Members guitarmonster Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 That's a kickin' album. Great guitar tones. What suprised me is how many of the tracks were obviously recorded with a Strat, whereas I always thought of Pearly Gates as Rev. Gibbons signature sound. Oh well, good album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members russrags Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 Glad you like it guitarmonster. It was recorded at a Studio I used to work at. In fact I was over there at Christmas. I'll try to dig up a couple pic's for ya. I just got a book called "1001 Albums You Should Listen To Before You Die" What a great book ... Tres Hombres is in there ZZ Tops 1st Album (that really the name of it) is wonderful as well. Haw Haw, Russ Nashville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted January 12, 2007 Moderators Share Posted January 12, 2007 ZZ Tops 1st Album (that really the name of it) is wonderful as well. Those are my 2 favorite ZZ albums. While Tres Hombres is sinister and cool (Master of Sparks) the 1st is small, vibey... and groovy. My friends they all told me, man there's something gonna change your life, gonna get me somma that Brown Sugar, man it's gonna change your life. Douse that light, would ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 I guess "Blue Jean Blues" was on Fandango not TH but... it's still one of the great slow blues, always seemed to me to be a kind of tribute to Peter Green's FM. Love that tone on the guitar... damn. [For no good reason, I ended up listening to versions from The Best of, Chrome, Smoke & BBQ and the remastered version from a Fandango release... all somewhat different masterings. The WORST was the "remastered" version from Fandango... it just loses all the edge and life... The ME from that remastering job OBVIOUSLY needs his hearing aids adjusted.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members russrags Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 This is where the 1st several ZZ Top records were recorded. They weren't recorded on this board, but this is the place. I can close my eyes and I'm transported right into this room as I've spent a lot of time there. As for the re-masters ... they suck and should be pulled. It was an attempt to add digital reverb to recordings that were made before that invention. What a huge mistake. The engineers secret to that fabulous ZZ Top sound was to EQ the Bass up HIGH and the GTR's down LOW. enjoy, Russ Nashville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pbognar Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 I've got Fandango on vinyl, but for those who don't want to shell out for 3 CD's, check out the FIRST ZZ TOP best of CD - it's got most of the highlights. They were at their height at that point. The guitar sound on "Jesus just left Chicago" is also really cool. If I could add one tune to that best of CD it would be their version of "I Thank You". Billy Gibbons is just the best... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 I perhaps should have noted that the tracks I was listening to were from my subscription service (it uses 160 kbps ABR WMAs)... I didn't have all those CDs sitting around or anything. (I do have Tres Hombres on vinyl but all my vinyl is embargoed in the garage, along with my 'tables.) I think the bottom on those tracks was certainly part of the appeal. The drums and bass are the foundation the guitar and vocal launch from and it's all a great fit. PS... if I hadn't just heard the other two masterings, the "remaster" wouldn't have offended my ear all that much, I think. But when you listen to the early CD version vs the remaster it just brings it all home. So wrong. PPS... all this blues rockin' got me goin'... I just put on the one Backstreet Crawler album I have access to via my subscription service... the songs aren't nearly as appealing -- but Paul Kossoff was one of the masters of slow, soulful blues and just smokin' tone and licks, in that Peter Green, Billy Gibbons, tip-o'-the-chapeau-to-T-Bone kinda way... hmm... T-Bone... good antidote to the Paul Rogers-clone singing on BSC... I think I'll mix it up a bit. But, donchyaknow... I think I need some Lightnin' Slim in here to really hit all the bases... And wait... can I talk about Peter Green without putting him on? I can't... And then, if I leave Rory Gallagher out that's just wrong. And Gatemouth... before you know it I'll have to put on some Jimi, too. Next thing ya know, it'll be Jorma... How long will it be before I end up with Robert Quine in the queue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members russrags Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Hey Blue2Blue Since you've got the subscription thing ... download "Bang Bang My Shangalang" that's one of the newer ones that really get me going .. It's kinda garage band sounding too. It's wonderful. I even play it at weddings !!! RussNashville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Thanks, Russ, it's in the queue right after Rory's "A Million Miles Away" -- not a song I'd want to have to follow but someone's gotta. I always forget how much I enjoy ZZT... I listened to a couple albums worth of tunes earlier... I really like the singing, too. I'm not crazy about their straight rock stuff (and all that MTV era stuff) but I really like their blues. PS... It seems to be listed as just "Bang Bang" (off the Rhythmeen album)... that's the right one, yeah? ________________________ [uPDATE: Russ -- GREAT song but -- hoo boy, somebody put this track on the ol' truck tire inflator... it's blown out to the ceiling and the walls... "Squashed" was way before they stopped. It may be the most overly-compressed track I've ever listened all the way through to when I wasn't "evaluating" it for someone. Wow. Whatever I said about the ME who redid Blue Jean Blues is NOW in perspective... minor transgressions in contrast to Bang Bang. Someone should be knee-capped for this. And the coolness of the song just makes it all the more painful. But a great song, I can definitely see why you like it. Maybe there'll be a wave of remasterings in five years or so where people salvage some of the victims of this absurd suicide-by-compression hysteria. PS to UPDATE: A remastered Green Manalishi (from a Peter Green retrospective) followed... it's not nearly as bad but it is bad and I don't mean sick. It sounds like ass. And I don't mean good ass. ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Raymar Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 I had the Tres Hombres LP in high school, great album. Loved the pinch harmonic in the middle of the solo in Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers. I think that was the very first time I"d ever heard one and it was just right. Never did get the CD remix. Did it include the photo of the huge sloppy looking mex dinner that was in the open up LP? Steve, former embryo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markwayne Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Those are my 2 favorite ZZ albums. While Tres Hombres is sinister and cool (Master of Sparks) the 1st is small, vibey... and groovy. Amen! Master of Sparks was so dark and disturbing in a good way. Those albums had serious mojo. Did you see what they turn in on the Crossroads DVD? OMG! They were worse than a cartoon. They were simply the worst ZZ Top tribute band ever. I think Deguello was the last thing that still had a trace of that Tex-Mex, magic, root vibe. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members js1 Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 The latest ZZ Top collection (Rancho Texicano) was actually mastered well - recommended. js Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ZenFly Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Don't forget the second album...My favorite ZZT slow blues ever is on that one "Sure got Cold after the Rain Fell". Great lyric, emotion, tone and of course playing. Long live ZZ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 The latest ZZ Top collection (Rancho Texicano) was actually mastered well - recommended.js The continual flow of "remastered" albums is such an insult to consumers... Oh, I bought the 2002 remaster and it sounds like crap, I must go buy the new 2007 re-re-remaster, now... Particularly when, IMHO, so many of the remasterings -- particularly those done in the last four or five years -- sound so very, very bad due to "competitive loudness" issues or simply some remastering engineer getting "creative." PS... it's not a remaster, I guess, but I still can't get over how bad "Bang Bang" sounded... Again, a cool song, but it was all but unlistenable, it had been so thoroughly squashed. Those horrible, wimpy snare-like sounds... AGH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted January 13, 2007 Moderators Share Posted January 13, 2007 Don't forget the second album...My favorite ZZT slow blues ever is on that one "Sure got Cold after the Rain Fell". Great lyric, emotion, tone and of course playing. Long live ZZ! I knew as I mentioned the 1 and 3 that inadvertently I was dissing Rio Grand Mud, their 2nd. Koko Blue, Rain, Francine, Just Got Paid, Chevrolet! Those are all great tunes. Wasn't Gonna Get Me Some Bar B Q on there as well. That one is rough, but in a good way. Tres Hombres captured them when they had it down to 2nd nature, but Rio Grande Mud is way cool, just a little unrefined, in a good way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EccentRick Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Back shortly before they "made it", ZZT used to gig regularly at a local club in the city where I went to college. (They were great and I was a pre-born celestial spirit at the time. ) In those days, Billy Gibbons was just an average-looking dude who usually wore jeans and a flannel shirt; the kind of guy no one would particularly notice when passing on the street. Can you imagine that??? Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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