498: ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

Well, I didn't have anything to do tonight (for some reason, my Friday evenings tend to be the most boring), so I decided to listen to another one of the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums.  MOG didn't have Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign, so I had to skip it and move to the next (I'll get back to Mr. King eventually; I ordered the album on vinyl).  That would be ZZ Top's third album, Tres Hombres.

Release Date: July 26, 1973
Label: London


I'm not real familiar with ZZ Top, but I have heard a couple of their hits on classic rock radio over the years.  They also made an appearance on The Simpsons, when Bart runs into them and says, "Hey, you're ZZ Top! You guys rock!" One of the band members replies, "Eh, maybe a little."

Three songs in, I agree with them.  They do rock...a little.  They have a bit of a hard rock sound, with strong rhythm, and somewhat of a blues influence.  The first four tracks are all upbeat blues rock songs, with what I would call a typical ZZ Top sound.  There were no surprises there.  "Master of Sparks" was the first I really liked.

"Hot, Blue and Righteous," the last track on the front side, is the first ballad.  It is a typical, pedestrian ballad, and at just over three minutes, is not given nearly enough to develop like a ballad properly should.

The back side starts well, with "Move Me On Down The Line."  This is a driving rock song, with an excellent lead guitar part and the type of riffs you would expect from a good 70s hard rock song.  Again, at two and a half minutes, this song could have been so much more.

The overall sound of this album is a bit too muddy for my tastes.  The vocals are fairly low in the mix, and the rhythm guitar has a very low tone, muddled tone.  This seems to be fairly common in this type of music.

The middle track on the back, "La Grange," is an excellent track, and one of the aforementioned hits.  This song never had much of a melody, but it does have excellent drumming, and, in my opinion, one of the greatest riffs in rock music.  You know the one: bahda da da da da d daah daah....

The album ends with "Sheik," a lighter song with a fairly loose feel and a little bit of jamming, and a straight-up blues song, "Have You Heard?"

This is a record that I consider very listenable, but unessential.  They are a very typical blues rock band, without any major innovation or creative genius.  The singing is nothing to write home about, but they have proven that they can come up with some great riffs.  The back side is far superior to the front, so if you check it out, focus your energy on that.

Tracklist:

1	Waitin' for the Bus	2:59
2	Jesus Just Left Chicago	3:29
3	Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers	3:23
4	Master of Sparks	3:33
5	Hot, Blue and Righteous	3:14
6	Move Me on Down the Line	2:30
7	Precious and Grace	3:09
8	La Grange	3:51
9	Sheik	4:04
10	Have You Heard?	3:14

Two stars.  I am really temped to give them an extra star or two, just because of those awesome beards.



★★☆☆

The Black Crowes - Before The Frost...Until The Freeze

Release Date: August 31, 2009
Label: Silver Arrow

Lately, I've been on a huge Black Crowes kick.   I have been a casual Crowes fan since about when Lions (2001) came out, and that, Shake Your Money Maker, and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion have been hanging out in my collection for years.  If you don't know the Crowes, they're known for their fairly straightforward blues rock, with a bit of a southern flavor.  Early in their career, they had considerable success, and even toured with Jimmy Page in the late 90s.

The Crowes seem to have always been interested in some degree of experimentation, but it seemed their record company (American) didn't enjoy it quite so much.  When Amorica and Three Snakes And A Charm started to stray a bit, they were reigned in, and we got By Your Side.  They then reversed course, and Lions was a little weird, followed by a hiatus.  When they reunited and recorded Warpaint, they used very few takes, little to no overdubs, and even recorded one song outdoors.  This brings us to their latest non-compilation "studio" album, 2009's Before The Frost...Until The Freeze.

BTF...UTF was recorded live, in front of an audience of a couple hundred fans, in a converted barn in Woodstock, NY.  I'm not familiar with the details of the recording process (e.g., whether they used any overdubs to correct mistakes), but this certainly does give it a bit of a live atmosphere, although you might not know it if they hadn't left in the applause between tracks.

Levon Helm's studio, where the recording took place

This recording is technically two albums.  When you pick up the physical product at the store, you get Before The Frost... in the cardboard sleeve, which comes with a card that allows you to download ...Until The Freeze from The Black Crowes' website.  Before The Frost... gives us a fairly typical Black Crowes, with their signature style of blues rock.  It is a bit more experimental than we're used to: I Ain't Hiding has a disco feel to it, and there is some folk influence in there as well.

...Until The Freeze, in contrast, has almost no rock, and is essentially a folk album, with a slight bluegrass influence.  Contrary to what some perhaps less adventurous Crowes fans might say, it is my opinion that this disc is what makes Before The Frost...Until The Freeze the penultimate album of the Crowes' career.  This is what truly demonstrates their creative ability, and their aptitude for writing timeless tunes that don't adhere to a worn out formula.  Repetition is something they may have been guilty of in the past, but there is none of that here.

The Crowes' have supplemented this newfound folk sound with a complete acoustic reworking of all their hits in 2010's Croweology, but that's a subject for another review.

Track List:
Before The Frost...

1	Good Morning Captain	3:24
2	Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love)	7:47
3	Appaloosa	3:35
4	A Train Still Makes a Lonely Sound	4:23
5	I Aint Hiding	5:57
6	Kept My Soul	5:23
7	What Is Home?	5:13
8	Houston Don't Dream About Me	5:05
9	Make Glad	4:18
10	And the Band Played on...	4:12
11	The Last Place That Love Lives	4:57

...Until The Freeze

1	Aimless Peacock	6:40
2	The Shady Grove	4:42
3	The Garden Gate	4:21
4	Greenhorn	7:12
5	Shine Along	4:47
6	Roll Old Jeremiah	4:40
7	Lady of Ave. A	5:20
8	So Many Times	4:53
9	Fork in the River	4:11

The vinyl edition came with the tracks in an alternate order; this is said to be the real intended order of the tracks.  I recommend listening to the album in this order.  In this presentation, there are not two separate albums:
1. Aimless Peacock
2. Good Morning Captain
3. Been A Long Time (Waiting on Love)
4. Greenhorn
5. Appaloosa
6. The Shady Grove
7. The Garden Gate
8. Shine Along
9. Roll Old Jeremiah
10. Houston Don't Dream About Me
11. I Ain't Hiding
12. Kept My Soul
13. Lady of Ave. A
14. Make Glad
15. And The Band Played On...
16. What Is Home?
17. So Many Times
18. A Train Still Makes a Lonely Sound
19. Fork in the River
20. The Last Place That Love Lives

These videos are from the "Cabin Fever" DVD, which I believe is official material, so don't be surprised if they disappear from Youtube:






Here are a couple that didn't make it on the album:




★★★★