Eliminator

ZZ Top

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KYR
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,568 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
ZZ Top's ninth studio album truly captured the mood of the times. Released as MTV was learning to crawl, the videos of the Lone Star trio's droll, masculine anthems were staples on the nascent music channel, making the world think that all the women in Texas looked like Jerry Hall--which wasn't far from the truth in 1983. And even if it wasn't completely accurate, listeners could at least visit a world where both cars and woman were fast and available. Billy Gibbons's roaring guitar licks streaked across songs with the speed of a young Hendrix. Even though the lyrics are often ham-fisted, all is forgiven for the pleasure of just letting the ZZ Top locomotive mow you down. While "Gimme All Your Loving," "Legs," and the satirically dynamic "Sharp Dressed Man" ruled the airwaves, the real gems here are the thundering "I've Got the Six" and the equally bombastic "Bad Girl," which showcase's Dusty Hill's heart-stopping drumming and Frank Beard's sturdy bass. Eliminator also marks the first time that the rough-and-tumble outfit turned to studio wizardry to goose up their meat-and-potatoes boogie. And while some early fans may have been dismayed, truth be told, their new studio sophistication added finesse and depth to ZZ Top. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combination of 80s Technology and Gritty R&B, November 26, 2003

By	Bud Sturguess (Seminole, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

"Eliminator" introduced the world to one of rock's most unique sounds from one of rock's most unique bands, ZZ Top. Past albums like "Tres Hombres" or "Deguello" had firmly established the band as a major draw, but it was with this 1983 album that the band first used an appealing blend of technology that was perfectly topped onto their trademark R&B/Delta blues roots.
The vocals and bass of Dusty Hill are as rough as the Texas sand, matched only by that of Billy Gibbons (who was a favorite guitarist of Jimi Hendrix), backboned by Frank Beard's disciplined drumming. All of this makes for a tightly wound musicianship that never suffers from "Eliminator"'s synthesized element. The album spawned several hits, notably 'Legs,' 'Sharp Dressed Man,' and 'Gimme All Your Lovin'. 'Got Me Under Pressure' is just as legendary, being an enduring ZZ Top favorite. The one-of-a-kind 'Thug' meanwhile is a darker tale, and features an incredinbly funky bass texture, while the likes of 'TV Dinners' and the incredibly eye-roll inducing 'I Got the Six' are somewhat less serious, but just as memorable. 'I Need You Tonight' however is surprisingly sympathetic and features some of Gibbons' best guitar work.
Although "Eliminator" became one the 80s most recognizable efforts, it finally gave ZZ Top the worldwide success they'd deserved since the early 70s. It is very much a male-ego album, containing the brilliant arrogance and flashiness that made ZZ Top so great in the first place.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ZZ Top's Last Great Album, August 7, 2005

By	Will Culp "Livin' After Midnite, Rocking Till... (Greenville, South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Eliminator(1983). ZZ Top's Ninth Album.

In 1983, ZZ Top was beginning to slide back into mainstream popularity, as their previous albums, 'Deguello' and 'Tejas', had both gone platinum. When 'Eliminator' arrived, the album instantly rocketed to the top of the charts, thanks to the massively popular music videos "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man". Thanks to MTV, 'Eliminator' became ZZ Top's best-selling album, and it remains a rock classic to this day. To this day, "Gimme All Your Lovin", "Got Me Under Pressure", "Sharp Dressed Man", "I Need You Tonight", and "Legs" are all rotated constantly on the radio. So, do I think this album lives up to the hype? Read on to find out!

After 'Eliminator', ZZ Top became less and less of a rock band and more of a pop band, but here they managed to create the perfect balance. ZZ Top made an album that still retained the bluesy, gritty rock sound that they're known for, but managed to appeal to almost everybody. ZZ Top is a very percussive band, and Frank Beard's drumming is truly amazing here. On almost every song, I found myself tapping my feet to the beat... truly, he did an amazing job here. Billy Gibbons guitar work here is spectacular! He can make catchy power chords one second, and rip out a bluesy solo the next. He truly is a great rock n' roll guitarist.

From the dirty, boozy rock of "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Legs" to the blues of "I Got The Six" and "TV Dinners", ZZ Top kept me interested. While all the hits are instant classics, "Sharp Dressed Man" is the absolute best ZZ Top song, basically defining and rewriting the definition of "cool". "I Need You Tonight" is ZZ Top's strongest ballad, a percussive, guitar-laden classic that never gets boring, unlike some of their later material. "Legs" is the most identifiable song on 'Eliminator', a song that would be the beginning of ZZ Top blending synthesizers more and more into their music, but still stands out as one of their best. "Got Me Under Pressure" is sort of a dark view of peer pressure that contains some of Billy Gibbons' best guitar work. While the later half of the album is not nearly as good as the first half, it still can hold it's own. "Thug" is a very smooth, cool song that has some funky slap bass and great drumming. "TV Dinners" is a rather repetitive blues song, but Gibbons' guitar work is very inspired here. "Dirty Dog", "If I Could Only Flag Her Down", and "Bad Girl" are all bluesy rockers that any ZZ Top fan can identify with.

What's to say? 'Eliminator' is one of those albums that never gets old. The first half of this album is flawless, a perfect example of what blues-rock should sound like. ZZ Top would never be this good again, and 'Eliminator' remains a very powerful album to this day. Although maybe not my favorite ZZ Top album, it's hard to say it's not. A very well-produced and cohesive record, the band sounds fantastic and the songwriting is clever and imaginative. Please, don't claim you have a complete classic rock album unless you have this classic.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF ZZ TOP, BLUES, ROCK, AND 80'S MUSIC! ZZ TOPS' LAST GREAT ALBUM... DON'T MISS IT!

Also Recommended-

Deguello- ZZ Top
Led Zeppelin II- Led Zeppelin
Aerosmith- Aerosmith

Thanks For Reading!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best way to start on ZZ Top, November 23, 2004

By	Raj (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews

Irespective of what anyone says, this is the ZZ Top album to go for. If it was'nt for this one I might have never shown interest in the band.

This is the first album where extra effort had been made to package the songs, thus reducing the appeal to purists. But for music lovers like me it made the songs better and more appealing.

The thunduring bass and chug a lug drums are the backbone of the album with songs like 'Sharp Dressed Man', 'Gimme all your loving' and 'I've got the six'.

My favs on the album are the slower numbers where the atmosphere is created by Billy Gibbons bluesy guitarwork. Both 'Got me under pressure' and 'I need you tonight' are far better works than the ones above as these two can sustain overplay lot better than the MTV oriented songs mentioned in the begining or 'legs'.

All in all a great album with no fillers except maybe the last song.

This a great album to start if you want to get introduced to ZZ Top. The band also has other great earlier albums but they are an acquired taste.