Published on Apr 25, 1997
The Texas trio better known as ZZ Top realized something a few
years ago: the days of
Eliminator are over.
Realizing they will probably never again reach the height of
popularity they did in 1984, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty
Hill dug back into their past and re-discovered the blues-rock root
they were banging out when they started back in the early ’70s.
Unfortunately, their first effort in that vein in some time,
Antenna, was a poor attempt in both the songwriting and
performance category. Sure, “Pincushion” was a decent song, but one
song does not an album make.
Their latest effort,
Rhythmeen, is a major improvement in both areas, giving the
boys something they haven’t had in almost 10 years: an enjoyable
album. (Too bad it’s been critically and commercially ignored.)
The first single, “What’s Up With That,” shows ZZ Top finally
capturing the groove that has eluded them in their last few
releases. Gibbons’ guitar work is in fine form, as is the drumming
of Beard. (Beard made the mistake of switching to electronic drums
back in their heyday; on
Rhythmeen, he shows just how good acoustic drums sound.)
The title track opens the album and hooks the listener in with
its smooth but funky groove; this is what ZZ Top was known for when
they started out and produced some of their best material. The
dance continues with “Bang Bang,” a song which shows the trio knows
how to whip out the groove yet still not take themselves too
seriously, a mistake they made with “Cover Your Rig” on
Antenna.
While a few tracks like “Black Fly” show a little weakness,
other cuts like “Vincent Price Blues” redeem ZZ Top quickly. Hill’s
subtle bass work combines with Beard’s drumming to create a
hypnotizing backbeat, while Gibbons’ guitar work provides the icing
to the blues-rock cake. Also worth checking out are “Hairdresser,”
“My Mind Is Gone,” “Zipper Job” and “Humbucking Part 2.”
While the days of the MTV-like popularity are long gone, ZZ Top
do what they do best on
Rhythmeen, and prove to their fans (and themselves) that
these are the good old days.