Review ZZ Top- Eliminator (1983) **** 1/2

[Catfish]

Classic Rock Album of the Day- ZZ Top- Eliminator (1983) **** 1/2

Surprised a 100+ reviews in, I have not been asked to turn in my Texas Card by not reviewing this Texas masterpiece. By the early 1980's ZZ Top were already in legendary status. The encompassive infusion of bluez and gut buzzing rock was their hallmark, and man did they ever let loose with Eliminator, their 8th studio album.

What really help get this album started, was the interesting development that the generally aloof and mysterious Top had joined the video revolution, and they did some very catchy videos with Hot Cars, Hot Women, and Hot Music. Did it work? Hell yeah. This album reached that lofty level of diamond status in the US of 10M sales. Yeah, the band used some schtick, but man was it ever backed up by some fine music.

Eliminator, at its surface, is the Top's most pop and hook friendly fare. Yeah, hard core fans were pretty ticked that Billy turned his back on his bread and butter bluez, but don't get me wrong, this album almost 100% has that feeling, and really it only boils down to the semantics of delivery. I had friends who yelled "sell out", but not me.... I thought this album kicked ass. And I could look past the cheesy videos and fuzzy guitars in deference to the tunes.

Maybe that cheezieness is why I don't give this album a near perfect rating. A very consistent LP, but not perfect either. (but close)

Fun Fact: Celebrate the fact these guys have been a band 52 years now. What a career.

Side 1-
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Gimme All Your Lovin'- Awwwww yeah.... Bombastic bluez mastering blast right off the bat. No one did better than the Top. 1

Got Me Under Pressure- Similar theme, and feel. And result. 4

Sharp Dressed Man- Might be a hard pressed to find a finer 1st 3 on an album that culimanates with this masterpiece. Another that is often defined by its video. Which is a shame, because musically wise, this is some of the more innovative riffing and hook that is seldom seen in hard rock- ZZ Top is unique. No one sounds like them, or dares to. 2

I Need You Tonight- Not to totally tick off the tradionalist, Gibbons gives the crowd a more traditonal blues number. Not bad, but the standards are high, considering the rest. 9

I Got the Six- Standard hard rock, and tad off the blues tilt. Sounds a lot like of the stuff of the Deguello era. 8

Side 2-
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Legs- 3rd installation of their MTV video Top-Car-Guy-Girl thang. Rocking number, and another example of the consistency of this album. 3

Thug- Standard fare and blues reprise, of and within string thumping, that is pretty unique to Top's catalog. Not bad. 7

TV Dinnners- Love the inane theme here. But this as a contribution, is the most bluezy and ballzy of the lot. Only ZZ Top could make hits with such simplistic stuff. 6

Dirty Dog- This one is the real sleeper on the LP. Maybe the hottest solo licks. Billy lets loose on this one. 5

If I Could Only Flag Her Down- More traditional type of blues fare. This is the one my friends cite as an ode to classic retro Top. You can't argue that Gibbons, Hill, and Beard almost give the fans what they want. Me? I was digging what then was the current stuff. This not as much. 10

Bad Girl- Off tangent, and off topic. Never understood why the band finished this classic with a tune so void on substance and originality. They could have stopped at 10 songs, and help solidfy the album's legacy. 11

 

[dr wu]

ZZTop started as an interesting band and I had their original first 3 lps in college ....at that time they had a unique blues rock/boogie thing going on. I felt they had a chance to do some really interesting blues rock with decent lyrics but it became a schtick with the beards and sunglasses.
I dont think they ever did what they were capable of and mostly were in it for the money and fun.
Were they an overrated band...? Probably... but the public loves that kind of thing more than they do bands with 'serious musicians'.
The best of lps are the ones to get imho if you like ZZTop's radio hits.

 

[Catfish]

ZZTop started as an interesting band and I had their original first 3 lps in college ....at that time they had a unique blues rock/boogie thing going on. I felt they had a chance to do some really interesting blues rock with decent lyrics but it became a schtick with the beards and sunglasses.
I dont think they ever did what they were capable of and mostly were in it for the money and fun.
Were they an overrated band...? Probably... but the public loves that kind of thing more than they do bands with 'serious musicians'.
The best of lps are the ones to get imho if you like ZZTop's radio hits.

Valid points. But as a Texan, there is kind of a home team charm that is unique to us. And there might be some infused bias in that.

 

[BeatleMatt]

Good criticisms from Dr. Wu and Catfish here.

Sure I heard and liked all those radio hits from ZZ Top from earlier in their career but Eliminator was the first album I bought. The girls and the cars in those promo music videos were nice. The three band members lined up walking like Egyptians and windmill hand gestures was a little cheesy but the music really had more of my attention. These guys have been riding high on the success of these formulas ever since, though.

“TV Dinners” gets my vote for the dirtiest blues guitar sound on the album. Fantastic. I often wondered but at the same time I don’t want to spoil the magic of how he gets that pinch harmonic sound.