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Rating: Between Texas and Mexico, once upon a time there was a guitar with a dirty sound, so dirty...
This could be the beginning of the tale that tells the story of the "Tres Hombres," who are literally just three but make noise like 100, and play as if there were twice as many in the band. A bit of blues, a bit of rock and tex-mex and there you have it, an irresistible sound, which first conquers the southern United States and gradually the whole world. The greatest hits of ZZ Top collected in this 1992 compilation, released by Warner. Still women and long beards, the "Borrachos" never seem to tire of everything revolving around the band's name, suggesting that their journey will continue for a long time.
All the best ones are there, starting with "Gimme All Your Loving" and "Sharp Dressed Man" which seem like twins and pair very well together, with the electronic sounds mixed with the growling guitar of the bearded Gibbons, a beard that has been the group's symbol for decades, leading into the ballad (the only one) "Rough Boy," and the wild blues "Tush." All in one breath, knowing and hoping to be able to go on for quite some time longer. You travel through the entire history of the group, "My Head's In Mississippi," a great demonstration of Billy Gibbons' voice, "Pearl Necklace," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," all great hits of the band, which also indulges in a cover, the now too-often revisited "Viva Las Vegas," with added electronic sounds that double Z has been competing with for some time: listenable. The soundtrack of "Back to the Future Part 3" brings back the full 80s in sound, even though in the movie it was performed by them in person, but in a country version (a must-see). "Gun Love" is the other unreleased track on the record, but historical pieces await us after "Give It Up," "Got Me Under Pressure," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Sleeping Bag," and "Planet of Women"; it's impossible not to mention the entire tracklist, which continues to travel through ZZ Top's past, among twisted blues where the guitar never ceases to be pleasantly tortured, pushing the pedal ever further.
The grand, spectacular finale, with "La Grange" that makes you want to move even while sitting down (who doesn't tap their foot or tap on a table with their fingers while listening to it is either deaf or has never listened to music), as captivating as most of the songs contained here. Another classic "Tube Snake Boogie," also here with electronic experiments worthy of the rebellious and subversive fame the group has built over the years, many, their long career, longer than the beards of guitarist-singer and bassist Frank Beard; drummer Dusty Hill does not adhere to the others' idea when it comes to beards for reasons not well understood by the review's author, but he complies with a big pair of dark glasses and long hair.
Reviewing a "Greatest Hits" can spark controversies and disagreements, but such a record is highly recommended, and perfectly reflects the spirit of the band in 18 tracks (still too few), also drawing in novices, and perhaps convincing them to start acquiring old CDs.
In conclusion, Texas is and will be the land of cowboys, but also of great musicians, rock, country, and above all blues, and the Gibbons/Hill/Beard trio is part of all this even if at times it seems not to want to, distancing themselves from the usual canons of American music. But the "south" is also this, also the blues, and even more so the rock.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gimme All Your Lovin' (04:00)
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 Sharp Dressed Man (04:15)
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.
03 Rough Boy (04:52)
What in the world's come all over me?
I ain't got a chance of one in three.
Ain't got no rap, ain't got no line
but if you'll give me just a minute I'll be feelin' fine.
I am the one who can fade the heat,
the one they all say just can't be beat.
I'll shoot it to you straight and look you in the eye.
So gimme just a minute and I'll tell you why
I'm a rough boy, I'm a rough boy.
I don't care how you look at me
because I'm the one and you will see
we can make it work, we can make it by.
So give me one more minute and I'll tell you why
I'm a rough boy, I'm a rough boy.
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
04 Tush (02:16)
I been up, I been down.
Take my word, my way around.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, Lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.
I been bad, I been good,
Dallas, Texas, Hollywood.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, Lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.
Take me back way back home,
not by myself, not alone.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, Lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.
- Frank Beard, Bill Gibbons & Dusty Hill
05 My Head's in Mississippi (04:21)
I'm shufflin' thru the Texas sand,
but my head's in Mississippi.
I'm shufflin' thru the Texas sand,
but my head's in Mississippi.
The blues has got a hold of me.
I believe I'm gettin' dizzy. (Spoken: Help me now.)
I keep thinkin' 'bout that night in Memphis,
Lord, I thought I was in Heaven.
I keep thinkin' 'bout that night in Memphis,
I thought I was in Heaven.
But I was stumblin' thru the parking lot
of an invisible seven eleven. (Spoken: What was I doin out there?)
Last night I saw a cowgirl.
She was floatin' across the ceiling.
And last night I saw a naked cowgirl.
She was floatin' across the ceiling.
She was mumblin to some howlin' wolf
about some voodoo healin'. (Spoken: Mmm Baby.)
Where's my head baby?
Somewhere in Mississippi.
06 Pearl Necklace (04:06)
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 Viva Las Vegas (04:48)
Spoken: Y'all still want me to come with you?
Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire
There's a whole lot of money that's ready to burn
So get those stakes up higher.
There's a thousand pretty women just a-waitin out there,
And they're all livin' devil-may-care.
I'm just the devil with a love to spare.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Spoken: Ah, thank-ya very much baby.
And how I wish that there were more
Than twenty-four hours in the day.
But even if there were forty more,
I wouldn't sleep a minute away.
Oh, there's blackjack and poker and a roulette wheel.
A fortune won and lost on every deal.
All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas with your neon flashin',
And your one-armed bandits crashin'
All those hopes down the drain.
Viva Las Vegas turnin' day into nighttime,
Turn the night into daytime,
If you see it once, you'll never come home again.
I'm gonna keep on the run,
I'm gonna have me some fun,
If it costs me my very last dime.
If I wind up broke,
Then I'll always remember that I had a swingin' time.
I'm gonna give it everything I've got.
Lady Luck please let the dice stay hot.
Let me shoot a seven with every shot.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva Las Vegas.
Viva, Viva.
09 Doubleback (03:57)
I got shot through a space not long ago,
I thought I knew the place so well.
It wasn't the same, now it goes to show,
Sometime you never can tell.
I'm lookin' high and low, don't know where to go,
I got to double back, my friend.
The only way to find, what I left behind
I got to double back again, double back again.
You know I'm movin on in this fine machine,
Rollin' on through the night.
Seein' things like I've never seen
And it's taking me outta sight.
Lookin' high and low, don't know where to go,
I got to double back, my friend.
The only way to find, what I left behind
I got to double back again, double back again.
It's got me up and down,
I been lost and found,
Down in a deep dark hole.
Looks like my luck has changed,
I been rearranged
And I'm coming out on a roll.
Lookin' high and low, don't know where to go,
I got to double back, my friend.
The only way to find, what I left behind
I got to double back again, double back again.
11 Got Me Under Pressure (04:01)
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
12 Give It Up (04:49)
I bet the derby and I won by a nose,
I bet Vegas and they took my clothes.
I bet Monte Carlo I was showin' my stuff,
I bet on you baby, now ain't that enough?
You got to give it up,
Give it up baby.
Give it up.
You got to give it up, baby, tell me where it's at.
Well there's a few more things you need to know about me,
I trained trigger single-handedly.
I invented see-through negligees,
And I bought the flying saucer off the Presley estate.
You got to give it up,
You got to give it up baby.
Give it up.
You got to give it up, baby, tell me where it's at.
I fell in love down in Mexico,
Thunderbird wine's the only way to go.
I been in love ten thousand times,
All you got to do is remember my line.
13 Cheap Sunglasses (04:05)
When you wake up in the morning and the light is hurt your head
The first thing you do when you get up out of bed
Is hit the streets a-runnin' and try to beat the masses
And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Spied a little thing and I followed her all night
In a funky fine Levi's and her sweater's kind of tight
She had a west coast strut that was as sweet as molases
But what really knocked me out was her cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
(solo)
Now go out and get yourself some big black frames
With the glass so dark they won't even know your name
And the choice is up to you cause they come in two classes:
Rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
14 Sleeping Bag (04:06)
When it's cold outside and you want to sleep in
go for a pallet that's so nice and thin.
Zip it on around while it's on the ground,
spread it out and lay it on down.
Slip inside my sleeping bag,
slip inside my sleeping bag.
You're afraid of the dark, baby, no need to be shy.
We'll talk about some lovin' while we look at the sky.
Don't be hesitating, it'll be alright,
we'll tuck it in until it's clean out of sight.
Slip inside my sleeping bag,
slip inside my sleeping bag.
Let's go out to Egypt 'cause it's in the plan,
sleep beside the pharoahs in the shifting sand.
We'll look at some pyramids and check out some heads.
Oh, we'll whip out our mattress 'cause there ain't no beds.
Slip inside my sleeping bag,
slip inside my sleeping bag.
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
16 La Grange (03:05)
Rumour spreadin' around
In that Texas town
About that shack outside La Grange
And you know what I'm talkin' about.
Just let me know if you wanna go
To that home out on the range.
They gotta lotta nice girls.
Have mercy.
A haw, haw, haw, haw, a haw.
A haw, haw, haw.
Well, I hear it's fine if you got the time
And the ten to get yourself in.
A hmm, hmm.
And I hear it's tight most every night,
But now I might be mistaken.
hmm, hmm, hmm.
Ah have mercy.
- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
17 Tube Snake Boogie (04:30)
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.
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