I POLLed It On The ILX! - ILM Artist Poll #110 - ZZ Top - Results Thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVcSkSnPjA

For many years part of the official Driver's Ed curriculum in Texas was having to watch a video anthology of those ads hosted by Thunderbirds singer Kim Wilson.

yeah fab t-birds really what I have in mind there, tho obv there’s a whole incestuous Texas blues gtr scene thing there.

weirdly, tho he comes out of that I don’t think of Charlie Sexton that way at all. he’s carved out his own style and signature licks. it’s a damn shame “under the wishing tree” has disappeared into the “not on any streaming service” memory hole.

Billy's said the other big influence on streamlining their sound on Degüello (aside from New Wave) was hearing the Antone's/Rome Inn Blues band scene (Thunderbirds, Paul Ray & The Cobras, Triple Threat Revue--the latter pair featuring a young Stevie Vaughan), which was very 'back to basics'.

Ironically, the T-Birds finally broke big with "Tuff Enuff", which was sort of a fusion of Eliminator and that other bar band w/synths triumph of 1983, Sports.

Feel like Robert Cray sort of fits? No synths or new wave crossover aspirations, but I’m pretty sure the first time I was made aware of Strong Persuader was via either MTV or VH1?

Yeah, Cray came in right at the end of it, and was a bigger and longer-lasting critic's pet than most of the aforementioned artists too.

More Blue Wave: J. Geils Band, Sanctuary & onwards.

Their conversion even closely mirrors ZZ Top's, except their release calendar was a little faster, and they slowly fell apart after their Eliminator moment in Freeze-Frame.

I wonder if ZZ Top wish they came up with the "Concealed Weapons" video concept before Geils did.

^^Probably why "Woke Up With Wood" never got an official single release.

https://www.lifesafer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/stevie-wonder-drunk-driving.jpg.optimal.jpg

34. “Arrested For Driving While Blind”
Tejas, 1976
48 Points (3 Votes)

The Track
Six Pack Version
Live New Year's Eve '77
Live In Germany 1980

good song, better title

i missed that "move me on down the line" placed. one of those fun songs that i like to categorize as "zz stones"

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/ohgRQYlaYHDcmW-UVUEQPUrBu9s=/0x147:2047x1213/960x500/media/img/mt/2017/08/RTRJCL1/original.jpg

33. “Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell”
Rio Grande Mud, 1972
51 Points (2 Votes)

The Track
Six Pack Version
T.K. Hulin: "I'm Not A Fool Anymore"

Hmm, this one is kind of pro forma to me.

it's pretty, but a lil too long. i never really thought they were suited to making a slow burner like this one. could use some keys.

#33 seems about right here tbh

https://clickamericana.com/wp-content/uploads/Vintage-80s-7-Eleven-stores-from-1984-2-750x547.jpg

32. “My Head’s In Mississippi”
Recycler, 1990
52 Points (3 Votes)

Music Video
Live 2010s(?)

Not being familiar with Recycler I discovered this via the Rancho Texicano comp. When I saw them in 2019 it was one of the few non-mega-blockbuster hits in their setlist. It's not astoundingly great, but I like this return to their John Lee Hooker-isms a lot.

I think it being included on the '92 hits album (and all subsequent comps) really helped its staying power; it's also somewhat surprisingly become a Classic Rock radio staple of sorts. In the quoted interviews on wiki, Billy implies that working on it got the band functioning as a unit again in the studio.

Recycler has a soft spot in my heart cuz I remember buying it when it came out with my own scratch at the time, "My Head's In Mississippi" is probably the best thing on it (the video for "Burger Man" aside)

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ae/81/f7/ae81f744a3ed2f7c1d9a8ae1641d738c.jpg

31. “Blue Jean Blues”
Fandango!, 1975
58 Points (3 Votes)

The Track
Six Pack Version
Live In Texas 2008
Reaction Video

great pic!

I like this but I don't think it made my ballot

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/d4/95/11d4956ac502a4012dccecd5a578f566.png

30. “She Loves My Automobile”
Degüello, 1979
62 Points (3 Votes)

The Track
Live In Germany 1980
Live On TV w/Willie Nelson

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/_newness/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/calexico.jpg

29. “Asleep In The Desert”
Tejas, 1976
79 Points (5 Votes)

The Track
Six Pack Version

yayyy I voted for this, a unique moment in their catalog

Didn't vote for this as a track, but it was part of the reason why Tejas was my #1 album.

https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media/__sized__/canonical_images/feature/Duel_duel_canonical-resize-1200x0-50.jpg

28. “Ten Dollar Man”
Tejas, 1976
80 Points (3 Votes)

The Track
Six Pack Version

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000603758956-65x3ed-t500x500.jpg

27. “I Got The Six”
Eliminator, 1983
82 Points (4 Votes)

The Track
Rehearsal/Demo Version (from Lindon Hudson's archives)

https://fffmovieposters.com/wp-content/uploads/53786.jpg

26. “Sleeping Bag”
Afterburner, 1985
83 Points (5 Votes)

Music Video
12-Inch Mix
Live 1991
I, Tonya scene

That "Sleeping Bag" 12-inch is fire.

yes it is

I know I mentioned this on the polling thread but the nod to “back in black” in the chorus is so choice.

oh wow a few that i voted for

"asleep in the desert" - beautiful tex-mex instrumental, and an ideal closer for their weirdest record
"ten dollar man" - rollicking I-bVII-IV banger with an amazing dusty vocal and some of my fav screeching gibbons guitar sounds (and hints of deguello-style slickness in the rhythm guitar). was my #3.
"i got the six" - another dusty banger and my highest-rated track from eliminator. love the bawdy single entendre of the chorus, and the driving drum machine. a buttrock anthem scrubbed to an immaculate sheen.

"Ten Dollar Man" was my #8, unusual in that the tone seems genuinely angry rather than their usual mode of detached amusement.

Thinking about Afterburner, what if it hadn't wound up being a New Jersey? Could ZZ Top ever have remained truly giant stars, or were there limitations to how popular they could have ever been?

I recommend checking out that "I Got The Six" demo I linked to: it's from Hudson's own account and he includes some text screens explaining the behind the scenes work that went into Eliminator (plus his bitterness about getting fucked over). Wish there were (any) more of these tapes out there.

just catching up and also created a playlist to listen along with this.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TPUD7qltIYU86wQhcZtMY?si=339355471d444fe6
i think only one of my picks has shown up so far.

Thinking about Afterburner, what if it hadn't wound up being a New Jersey? Could ZZ Top ever have remained truly giant stars, or were there limitations to how popular they could have ever been?

I think the only way they could have pulled that off they would have to had 'pulled an Aerosmith' and brought in song doctors/outside producers etc. They were so hermetically sealed off by Bill Ham, and God help anybody coming in with their own outlook (just ask Lindon Hudson!).

Of course, five years between Afterburner and Recycler (and Recycler being what it is) didn't help.

XP Thanks Spottie for doing the Spotify!

https://www.ghostofthedoll.co.uk/retromusings/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Hanes-1954-LIFE-11-Jan-1954.jpg

25. “A Fool For Your Stockings”
Degüello, 1979
83 Points (4 Votes)

The Track
Live In Germany 1980 with bonus "Funky Dogs and Nasty Kings", which...

http://assets.rootsvinylguide.com/pictures/funky-kings-funky-kings-1976-usa-stereo-arista-lp-al-4078-n-m-only-album_14443602

24. “Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings”
Fandango!, 1975
85 Points (4 Points)

The Track
Six Pack Version
Live On Jools Holland 1996

I ranked "Stockings" much higher, but that's okay. I don't actually think it's a particularly great song, just a groove I like a lot.

Fun Trivia: "A Fool..." is other Classic Rock tune featured in the original version of SNL's "Schmidt's Gay" ad parody.

As seen here: https://vimeo.com/169759649

nasty dogs has a killer groove. love how its a short song that fades out for the last 30 seconds like its some epic

http://www.kitfoster.com/images/2009-12-9_58Peugeot403SeatsWeb-Large.jpg

23. “I Wanna Drive You Home”
El Loco, 1981
88 Points (4 Votes)

The Track

love "fool for your stockings," probably the slinkiest groove on an album where "listen to this slinky groove" is the name of the game

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-35e2b3f7b2e54060f8f1b74b56c1a0b3

22. “Pearl Necklace”
El Loco, 1981
95 Points (5 Votes)

The Track

^The Day I Finally Learned What That Song Was Really About...That Was A DAY

now THAT'S my idea of a ZZ Top groove