Appears that the Moving Sidewalks will be playing their first gig in 40 some odd years. Thinking I might have to check this out...
http://www.bbkingblues.com/bio.php?id=2388
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
2012 Year In Review
And what a good year it was....
2012 Highlights -
1) A new album!!! Who would have thought?! "La Futura" proved to be mostly worth the wait, with high quality ZZ sounds and spaces coming through your speakers. Make sure to get the vinyl copy, which has a more forgiving and more dynamic mastering. Gotta get the two extra tracks too, whether through Best Buy or alternative means. Only disappointment was a lack of more songs - nine years for 12 songs can be a little frustrating. But Billy has hinted there is more in the can - hopefully Rubin can maintain some semblance of normalcy and work with Billy to get these additional tracks out in some form or another.
2) A new live setlist. Thank you, thank you, thank you for dropping "Cheap Sunglasses". The additions of "Thank You", "Heaven, Hell or Houston", Vincent Price Blues", "Stages", "Beer Drinker", "25 Lighters", "Chartreuse" and "Mississippi", as well as "Thunderbird" in Europe, made this a year to remember. Let's hope more changes come into play next year. I once was, and always will be, a "Fool For Your Stockings"...
3) Interviews. Billy and Dusty made a point to speak their mind each year, and even if Billy does essentially take forever to say nothing, it's still nice to here the Boyzz speak...
4) Awards. The band received multiple accolades this year, all well deserved for what is now one of America's iconic rock bands.
2012 Lowlights -
1) Dusty's voice. No use in beating around the bush, he is having trouble. His once broad and forceful range is long gone. I know, I know, he's 63. The only person on the planet who sounds the same in his sixties as he did in his twenties is Steven Tyler. Many, like Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Bob Seger all have lost their signature instrument, but Dusty's decline is unique, both due to its late onset (the past three years or so) and its rapid pace (huge change from 2009 to 2012). It may be time for him to take a year off and focus on his health. I know he loves the road and all, but if you want to keep doing this into your seventies you gotta give yourself a break.
2) Linear drumming. As I recently commented to a fellow Top fan and friend, to each his own, it's none of my business. But taking up chain smoking again in your fifties is never a good choice if you want to have energy and stamina to partake in your lifelong passion. It's a little hard to watch, and two drum fills a night is not indicative of the skills and precision that lie within. Another reason to take a year off and focus on health.
Predictions for 2013 are not due until January. And a few shows have already been booked for next year (no Rodeo yet), but it would be good if Billy continued his relentless pursuit of weird and worked on his solo album while his fellow band mates took a well deserved 365 day sabbatical.
2012 Highlights -
1) A new album!!! Who would have thought?! "La Futura" proved to be mostly worth the wait, with high quality ZZ sounds and spaces coming through your speakers. Make sure to get the vinyl copy, which has a more forgiving and more dynamic mastering. Gotta get the two extra tracks too, whether through Best Buy or alternative means. Only disappointment was a lack of more songs - nine years for 12 songs can be a little frustrating. But Billy has hinted there is more in the can - hopefully Rubin can maintain some semblance of normalcy and work with Billy to get these additional tracks out in some form or another.
2) A new live setlist. Thank you, thank you, thank you for dropping "Cheap Sunglasses". The additions of "Thank You", "Heaven, Hell or Houston", Vincent Price Blues", "Stages", "Beer Drinker", "25 Lighters", "Chartreuse" and "Mississippi", as well as "Thunderbird" in Europe, made this a year to remember. Let's hope more changes come into play next year. I once was, and always will be, a "Fool For Your Stockings"...
3) Interviews. Billy and Dusty made a point to speak their mind each year, and even if Billy does essentially take forever to say nothing, it's still nice to here the Boyzz speak...
4) Awards. The band received multiple accolades this year, all well deserved for what is now one of America's iconic rock bands.
2012 Lowlights -
1) Dusty's voice. No use in beating around the bush, he is having trouble. His once broad and forceful range is long gone. I know, I know, he's 63. The only person on the planet who sounds the same in his sixties as he did in his twenties is Steven Tyler. Many, like Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Bob Seger all have lost their signature instrument, but Dusty's decline is unique, both due to its late onset (the past three years or so) and its rapid pace (huge change from 2009 to 2012). It may be time for him to take a year off and focus on his health. I know he loves the road and all, but if you want to keep doing this into your seventies you gotta give yourself a break.
2) Linear drumming. As I recently commented to a fellow Top fan and friend, to each his own, it's none of my business. But taking up chain smoking again in your fifties is never a good choice if you want to have energy and stamina to partake in your lifelong passion. It's a little hard to watch, and two drum fills a night is not indicative of the skills and precision that lie within. Another reason to take a year off and focus on health.
Predictions for 2013 are not due until January. And a few shows have already been booked for next year (no Rodeo yet), but it would be good if Billy continued his relentless pursuit of weird and worked on his solo album while his fellow band mates took a well deserved 365 day sabbatical.
Monday, November 19, 2012
La Futura Part Deux?
Maybe 2013, or more likely 2014, will bring some more new tunes....
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/zz-top-la-futura-double-album/
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/zz-top-la-futura-double-album/
Saturday, November 10, 2012
XXX = Sucks?
First thank you to those that posted their favorite ZZ albums in order. One thing that seems to hold in each case is the dismal placing of "XXX". This begs the question: is it that bad?
To view it appropriately I think we need to isolate it from its predecessor and successor. "Rhythmeen" was going to be impossible to follow, and truly featured the last great 'group' effort by the band. In contrast "Mescalero" was Billy at his most creative, unhinged and unchecked, resulting in an insanely good collection of tracks. Let's look at "XXX" on its own.
As is typical with ZZ the album opens with one of, if not the, strongest track on the album. "Poke Chop" is a great song, seriously. Inspired by Frank's suggestion, the group chose to write about a pork chop sandwich, and the song turned out to be in my opinion really strong. Better than when they choose to write about burgers....
After that, the album is indeed very hit or miss. "36-22-36" is catchy, but seems rushed and unfinished. "Fearless Boogie", which was originally created during the Rhythmeen sessions under the working title "I'm Just the Miscreant", is good but lacks something, either a stronger solo, some unique flash, a more refined chorus, something.
Which brings up "Trippin'. This is properly the worst song they have ever done, to me. The vocals sound awful, the music is muddy and buried, its just horrible. Never should have made the cut.
"Ninja Shack" on the Japanese release, despite typical non-sensical lyrics, has an electrifying gritty guitar tone and features a biting two minute outro solo.
The live tracks are not live, which I think most real fans know by now. They are however pretty good, especially "Teddy Bear" - Dusty's smooth Elvis vocals and Billy's awesome guitar work propel this song to the top three on the entire album.
Interestingly the band also recorded "live" versions of "Bang Bang" and "Dreadmonboogaloo", which I have. They are not convincing however, and "Bang Bang" is not even as good as the many real live versions that exist from the 1996-1997 and 1999-2000 tours.
My theory - Billy was pissed that RCA did not promote "Rhythmeen" and pissed that it did not sell well. The group was not really into "XXX", and this carried over to "Mescalero" (the difference being Billy was inspired during the latter). The album is rushed, poorly produced, and blemished. Even the title was given little thought. Not a high point in the bands career.
To view it appropriately I think we need to isolate it from its predecessor and successor. "Rhythmeen" was going to be impossible to follow, and truly featured the last great 'group' effort by the band. In contrast "Mescalero" was Billy at his most creative, unhinged and unchecked, resulting in an insanely good collection of tracks. Let's look at "XXX" on its own.
As is typical with ZZ the album opens with one of, if not the, strongest track on the album. "Poke Chop" is a great song, seriously. Inspired by Frank's suggestion, the group chose to write about a pork chop sandwich, and the song turned out to be in my opinion really strong. Better than when they choose to write about burgers....
After that, the album is indeed very hit or miss. "36-22-36" is catchy, but seems rushed and unfinished. "Fearless Boogie", which was originally created during the Rhythmeen sessions under the working title "I'm Just the Miscreant", is good but lacks something, either a stronger solo, some unique flash, a more refined chorus, something.
Which brings up "Trippin'. This is properly the worst song they have ever done, to me. The vocals sound awful, the music is muddy and buried, its just horrible. Never should have made the cut.
"Ninja Shack" on the Japanese release, despite typical non-sensical lyrics, has an electrifying gritty guitar tone and features a biting two minute outro solo.
The live tracks are not live, which I think most real fans know by now. They are however pretty good, especially "Teddy Bear" - Dusty's smooth Elvis vocals and Billy's awesome guitar work propel this song to the top three on the entire album.
Interestingly the band also recorded "live" versions of "Bang Bang" and "Dreadmonboogaloo", which I have. They are not convincing however, and "Bang Bang" is not even as good as the many real live versions that exist from the 1996-1997 and 1999-2000 tours.
My theory - Billy was pissed that RCA did not promote "Rhythmeen" and pissed that it did not sell well. The group was not really into "XXX", and this carried over to "Mescalero" (the difference being Billy was inspired during the latter). The album is rushed, poorly produced, and blemished. Even the title was given little thought. Not a high point in the bands career.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Obligatory Lists
For no other reason than it seemed pointless and boring, I never tried to formulate and make a list of my favorite ZZ Top albums, from favorite to "least favorite". But what the hell, it's my blog.
01) Rhythmeen
02) Mescalero
03) Tejas
04) Afterburner
05) Antenna
06) Rio Grande Mud
07) La Futura
08) XXX
09) Recycler
10) Fandango
11) Eliminator
12) ZZ Top's First Album
13) Tres Hombres
14) El Loco
15) Deguello
Over time "Antenna" has moved up several notches and XXX and El Loco have moved down. Other than that and the new entry of "La Futura", the order has roughly been the same for years.
01) Rhythmeen
02) Mescalero
03) Tejas
04) Afterburner
05) Antenna
06) Rio Grande Mud
07) La Futura
08) XXX
09) Recycler
10) Fandango
11) Eliminator
12) ZZ Top's First Album
13) Tres Hombres
14) El Loco
15) Deguello
Over time "Antenna" has moved up several notches and XXX and El Loco have moved down. Other than that and the new entry of "La Futura", the order has roughly been the same for years.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
La Futura correspondent review
Senor Volto offers his thoughts on "La Futura":
***
Musically, Billy’s guitar is outstanding as he shows us some
new tricks, as well as quoting some of his old licks. Also, his (excellent) slide is obvious on at
least four songs and is really highlighted on Chartreuse and Breakdown. The rhythm section is equally up for the task
and sounds great. Billy’s vocals sound
very good as he has settled into the same voice we hear at live shows. Dusty’s vocals continue to be a mystery. At a show in May of this year, Dusty’s voice
was way down in the mix on several songs, which seems to agree with how his
voice is mixed on LF. But then he rips
it up on Drive By Lover. The first four
tracks (Texicali) are crammed full of stuff – guitars, overdubs and sound
effects. Maybe this was Rubin’s
doing. But the rest of the album has
some “space” – one song has just one guitar track – that allows the band to
breathe and play more as a trio. It’s
also cool how some of the songs have rough “jam style” endings (Lose, Lose You
for example). That said, I’m sure ZZ can
blast away on any of these 12 tracks live.
Let’s hope 2013 has some more LF songs!
We heard leading up to the release that the band started
with loads of CDs full of musical thoughts, which makes one think about the
selection of songs on LF. Were those the
best 10 (or 12) songs? We heard Dusty
sing Future Blues again last year (sounded great), and it was said to be one of
the working tracks for LF. How come no
Dusty lead vocal on the original 10 songs?
There were also teases of other tunes (Mexican?) that weren’t on
LF. Last comment - LA FUTURA is very
good, but it won’t knock Rhythmeen out of my top spot.
Extra Credit (Bonus Tracks)
Side Note – either of the bonus
tracks would have been right at home on XXX.
Final Score 93 (111/120), Grade = A
***
I will start by saying that I think LA FUTURA (LF) is a damn
good album, and it fully meets my expectations.
It was good to read BFG’s track-by-track description about how the ten
songs (excluding the bonus tracks) on the album came about, but it would have
been nice to hear any morsel of information about the album from Dusty or
Frank. The music sounds really good on
LF although I don’t agree with BFG about once said “a mixture of Tres Hombres
and Eliminator”. I think it’s more of a
Mescalero/Rhythmeen/ Recycler/ Eliminator/XXX mashup with a couple of glances
to the Pre-Eliminator stuff. The album
is more of a rock album than a blues album, but that’s OK. I think the fans that were cast off by XXX
and Mescalero will be reeled back in with this one.
- I
Gotsta Get Paid – Great opening number – sets the tone for the rest of the
album. Nice strong backup vocals
from Dusty. Overdubs galore. Approved by the H-Town Hip-Hop
crew. ‘Nuff said! Score = 10.
- Chartreuse
– Keepin’ the pedal to the metal with this one. The only blues shuffle beat on the
album. The song works great and
features the best slide guitar on the original 10 tracks. Score = 9.5.
- Consumption
–Good song, but one point deduction because of its place in the track
order. Sounds too close to Chartreuse,
but with a straight four beat, and is saved by some more nice slide work.
Score = 8.5.
- Over
You – This one has grown on me. I
like the “uplifting” chords at the end.
However, I think the song could do without the string synth – maybe
a pedal steel, violin, mandolin (or nothing) instead. Score = 9.
- Heartache
in Blue – Chang Chang, it’s just the thang. Has that “What’s Up With That” killer
vibe. This song would sound great
even without the super harp (once again by James Harman). Fuzzy guitar solo with phrasing that
would make Albert Collins proud.
Score = 10.
- I Don’t
Wanna Lose, Lose You – My personal favorite. Straight-ahead rocker with a pounding
rhythm section featuring Frank’s sledgehammer snare. Two very tasty eight bar guitar
solos. Try to get this one out of
your head! Another one that could
easily be done live (2013?). Score
= 10
- Flyin’
High – This one is controversial. The original version (that I prefer) sounds
a lot more like ZZ than the one on the album. The opening chords on the LF version sound
just like AC/DC or even Journey. That
said, the LF version could easily be a big-hit crossover on country or pop
radio stations. Score = 7.5.
- It’s
Too Easy Manana – Change of pace.
The first solo is a spacey delay-drenched twisting riff that would
be right at home on a Pink Floyd song.
Would have liked the delay on the second solo as well. The “left
turn” outro that says “Decision or Collision” to me, but I can’t help but
wondering what the rest of that jam sounded like. Score = 9.
- Big
Shiny Nine – The double (or triple) entendre song. Nuts and bolts – Smith, Wesson and Colts
– great line! Nice guitar fills and
solos. Again would like to hear
more of the outro. Score = 9.
- Have A
Little Mercy – Kind of a letdown as the final (original) track. The song just kind of fizzles out at the
end. Score = 8.5
Extra Credit (Bonus Tracks)
- Threshold
Of A Breakdown – Really good straight-up rocker song featuring the best
slide work of all the tracks. The
rhythm guitar sounds like it was lifted from XXX. Score = 10
- Drive
By Lover – Cha Cha Cha! Finally, a
lead vocal from the Dust! More
screaming guitar from BFG. The last
note is an exclamation point providing a much stronger ending to the album
than “Mercy”. Score = 10
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Ballad (of Sir Frankie Crisp)
So, "Over You"....
I like it. I do. Some people don't. Let's talk about it....
To me it represents the third ballad in ZZ's history, following "Leila" and "Rough Boy". To me "Breakaway" is neither blues nor a ballad, but that's another topic for discussion.
"Leila" is hit or miss. It is uncharacteristic of the Top, and likely does not suit the majority of fans' tastes. But can we criticize a band for an eccentric song when at the same time we praise the band for not sticking to a formula and their incessant willingness to try different genres?
"Rough Boy" is the best of the three in my opinion. Whether you opine that "Afterburner" sounds dated and metallic is a moot point. This song fit perfectly in the mid 1980's music scene, and the band made a concentrated effort to prove that first they could write such a song and secondly make it a damn good one. Like Dusty once said, they didn't lose any longtime fans when the ballad reached the airwaves, but they gained a lot of new ones, especially women, which ain't a bad thing.
"Over You" is somewhere in between. The lyrics are simple like "Rough Boy" and Billy's gravel road voice fits the context perfectly. What the song lacks are the slick, smooth, effortless guitar licks that, especially in the outro, made "Rough Boy" such an amazingly proficient number. Billy's ability to pull out the absolute best solo, the only solo, that could ever fit "Rough Boy" was proof the band, even under intense pressure, could rise to the occasion and do no wrong during that 1981 to 1987 period. "Over You" seems to lack the focus, drive and concentrated guitar work that is essential to projecting that ZZ "sound". Jeff Beck commented that Billy is the greatest at knowing when it is better to NOT play a note rather than to, but in this instance additional takes and trial and error could have proved beneficial and elevated a good song to a great song. Isn't It a Pity....
I like it. I do. Some people don't. Let's talk about it....
To me it represents the third ballad in ZZ's history, following "Leila" and "Rough Boy". To me "Breakaway" is neither blues nor a ballad, but that's another topic for discussion.
"Leila" is hit or miss. It is uncharacteristic of the Top, and likely does not suit the majority of fans' tastes. But can we criticize a band for an eccentric song when at the same time we praise the band for not sticking to a formula and their incessant willingness to try different genres?
"Rough Boy" is the best of the three in my opinion. Whether you opine that "Afterburner" sounds dated and metallic is a moot point. This song fit perfectly in the mid 1980's music scene, and the band made a concentrated effort to prove that first they could write such a song and secondly make it a damn good one. Like Dusty once said, they didn't lose any longtime fans when the ballad reached the airwaves, but they gained a lot of new ones, especially women, which ain't a bad thing.
"Over You" is somewhere in between. The lyrics are simple like "Rough Boy" and Billy's gravel road voice fits the context perfectly. What the song lacks are the slick, smooth, effortless guitar licks that, especially in the outro, made "Rough Boy" such an amazingly proficient number. Billy's ability to pull out the absolute best solo, the only solo, that could ever fit "Rough Boy" was proof the band, even under intense pressure, could rise to the occasion and do no wrong during that 1981 to 1987 period. "Over You" seems to lack the focus, drive and concentrated guitar work that is essential to projecting that ZZ "sound". Jeff Beck commented that Billy is the greatest at knowing when it is better to NOT play a note rather than to, but in this instance additional takes and trial and error could have proved beneficial and elevated a good song to a great song. Isn't It a Pity....
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