Zack: ZZ Top are typically considered the Comic Sans of the rock world. They’re both cartoonish (ZZ Top with their beards and Comic Sans with its liberal use of squiggles) and inappropriate for formal occasions. But let’s be honest. ZZ Top isn’t the only laughable rock band out there. And Comic Sans definitely isn’t the only stupid font. If I can drop my unnecessary metaphor for a second, ZZ Top may be a bit ridiculous (the song I Got the Six has a point where you just hear “guess I’ll have to spank my monkey”) but they have plenty of company. At their worst, they’re equal to KISS. At their best, they’re closer to the AC/DC or Van Halen level. That’s a perfectly respectable level to be on. But believe me, the highs and lows are really that wide. Gimme All Your Lovin’ and Sharp Dressed Man are classics that always have a certain crispness to them. When they were playing, I couldn’t help but appreciate what I was listening to. But then I got to the second half of the album, more specifically the track TV Dinners. It’s exactly what it looks like. A song about how terrible TV dinners are. And it goes on for 4 minutes. I couldn’t believe that a song like that legitimately made it through the writing, recording, and producing phases without someone saying “wait a minute….I think we should scrap this.” I mean, there had to have been a B-side or something that would have been a better placeholder. Eliminator isn’t a life altering album by any stretch of the imagination. Some songs are good. Some are awful. And sure, ZZ Top can be frustrating because of those bad songs. But, at the end of the day, you could do worse than to listen to this album. Just like you could do worse than to write an entire blog post in Comic Sans.
Favorite Tracks: Sharp Dressed Man; Gimme All Your Lovin; Bad Girl
Emily: Fun fact – you know how the drummer from ZZ Top is the only one to not have a ridiculous beard? His name is…wait for it…Frank Beard! I can only imagine how that audition went: “So, you can’t grow a beard? I don’t know if we can take you.” “Well, my name is Beard.” “Alright, you’re in!” At least, that’s how I hope his audition went. Anyway, I think it says a lot that ZZ Top is a band best known for their ridiculous facial hair. They’re pretty much destined for the domain of fun facts. They’re big on shtick – songs about microwave meals, over-the-top videos with cars, girls, and furry guitars, and (of course) their iconic beards. On Eliminator, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s what they do, and come on, it was the ‘80s! At their best, they write tuneful, bluesy rock songs that are great for radio. Not every song hits that mark, but the ones that do are a fun listen.
Favorite Tracks: Sharp Dressed Man; Got Me Under Pressure; Gimme All Your Lovin
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