Published on Apr 18, 2003
The more I listen to ZZ Top over the years, the more I realize
that going through their albums is not unlike riding a
rollercoaster. Billy Gibbons and crew came off of the low that was
Tejas with one of their best albums,
Deguello, in 1979. One had to wonder whether their follow-up
album would continue to see ZZ Top soar, or if they would come
barreling down the hill with another half-hearted effort.
El Loco, ZZ Top’s 1981 release (and seventh album overall),
regrettably didn’t reflect the musical recharging of batteries that
Deguello did, and is a disappointment when compared to their
previous effort, but this disc isn’t totally without merit.
The two songs off of
El Loco which get significant airplay on classic rock radio
— “Tube Snake Boogie” and “Pearl Necklace” — are, unfortunately,
the best songs on this disc. Continuing in the blues-boogie vein
which became their bread and butter, ZZ Top drive these songs home
courtesy of an infectious bass line from Dusty Hill, Gibbons’s
fluid guitar work and a solid backbeat from Frank Beard. In a
sense, one can’t be too unhappy with these tracks, since they do
carry on the successes that ZZ Top forged on
Deguello with songs like “Cheap Sunglasses,” and they do
prove to be worthy follow-ups.
Possibly the one track which will be overlooked on El Loco
because of its quirkiness is “Heaven, Hell Or Houston” — featuring
a creepy yet funny spoken vocal line delivered in a mock Vincent
Price style. Again, one needs only to go back to
Deguello and “Manic Mechanic” to see the bloodline of this
track — but there’s something unique about this particular song
which makes it one you’ll find yourself going back to time and time
again. Namely, it’s fun to listen to, blues purity be damned for
just three minutes.
If only the rest of
El Loco were as infectious. Granted, the bulk of this disc
isn’t as tired-sounding as
Tejas was, but it’s hardly the level of musical success that
fans had come to expect from ZZ Top. Tracks like “Leila,” “I Wanna
Drive You Home” and, to an extent, “Don’t Tease Me” all fail to hit
the mark. Are they bad tracks? I wouldn’t go that far. Instead,
they have the atmosphere of being throw-away songs — tracks which
might have been written for other albums but were not deemed to be
strong enough to make the cut. of (Like other discs in
The ZZ Top Sixpack, which is where I have my copy of
El Loco, I’m willing to concede that the absolutely crappy
remix of these albums could be more than a minor contribution to
this feeling.)
And yet, there is the occasional pang of questioning I feel when
listening to this disc. I have to wonder what it could have been
had there been some stronger work on
El Loco. I mean, “Don’t Tease Me” isn’t a terrible track,
and could have been something to watch had it been given a little
more attention (especially in the mix). “Party On The Patio” is the
kind of track which could start impromptu keggers in the street,
but it’s so far buried on this disc that its power is somewhat
blunted by the time you do get to it.
El Loco might not be ZZ Top’s worst album, and it does
suggest that the band learned some lessons with the success of
Deguello. But it also doesn’t hold a candle to some of their
best work, suggesting that not all their lessons had been learned
on
Tejas. Fortunately, another extended break was coming up for
the band – one which would lead to the album that would vault them
into superstar level.