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Rating: "El Loco" is a record by the three legendary Texans from July 1981, now almost entirely forgotten.
A work definitely hidden within the folds of their now extensive discography. An album that might seem unassuming but, in my personal opinion, ends up being quite enjoyable to listen to.
Paradoxically, EL LOCO can be considered the most creative album (in the true sense of the word) of the trio, thanks to the variety of approaches and solutions within the individual tracks. In short, it's an irregular work that necessarily lacks the compactness and appears frayed compared to their "granite" sonic standards.
Gibbons at the time was fascinated by the advent of punk, New Wave, and synth-pop movements, and said in a recent 2013 interview that he was influenced by listening to DEVO's first album (which reached high levels of electronic-Dadaistic eccentricity and madness), adding that following this new injection of "modernism" they increasingly enjoyed experimenting with synthesizers. Around the same period, ZZ Top became fans of the B-52, particularly captivated by the track "Party Out of Bounds" from Wild Planet in 1980, "Our song 'Party on the Patio' was an extension of that", said Gibbons.
Inspired by the new music surrounding him, Gibbons was eager to update ZZ Top's sound. He said in another 2012 interview with the Guardian, "I knew it would be fine anyway because there was no way ZZ Top would lose their blues."
Going into detail, the tracks that mostly reflect the traditional southern-rock sounds are the "orthodox" vigorous opener "Tube Snake Boogie," the initially lackluster "I Wanna Drive You Home" that gains momentum only towards the end, and "Don’t Tease," along with the equally classic "Party On The Patio" which closes the album in a conventional but at least lively manner, just as it opened. All the tracks give me the impression of having a slightly more subdued and less explosive air compared to the past.
The most unusual tracks are, in my opinion, not necessarily the most successful but at least those that bring a certain robustness and originality to the work: the murky and underground "Ten Foot Pole." Then comes what I consider the gem of the album: "It’s So Hard," another refined and melancholic ballad, thanks to a melody that sticks in your head. Finally, the album winds down with two of the most ironic and eccentric tracks in their production: "Pearl Necklace," with a truly rare sexual-demential-surreal text for them, and the following quirky "Groovy Little Hippie Pad," with a completely electronic rhythm section that anticipates future sounds. Another oddity is "Heaven, Hell or Huston," a short "sick" blues with an almost dark atmosphere, with sonic references to Funkadelic and echoes of cold New Wave in that typically Yankee lugubrious male voice that seems filtered through a machine, warning "……Hello darling/Surprised?/ Yes, it's me again…." As if we were in a suspenseful Hitchcock film. Among all these sits the sweet ballad "Leila," an unusually delicate track for their standards.
In conclusion, not their best album, in fact, among their 14 official studio albums, I would definitely rank it beyond the tenth place. Nonetheless, it remains a curious and unusual chapter in their history, where they do "something" different, and in some cases, they get it right. For this reason, I feel like rounding up to three stars. Unfortunately, it lacks their characteristic "groove," and the sound production is less brilliant compared to their standards. Just listen to the difference in sound detail and refinement with the previous splendid "Deguello." Here, the impression of an "unfinished" work lingers in almost all the tracks. The true strength of "El Loco" in the end is its informal and laid-back atmosphere...almost relaxed, I would say.
Many have defined this LP as a dress rehearsal for the subsequent multimillion-dollar "Eliminator"... The result wasn't entirely successful, but in 1981 the world of American pop-rock was in a limbo between the last hard-blues-country flames of the seventies and the modernist sound driven by polyphonic keyboards that was forcefully making its way onto the rock scene. Many historic bands found themselves in no man's land, not knowing which direction to take. Within two years, our Texans would reframe and polish their sound with the synth-boogie turn of the "Eliminator" and constant presence on the emerging MTV. But that's another story.
It’s noteworthy that El Loco was not affected by the questionable remasterings that involved almost all the works from the seventies, with smoother and cleaner remixing and the addition of electronic drums replacing the original. This was to make them more similar to the synthesized sound of "Eliminator" and "Afterburner." Here, however, everything is original; this work was spared, perhaps because it already sounded quite 80s on its own.
Note on the legendary cover. The three are caught in the act by a border "gringo" (holding them at gunpoint) with sacks full of strange grass at their feet that from the look of it doesn't seem like salad. They smile mischievously at us from the shadow of their sombreros and spread their arms as if to say; well yes...you caught us! We fooled you for 37 minutes...that’s how it went, we're sorry but don't be mad!!!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Tube Snake Boogie (03:05)
I got a girl she lives cross town,
She's the one that really gets down.
When she boogie,
She do the tube snake boogie.
Well now boogie little baby,
Boogie woogie all night long.
I got a girl she lives on the block,
She kinda funky with her pink and black socks.
She likes to boogie,
She do the tube snake boogie.
Well now boogie woogie baby,
Boogie woogie all night long.
I got a girl, she lives on the hill.
She won't do it but her sister will,
When she boogie,
She do the tube snake boogie.
Well now boogie little baby,
Boogie woogie all night long.
Blow your top blow your top blow your top.
03 Ten Foot Pole (04:23)
Tidify da, sinmah gough dah hep haing ding fum gogamamo.
Stry da fings thadd awondt oont do butt any il thang thad a wondt meeto.
Shees my nurirng my nu esit seten' ra mind at a ros reshoo.
I don loo kadang doo my net loohah leten meen you
Hmm, I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole.
Try-da-fy thedit dern tasgoo
Itel dang ifl eeton if airs ron wichoo
Day me dy ron my nek
Thars a dang ana ding doo itan beegon
Shee kina sitn wita ly dou fang
Let it ang wit a itin imin babee
Ide oln lee pak da thangs yoodo
Letit ang ifen eeton wacha ron wichoo
I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole.
I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole.
You just don't know what shape I'm in.
04 Leila (03:17)
She had a look in her eye that could make you melt,
Made me feel better than I ever felt.
But bless her heart, she couldn't stay,
I begged her not to go away.
She left my ex best friend out in old Tucson,
Told me she was leavin and would be rollin on.
Now the days just pass on by,
Losin' her is the reason why.
Leila, Leila your mind will be flying high
And everything will be alright.
You know I love you girl more than I can say,
I still think about you each and every day.
My lonesome old heart still feels the same,
So Leila won't you steal away.
Leila, Leila your mind, will be flying high
And everything will be alright.
Leila, Leila your mind, will be flying high
And everything will be alright.
05 Don't Tease Me (04:24)
Baby, baby, I need you,
I'll lay it on you with a straight shot
Baby, baby, I love you,
I'll give it ev'rything I got.
I'm gonna try my best to hold you baby,
Hold you in my arms.
Tryin' my best to please you,
Never ever tease you,
Don't you go and break my heart.
Don't burn me like a jet fuel,
Baby just be cool,
Don't go tearin' me apart.
Baby, baby I want you,
I know we're thinkin' 'bout the same thing.
Lord have mercy,
I need you, I can read you like a magazine.
I'm gonna try my best to hold you baby,
Hold you in my arms.
Tryin' my best to please you,
Never ever tease you,
Don't you go and break my heart.
Don't burn me like a jet fuel,
Baby just be cool,
Don't go tearin' me apart.
You know what I'm talkin' 'bout
Because I'm givin' you the head lines.
Baby, baby I love you,
Let's get ready for the good times.
I'm gonna try my best to hold you baby,
Hold you in my arms.
Tryin' my best to please you,
Never ever tease you,
Don't you go and break my heart.
Don't burn me like a jet fuel,
Baby just be cool,
Don't go tearin' me apart.
06 It's So Hard (05:11)
When the light comes and yu're feelin' down
Cause your baby's out there somewhere runnin' round.
Don't start feeling blue and feeling lonely too,
It's hard I know when that love ain't true.
You just can't explain, but you know it's there,
That empty feeling seems so unfair.
What can you do when it's gone, it's gone,
'Cause those lovin' feelings seem to hurt so long.
So if you feel like cryin', go ahead and cry,
A heartbreak will cool as time goes by.
And it's so hard baby, it's so hard to take.
It's so hard baby, it's so hard to take.
Well you work so long every day and night,
Tryin' every thing that seems so right.
But when a love falls a heart must break,
And it's so hard baby, it's so hard to take.
07 Pearl Necklace (04:07)
Pearl Necklace
She's really upset with me again,
I didn't give her what she likes.
I don't know what to tell her,
Don't know what to say.
Everything got funky last night.
She was really bombed,
And I was really blown away,
Until I asked her what she wanted,
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She gets a charge out of bein' so weird,
Digs gettin' downright strange.
But I can keep a handle on anything,
Just this side of deranged.
She was gettin' bombed,
And I was gettin' blown away,
And she held it in her hand
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She's so cold, as pure as the driven slush.
And that's not jewelry she's talkin'about, [see notes]
It really don't cost that much.
She was gettin' bombed,
And I was gettin' blown away,
And she took it in her hand,
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
08 Groovy Little Hippie Pad (02:44)
I'm gonna find me a groovy little hippie pad.
I'm gonna find me a groovy little hippie pad.
I work a hundred grand scam from a border town.
Well, I'll be feeling glad.
I'm gonna find me a blonde-haired mama,
In a Jeep with a German Shepherd by her side.
I'm gonna find me a blonde-haired mama,
With boots and a fourty-four on her side.
And if I ain't too hjigh or used up,
I'll have her take me for a groovy little hippie ride.
I'm gonna fix brown rice every day,
And drink down a bottle of Midnight Red.
I'm gonna fix brown rice every day,
And drink down a bottle of Midnight Red.
That's all I need to get groovy,
That's what all the little hippie said.
10 Party on the Patio (02:49)
I found an empty house in my neighborhood,
I knew that wer shouldn't but I thought we could.
Knew it wouldn't be hard to slide into the backyard,
Called all my friends and slipped a hundred to the guard.
We turned on the radio and had a party on the patio.
Betty's in the sauna and she's getting kind of hot,
Mary's in the icebox wishin' she was not.
Connie's in the whirlpool, Jimmy's tryin' to be cool,
Libby's in the bushes 'cause she's nobody's fool.
We turned the lights down low and had a party on the patio.
Heard the cops are coming so we tried to jump the fence,
Mary didn't make it and we haven't seen her since.
Connie had another drink, Jimmy simply couldn't think,
Billy G. was passed out underneath the sink.
But everybody's gonna show for another party on the patio.
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Other reviews
By pier_paolo_farina
Irony has never been lacking for ZZ Top, and here they are... pretending to be caught with their hands in the cookie jar, actually marijuana.
The intelligence and admirable minimalism of the three instrumentalists allow us to appreciate their musical philosophy, that sly way of playing without hurry or stress.
