Away Team

VARIOUS ARTISTS

ZZ TOP: A Tribute From Friends

Show Dog/Universal Music

7 out of 10

ZZ Top is one of those bands that you hear on the radio and think, ‘Well it rocks, but it doesn’t sound complicated. It couldn’t be THAT hard to cover them.’ Then you heard this album and you think, ‘Wow, Kudos to ZZ Top for being criminally underrated for what they do!’ Apparently Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard are much better blues drenched rockers than one would think given this latest tribute album to them.

There are some notable exceptions, and one of them you are all going to scream for me to never grace this wonderful website with my opinions again, once I tell you who it is, and how fucking good their rendition of a certain ZZ Top classic is.

The highlight of this album, for me, has got to be Grace Potter & The Nocturnals singing about Tush! The song takes on a whole new meaning when Grace croons ‘I’m just lookin’ for some tush’. Musically the song is a solid rocker, and a fine effort by The Nocturnals, but when Grace squeals, ‘Ooh give it to me!’ I am sold! Lord, take ME downtown for Grace is lookin’ for some Tush… Indeed. And the breakdown they create in the middle of the song…. Should make every man stand tall, and every woman weak kneed as she whispers, moans, and sings about her tush obsessed journey.

Wolfmother turn in a great version of Cheap Sunglasses. Pretty much straightforward rendition of the song, although they take it on a Wolfmother tinged journey at the end for the outro. Fuzzy is an understatement here. But it is well worth its wooliness because it may be the 3rd or 4th best cut on the album.

The odd song out unfortunately seems to have the best possibility of being huge just based on the people involved, M.O.B. (Mick Fleetwood, Steven Tyler, Jonny Lang, John McVie) is one of those super group side projects that on paper looks appetizing as hell, but when the finished product is displayed there lacks a certain heart in the song, and Sharp Dressed Man comes up a bit flat.

Duff McKagan’s Loaded take on Got Me Under Pressure, and it is the best I have ever heard them. It is a sleazy dirty rendition of one of my favorite ZZ Top songs, and while the bearded ones had their bluesy sleaze on this, Loaded go pure Sunset Strip sleaze all over it.

Daughtry hold their own on the 8 minute long Waitn’ For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago. A difficult song to pull off well, but Chris and his boys do it justice.

La Grange may be the most ZZ Top song that ZZ Top has ever recorded. There isn’t another band or person out there that can possibly pull off La Grange and make it sound good. Oh Wait! Jamey Johnson just proved me wrong! Holy shit, if ZZ Top ever wants to pull a KISS and retire and just let someone else play their music, then the trio from Texas need look no further than Jamey Johnson. Musically this track is the jam. Jamey and his band go OFF on La Grange. God Bless the Hammond B organ, which is used to perfection on this. And just when you think they’re going pulling it back in, off on another tear they go. If it weren’t for the beautiful Grace Potter singing about ass, this would be my favorite track off the album. For sheer musicianship it is. As good as Daughtry was on Waitin’ For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago, Jamey Johnson and his band show them and everyone else how it is to be done. This song alone is worth the price of the CD. Don’t believe me? Go buy it, listen, love it, you’ll thank me later.

Filter takes Gimme All Your Lovin’ and make it 100% their own. Yes it is a ZZ Top song, and yes, if you know the song, you’ll know it is ZZ Top, but once Filter gets a hold of it, it is 100% all Filter from there.

And now, this is where you start throwing stones at me. Nickelback has the unenviable task of taking on the uber classic Legs. And I defy you to find anything wrong with their rendition. The guys stick to the song, and tear through it with great aplomb and finesse, and KILL IT! Say what you will about them, they knock this one right out of the park and this may be the 2nd best track on the album musically.

Oddly The Texas Trio known as ZZ Top were executive producers of this album. Which I think is the first time I have ever seen the original band involved with a tribute album to themselves. That being said, with them at the helm of this project I can’t understand how Wyclef Jean’s version of Rough Boy ever made the final cut. That track alone dropped the rating on this disc to what it is. But one skipper on an eleven song disc is definitely a keeper disc and worth picking up. Grace Potter and Jamey Johnson make it well worth the money for just their two tracks alone.

Go to iTunes to download it or head on over to Amazon and pick up the CD today!

The music and legacy of ZZ TOP - “That Little ol’ Band from Texas,” that has been part of the world’s musical landscape for over 40 years – will be celebrated with the October 11th release of A TRIBUTE FROM FRIENDS.

The album, to be released by Show Dog-Universal Music, features 11 classic ZZ Top songs interpreted by top-flight artists working in a broad range of musical genres. All of the album’s tracks have been newly recorded, specifically for the project. These include Filter’s performance of “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ take on “Tush,” as well as Wyclef Jean’s “Rough Boy,” “Legs” from Nickelback and Wolfmother’s interpretation of “Cheap Sunglasses.”

The album kicks off with “Sharp Dressed Man,” from The M.O.B., Mick Fleetwood’s ad hoc group that includes fellow Fleetwood Mac founder John McVie as well as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and guitar great Jonny Lang. Fleetwood commented, “We’re delighted to honor ZZ Top this way. Their legacy, like that of the original Fleetwood Mac, is steeped in the blues we all love so much. I know that Steven and Jonny feel as strongly about their legacy as John and I do.”

After Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, the original–and continuing– members of ZZ Top were informed that A Tribute From Friends was in the offing, they issued the following statement:

“When we were told there was going to be a ZZ Top tribute album a while ago and logically asked, ‘Who are we paying tribute to?’ Then we found out that a bunch of great artists were paying tribute to us and we were in disbelief. For the past forty or so years, all we’ve done is get out there and crank it and try to have a good time while doing so. To a great extent, we’ve succeeded since we’re still having a good time so that would be reward enough for ‘the same three guys playing the same three chords.’ Now comes A Tribute From Friends and we’re so delighted that our music resonates with these great musicians whom we so admire.”

A Tribute From Friends also includes “Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago” by Daughtry, “Got Me Under Pressure” from Duff McKagan’s LOADED and Mastodon’s version of “Just Got Paid.” Coheed & Cambria contributed the anthemic “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” while country superstar Jamey Johnson’s track is the seminal “La Grange.” Of their invitation to be a part of the album, lead singer Chris Daughtry said, “We were completely honored! A classic great band with amazing songs? We’re in!” And of ZZ Top’s music, “It’s classic! Simple chord progressions, great riffs with hooky choruses…very inspiring to a band like us.”
The co-executive producer of A Tribute From Friends is Carl Stubner, ZZ Top’s manager, who noted, “A Tribute From Friends underscores the legacy of ZZ Top in the most musical way possible and illustrates just how important Billy, Dusty and Frank have been to successive generations. It was a privilege to work with the pantheon of brilliant artists who contributed their efforts and so much love to this project.”

Since Billy, Dusty and Frank founded ZZ TOP on the last day of 1969, the band has been responsible for the worldwide sale of over 50 million records highlighted by many of the very same songs heard on A Tribute From Friends as well many others including “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Pearl Necklace,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Tube Snake Boogie” and a score of smash hit albums that include the RIAA Diamond Award winning (10 million sold) Eliminator as well as gold and platinum winners Afterburner, Fandango!, Deguello, Recycler, Antenna, El Loco, Tejas, Tres Hombres plus compilation sets. Their hit repertoire, iconic and award-winning videos and massive touring schedule has made them a favorite with audiences throughout the world and beyond – they previewed a track from their forthcoming album aboard the Soyuz space vehicle. They are recipients of the Texas Cultural Trust’s 2011 Texas Medal of the Art and had previously been named “Official Texas Heroes” by the state’s House of Representatives. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in 2004 who cited the band’s remarkable consistency and longevity and, first and foremost, the fact that ZZ Top is “steeped in the blues,” calling them “the heartbeat of the whole country and the heartbeat of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Waitin’ For the Bus/Jesus Left Chicago-Daughtry by RCA Music Group

A TRIBUTE FROM FRIENDS – TRACK LISTING
1. “Sharp Dressed Man” – The M.O.B. (Mick Fleetwood, Steven Tyler, Jonny Lang & John McVie)
2. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” – Filter
3. “Tush” – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
4. “Legs” – Nickelback
5. “Cheap Sunglasses” – Wolfmother
6. “Got Me Under Pressure” – Duff McKagan’s LOADED
7. “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” – Coheed & Cambria
8. “Just Got Paid” – Mastodon
9. “Rough Boy” – Wyclef Jean
10. “Waitin’ for the Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago” – Daughtry
11. “La Grange” – Jamey Johnson

For more ZZ TOP click here.

For the first time on CD, on May 31, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release ZZ Top Live in Germany 1980. This 16-song Texas manifesto features guitarist Billy F Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill, in an onstage explosion of barrelhouse jump blues and boogie.

The Grugahalle in Essen was rockin’ on that night in 1980. ZZ Top, touring in support of 1979’s Deguello, is totally energized on nine of Deguello’s tracks, complemented by fan favorites from Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango (1975), as well as righteous roots-reverent covers of Elmore James and Elvis Presley. (The concert was filmed for German television’s popular Rockpalast program and released on DVD as Double Down Live in 2009.)

Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Famers ZZ Top have never had a personnel change over the course of their 40-year career. These instantly-recognizable musicians are larger-than-life, their image clearly defined in American pop culture. They’re known as much for their dedication to the blues as they are for their self-designed custom-made guitars. Whether kicking off the MTV generation in 1983 with their groundbreaking videos or continuing to put on world class shows today, ZZ Top are as pioneering now as they ever were, yet still mindful of all who came before them in the glorious longtime tradition of this great music.

Track Listing:
El Deguello
I Thank You
Waitin’ For the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Precious And Grace
Manic Mechanic
Lowdown In The Street
Heard It On The X
Fool For Your Stockings
Cheap Sunglasses
Arrested For Driving While Blind
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
La Grange / Sloppy Drunk / Bar-B-Q
Dust My Broom
Jailhouse Rock
Tush








For more ZZ TOP click here.