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Rating: "Eliminator" is the eighth studio album by the Texan trio ZZ Top, and their most known and appreciated work. Curiously, it was also the first album since their debut not to have a clear reference to Spanish culture in the title.
The main feature of the album is the successful combination of classic blues-rock sounds with a distinctive synthesizer sound that made ZZ Top's music much more mainstream than it had ever been and consequently catapulted the trio to the top of the charts worldwide.
"Gimme all your lovin" kicks things off: after a simple but effective drum intro, you're pulled into a gritty mid-tempo with perfect rhythm and a catchy chorus that leaves no escape and will shake the charts and even televisions, given that a nice video with lots of eye candy was made for the song (which will become a bit of ZZ Top's trademark). The second track "got me under pressure" slightly increases the pace and also the "dose" of synthesizers; not a masterpiece, but still an enjoyable song. "Sharp dressed man" is instead one of the highlights of the album, with that iconic riff that immerses you so much in the song that you don't realize that in reality, the song is simple, linear, I would dare say almost "predictable." The album reaches its peak with a slow ballad "I need you tonight" and here it gets serious: beautiful melody throughout the 6-minute flow, inspired singing, and a masterful performance by Gibbons who plays with a truly immense blues feeling; splendid, in particular, the instrumental tail of the piece, all under the responsibility of his guitar.
From here on, the album will noticeably decline, although with various interesting ideas here and there: "Legs" was conceived to break the charts (and so it will) but quickly tires, perhaps due to an overuse of synthesizers; the same goes for "TV dinners"; "Thug" instead stands apart from the previous ones due to its strange rhythm entirely played on percussion and bass and because the piece is almost entirely instrumental; "Dirty dog" is a filler although it features a nice solo by Gibbons; "If I could only flag her down" I consider one of the best due to its lively progression supported by nice riffs and apt solos by the usual great Gibbons. The album closes with "Bad girl", a deliberately bold song that, however, doesn't quite fit with the album's atmosphere.
Anyway, "Eliminator" is a perfectly successful album, entertaining but also of certain depth with the trio definitely at their best, I would dare say a stroke of genius never repeated again.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gimme All Your Lovin' (04:04)
I got to have a shot
'Cause what you got is oh so sweet
You got to make it hot
Like a boomerang I need a repeat
Gimme all your lovin'
All your hugs and kisses too
Gimme all your lovin'
Don't let up until we're through
You got to whip it up
And hit me like a ton of lead
If I blow my top
Will you let it go to your head?
Gimme all your lovin'
All your hugs and kisses too
Gimme all your lovin'
Don't let up until we're through
You got to move it up
And use it like a screwball would
You got to pack it up
Work it like a new boy should
Gimme all your lovin'
All your hugs and kisses too
Gimme all your lovin'
Don't let up until we're through
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
02 Got Me Under Pressure (04:02)
She likes wearin' lipstick, she likes French cuisine
but she won't let me use my passion unless it's in a limousine.
She got me under pressure,
she got me under pressure.
She likes the art museum, she don't like Pavlov's dog.
She fun at the mind museum, she likes it in a London fog.
She don't like other women, she likes whips and chains.
She likes cocaine and filppin' out with great Danes.
She's about all I can handle, it's too much for my brain.
It's got me under pressure,
It's got me under pressure.
I'm gonna give her a message,
here's what I'm gonna say:
"It's all over."
She might get out a nightstick
and hurt me real real bad
by the roadside in a ditch.
It's got me under pressure,
it's got me under pressure.
It's got me under pressure,
it's got me under pressure.
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
03 Sharp Dressed Man (04:18)
Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don't know what I am gonna do.
Silk suit, black tie,
I don't need a reason why.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
Gold watch, diamond ring,
I ain't missin' not a single thing.
Cufflinks, stick pin
when I step out I'm gonna do you in.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
Top coat, top hat,
I don't worry 'cause my wallet's fat.
Black shades, white gloves,
Lookin' sharp and lookin' for love.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
05 I Got the Six (02:55)
Living room, passing time, talking trash, sipping wine,
I need something more substantial.
New deck of playing cards, I don't like to work this hard,
I think I'll have to cancel.
I'm running out of time,
I'm about to lose my mind.
I got the six,
gimme your nine.
Slow hand on the clock, I'm sitting here like a rock,
I'm feeling so abnormal.
Pictures in the magazines, all my thoughts are so obscene.
Cover up that centerfold.
I'm running out of time,
I'm about to lose my mind.
I got the six,
gimme your nine.
Look at this, what a pair, she won't let me touch her there,
she's so discriminating.
This is weird, it's time to blow, I just heard the rooster crow.
I guess I'll have to spank my monkey.
I'm running out of time,
I'm about to lose my mind.
I got the six,
gimme your nine.
- Billy Gibbons, Disty Hill & Frank Beard
06 Legs (04:34)
She's got legs, she knows how to use them.
She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
She's holdin' leg wonderin' how to feel them.
Would you get behind them if you could only find them?
She's my baby, she's my baby,
yeah, it's alright.
She's got hair down to her fanny.
She's kinda jet set, try undo her panties.
Everytime she's dancin' she knows what to do.
Everybody wants to see if she can use it.
She's so fine, she's all mine,
girl, you got it right.
She's got legs, she knows how to use them.
She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
She's got a dime all of the time,
stays out at night movin' through time.
Oh, I want her, shit, I got to have her,
the girl is alright, she's alright.
07 Thug (04:18)
You look like who you say you are
So scoot over let me drive your car
Roll down the glass and give me some wind
lock all the doors I'm on the loose again alright!
I haven't sat behind a wheel like this
since that job in 1956
Can't wait till I can do it again
can't keep my nose clean livin' in sin alright!
I had a friend down in Alcatraz
he had the money and machine guns stashed
We busted out June 21
we gonna rob, steal totin' our guns alright!
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
08 TV Dinners (03:53)
TV dinners there's nothin' else to eat
TV dinners they really can't be beat
I like 'em frozen but you understand
I throw 'em in and wave 'em and I'm a brand new man oh yeah!
TV dinners they're goin' to my head
TV dinners my skin is turnin' red
Twenty year old turkey in a thirty year old tin
I can't wait until tomorrow.... and thaw one out again oh yeah!
TV dinners I'm feelin' kinda rough
TV dinners this one's kinda tough
I like the enchiladas and the teriaki too
I even like the chicken if.... the sauce is not too blue.
And they're mine, all mine, oh yeah
and they sure are fine.
Gotta have 'em
gimme somethin' now.
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
09 Dirty Dog (04:01)
Hey baby, watcha gonna do?
now that I've left you and I said we're through
All along you been runnin' round
but you ain't the only game in town
I dug your brush and your ass was fine
I dug your jelly and your mighty mind
But you rubbed it on another guy
you're history and this is why
you're just a dog a scurvy dog
Hey baby, when we got it on
you made me feel like there ain't nothin' wrong
Just don't bug me like you're so naive
I'm crackin' up, I'm gonna take my leave
I dug your brush and your ass was fine
I dug your jelly and your mighty mind
But you rubbed it on another guy
you're history and this is why
you're just a dog
Hey baby well it's over now,
I'll make my exit and I'll take a bow
Your problem's cured with a dollar bill
and if it won't I know a flea collar will
I dug your brush and your ass was fine
I dug your jelly and your mighty mind
But you rubbed it on another guy
You're history and this is why
you're just a dog a scurvy dog.
arf! arf!
Hey! Get that dog out of my yard!
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
10 If I Could Only Flag Her Down (03:41)
I don't need her money
I don't need a ride
I got enough connections
I don't need a piece of her hide
I just wanna please her
I just wanna squeeze her
I just wanna crash her
I just wanna trash her
If I could only flag her down
if I could only flag her down
Well, it's not because of her beauty
and her brand new low cut blouse.
It's not because she's so snooty
or a fine famed millionaire.
It's not 'cause she's in motion
In a brand new Cadillac car
It's not because of her lotion
She's a real sweet candy bar
I just want to meet her
I just want to squeeze her
I just want to crash her
I just want to trash her
If I could only flag her down!
if I could only flag her down!
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
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