396 - ZZ Top - Eliminator

[csberry]

As an MTV fan in the 80's, it was nearly impossible for me to not see the beautiful red Ford hot rod with its collection of females coming to save some poor fellow's day. *sigh* The videos are still great and this album is cemented in the 80's but still rocks. The big difference between Eliminator and Tres Hombres from a decade before are the use of synths, sequencers, and drum machines. Now, now...don't worry. This isn't ZZ Top trying to sound like Depeche Mode.

The synths are expertly disguised as another guitar on most of the tracks. That "chug-chug" or "budda-budda" fuzzy guitar rhythm that characterizes the sound of this era of ZZ Top isn't a bass strumming its highest notes or another guitar added to the rhythm section...it's a keyboard! The technology serves to add additional power and feel to the tracks. I'd love to know what all sounds were result of the sequencer. The guitar riffs can be so repetitious during portions of the song that you wonder if that's picking or sequencing in the studio.

One song that stood out to me was "I Got the Six." Take away the vocals and the song could be the instrumental mix for Devo's most rocking song ever. But you put Billy Gibbons behind the mic and it is undoubtedly a ZZ Top song.

Songs I knew I liked: "Gimme All Your Lovin," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Got Me Under Pressure," "I Got the Six," "T.V. Dinners," and "If I Could Only Flag Her Down"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "Thug," "Dirty Dog," and "Bad Girl"