Rhythmeen. Hands down best album of the RCA era. Of course that's my opinion, but I'm confident that I'm right in this instance more than others. Full of outstanding, thumping, tuned down, dirty blues-funk. ZZ Top, recognizing the brillance of the album, makes sure to play several tracks from the album to this day, right?
Wrong! Billy has repeatedly stated that the band considers the album one of the band's greatest works. He loves the groove they found, and the consistency of the record. When asked to describe the sound they were looking to emulate on the new (sooner or later) album he cited Tres Hombres and Rhythmeen.
During the 1996 Continental Safari tour and 1997's Mean Rhythmeen tour the band alternated through seven of the tracks. Then that's it. The only song to appear again is Bang Bang Shang Alang - 1999, 2002, and most recently early 2007. What the hell?! Where is the love.
The songs are not overly difficult to perform live, especially considering the basic nature of the recordings - drums, bass and fuzzy, low guitar. Fans, true fans, continued to support the band in the RCA era. There are thousands upon thousands who would absolutely love to hear some of these tracks live again.
How about Hairdresser, or Pretty Head. Seriously, Rhythmeen or She's Just Killing Me would be amazing. I bet 100,000 people would give their right arm to hear Dusty belt our "Loaded", the closest thing to cock-rock the band has ever done, over Tush. I understand, maybe they love Tush, and it's their prerogative to play whatever they like. I get it. But mix it up a just a little, maybe pay tribute to a tremendous album that doesn't get the credit it deserves.
- ZZ Blues
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