ZZ Top - Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top
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Free Music Notes for Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top
Free Music Review: The way ZZ Top is supposed to sound
Hit: 5 Stars
It would be easy to roll your eyes at this CD and say, "God, not another ZZ Top Best-Of collection. Why bother?" That was pretty much what I thought, until I heard this album.
Hearing Disc 1 is like hearing ZZ Top anew. This was the first time I had ever heard the ORIGINAL mixes of their pre-Eliminator material, and what a difference it makes. The soulless 80's drum machines and re-recorded guitar and vocal parts that they released in the 80's are gone, leaving the original gritty blues-rock sensibilities that are at the core of this band's best music. These songs leave you feeling dirty and smelling of motor oil, cattle and cigarette smoke. (Conversely, the Six-Pack remixes felt more like someone's slick penthouse cocaine party.) It's the way the songs were meant to sound, and it's a pleasure to rediscover classic tracks that I had only previously heard in their inferior 6-Pack remixed form.
I have less to say about Disc 2. It covers their career from Eliminator onwards, and the post-Eliminator material (about half the disc) doesn't stand up too well to what came before it. The real reason to pick up this album is for the original mixes on Disc 1, and those are well worth the purchase price.
Free Music Review: great collection
Hit: 3 Stars
Meant to rate it 4 1/2 stars...not perfect, but very good. Unfortunately, I hit the three star button. This set is better than three stars.
Great collection of songs. Though some are missing from various albums. Like "Need You Tonight" and "Thug" from Eliminator aren't on this CD set, but it's a very good set.
Free Music Review: ZZ Top for Audiophiles
Hit: 5 Stars
If anyone gave this cd set less than a five star rating then you need to spend more than $49.95 on your audio gear. After listening to the entire set, both cds, this ZZ Top collection is some of the best remastered audio I've heard. It displays as "HD CD" on the processor and is SACD quality sound. Every track is balanced with parallel volume levels and the recording does not sound like a collection of greatest hits as much as a new recording that was performed in the studio for this release. All thanks to Bill Ham. Audiosnobs take note, this is a great listen.... "they gotta lota nice girls...."
Free Music Review: The Best American Rock n' roll Band since Creedence
Hit: 4 Stars
Creedence Clearwater Revival was probably the first rock band to really bring back the original boogie rock sound originated by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and the other rock n' roll pioneers of the 1950's. When Creedence broke up in 1972, a gritty blues-rock trio from Texas called ZZ Top scored their first hit "La Grange" a year later and became the next band to carry that infectious three-chord boogie sound into the 70's and 80's at a time when most rock bands were focusing on heavy metal and other styles of rock.
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard make up one of the most rock solid rhythm sections in rock n' roll, and Billy Gibbons is surely one of the hottest blues-rock guitar masters out there. These three guys are responsible for some of the best blues-flavored rock n' roll of the past three decades, and all their classic hits and best-known material is here in this excellent two-disc compilation released in 2004. The first CD covers the best of the band's blues-flavored 70's material, and their more commercial, mainstream rock hits of the 80's are compiled on the second CD.
The only problem with this collection is the last half of the second disc. Rather than making the set more comprehensive by including some of ZZ's later material from the 90's, we get an average live recording of "Cheap Sunglasses" that adds nothing to the original version, a useless remake of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" {why did they choose to cover one of Elvis' worst songs?}, and unnecessary "remix" versions of "Legs" and the forgettable "Velcro Fly" which is surely one of ZZ Top's weakest songs. This is still the best greatest hits compilation currently available for the casual fan though. All of the band's best-loved material is presented here with great remastered sound.
Few bands from 40 years ago are still out there today with the original members in place. ZZ Top has survived into the new century and are still rockin' as strong as ever. I got the chance to catch them in concert on their 2003 tour with Ted Nugent and Kenny Wayne Shepherd as the opening acts. Billy, Dusty, and Frank delivered a sound so full and tight that it sounded like four or five guys on stage instead of three! What is sorely needed is a live concert DVD of these legendary rock n' roll hall of famers that has never been issued after all these years.
If you want to discover what REAL rock n' roll is all about, get a copy of this collection along with CCR's classic "Chronicle" CD.
Free Music Review: Great music!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have been listening to ZZ Top over the years, but never had an album. I recently purchased this one to get a glimpse into the music. I recognized some of the songs from the radio, and found some new personal favorites.
Great music,~ I use some of the songs in my daily workout, gets me pumped for the day!
Rock on, Gentlemen!