Billy Gibbons is and has long been one of my guitar idols (and remember when he played Angela's dad on Bones?) Album cover: (A+) A better match of sound a visuals is hard to find.
I think I've mentioned this before, but we had the Top Gear cassette in the car when we lived in England. I put it on almost every time I got in the car. One of the first songs on it was "Sharp Dressed Man". This song is ingrained in my body, and I have no choice but to love it. Every other song on this album sounded largely the same to me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really pay attention to any of it. I probably won't play any song other than Sharp Dressed Man again. 5/10
OK, very samey throughout but enjoyed. Probably 2.9/5
Feels slightly harsh, but very frontloaded and gets a bit samey by the end. But good driving music and the guitar tones are sumptuous.
This is the version of ZZ Top I grew up with. It was only slightly better than “Tres Hombres”. It had great music but, really cringeworthy lyrics that would make a young man laugh.
MTV era ZZ Top is still a lot of fun. Much less raw than their earlier records, but they still got that boogie going on.
Generic 80s dad rock with some funny ideas for songs
Decent
3/5
It's just not that interesting.
I know this album so well from my teenage years that I can rate it without listening to it again (which I sort of swore I’d never do) : redneck misogyny wrapped up in a tight swamp guitar groove and largely offensive or non-sensical lyrics. Great for driving to a US military base for an air show while your dad drinks beer (while driving) in your 70s inspired Econoline van, kids sitting in the back on bench rows, not a seatbelt in sight. You can’t make this shit up.
This must be what spinal tap was parodying. Even 30 years ago I was changing the channel when this came on.
Sometimes a bit cringe but otherwise great
Meh.
it sucks and is gay
Some great songs but some duds as well that took me out of the great album feeling
Hubo un tiempo en que me movieron, pero todo va madurando y con pena debo decir que hoy, a la edad que tengo ZZ, ya están en mis recuerdos.
It's kinda fun, but also simple and predictable, not bad, but also not great
Better than I was expecting
This was a enjoyable listen, and I knew many of these songs quite well before today. The ones I didn't already know were full of the same wonderful ZZ Top flavor and I hummed along and enjoyed the music. Four stars.
Really good but maybe some of the longer guitar bits dragged a bit and the lyrics probably left something to be desired. When the music hit well though, it certainly got you going
I love me some ZZ Top. Their sound and vibe just do it for me. Those guitar solos are always a treat.
Kind of tough rating for me because there’s some fun stuff on here. The only problem is I don’t think any of it is very good and it doesn’t feel like this album belongs on this list to me.
You know the hits. You don't know the songs that aren't the hits for a reason.
Forget corn flakes, have this for breakfast to start your day with some *crunch*. ZZ Top adapted to survive into the 80's, and while I can frown at the lack of authenticity using loops, drum machines, and synthesizers, it's hard to argue with the end result. Don't think too much about it, just enjoy the boogie, blues, and electric sex machines. Those sheepskin guitars will haunt me (in a good way) forever
Strong 3.
Pretty solid 80s butt rock with some big hits that pump it up a notch. This is what they play when the detective in an action movie walk into a strip club to get some intel. It's fun.
The first three tracks of this are what I consider to be the final form of ZZ Top. They are representative of everything they became after this album came out. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on if you like them - those three songs set the tone for the rest of their catalogue, and diminished the more bluesy and Texas style rock influences that they were about before. I do like those songs, and I do like their style, but it's not nearly as interesting as Tres Hombres, which we had on this list earlier. It is at least uniquely ZZ Top. Songs like "I Got the Six" have the same format as the openers but the riffs just don't hit as hard. ZZ Top songs absolutely live and die on the strength of the basic riff and less so the solo, so if either isn't that memorable then the song kinda fades away from memory because they're all just 4/4 drums with a bass player mostly hitting the root notes otherwise. The one outlier is "Thug" which has a heavily produced bassline that I can't tell if it's synthetic or not. Reading about how this album was made makes me think it might be just a synth. It's not that good of a song so I don't care either way, just weird. This was pretty decent as far as 80's rock records go in general and it is an album that sounds like who it is, as odd as that seems. There are a few stinkers on here ("TV Dinners", "If I could only flag her down") but the rest of the tracks are fine and the first tracks are great. I wish I could give it a 3.5 but out of the 11 songs I think I'd only really revisit 4 of them, so 3 it is.
I can feel the wind blowing through my 5-foot-long beard as I tear up the road on my Harley never looking for, but somehow always running into trouble.
True 80’s excess. This album makes me feel like I need to get on my hog and evade law enforcement. Highlights were Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and Thug.
Sonic Youth love this one therefore so do I. Mostly sucks though. 5 stars.
Not entirely clear who actually played or wrote what on this record. Not quite a Milli Vanilli situation but history doesn’t reflect terribly well on the Texas 3 or maybe it does, stealing a bunch of ideas and calling them your own is a hallmark of the lone star state, let alone rock n roll (and in the case of ZZ Top, this wasn’t the first murky origin story). All that said, damn, what a great sound! It wears over the course of 10 songs and lurches to a halt with the few slower tempo numbers, but on the singles and a few album cuts, it’s a flawless execution. So much so, my band tried imitating the classic ZZ Top sound for some guitar tracks 20 years ago. We just hadn’t cracked the code on the whole wah pedal thing at that point, still associating it with the excesses of U2 and the Beastie Boys.
Generic rock. The American Status Quo. Pish.
Fantastic
A band I expected to see sooner or later on this list. Not a personal favourite of mine, but at least I know I'll be in for an easy listen. Don't really have any expectations, maybe some cool riffs. The worst case scenario would be that it sounds truck commercial music. Maybe it'll have a bit of that vibe, but I don't think it's gonna be that bad. Gimme All Your Lovin' Oh it's this song. Haven't thought about it much, gets a lot of play on 80's stations for some reason. It's alright I suppose. The guitar riffs chug along nicely and the chorus I could see being a bit of an earworm. The verses are duds though, there really isn't much memorable about them. The final third of the track kinda goes nowhere, sort of loses track of itself. Fine. 3/5 Got Me Under Pressure The lyrics are pretty raunchy. Has a decent amount of pace to it. Decent guitars. A pretty consistent track, while nothing out of this world, does a lot right and it ends up sounding pretty good. Decent. 3.5/5 Sharp Dressed Man Classic guitar riff. Sleazy lyrics. Plenty of that rock and roll attitude. A chorus that is close to being synonymous with the southern rock genre. One of the genre defining songs of the southern rock scene. Not my favourite kind of music, but I respect it. Decent. 3.5/5 I Need You Tonight This bluesy minimalistic mostly guitar driven rock music is kinda tired at this point. The performances are pretty good, and the production sounds great, but it just lacks some pinache and personality to really drive it home. Very well constructed, with some great guitar parts, and a vocal performance that sounds very professional and fitting for the style. Just in the end doesn't do much for me. Fine. 3/5 I Got the Six One dimensional. A really predictable track. Never really does anything too different. Has decent energy I suppose. Average. 2.5/5 Legs Kinda sleazy and cringe. Horny old person drunk uncle about to get a speeding ticket core. Boring and unimaginative. The riffs are alright I suppose, just feels a bit basic. Did not like. 2/5 Thug This sounds a bit different at least. I like the bas quite a bit, has a real funky quality to it. Too bad the rest of the song sort just blends together. Sort of goes nowhere. Average. 2.5/5 TV Dinners Hmmm. Did they run out of ideas? What is the closest thing in the room I can make a song about? Oh I know! My dinner from yesterday! Eureka! At least it shows they don't take themselves too seriously, even if the final result is a very uninspired piece of oversaturated mediocrity that's only notable due to the strange concept. Ends up being repetitive and boring. Did not like. 2/5 Dirty Dog Are you sure this song wasn't on earlier? Feels like it at least. A tempo that trucks along with some guitars that are heavy on the gas. Really burns some rubber. Goes full throttle. A bootload of guitars to cruise down the dirt road to. Truck music. 2/5 If I Could Only Flag Her Down I definitely heard this song. Sound came out of my headset and into my ear then registered somewhere in my brian. Then the song kept going before finally ending. After it ended there was a brief moment of silence. In that moment I realized it was over and went to listen to the next song. I thought "That was definitely a song that exists" then never thought about it again. Forgetable. 1.5/5 Bad Girl It's fast and energetic. Really dumb. That's about all I got to say. Did not like. 2/5 Starts off okay then the sound gets tired, and it gets tired quickly. It's in your face, juvenile and horny. It's sleazy and objectifying and at times very shallow. Has some great guitar work, but it all just blends into a malformed homogenous sonic mass which struggles to distinguish itself from its own blob-like form. It's just so stuck in its own ideas that even when you think it starts to evolve some sense of variety it quickly reverts back into its own oversaturated sound. Even the songs that work have huge portions that are just simply forgetable, only really saved by a few seconds of brilliance from a clever chorus or an infectious riff. I can't fault them for their energy or skills as performers though. While I hold the opinion that the songwriting here is pretty weak, they at least sound like they're trying to make an entertaining product. There's real skill in the guitar playing, and they've obviously put effort into sounding like the best versions of themselves. It genuinely sounds like they want to be there, and that they're enjoying themselves making entertainment. It's then a shame all that effort is put into something so pointlessly uninteresting. There are some good parts here and there, but ultimately this is just average. In an ocean of classic rock albums this is just another bubble. 2.5/5 Leaning closer towards a 2/5 Fave track. Got Me Under Pressure Least fave track. If I Could Only Flag Her Down
Rock on!
3.5 82%
There was a time when I was all about some ZZ Top — but that time has come and gone. Eliminator definitely has a few catchy tracks and some iconic synth-guitar grooves, but nothing on here really hits “great” status for me anymore. It’s fun in a nostalgic, radio-hit kind of way, but not something I find myself going back to often. Favorite song: "Sharp Dressed Man"
Så mycket bättre sånginsatser än jag mindes det som. Riktigt medryckande gitarr-riff. Fyra (på gränsen till femma)
Perfect album to put on and kick back with the old lady.
ZZ Top are obviously legends. But I didn't expect so many great songs on one album. Tough to pick just one for the 1001 best songs playlist but going with "Gimme All Your Lovin'" as it's the most groovable, imo. Not a bad track on the album. ~ 5 Stars
Sähkökitara ei tälleen surise ja pärise missään muualla. Tässä soi rock n roll enemmän amerikkalaisena kuin mikään muu.
This is not for me.
All bangers front to back, I didn't think I would like this one as much as I did.
3.5
Some of the singles are fun, but it's probably mostly nostalgia. Not an album I would likely re-listen to.
Classic album
kind of a rock that is good for driving, but not a restaurant list
I really liked this one! I knew a few songs from this album already (Blame my parents during the 1980s :D, but I don't mind.). I didn't really note down my impressions of each song, probably because I was dancing throughout it most of the time, but my favourites were: * Got Me Under Pressure * Sharp-Dressed Man * I Got The Six * Dirty Dog It also HEAVILY reminded me of a few movies I loved watching growing up. I think I need to listen to more ZZ Top, after all. My rating: 9/10.
classic band. has to be one of the best of its gender 4/5
Album No. 2 I liked the energy of all the songs, but the lyrics and songs did all seem to be kind of similar, which makes sense for one project I guess. Although TV Dinners was rather different (not sure I liked it that much). I think the lyrics in the album are definitely more fun than introspective and poetic. I've never heard of the artist before so I am happy I had a listen. There were a lot of guitar solos, which I won't say anything positive or negative about. Overall I would rate the album a 3.5 if I could but I'll go with 3 because I's rate more songs as 3 than 4. Favourites: - Gimme All Your Lovin' - Sharp Dressed Man - If I Could Only Flag Her Down
Long songs, some good, some bad, not my genre, classic rock, good guitar
2- Stars (4/15)
Loved this, never heard it before
Al die willen bij ZZ Top spelen, moeten mannen met baarden zijn..? Ik lees op Wikipedia (ook ik doe wel eens mijn huiswerk) dat er vier hitsingles van de plaat getrokken zijn, maar ik kende ze niet, eerlijk gezegd. Tja, dan blijft het toch gewoon een potje stevige rock, maar eerder van het supermarkthuismerk, net als The Cult laatst. Er is in dit genre beter gemaakt, dus het cijfer valt niet al te hoog uit.
We klussen vrolijk door en ZZ Top lijkt mij op voorhand wel prima daarbij. Al is het eerste nummer Gimme All Your Loving wel erg jaren '80. Maar goed Sharp Dressed man komt ook nog, en dat gaat toch iets beter op met dat jaren '80 geluid. Dus wat zal de boventoon gaan voeren? Nou dat wordt wel duidelijk. De jaren '80 komen te lang te duidelijk door. Ik ben het album halverwege wel zat. Wellicht ook omdat het kruit al vroeg verschoten is. Ik vraag hier vaak om variatie. Maar bij sommige albums past dat ook weer helemaal niet. Zoals I Need You Tonight mooi illustreert. Misschien heeft de band ook wel de pech na Aerosmith te komen. In de vergelijking valt dit stukken minder uit.
Het eerste dat ik vaak doe, is even de wiki doorlezen. We kennen ZZ Top allemaal van de lange baarden van de twee gitaristen, maar ZZ Top herbergt nog een derde lid, namelijk de drummer. Die heeft als enige geen baard, maar heet dan weer Frank Beard. Ik zal ongetwijfeld niet de eerste zijn die dit opmerkt, ik neem aan dat deze grap 'een baard heeft'. Hihihi hahaha. Genoeg schijtlolligheid, over op de muziek. Die zichzelf ook niet al te serieus neemt, maar wel lekker vrolijke rock n roll is. Met her en der een ballade. De 80s komen hier al een stuk meer naar voren dan op hun vorige albums. Niet dat ik veel van ZZ Top ken, uiteindelijk staan hier hun grote hits op, maar je hoort wel al heel veel drumcomputers en synths. En al die 80s sounds zijn niet per se supergoed gedaan. Of juist misschien iets te goed, het voelt overgeproduceerd. Terwijl de 80s juist ook altijd iets gruizigs horen te hebben voor je idee, iets smerigs. Kijk naar films uit de 80s, met zo'n grauwig filter er over heen, fletse kleuren, scenes uit steden waar het vuilnis op de straten ligt enzo. Al met al is de muziek wel aardig en ben ik op zich wel fan van een pot raggende gitaren, maar ik vind dat dit beter is gedaan door andere 80s glamrock n roll bands. Ik ga niet helemaal raten naar stijl, maar ik zet dit in op een kleine 3.
Good stuff, easy listening even with all the electric guitar
Eh, not big on ZZ Top.
Soft spot: this album sounds like childhood. I probably "ought" to be more critical of it than I am, but... aw hell, Eliminator was released after I was conceived but before my mom figured out she was going to BE a mom, it's in that very distinct Nostalgia Zone for me. It's just a good listen for me. Biased as hell 5 stars.
I supposed there is a reason these guys are more known for their facial hair than their music. It's not bad, and in fact Sharp Dressed Man is a great tune, but it sure isn't great.
Absolute banger, this is the type of stuff I grew up on. Energy and motion in each song
Big hits!
Not in my collection and not really on my radar. Found it enjoyable, good solid guitar riffs and solos and the hits (Legs, Sharp dressed Man) were instantly recognisable and had me tapping my feet. If I found an original pressing somewhere I would consider it. But if I analyse why I liked it, for that raw sweaty pub style rock I think the Top did it better on tres hombres. However listening to this made me want to add tres hombres to my collection.
Fine, some classics but hardly a top 1000 album
Surprise hit for me. I thought all the songs would sound the same but it was surprisingly dynamic.
If you're going to do hard rock, this is how it's done.
🎅🏼
Honestly kind of enjoyable. ZZ Top w the corniest 80s production kinda murders.
Had to skip I’ve been lingering too long listened to half sorry mid
I can't believe that these dudes have 2 albums on this list. This one is just as boring as the last one. There is something about this band that seems a bit try hard/sad?
Meh - pretty boring. 'Hard Rock' as a genre never goes that hard
I remember the hits of this album being played in the 80s. And they are still being played by classic rock radio. This is the heart of 80s guitar rock, and very influential. But I'm bored of it now. Not their earlier stuff, but this particular sound. 3.5/5
ZZ Top give out creepy leather-wrapped bachelor pad energy, or maybe a Camaro-driving guy in mirrored sunglasses trying to convince you he’s “still got it.” Where have I heard these hits before? They’ve been grilled into my head by a thousand beer commercials or something. And WTF “TV Dinners”?!? Made me pause the album just to check if I was having a stroke. Throw this in the bin with AC/DC & Kiss.. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Sharp Dressed Man
I've never sat down and listened to a ZZ Top album, and ya know? I was pleasantly surprised. Not my first choice in music, but it was good!
i love zz top! makes me feel cool listening to it. summer music. late to work with sunglasses on. blowin down the road. a hauw hauw hauw .
Funny silly album about beards
Idek it feels like a hot wheels commercial
I don’t like this album, it reminds me of the show American pickers. 2/10 Best track - tv dinners
good
Pretty mid
Pretty alright
I never listened to a lot of ZZ Top. It's just ok for me.
80s glitzer up version of real ZZtop
Favorite Track: Gimme All Your Lovin
All killer no filler great album
9/10…southern-blues rock
Fandango or Tres Hombres deserve to be on this list. Eliminator? Meh.
Great guitar work and sounds exactly like ZZ Top. Not mind-blowing but solid
Helt greit.
Classic but not my style
Another rocker from ZZ Top. A solid album that unfortunately becomes formulaic and repetitive by the end. The guys were great at what they did, but by the end I was glad to move on. Gimme All Your Loving rocks, reminds me of The Santa Clause every time.
80s rock, bit glammy, bit hard, country elements. Bit too Aerosmithy in places for me Best track - TV Dinners/ Sharp Dressed Man
This is the type of blues rock I can get behind. Not the deep blues stuff Rolling Stones do (not that there's anything wrong with it, just isn't my thing), but blues rock that's primarily rock. Classics all around on this album. Consistent throughout in sound (although a bit to a fault). Feel like Gibbons heard Duran Duran's album Rio and decided ZZ Top needed to keep up, but just in a blues rock way instead of moving to New Wave. Some questionable lyrics and one dud of a song (I'm looking at you TV Dinners), but overall a very enjoyable record.
Classic
Solid album from top to bottom. A rare album with no duds.
Very solid album. Amazing that only 3 guys produced all that sound! The album plays like a collection of greatest hits.
Nostalgic listening time! One of the first cassettes I ever owned, and the album as a whole, still doesn’t disappoint. Obviously Legs, Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme All Your Lovin , were all over the radio and MTV but all the other songs on the album are bangers in their own way!
ZZ Top rocks! This album was a huge part of my early MTV music video memories. I Need You Tonight is definitely my favorite track - so sexy and soulful. I’m really looking forward to more ZZ Top on this journey. While their overall sound is recognizable and similar throughout the years, I’m looking forward to hearing the subtle differences between the various ZZ eras. And one more thing… God Bless Billy Gibbons. What a legend!!!
‘Generic’ is kind.
Not my thing
Never was a fan. Still not.
gimme all you lovin' brings back high school/early college memories from cover bands in cheap local bars...I just wish they played sharp dressed man instead...3/5 fun times
Better than I’d remembered. Maybe I’m getting old.
My ex husband refused to let me walk down the aisle to “Legs.” This should have been the final red flag, but that’s why he’s an ex (albeit smaller than some of the red banners in the Soviet parade of this relationship, but still.) A closer listen of this album yields nothing but the same same sound. There are some party hits, but overall boring. 1.5 if I could, but 2 to spite my ex.
Eh
I enjoyed it but it got quite boring
Not that great. Not that terrible, either.
I was expecting old man rock "how how how how" and/or Nascary southern rock. It hits some of that but they're a little more rocking then i expect. Guitar was cool, solos were rocking. It ended up being a bit repetitive, and kind of blended together at times. I liked this better than I expected, but I expected to absolutely hate it. Mid 3s.
Solid album. No complaints. They rocked the hell out.
It's not bad....just a little repetitive over the length of an album. Radio songs still hold up though. "I got the 6, gimme your 9" would be a great bumper sticker. 3.5, rounding down.
Good ol' bluesy rock n’ roll
Great fun!
I didn’t like it as much as Tres Hombres, just repulsively horny at points
Great rock album start to finish.
the biggest selling album from that “little ol’ band from texas” and it’s easy to see why. all the things you would expect from a zz top album, crunchy guitars, a driving rhythm section and that unmistakable bluesy swagger. great album.
Fun album.
Some good ones here, but generally not my thing.
I am copying the review from my previous zz top album: its guitar rock. Nothing that i really found too amazing, but it wasn't unbearable. Never really listened to ZZ Top, a and likely won't listen to ZZ top again
I like Thug a lot but I’m biased from growing up with it playing on the radio in GTA4. Wonderfully atmospheric track. Other than that, this is a very poor attempt at combining an old genre with new technology. I knew about the hits but never liked them, probably because my introduction to ZZ Top was La Grange which is one of the greatest blues rock songs of all time. I honestly don’t understand how this album and its singles became such massive hits, but the 80s was a weird time that i didn’t experience, so it probably made sense back then. Then i read that half the album was written by a sound-engineer Linden Hudson, who got no credit whatsoever. That settled the verdict for me: Ass album (with the exception of Thug which was also co written by the aforementioned Linden Hudson)
3.5/5. Can’t believe these good ol boys are related to the legend himself, Hank Hill.
The music is good (not thaaaat good), but the lyrics are ridiculous.