Customer Reviews

Eliminator

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Released on LP and Cassette in March 1983 on Warner Brothers, the blues boogie of "Eliminator" was an absolute phenomenon for the Texas trio ZZ Top.

They'd been bubbling under for years - "La Grange" in 1973, "Tush" in 1975 - and a minor hit with "I Thank You" in 1980. But none of it even remotely indicated what would happen in 1983 and 1984. "Eliminator" - one of the best boogie albums ever made - changed everything for them and us - it was little short of absolute global domination.

It was a combination of things - the umpteen tracks that were all single/radio friendly hits, the emergence of rotation MTV, the videos with leggy sexy babes - the fabulous 1933 coupe car - the ZZ TOP keyring flying through the air to the hapless buck trying to be a 'sharp dressed man' - the image of dusty dudes with beards - all of it combined in one heady mix to produce domestic sales in the USA topping 10 million with the same number estimated for the rest of the world. And if you take into account second-hand sales since that heady time 25 years ago and an early issue on CD, you're looking at a "Rumours", a "Purple Rain" and a "Thriller". This September 2008 (delayed release) has it good points and bad though...

Here's the layout first:

Disc 1 (78:27 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 11 are the album REMASTERED in its entirety with the original lengthier mix of "Legs" at 4:34 minutes re-instated for the first time (it was replaced after initial pressings by the shorter single mix of 3:37 minutes)
Tracks 12 to 18 are bonus tracks; 12 is the single mix of "Legs"; 13 to 17 are 5 previously unreleased live tracks (13, 14, 16 and 17 recorded at Castle Donington Festival in Leicestershire in England, while 15 was recorded at The Marquee Club in London - no dates supplied)
Track 18 is the 12" "Dance Mix" of "Legs"

The remastering of the album is FANTASTIC - muscular, in your living room, detailed - all that it should have been these last two and half decades. I've waited years to hear "I Need You Tonight" in this sound quality and it was worth it. But the really bad news is the audio bonus tracks, which are a huge letdown. The live versions have what is laughably called `audio restoration' on them - they sound like rubbish bootleg recordings - someone standing in a field with a microphone held up (Donnington was exactly that - a vast field). The truly awful extended mix of "Legs" was on the box set anyway - unlistenable then and the same now. Worse - there are single edits of "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Sharp Dressed Man", but maddeningly they're not included here - they should have been - it would have been far more appropriate to a supposed `collector's edition'. Also there's nothing new worth hearing - no outtakes, alternatives, no demos, no new songs - nothing. Really disappointing stuff I'm afraid. The album is great, but the supposed bonuses are awful.

Things fare better on the 2nd disc, an 8-track DVD. First up are the 4 famous videos that broke the album with a worldwide TV audience and their inclusion on this `special edition' is only right and proper - they were such an integral part of the "Eliminator" experience. The prints are clean, but unfortunately blurry in that cheap 1980s kind of a way. They're fun to re-watch, but not much more than that. Things get considerably better with tracks 5 to 8, which are professionally filmed studio performances. They were recorded live in front of a studio audience on 17 November 1983 for one the UK's popular pop programs of the time - "The Tube". The sound and visuals are great and while the vocals are live, I'm fairly sure some tweaking has been done to beef up the sound. Whatever way you look at it - this is primo ZZ TOP and makes up somewhat for the disappointing crap that is tail-ending the Audio CD. Fans will really enjoy these.

The packaging isn't great either - a gatefold digipak with a 20-page booklet. The layers under the see-through trays have no photos of singles - outtakes - they're blank - pretty crappy really. The car's pictured a couple of times, lyrics reproduced, a basic essay on the album - but no real event feel to it - no live shots - no interesting formats pictured - fan stuff left out - it's basic really, when it could have been so much better.

In truth, you'd have to say that if Rhino had just issued the remaster of the album with the single edits and the 12" mix added on at the end - then that would have been so much better. As it is, you're being asked to spend £13 to £16 on a package that smacks of laziness and greed - and worse - leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth - an underwhelming experience that should have been a real celebration of a really great album...

To sum up - fantastic remaster of the album, good stuff on the DVD, but docked a star for the rubbish filler at the end of Disc 1.

"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.

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!

This review is only for the original album since I don't care much about bonus tracks or DVDs, but since you brought it up, I will say that the "bonus" live tracks on disc 1 sound homemade. I can't believe they were included here.

Anyway, to the main course: The original CD release, and even the Eliminator material in the gorgeous "Chrome, Smoke, and BBQ" box set just never did anything for me sound wise. Sure, it's great rock 'n' roll, but the digital mastering didn't do it justice. This remastering changes that. The music comes to life with punch, presence, and transparency - and it was done with no noticeable compression. They even resisted the urge to master it too loudly. This is a remaster that both the average CD buyer and the audiophile will be VERY happy with.

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.

ZZ Top's sudden MTV omnipresence and massive popularity that followed the 1983 release of "Eliminator" may have jarred long time fans of the little ol' band from Texas, but the truth is that the album is also one of their best. The hits may have been inescapble on video and the radio at the time, but "Gimmie All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" are perfect pop rock gems that still hold up two decades later. Other standout cuts are the harder rocking "Got Me Under Pressure," another MTV goof "TV Dinners," and one of their better slower songs in "I Need You Tonight." The rest is certainly filler material, but holds up well enough.

Overall, a huge commercial and artistic success that marked the high point of the Top's long career.

I'm not writing this review to comment on the album. You probably already know about Eliminator and nothing I can tell you will change your opinion or add anything substantial. The reason I bought this was because as is the case with a lot of CDs released in the mid/late 80s, the mastering on the original CD release was terrible. If you have a decent stereo and speakers, it sounded bad...no bass, shrill treble...blah. I have to say that I'm very happy with the mastering on this release. "Gimme All Your Lovin" starts out with the thumping bass you'd expect. "Thug" is phenomenal. The rest of the tracks are much, much better than the original. Granted they don't sound like recently recorded music that is correctly mixed and mastered, but it isn't bad. The live tracks don't sound great, but that is kind of to be expected considering when and how they were recorded.

Eliminator is one of my favourite albums. It works on several different levels, and it works well. On the surface it is a great collection of catchy pop songs. I can dance to them, hum them, play air guitar to them, shave to them, paint the ceiling to them etc. There isn't a boring song on the record, and the album isn't too long. It doesn't cost too much and the cover looks nice. I can hold it up in front of my face, and pretend that I am a car. Eliminator also works as a coherent whole. The music is uniform, but instead of being repetitive and dull, the album instead feels like an excellent half-hour composition divided into movements.

On another level, Eliminator is a thinky album. It's a writey album. I like to ponder it, it sets my mind in motion. Eliminator is a clever scientific musical experiment. It was a conscious attempt to change ZZ Top's style, to make the band more contemporary, and it was an enormous success, on both an artistic and a commercial level. I'm sure that old-time fans of the group might have been upset at the disco rhythms, but only the most uptight square could fail to be moved by "Gimme All Your Lovin'" or "Sharp Dressed Man". I imagine that kids in 1983 might have thought that ZZ Top was a brand-new band, a modern boogie group with a clever retro style, and videos with hot women in them. You know, like Robert Palmer. He made records in the 1970s, but when he did that video for "Addicted to Love" in 1985, an entire new generation assumed that he had just come from nowhere, with a bevy of hot women. Did I mention hot women? Robert Palmer had hot women, and ZZ Top also had hot women. I know this because I have just checked on the Youtube. ZZ Top's women are not as hot as Robert Palmer's women, although it has to be said that any woman would look hot when stood next to ZZ Top. Perhaps that was ZZ Top's way of attracting women. Robert Palmer, on the other hand, did not have to do anything special to attract women, in fact he had to shoo them away, they pestered him so much that he moved to Switzerland, and died young. But I digress.

With Eliminator, ZZ Top did something that Genesis and The Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane and The Who and Paul McCartney failed to do, they moved with the times without trashing their reputation. Of the band's contemporaries, I can only think of Yes having achieved the same feat, although that was done by essentially ditching all that was Yes about Yes except for the vocals.

So, as a musical experiment, Eliminator works brilliantly. I cannot think of another album that combines disco and guitar rock and synth-pop so well without sounding awful. It's a deceptively simple record as well. The drums are basically straightforward four-to-the-floor pulse beat, all the way throughout every song, a mixture of drum machine and real live human drummer. Ordinarily this unvarying drum style would be monotonous, and in a way it *is* monotonous, but it's monotonous in a good way, hypnotic rather than boring. The twin guitar lines are often very complex, but they are mixed so that they become a backdrop. The synths are generally tasteful, restricted to pulse-bass and a few swooshy pads. The vocals have a distant, unemotional quality that sounds cool rather than affected. The songs are classically structured rock tunes, none of them have a rapping bit.

On a further level, and perhaps this is unintentional, Eliminator has a timeless quality. It's a period piece, but it has dated well. There's nothing offensive about the overall sound. The music is classical. The dual-guitar playing is technically impressive and the guitar tone is still awesome, although subdued. The lyrics are generally dumb beyond parody, with sexual metaphors that would make Roy "Chubby" Brown feel uncomfortable, but that just adds to the charm. ZZ Top were real men, you see, from an era that did not value manly manliness. Nowadays they come across as endearingly retro and harmless. Eliminator has dated much, much better than "Afterburner", the band's next album, which came out in 1985. Afterburner really does sound like a mid-80s record, with fake drums and fake guitars that could have come out of an arcade machine. They're both cheesy records, in the sense that you couldn't take them to a posh dinner party without people laughing at you and mocking you and deriding your taste, but Eliminator is likeably cheesy whereas Afterburner is just an anonymous mid-80s synth rock record.

In its day, Eliminator was a big popular success, although the critics thought it was just another modern pop-rock record. Today it is grudgingly respected as a classic of the period, but I believe it deserves more. There are few albums that entertain me all the way through, that I can listen to in one sitting without being bored. Kraftwerk's "Computer World" is one. This is another. It's the musical equivalent of one of those films that you can just sit and watch; Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Where Eagles Dare etc. It's easy to overlook that kind of entertainment, but it's precious and rare and should be cherished. I would love it if Eliminator goes into the time capsule.

Eleminator, wow what a great album, the last good ZZ Top album for like 10 years though! You know who I blame for that, MTV, they killed so many good bands and made so many killer rock bands go soft! This could have been a five star album had it not been so MTV. But they must have done something right because I think this was their biggest selling album ever.

All the hits off this album 'Gimme All Your Lovin' 'Got Me Under Pressure' 'Sharp Dressed Man' and 'Legs' are all killer songs but there are other good songs on the album as well. Of all the songs that are not hits 'TV Dinners' is my favorite. 'I Need You Tonight' is a sweet little ballady type sympathtic song with some killer guitar.

This is a killer rock album that could have been better had it not been so synthed out and poppy, but over all this is one of ZZ Top's best albums.

This album is definitely one of my faves, and I think you'll all enjoy it as well. The bluesy rock feel to it is very appealing and makes you experience almost every musical/guitar tone. This is really the only album of ZZ Tops that you can actually listen to without wanting to hit the SKIP button to go to the next song. Except for maybe "Thug". All the songs mentioned in all other reviews are obviously exceptional but I can surely tell you that "I need you tonight" is hugely UNDER rated! I don't understand why people think it's a so-called "sleeper"????