The Complete Studio Albums

I will be honest, I never gave ZZ Top their proper due. Most of my exposure came from radio, where the 80's synthesizer hits ruled. Now, that is not to say I did not/do not like these songs. Rather, I looked at them as good background music....something one is indifferent to. But I have been on a kick picking up a lot of older music I liked but never had bought. So I saw this box set was up for pre order and on impulse got it. I am ever so glad I did! While "La Grange" and "Cheap Sunglasses" should have proven to me what kind of great sound was there I was quite surprised at their oldest offerings. Truly great blues rock! I am now a steadfast "early Top" fan. And this box set got me into this great period for dirt cheap money! Some may see the packaging as a con. I don't. I would rather have this kind of packaging at this price rather than the addition of liner notes and an extra $20. Let's be honest, in today's internet frenzied world who really needs liner notes? Need lyrics? They are a Google search away. Want to know who wrote or produced a song, or similar information. Google. I don't think I have ever bought a CD and looked at the liner notes more than once since the year 2000. If I need that info I just jump on the internet. Now I will grant one thing. The cardboard sleeve may not be the best for long term playing, taking it out and putting it in over and over again. But I load everything into my iTunes player so for me it is not a big deal. The only reason I still buy CD's is because I am a bit neurotic and like having physical hardcopies just in case (a lesson learned after a hard drive crash that left me re burning my whole collection for 3 weeks straight). Plus you can find some amazing used CD's in great condition for a fraction of the price of buying the MP3 or as a new CD. But I digress... Overall it is hard to hold any negatives against this box set. You get every penny you pay for from it. As others mention it's mastering is spot on (I think too many arm-chair Mac Book users with fancy sound processing programs that are griping about "brickwalling" need to calm down and take a step back). So it sounds nice and rich. If you are a new ZZ Top fan you get the first 10 albums for a great price. If you are an old ZZ Top fan you apparently get a better sounding set of copies (though since I have not heard of any of the "6 pack" "Smoke, Chrome.." and so on I have to take their word for it). Either way this is a winning combination!

If your a fan of ZZ Top at this price you can't go wrong! First of all the sound quality is top notch!!! Second it's all here, all their memorable hit's from their debut album to the tenth album offered in this collection are all your favorites. If your a fan replacing all your cassettes this is the deal for you, & If your a youngster courteous about this classic band its a introduction you will never forget! For the price this set is offered it just shouldn't be passed up, I have heard some complaint's about a lack of extra's & booklet's but if you want to read about the three Texas Blues Icon's buy a biography! Each C.D. comes in a replica of the original album cover art work, I don't necessarily like cardboard sleeve's as I believe they scratch up the C.D.'s faster, but with today's technology transfer the to a disc to listen to & save the originals for source material! I am a bit tired of people complaining about a lack of this & why not that, when a very accurate product description is provided for you !!! Every one of these ten C.D.'s will probably have music you are familiar with. ZZ Top's debut album produced the hit "Backdoor Love Affair." & the tenth C.D. offered in this collection contains the hit from the final Back to the future movie " Doubleback". As far as the music contained in this three decade spanning collection...Well Its ZZ Top Their unique brand of Texas rocking Blue's exudes sex, partying & good time Rock & Roll. The Blue's influence in their music is audibly obvious but it is almost an oxymoron to call their music the Blue's as it is such feel good music! But the sound quality of the re-mastering of these classic album's is outstanding well worth five stars! If your like me its all about the music & this is a great price to update my collection. If your a younger Rock & Roll fan I envy the experience you will have discovering such a back log of outstanding music. Its really hard to believe that three men can make such a rich & raucous sound! When I saw this was being offered & advertised as being restored from the original source material I got on Facebook & let my friend's know, many thanked me & one said "I already ordered it!" If you don't care about booklet's & other assorted whistles & bell's jump on this incredible deal while it last's !!!

I was not at all disappointed at the cost or what was on their first 10 albums. only thing I did not like was it came with no booklet.other than that no complaints whatsoever. zz top's first album 1)somebody else been shaking your tree 2)brown sugar 3)squank 4)goin' down to mexico 5)old man 6)neighbor,neighbor 7)certified blues 8)bedroom thang 9)just got back from baby's 10)backdoor love affair RIO GRANDE MUD 1)Francine 2)just got paid 3)mushmouth shoutin' 4)ko ko blue 5)Chevrolet 6)apologies to pearly 7)bar B-Q 8)sure got cold after the rain fell 9)whiskey' n mama 10)down brownie TRES HOMBRES 1)waitin' for the bus 2) "Jesus Just Left Chicago 3)"Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" 4. "Master of Sparks" 5. "Hot, Blue and Righteous" 6. "Move Me on Down the Line" 7. "Precious and Grace" 8. "La Grange" 9.Shiek" 10.Have You Heard? FANDANGO! 1.Thunderbird" 2."Jailhouse Rock 3."Backdoor Medley" Backdoor Love Affair Mellow Down Easy Backdoor Love Affair No. 2" Long Distance Boogie 4."Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings 5."Blue Jean Blues" 6."Balinese" 7."Mexican Blackbird" 8."Heard it on the X" 9."Tush" TEJAS 1. "It's Only Love" 2. "Arrested for Driving While Blind" 3. "El Diablo" 4. "Snappy Kakkie" 5. "Enjoy and Get It On" 6.Ten Dollar Man" 7.Pan Am Highway Blues" 8.Avalon Hideaway" 9.She's a Heartbreaker" 10. "Asleep in the Desert DEGUELLO 1. "I Thank You" 2. "She Loves My Automobile" 3. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" 4. "A Fool for Your Stockings" 5. "Manic Mechanic" 6.Dust My Broom" 7.Lowdown in the Street" 8.Hi Fi Mama" 9. "Cheap Sunglasses" . 10.Esther Be the One" EL LOCO 1."Tube Snake Boogie" 2."I Wanna Drive You Home" 3."Ten Foot Pole" 4."Leila" 5."Don't Tease Me 6."It's So Hard" 7."Pearl Necklace" 8."Groovy Little Hippie Pad 9."Heaven, Hell or Houston" 10."Party on the Patio" ELIMINATOR 1. "Gimme All Your Lovin'" 2. "Got Me Under Pressure" 3. "Sharp Dressed Man" 4. "I Need You Tonight" 5. "I Got the Six" 6. "Legs" 7. "Thug" 8. "TV Dinners" 9. "Dirty Dog" 10. "If I Could Only Flag Her Down" 11. "Bad Girl" AFTERBURNER 1."Sleeping Bag" 2."Stages" 3."Woke Up with Wood" 4."Rough Boy" 5."Can't Stop Rockin' 6."Planet of Women" 7."I Got the Message" 8."Velcro Fly" 9."Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury)" 10."Delirious" RECYCLER 1."Concrete and Steel" 2."Lovething" 3."Penthouse Eyes" 4."Tell It" 5."My Head's in Mississippi" 6."Decision or Collision" 7."Give it Up" 8."2000 Blues" 9."Burger Man" 10."Doubleback"

Great collection, good price!

So now we have a choice in our ZZ Top music. This set, which returns the original mixes to us, or Six Pack, with its remixes. I bought "Six Pack" a few months back in a used record store for $10.00, and I wasn't mortified by the remixes of the songs. My thought was "Hey if ZZ Top wants to spice up their back catalogue, It's their music and their prerogative". But I don't want to do a side by side comparison of the two sets. I like this 10 disc offering. Playing the first 4 CDs from start to stop and enjoying the bluesy/rootsy sound of them, ZZ Top are bluesmen at heart and their deep love of the style shows. With Eliminator they started a blues rock sound that continued pretty much to the present day. Blues has depth and feeling to it, ZZ Top expresses both no matter what instruments they use. In all truth they weren't the first to a synthesizer to fill out the rhythm of a blues song. If it complements their song and expands their creativity, why not. I also like the way the emphasis is on the music. Do we always need a booklet with essays and photos? Do you always look at it each time you play the album? Why bloat the packaging, when the music presented here starts out with basic and pure blues and develops in style and instrumentation as we move deeper in to it. So keeping to the front and back album covers with a few fold outs is not a bad idea. It keeps you focused on what you are hearing and not on what you are seeing. And what you will hear on these 10 CDs is good music, well presented and well mastered. Warners is not adding to the loudness wars CDs here. The sound on all of these albums is very acceptable. The sound is well equalized and very clear through the set. Again, Warners did not over do it. I hope what we have here is a signal that the loudness war is over.

You are going to want to get the CDs and rip them yourself. The box set on the cloud isn't the same as the CDs in many cases. There are some annoying peculiarities I'll point out first. Even though each CD is presented with the title of the album on the actual CDs, Amazon presents them as disc 1, disc 2 etc on the cloud player and when it downloads. When I looked at them in Windows media player, they weren't even broken out into separate discs, so I had to do that manually. Even more odd - the CD set contains a version of Legs which most people probably won't recognize as the tune they know. The first few bars of the repeated guitar riff are gone, and the main riff of the song is played differently - a different version!. My original CD of Eliminator from back in the day had the version of Legs I'm familiar with, so perhaps this was the version first released on vinyl. The good news is the cloud version has a different version than the CD in the box set, so you can have both versions remastered. Though there are dramatic sonic improvements to most of the catalog, Afterburner and Recycler sound like the same masters to my ears. Tres Hombres isn't too far off from the 2006 remaster, though it's obvious lower end EQ boost is now thankfully missing. This would have been a 5 star box, but I'm of the opinion Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler should have had a more thorough remix and remaster. Sure, they didn't get churned up and destroyed in the six-pack, but they are still dated sounding - particularly compared to the earlier catalog which still sounds fresh. The material on these last three albums should be remixed and mastered more conventionally so their greatness isn't muted by dated mastering.

I was introduced to ZZ Top by Eliminator in the 80s. As I grew older I kept hearing about the "70s" ZZ Top and started downloading individual songs as my interest for classic rock grew. Today I have 22 songs from the 70s era and once I saw this Complete Studio Albums I figured it was time to download a few more. Then I started reading about people's excitement for the original mixes and I went to youtube to do some research. I couldn't believe the difference between the remixes and the original recordings. I checked out most of the songs I originally downloaded only to find the most of them are the remix variety. To see for yourself, just go to youtube and search "ZZ Top Beer Drinkers" and you will find two videos that show the green album cover. The remix will not be called remix, just ZZ Top - Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, and the good version is the one that says "Original 1973 Vinyl Mix". Just listen to the first 10 seconds of both and you will hear an incredible difference. Part of me is angry as I feel that I've been listening to the wrong songs all these years. But now I just ordered this box set on CD which I will be receiving this week and feel like I will be hearing ZZ Top for the first time!! Love the sound of the preview clips and can't wait to hear what all the original fans already know. Update: I received the box set earlier this week and am so happy that I pulled the trigger on this one! The songs sound so crisp and clear especially through the Bose speakers in my car. You can actually feel the guitar solos. I have browsed all the albums and found so many incredible songs that I had never heard before like: Goin' Down to Mexico, Mushmouth Shoutin', Chevrolet, Bar-B-Q, Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings, Avalon Hideaway, and Asleep In The Desert just to name a few. For $40 this really is a no-brainer.

Anyone reading this and considering plunking down $40 or more on ZZ Top is probably already sold on the band's music, so I'll spare the "ZZ Top is SOOOOO great!!" commentary and focus more on the package. What we gots here is ZZ Top's first TEN albums in all their glory, with re-mastered sound (but not re-MIXED like the ZZ Top Six-Crap, which horribly mutilated ZZ Top's music imo). As others have noted, the artwork is limited (just sleeves) and there are no liner notes, but let me ask you, which do you like more: reading about ZZ Top, or listening to their music?? Yeah, me too! So the packaging is nothing fancy at all, but it's the music that matters, and it's all here. I've seen some debate as to whether or not all albums were re-mastered here or just some of them and to these ears, they all are. My personal favorites are "El Loco" and "Deguello" and when I compare the discs from this set to my original CD pressings, I can tell the volume is not only boosted, but the mix is meatier as well. Being a drummer myself, I specifically compared the sound of the drum intro to "Tube Snake Boogie" and the drums were fatter, beefier and yes, LOUDER. But in a good way. These re-mastered discs are not victims of the volume wars, ie, just compressed and brick-walled mixes that ruin the listening experience for all but ipod users. The original mixes have just been re-mastered to today's technology; they are louder, but not TOO loud, and they sound NOTHING like the crummy job done on the ZZ Top Six Pack! With this set, not only do I have every album track ZZ Top did during their first 20 years, but they all sound better than ever. Finally, all my favorite ZZ Top songs have comparable volume and sound quality. And for $40, it's a definite steal. As mentioned, my favorite era of ZZ Top is late 70's early 80's ("Deguello" and "El Loco"), but I've been enjoying this set so much that I'm getting into their earlier work more than I thought I would (I did not previously own any albums prior to "Fandango!") and I'm even enjoying some of their MTV era albums like "Eliminator" and "Afterburner" more than I thought I would. I even ordered some of their post-1990 CD's, which is something I'd not given a second of thought to previously because I hadn't heard much from the band that really excited me in many, many years, but this set has me really enjoying the band more than ever. I may or may not regret buying their newer music, but I definitely do *not* regret picking up The Complete Albums 1970-1990. As individual albums, only 2 of the 10 here would get 5 stars from me, but several others would get 3 or 4 stars and all of them have solid tracks to offer. So the set overall still gets five stars from me just for how much timeless music is here, how good it all sounds and how affordable it is. The minimalist package may bother some, but not me!

... dann diese Box, alles andere wären halbe Sachen. Die Box umfasst die ersten 10 Studioalben der Band, die Klangqualität ist in Ordnung, das erste Album ist vielleicht etwas leise aufgenommen. Booklet gibt es keines, aber das dürfte schon bekannt sein. Es beginnt mit dem soliden Debütalbum "ZZ Top`s First Album", dem zwar die Übersongs fehlen, aber dennoch gut rüberkommt. 4 Sterne dafür. Mit dem zweiten Album "Rio Grande Mud" legen die Jungs ein Klassealbum vor, feinster Bluesrock und mit "Francine" ein Ohrwurm erster Sahne, war damals auch eine Singleauskopplung, allerdings mit wenig Erfolg. 5 Sterne Deluxe. Mit "Tres Hombres" folgt ein weiteres staubtrockenes Album, dass das allseits bekannte "La Grange" enthält und mit 4 Sternen bewertet wird. "Fandango" ist wieder ein echtes Highlight, das 3 hervorragende Livetracks und 4 weitere Klassesongs enthält, überstrahlt werden diese von den Megahammersongs "Tush" und "Mexican Blackbird". 5 Sterne Deluxe ohne Wenn und Aber. Der Nachfolger "Tejas" wird zu Unrecht runtergemacht, 3 starken Auftaktsongs (Spitze "El Diablo") folgt solides Mittelmaß, ehe es zum Abschluss noch 2 starke Stücke gibt, die 4 Sterne rechtfertigen. Das subjektiv beste Album gibt es dann mit "Deguello", ein Album mit hervorragendem Klang und keinem einzigen Song, dem man als Füllmaterial bezeichnen könnte. Nicht nur wegen dem obercoolen "I`m bad, I`m nationwide" 5 Sterne Deluxe. Danach folgt allerdings mit "El Loco" ein Ausrutscher Richtung Softrock. "Leila" hört sich an wie "Cherish" von Kool and the Gang, "Tube Snack Boogie" und "Pearl Necklace" retten 3 Sterne. der kommerzielle Durchbruch gelang dann mit "Eliminator" und 3 Klassikern für die Ewigkeit. Die wären "Gimme all your lovin`", "Sharp dressed Man" und "Legs", muss der Mensch mit Allgemeinbildung einfach kennen, 5 Sterne Deluxe mal wieder. Mit "Afterburner" gelingt ein würdiger Nachfolger, ZZ Top gehen mit der Zeit (Synthesizer), ohne jedoch ihre Wurzeln zu verleugnen. Manche Missepeters meinen, dass ZZ Top mit Songs wie "Rough Boy" sich voll auf die Kommerzschiene begeben, das sind auch diejenigen, die meckern, dass AC/DC schon das 17. gleiche Album machen. Jedenfalls 5 Sterne für ein gelungenes Album, das auch das starke "Planet of Women" enthält. Mit "Recycler" stagnieren die 3 Bärte auf gutem Niveau, herausragend "My Head`s in Mississippi", dafür 4 Sterne. Auch wenn ich mich jetzt wiederhole, bitte keine halben Sachen machen, sondern diese Box kaufen, eure Ohren werden es euch danken.

Super

Ha ! ZZ Top (prononcez "zizi" comme la chanson de Pierre Perret mais avec beaucoup plus de poils !) ! Le Texas, les barbes, les filles, les bagnoles et les guitares en peluche... Oui, c'est tout ça ZZ Top si vous vous en tenez à l'acceptation "MTV" du trio. Une définition sommaire qui ne tient, finalement, que pour 2/3 albums, d'Eliminator à Recycler, de 1983 à 1990... C'est un peu court pour une carrière couvrant 4 décennies, trop court pour s'en contenter. Déjà il y a le miracle d'une formation inchangée (sauf à considérer la phase archéologique du groupe, sa préhistoire, avant même leur premier album)... En trio, vous me direz, c'est moins difficile mais, tout de même, ce n'est pas si courant. Autre quasi-anomalie, une presque absence d'album live (pour un groupe pourtant fort incisif dans l'exercice), il y a bien une petite moitié de Fandango (1975), quelques autres sur XXX (1999) et deux semi-officiels chez Eagle Rock (sortis respectivement en 2008 et 2011, pas la panacée, ces derniers d'ailleurs)... C'est peu. Comme de n'avoir sorti que 15 albums en quarante et quelques années (avec un trou de neuf ans entre Mescalero et La Futura, ça fait baisser la moyenne) pour, pourtant, une musique qu'on imagine vite troussée, pensez !, du blues rock ! Mais c'est, justement, dans la simplicité de la formule que s'explique la difficulté du renouvellement (demandez à AC/DC ce qu'ils en pensent !). Pour toutes ces raisons, et quelques autres encore, il n'est pas inutile de cheminer le long de la route tracée par Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill et Frank Beard lors de la première partie de leur carrière, celle correspondant aux années Warner Bros et est justement couverte par le (chiche) coffret ici commenté. Et donc... Quelques mots sur chaque album : - ZZ Top's First Album (1971) A peine un an et demi que le trio est réuni et déjà un premier album. Un album hésitant, incertain mais où les germes du son du plus grand groupe texan de tous les temps sont déjà bien présents. C'est donc de blues gras mais pas sans nuance dont il s'agit avec, en tête de gondole, la guitare toute en fuzz et en feu de Billy Gibbons. S'il n'y a pas vraiment de classique sur ce First Album, on y retrouve cependant 10 solides chansons non-exemptes de l'humour déjà graveleux (ça ne fera que s'accentuer) des trois de Houston. A noter l'usage du mix d'origine, inédit en cd jusqu'à ce jour, pour cette édition qui restaure donc l'opus dans son originale crudité... Et c'est très bien comme ça ! - Rio Grande Mud (1972) Dans la boue du Rio Grande, on retrouve un ZZ Top inchangé, parangon d'un blues gras, franc et pas si bêta qu'il n'y parait. En son temps, l'album aura aussi peu de retentissement que son devancier avec lequel il rivalise d'ailleurs en qualité. Manquait sûrement un single accrocheur, cette petite étincelle qui fait sortir une formation de la masse de ses concurrents... Ca viendra, bientôt ! En attendant, comme pour le ZZ Top's First Album, on apprécie la restauration du mix originel et donc d'un son bien roots qui sied définitivement mieux à cette musique que son "update" 80s. - Tres Hombres (1973) Premier classique et album de l'explosion commerciale des trois texans, Tres Hombres est toujours, 4 décennies après sa sortie, une galette indispensable aux amateurs de blues électrifié. Tout y est un égal bonheur à commencer par Jesus Left Chicago, Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (bientôt repris par Motörhead) et, évidemment, l'indéboulonnable classique qu'est La Grange. ZZ Top finira éventuellement par dépasser ce premier haut-fait (avec l'excellent Degüello), mais de peu. En un mot comme en mille : essentiel ! - Fandango ! (1975) Mi-live, mi-studio, mais intégralement composé de matériau original ou presque (voir le medley incluant quelques extraits de leur catalogue passé), Fandango! est un drôle d'animal. La face live bouillonne des interventions d'un Billy Gibbons dans une captation alliant crudité et savoir-faire (du vrai live, quoi !) quand la face studio propose une impeccable collection de compositions désormais référentielles dans le répertoire du trio : l'énergique et groovy Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings, le magnifique blues calme Blue Jean Blues ou le direct et efficace boogie Tush (au riff outrageusement plagie par Motörhead sur No Class). Comme son devancier, Fandango! est un album classique et un essentiel pour tous les amateurs du genre. - Tejas (1976) Avis partagés pour le 5ème album de Gibbons & Co. Si tout y est excellemment joué, ces gars savent définitivement faire !, on regrettera une totale absence de morceaux classiques. C'est néanmoins un album qui s'écoute avec un vrai plaisir d'autant qu'on le retrouve ici dans son mix originel et plus dans l'approximation de sa précédente réédition cd pour lequel il avait été remixé pour contenter les hordes de fans du "new ZZ Top". Pas le plus essentiel de la première partie de la carrière des deux barbus et du moustachu mais du bon boulot de professionnels accomplis. - Degüello (1979) Avec Degüello, on reste fondamentalement dans le ZZ Top classique soit une musique rock fermement ancrée sur des bases blues, bien ancrée même. Sauf qu'ils ont des envies de rythm'n'blues (les cuivrés She Loves My Automobile et Hi Fi Mama, en plus d'une reprise de Sam & Dave/Isaac Hayes, I Thank You, à la sauce "ZZ") et de bizzareries (Manic Mechanic... on croirait presque, presque j'ai dit, du Frank Zappa ou du Rush, excusez du peu !). Et des blues laidback d'une beauté à pleurer (I Thank You, A Fool for Your Stockings, Esther Be the One) même si pas forcément textuellement très fins (le sous-entendu sexuel reste la marque de fabrique la prose Gibbonsienne). Et ce n'est pas fini ! Parce qu'on sent bien ce petit côté jazzy de l'excellent Cheap Sunglasses. On a même droit à un pur blues électrifié pur sucre avec la reprise du Dust My Broom de Robert Johnson. Finalement, de typiquement ZZ Topien, correspondant à l'image d'Epinal du rock blues à nanas et bagnoles, il n'y a que I'm Bad I'm Nationwide (un classque !) et Lowdown of the Street, et encore !, ça ne déborde que modérément d'électricité. Ce n'est pas à dire que l'album est molasson, tout le contraire ! Cette variété, cette versatilité instrumentale, cette experstise à instiller sa marque dans tous les genres aussi, participent grandement au dynamisme communicatif de la galette. - El Loco (1981) Jusque là tout allait bien... Et puis El Loco. Fondamentalement, ce n'est pas un mauvais album et, de fait, il s'écoute sans déplaisir oui, mais déjà on sent le trio à la recherche d'autre chose, d'une immédiateté mélodique un peu forcée qui ne leur sied que modérément au teint. Album de transition, quasi-exempt de classiques, El Loco annonce l'ére MTV du trio sans vraiment s'y lancer corps et âme. Il n'est pas, non plus, gâté par une pochette assez ridicule. Les ZZ Top sont fatigués, leur formule s'est usée, il est temps de passer à autre chose. - Eliminator (1983) L'album d'ouverture de la période dont il est désormais bon de dire du mal, album opportuniste voyant les ZZ Top moderniser à outrance leur blues'n'boogie à l'aulne de nouvelles technologies plus compatibles avec une jeune génération qui, jusque là, leur échappe. Présenté comme ça, description objective qui plus est, on se dit qu'il est temps de prendre ses jambes à son coup et de tirer un trait sur un trio qui fut pourtant une impeccable machine de guerre... Mais non ! Parce qu'il y a les chansons et qu'elles sont plutôt (très) bonnes et que, finalement, cette redéfinition du son leur donne un sacré coup de jeune. De fait, l'album ne manque pas de mélodies imparables (de Gimme All Your Lovin' à Sharp Dressed Man en passant par Legs ou TV Dinners) et de chansons justement passées à la postérité. Définitivement, il est un peu facile de conspuer un groupe qui ose (le pari n'était pas gagné d'avance) et atteint le cœur de la cible avec ce qu'il est toujours convenu de considérer comme un album classique qui, finalement, vieillit plutôt bien malgré une mise en son définitivement ancrée dans les années 80. - Afterburner (1985) Qu'il a dû être difficile de renouveler la tour de force Eliminator aussi improbable que réussi et, de fait, ZZ Top n'y parvinrent que partiellement sur Afterburner. Ho, il y a de bonne choses sur l'album (Sleeping Bag, Rough Boy, Velcro Fly, tous sortis en singles d'ailleurs) mais l'ensemble ressemble trop à un Eliminator-bis pour qu'on ne sente pas l'opportunisme commercial qui régit sa confection. Au final, l'effet de surprise passé, on ne se retrouve qu'avec un bon album là où son devancier avait fait tourner les têtes. Ce qui n'est déjà pas si mal mais pas suffisant quand on connait le talent et la rouerie habituelle du trio. - Recycler (1990) La fin des haricots ou le début d'un nouveau chapitre ? Les deux mon général ! D'un côté, on sent la tentation d'un salvateur retour aux sources, d'un autre, un conservatisme commercial à reconduire une formule qui a si bien marché et établi ZZ Top comme un phénomène mondial. Cinq longues années après Afterburner le boogie synthétique ne passe plus si bien, la faute sans doute à des chansons moins convaincantes, et les retours aux sources ne sont pas encore assez réussis pour sauver l'album, comme si la formule s'étaient perdue sous les claviers et programmations des années 80. Ceci dit, My Head's in Mississipi, un La Grange bis mais néanmoins réussi, apporte un vent frais à un album qui en manque cruellement et pointe clairement la voie à suivre... Ce qui sera fait dès Antenna, successeur de ce Recycler mi-figue mi-raisin et un peu rance, mais c'est une autre histoire sur un autre label et donc absent de ce coffret des années Warner Bros. Sur le coffret et conclusion : Formellement, ce coffret à bas coût est un beau bordel. Entre les albums restaurés dans leur mix originel (ceux qui avaient été précédemment charcutés pour ressembler à l'image du MTV Top), les remasterisés et ceux livrés tels quels, le manque de cohérence est criant. Clairement, ce n'est pas un coffret d'exception comme ceux de (au hasard) Genesis ou Pink Floyd. Il faut aussi souligner la présentation cheapissime (petites pochettes cartons sans livret, pas de bonus). Ca n'enlève évidemment rien à la qualité de la musique et, franchement, avec un prix si bas, on pouvait difficilement en attendre plus. Que ceux qui ne sont pas satisfaits se procurent en complément Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, coffret bourré d'inédits, de raretés, etc. En l'occurrence, The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 est un outil idéal de découverte d'un groupe trop souvent mal considéré dont on réévalue ici l'importance historique et la qualité globale (plutôt très bonne).

Ótimo produto gostei muito

The real reason to buy this, even if you have all these cds, is the use of original tapes and mixes for the first 5 albums, which is a absolute revelation. It removes the re-recorded heavy muddy drum sound and vocals of the CD releases to the original recordings, and brings a new appreciation to these albums, especially on "Tejas", "Tres Hombres" and "Fandango" which brings the music to the original natural state. And the difference is MASSIVE. And while the volume level is the similar the original CD's, the clarity and subtle nuances are revealed. Every album in the box is pure gold and they had an amazing run of great records, even albums like "Recycler" which had a few indifferent reviews at the time, maintained the quality of the rest of the catalogue. Albums rated: 1. First album. 6/10. A fine solid rock rhythm and blues debut. Coming out the era of the rhythm and blues revival in the start of the 70's, they play it pretty straight but show glimpses of the Texan flavoured sound they developed. 2. Rio Grande Mud. 7.5/10. A stronger album it starts with set of rock songs, "Francine" and "Just got paid" race from the gates, it is obvious they are developing an energetic pile-driving boogie and a tough hard rock approach. Still evolving, the album is finding their groove, and developing the signature sound. 3. Tres Hombres. 9/10. "La Grange" put ZZ Top on the map, and lucky they had the right album to propel them into the big time. Backed up with catchy gems like "Jesus just left for Chicago" and "Beer Drinkers and hell raisers", this album's rock tracks crackle with an infectious vibe, and the slower bluesier tracks have a deft touch. The album where ZZ Top became fully formed and were hungry with their unique sound. 4. Fandango. 7/10. An album of live performance with studio tracks was a risky idea. But this album’s three live songs are played with ferocity in front of raucous crowd that sets the tone of a strong rock album. “Tush” follows the same formula as “La Grange” and was as successful, and have a set of songs that are ready to hit the floor running, only slowing down with “Blue Jean Blues”. “Mexican Blackbird” has a smooth cool vibe that is an album highlight. 5. Tejas. 9/10. A set of songs as strong as “Tres Hombres”. “It’s Only Love” is a great opener, and songs like “Arrested for driving while Blind” maintain the party vibe of “Tush” and “La Grange”. “Ten Dollar man” is the real killer track, powerful and impassive. This CD benefits most from using the original 70’s mix as it sounds more dynamic. 6. Deguello. 7.5/10. After full two year break, this album was the start of the next faze for the band, where the band were willing to experiment. Here the use saxophones, and mix the hard rock vibe with a slight new wave influence. The lyrics are now more playful with “Cheap Sunglasses” and “I’m bad, I’m Nationwide” being great pop tunes. The album hasn’t embraced the synths yet but is a definite step towards changing their sound. 7. El Loco. 7.5/10. This album has a loose fun appeal where New Wave is influencing everyone from the Stones to Billy Joel. Transforming their sound by use of synths and electronic devices, these flourishes add a pop edge and Billy Gibbon’s vocal are treated with a vocoder. The wiggy experiments and the quirky lyrics make the album quite fun. 8. Eliminator. 9/10. The perfect blend of heavy guitar and blustery stuttering synth pulse, nothing else before or since sounds like it, except for “Afterburner”. And the complete re-jigging of their image retooled them as pop icons, competing directly with Micheal Jackson and Prince. The singles were so massive that the album’s other songs can be overwhelmed in their shadow, but the album manages to sit well in spite of the imbalance. 9. Afterburner. 9.5/10. This is my favourite ZZ Top Album. Unfairly referred by some as "Eliminator 2" it is a better overall album. An awesome production from the motorised thudding of the synthetic drum of “Sleeping Bag” to the sultry boogie of “Rough Boy” to the full on head shakers of “Can’t stop Rockin’” and “Delirious”. Even fun tunes like “Velcro Fly” and “Planet of Women” are a joy in their playful silliness. 10. Recycler. 7/10. The last Warner era album, the last album using their original engineer and last hit album. The giddy pop fizz had become subdued and was released in the time when indie music was gaining momentum and the industry had rapidly changed. Still “Doubleback” and “Give it up” were great pop songs but the album was the last commercial hoorah. The records released after "Recycler" never recaptured any one of these albums in quality and these remain the definitive albums. As trusty as an scuffed up old dog with twice the bite.