The 500 - #398 - Eliminator - ZZ Top

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 398

Album Title: Eliminator
Artist: ZZ Top
Genre: Hard Rock, Blues Rock, Synth Rock
Recorded: Ardent Studios
Released: March, 1983
My age at release: 17
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very familiar
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: I Need You Tonight

Eliminator Album Cover - ZZ Top (1983)

It is difficult to quantify how ubiquitous ZZ Top and this, their eighth studio release, was in 1983. It was the heyday of music videos and ZZ Top marketed perfectly to a teenage music base through television, particularly MTV and its Canadian counterpart MuchMusic.   

ZZ's videos complemented their undeniably catchy, blues-inspired guitar rock. Each provides and opportunity to escape into a fantasy world complete with heroes, villains, cool cars, beautiful girls and a dash of magic. Most importantly, there was always a "wink to the camera" comedy. The band, with their faux-fur-covered guitars were clearly having fun.

Although dated by today's standards, the video for Legs is still entertaining. Sure, one has to get past a simple, trope-fueled, fairy tale loaded with pejorative stereotypes - such as the ugly, overweight villainess berating the sweet-as-pie heroine. It is such a quintessential snap-shot of an early 80s decadent aesthetic.

Three, beautiful lace & leather clad angels magically appear in a lavishly restored 1930s Ford Coupe (aka: The Eliminator) to rescue a beleaguered fry-cook by transforming a meek shop-clerk, Cinderella-style, into a stunning beauty who takes him away to...paradise...I suppose. The ending is unclear. But, who really cared at the time.

Re-listening to this record after at least 30 years was a nostalgic trip. It was played at countless house parties and every garage band in my area played a version of Gimme All Your Lovin' or Sharp Dressed Man. 

In the end, I was most drawn to the more traditional sound of I Need You Tonight, which was more like the ZZ Top I had first heard and wrote about in my review of Tres Hombres back in March, 2019, when it appeared at #490 on The 500 List. 

If you are in the mood for a trip back to the fusion of blues-rock and synth-pop in 1983, give this record a listen. Better still, click on some of those video links and enjoy the cheesy decadence of a classic ZZ Top video.   

The 500 - #490 - ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 490

Album Title: Tres Hombres
Artist: ZZ Top
Released: July, 1973
My age at release: 8
How familiar am I with it: Limited exposure - a couple songs.
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Jesus Just Left Chicago
Great Lyric: This isn't really a "lyrics" album

ZZ Top (or Zed Zed Top as they are known in Canada  ;-) came on my radar in about 1979. I was living in Kingsville, Ontario and got two great radio stations - WRIF (The Riff) and WWWW (W4). The latter being best known as the station Howard Stern famously quit when it switched a Country format in 1981.

I'd like to say that I remember listening to Stern. I know I must have; I just wasn't paying attention to the names of DJ's. I was singularly obsessed with rock and roll music at that time - I'd be about 13. I had a small transistor radio with a cassette-recorder built into it. If I timed it right, I could make great mixed-tapes just recording the radio.

Cheap Sunglasses was the first ZZ Top song I knew and loved. It's still a great song and it always transports me back to that time in my life. That discovery was followed shortly after by Tube Steak Boogie which was catchy and fit perfectly in my 13-year old comedy sensibilities. Who am I kidding? Double entendre and juvenile innuendo still make me smile.

In 1983, ZZ Top exploded on to the popular music scene and their songs were ubiquitous. It was during a time when videos were king and ZZ Top were in constant rotation on MTV and MuchMusic. They had the right blend of campy comedy, cool cars, beautiful girls in skimpy outfits and uptempo rock and roll. If you haven't seen it, the video for the song "Legs" is like watching an abridged version of every 80's teen-romance-comedy. You've got to admit, they knew their audience and maximized their impact in the small window where they were at the top of the charts.

I enjoyed listening to the album Tres Hombres. I was only familiar with the song La Grange, but I enjoyed the whole record. It isn't my favourite music, but I can understand the appeal. For me, ZZ Top is like Mumford and Sons. I love a song in a mix, but I wouldn't choose to listen to a whole album.

In 2013, they played in my hometown. Billy Gibbons visited a local used record shop and bought a few hundred dollars worth of vinyl. My neighbour was an employee working that day and said he was quiet, but wonderfully generous with his time with fans who recognized him. He happily signed all the ZZ Top records in the store at the request of the manager.

Things I learned

• The band has had the same three member line-up since 1969 - a 50 year working/artistic relationship - that is impressive.
• Billy Gibbons began his musical journey as a percussionist and was sent to New York City by his father to train under Tito Puente.
• For years, Gibbons wore a braided cloth hat instead of his trademark Stetson. In turns out he met the Chief of the Bameleke people from Cameroon and the two swapped headgear.