Morning Borning: The Real ZZ Top

Everybody comes back and now the hot topic is The Sound Of Music. Rock ‘n’ roll! Yeah, sure.

Listened to ZZ Top’s best last night, Tres Hombres and Fandango. Them be two mighty fine albums, folks. I don’t think I included either in my Top 50, but they wouldn’t be far below. And if I re-did my list today, they might crack it. The live side of Fandango is mostly a waste, but the studio side makes up for it by being near-perfect. Tres Hombres isn’t perfect, but consistently excellent throughout.

This song was in Dazed And Confused, which we’ve discussed recently and kudos to Linklater for including this and not just the obvious Tush.

The feel of this song has a lot in common with early KISS. I don’t understand how one could like one and not the other. My guess is it’s that damn facepaint and antics. The song has little in common with later boring, commercial, synthesized, beardy ZZ Top. I’ve read they’ve somewhat come to their senses and returned to their roots, but I haven’t gone there (yet).

Hope this driver had a six-pack for the road.

2 thoughts on “Morning Borning: The Real ZZ Top

  1. I had an odd thought about this song. It is ok, but truth is, I prefer the “Legs” and “TV Dinners” phase of ZZ because I think the song writing and production is a lot better than the early stuff.

    Not that this song is bad, but it is strange in this case how the more “produced” period of the band is the one I like (not unlike Blue Oyster Cult, as well) whereas usually I do prefer the earlier, raw period of a band before they become over-produced.

    You know, Steve, Richard Linklater also had those KISS statues in “Dazed and Confused?” But, I am pretty sure Linklater is right around your age, which totally makes targeting sense for you both liking both bands then, while by then my taste was “way more sophisticated.”

    This has to be the lowest budgeted/costed video ever. Are then in a Peterbuilt, or did someone just stick a Rolls Royce symbol on the hood of the truck?

  2. You know, in retrospect, I was stupid to say this song is like KISS. In reality, it’s a pretty basic Stones/Faces bluesy, sleazy, good-time party song. But I love Stones/Faces bluesy, sleazy, good-time party songs, whether they’re done by ZZ Top or Mott The Hoople or early KISS or whomever.

    And there’s probably some black bluesman from the bayou who invented the bluesy, sleazy, good-time party formula who I don’t even know.

    But Gene probably does.

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