The Album Review Club - Week #145 - (page 1923) - Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans

[GornikDaze]

Yes, the reason why you picked it came through from your excellent write-up, and that is indeed the kind of reasoning that works well on this thread, helping others understand your emotional investment in an album.

I think often, it is your first exposure to an artist that hits you the most strongly - and stays with you. Eliminator did that for me. I don't play it much anymore, but in that first year or so, it was an important album for me.

Listening to all those albums now, I definitely prefer the earlier, rawer stuff - Deguello and Rio Grande Mud over albums like Afterburner and Recycler. But when I say "raw", I still stick by my comment that there's not a massive difference pre- and post-Eliminator. They never seems to do any acoustic blues on their albums and it's all very fuzzy, A songs like "Cheap Sunglasses" would sound right at home on Eliminator.

Just for you… this is as close they get I think

 

[RobMCFC]

Just for you… this is as close they get I think

I missed Tejas out so I’ll give it a go over the next few days.

 

[OB1]

Correct. Here's what Gornik had to say about the album.

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I’m still working on a metal orientated album for a choice to be debated. For my nomination this time round I’ve gone for one of my all time favourite artists - ZZ Top.

It annoys me that these boys are best known for their Eliminator era stuff. Whilst I found this enjoyable it was their earlier music that attracted me. For those blues aficionados I haven’t gone for one of the early albums which are awesome (Tres Hombres, Rio Grande Mud in particular), instead my album of choice is Deguello.

This was the first ZZ Top album I bought, and it was deliberately the first album I bought on CD (so I would always remember my first CD purchase… my second was Brothers In Arms).

Following a two year hiatus when the band famously went on their separate sabbaticals and Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill returned with their now trademark beards - they recorded and released Deguello in 1979.

This is one of those albums I can listen to at anytime, and it never gets old. The opening notes of I Thank You (a cover of an Isaac Hayes and David Porter tune from the late 60s) just puts me into a real happy place.

Compared to their earlier albums there was some experimentation with their sound. Billy Gibbons had some punk exposure whilst travelling in Europe and there was a conscious effort to new technology - Manic Mechanic being an example.

She Loves My Automobile couple with Hi Fi Mama the boys credited with the baritone and alto and tenor sax. To my knowledge sax thankfully did not appear on any of their later albums.

The next two tracks - I’m Bad I’m Nationwide and A Fool For Your Stockings showcase what this trio do when they get it right - awesome tight blues music. Gibbons masterful guitar solos and licks and the driving bass section delivered by Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

Manic Mechanic as mentioned earlier is of its time and I tolerate it now because it fits into the overall feel of the album, but for me is the weakest track.

Side B starts with an immense cover of Dust My Broom. My original vinyl copy credits this to Elmore James, but later versions credit it correctly to Robert Johnson. Again this is an amazing blues song which is covered impeccably.

Lowdown In The Street whilst not a star track has more incredible licks from Gibbons. His overall playing on the album is just masterful and it is one of the main reasons I love it so much.

Hi Fi Mama - return of the sax! A great tempo to a song which just oozes ZZ Top tightness but with a fun edge. On this album Dusty Hill sings the main vocal and proves he had a great voice.

For me, Cheap Sunglasses is one of my all time favourites by any bad. I think Gibbons has three solos on this which just never get old. I read an interview he did in a guitar magazine many years ago and each solo was recorded with different amp and guitar settings and whilst that sounds a bit technical they just blow me away and it’s one of those tunes I which went on for another few minutes at least.

Esther Be The One in its own way seems the perfect end to the album, the final notes just linger enough to keep you wanting more, so you turn it over and play it again (at least I used to!).

I know there are some not so great tracks on this album. I think it takes me back to a time unlike today, when skipping was awkward unlike a CD or stream, so you embraced the album as whole and I think the fillers are all the better for that. The stand out tracks I’m Bad I’m Nationwide, Fool For Your Stockings and Cheap Sunglasses were live staples for many years.

This is ZZ Top at their peak for me before the MTV hype saw them launch into the public domain. Go backwards from this album into their earlier work and there is plenty to tap your toes to. Being a FOC I very rarely move forward from this point, as it all got too familiar. As much as Billy Gibbons is a master guitarist, Hill and Beard are legends in their own right. It was a sad day when Dusty Hill passed, but in their own way and with Dusty’s blessing the band continues.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have over the years, if not, I tried my best!

I don't have much add.

Cheap Sunglasses is also one of my all time favourite tracks.

I give it an 8/10.

 

[OB1]

As well as sharp dressed! ;)

He just happens to be a brilliant guitarist as you referred to in your earlier post. Over the years he’s played with the best. As he’s got older, it’s funny how the best always want to play with him. Maybe he’s actually rather good

He's a brilliant guitarist. I had him at #10 in my list og favourite guitarists for the recent Blue Moon poll.

Lots of people do want to play with him. He's on one of the tracks on the wonderful new Ian Hunter album.

 

[andy h]

ZZ Top are a great feel-good band. I often have them the in my go to downloads when out for a run. I like pretty much all of their stuff. The first five albums all have good stuff on them. Eliminator took them to a different level. I remember seeing the videos on MTV and it gave them a new audience. Their longevity is due to Gibbons quirky lyrics and their tightness as a threesome. I think that their true essence is captured on Fandango! - such a killer album and a fantastic, raw live sound.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

ZZ Top remind me very much of a band at the opposite end of the alphabet - AC/DC.

I never, ever listen to either bands albums expecting - or hoping - for anything other than good old fashioned, well crafted rock n fuckin roll. And neither band disappoints. ZZ Top are brilliant at blues rock and are seriously underrated. I know they kind of moved to be a more 'clean' synthy-sound in the 80s but at their heart, they are one of the best blues rock bands.

This is a great album that I'd not heard for decades. Every track is at least good - probably my favourite is their cover of Dust My Broom, the guitar playing on that is just sublime.

This has been a really good pick for me and it was nice to hear an album I'd not heard for a long while.

8/10

 

[Coatigan]

This really exceeded my expectations. Mostly because my expectations were misplaced, but also, because it is quite good. Early on a few rated it quite low, compared to ZZ's other albums considered better. I have never listened to any of their other albums, so it didn't have that burden for me, I took it as its own album on its own merit.

Enjoyed the blues of it, coupled with the heavier riffs. Decent voice. I won't lie, individual songs didn't really stick with me in the 3 listens, it all kind of washed over me and got lost in an overall feel of the album. But that side of it did work, and while I made a flippant joke comparing it to JJ Cale, for me is actually quite similar in the sense it maintains a consistent feel. Probably could do with shortening some of the songs, and a lot less fading out (which I always find a bit of a cop-out). But other than that, a good week, and will look beyond it to some more of their work when in the right mood. I'll go with a solid 7.

 

[threespires]

Normally, if it's appropriate I'll have a bit of a 'listen around' the chosen album with some of the artists other stuff. However, given all the back and forth about early v later and me not really being familiar with them beyond MTV, I have found myself having a listen to Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango, El Loco, Eliminator and Afterburner.

Unfortunately this means I have just realised that I have only listened to the actual pick once so far! Will resolve that today tomorrow.

What I would say so far is that sticking 80's production gloss on their music does it no favours imo. You can hear it creeping in Eliminator and then by Afterburner it's frankly got daft.

El Loco strikes me as interestingly off kilter from their previous albums but the direction they then took it in for the two aforementioned albums strikes me as a misstep but given how big they got off the back of those two albums wtf do I know.

 

[RobMCFC]

Normally, if it's appropriate I'll have a bit of a 'listen around' the chosen album with some of the artists other stuff. However, given all the back and forth about early v later and me not really being familiar with them beyond MTV, I have found myself having a listen to Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango, El Loco, Eliminator and Afterburner.

Unfortunately this means I have just realised that I have only listened to the actual pick once so far! Will resolve that today tomorrow.

What I would say so far is that sticking 80's production gloss on their music does it no favours imo. You can hear it creeping in Eliminator and then by Afterburner it's frankly got daft.

El Loco strikes me as interestingly off kilter from their previous albums but the direction they then took it in for the two aforementioned albums strikes me as a misstep but given how big they got off the back of those two albums wtf do I know.

In addition to all the Spotify listening last week, I've been listening to my 2-CD best of in the car the last few days. The songs from Eliminator still really hold up, and I honestly can't hear that much synth on these songs. To me, they are ZZ Top at the top of their game - buzzing/crunching guitars underpinned by the blues.

On the other hand, the five tracks from Afterburner do sound horribly electronic. I do remember being disappointed when I bought it after the thrill of hearing Eliminator.

 

[OB1]

In addition to all the Spotify listening last week, I've been listening to my 2-CD best of in the car the last few days. The songs from Eliminator still really hold up, and I honestly can't hear that much synth on these songs. To me, they are ZZ Top at the top of their game - buzzing/crunching guitars underpinned by the blues.

On the other hand, the five tracks from Afterburner do sound horribly electronic. I do remember being disappointed when I bought it after the thrill of hearing Eliminator.

I did give Eliminator a spin after Deguello, well it sits after it on my iTunes, and it is a brilliant album. It's a very different production sound to Bill Ham's butI agree the basic songs are not much different in style.

Afterburner couldn't compete.

Mescalero might be Top's best album since Eliminator. Billy Gibbons' Perfectamundo is even better, than Mescalero.