Customer Reviews

First Album

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If you've not heard about the "remaster" that was done on this release consider this your heads up.

At sometime in the 1980s/90's they remixed this album with way too much echo and fake drum machines. Gone is the beautiful rawness and classic mix that defined this album. What you now get is a sound that resembles a bad soundcheck in a tin room. I can see why this was done, it was an attempt to get the Elminator/Afterburner fans to buy the early discs. One review on the "Best of ZZ Top" early greatist hits package, said he felt these remasters have destroyed the whole original vibe of the music making it almost unlistenable. I gotta agree with him. Why can't an import at the very least be issued of the original mix? I would gladly cough up 20 to 25 bucks to have this and the other early albums in the way they were meant to sound.

So be wary of this CD. This release is not the album you remember.

As part of an attempt to capitalize on the success of their Eliminator sound, ZZ Top decided to go back into the studio and remix and also re-record parts of their first 6 albums thinking it would make them more money and entice fans of their newer sound to go back and buy their earlier records. Well guess what, in the process their older fans who were used to the original versions on the old cassettes and albums were shocked when they listened to any of these first generation CD releases. They heard bogus reverbed drums, and entire sections of both music and vocals re-recorded. Talk about tarnishing the legacy of a great band's output. Well someone finally wised up and now at least Tres Hombres and Fandango are now available in original mix, remastered form. So stay away from this trash and wait for the entire back catalog to be released in it's original mix, remastered form on CD.

This is in regard to the 1980's recomposed/remastered version of ZZ Top's First Album. Ditto all of the comments about the awfulness of the reverb and fake drums. What's really sad is what was printed on the back of the vinyl LP jacket in 1970:

"In this day of homogenized rock, synthesized music, retakes, overdubbing, multi, multi-tracking, an honest recording by accomplished musicians is a rewarding pleasure. Z Z TOP'S FIRST ALBUM is just such a recording. This is the way blues-rock is meant to be played: openly, honestly, and spontaneously. It takes an experienced sensitive group such as Z Z TOP to capture the abstract blues from within and combine it with the ability to feel and play good hard rock without losing their communication."

17 years later, they trashed their own philosophy. Tres Hombres, and Fandango by Rhino, are the first honest digital transfers of the original first 5 ZZ Top albums.

I am a recording engineer and sound mixer. I grew up in Texas, listening to and watching ZZ Top. The first two ZZ Top albums were released on vinyl records. Tres Hombres was the first to be released on Compact Disc. When the inevitable popularity of the CD overtook the market, Bill Ham thought it would be a great idea to release the first six albums on CD, which they affectionately called the "six pack." While remastering this compilation, somebody (who knows, but who controlled all of ZZ Top's musical movements??) got the bright idea to re-edit, reproduce, re-arrange and remix the first three albums. At the time, there was a new device in the studios that was known as a "digital echo" device for adding reverb and delay textures to sounds. Most notably, Phil Collins was using this echo device to enhance his drum sounds. ZZ Top's producer (you know who) decided it was the way to go as well, that the new sounds would attract the day's "new audience." The echo and reverb patterns on the "six pack" were so much bigger and wetter than on the original first three albums. Then I started to notice that there were different vocal performances and different guitar riffs in a few places. Talk about re-arranging an original! At a later time, the reproduced versions released on the "six pack" were then released on individual CD's which contain the original artwork of the first three albums. However, they are definitely NOT the original recordings. This process is much like Jimi Hendrix's producer, who went into the studio after Hendrix died and actually hired a player to finish the guitar work on recordings that were incomplete when Hendrix died. Those recordings were subsequently released as "Hendrix's final unrealeased recordings." Suffice it to say, that if the world's art museums decided that certain Rembrandt or DaVinci paintings looked "faded" or weren't "up to date with today's audience," and they repainted certain brush strokes on these masterpieces, the world art community would have a cow! Don't buy these CD's, they are not ORIGINAL works. They have been repainted to fit what someone thought would be a new and "catchy" idea.

it's a 5 Star album -- but I gave a 1 Star for the cheesy CD remixes they did. But get it if you want to hear the sheer genius of their original vision -- it'll do until they reissue the original mixes. -- E.T.

Genius one-of-a-kind album --- Pointless, retarded and destructive remix.

I HAVE AN ORIGINAL MIX of the brilliant and flawless "FIRST ALBUM" on CD --- released before the HORRIBLE idiotic "Six-Pack" remix. Any true Top fan who wants one -- just drop me an e- mail and I'll burn it for you for free.

Shoot, that's just asking for trouble, so scratch that -- but it'd almost be worth being taken to court just to be able to ask the band "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? -- and why in the world don't you rerelease the original mixes?"

Maybe we can get Rick Rubin to intervene on our behalf...

My friend just found a used First Album CD in a used bin -- and it matches the UPC and CAT# on my good mix. So if you can find a used CD with NO DATE ANYWHERE on it and but the CAT # is: 3268-2 and UPC is: 7599-273779-2 -- BUY IT.

They also destroyed the equally brilliant "TEJAS" album -- they even CHANGED GUITAR LINES on "Asleep in the Desert" AND CHOPPED STUFF UP. Cut in HALF the brutally gorgoeus harmonica lead on "It's Only Love" -- Jerks. I think it must have been all the drugs people were doing in the 80's --- "hey lets spray paint over the Mona Lisa"

"Drivin while Blind" -- used to start with the vocal "A when yer drivin' down the highway at night..."
and now they chopped off the "A when yer..." so now you practically hear the punch-in . Now it starts...

"(d)rivin' down the highway at night..." WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT???

'Tejas' nearly unlistenable. So sad. How can we pressure The Top into UNmixing their remixes? Hmmm...

BUT OH JOY! I did just find a MINT CONDITION PROMOTIONAL LP of TEJAS in a used bin at FREAK BEAT RECORDS in Sherman Oaks CA -- so I'm gonna bounce that from wax to CD to tide me over until Rhino Records works their magic and remasters the orignal (God bless Rhino Records)...

For anyone who is interested, the vinyl version of this album is available here at Amazon, as well as the cassette version. I would recommend going either route instead of the CD version, since, to this day, the only version of ZZ Top's First Album is still the late eighties remastered version that appeared on the ZZ Top Six Pack set (AKA The ZZ Top Sucks Pack, by me, ever since I purchased it in 1992.)

Although Rhino has re-remastered two albums from the sucks pack (Fandango and Tres Hombres) making them sound fantasticly like the original releases, the other four still are completely void of any musical emotion whatsoever, reminicent of the awful Recycler album. This is because the albums were completely remixed in the late eighties to make them sound like albums recorded in the late eighties (ugh, wasn't that rocks worst period ever!?... the answer is yes.)

With amazing imagery, and a unique sound all its own, the vinyl version of ZZ's First is the type of record that makes the turntable bounce from side to side when you drop the needle. However, the CD version won't make your CD player do a god damned thing. At least not until Rhino does something to correct this. Great lyrics like "She was a sleazy mess in her beat up dress..." or "If her lovin' don't kill me, I know her husband will..." are wasted on that silver peice of plastic. SO the black wax is definately the way to go. Although the release date on it says 1990 here at Amazon. Maybe you should check out a used record store, or a yardsale instead, just to be safe.

The five stars are for the music alone, NOT the sound quality of the CD. I consider this to be a raw, down and dirty blues-rock masterpiece, and I enjoy EVERY TRACK. There is not one weak song on this release IMHO. The heavily doctored sound quality of the CD was a major disappointment, although I kept the pressing anyhow, I figured at least until a properly remastered version comes out (BTW I snapped up the new 'Tres Hombres' remaster recently - the sound quality is great!). Fortunately, since I also happen to own a vinyl pressing of ZZ Top's First Album on the LONDON label, rather than wait for this to be properly released on CD, I went ahead and professionally digitized the vinyl through a DAT machine, cleaned up the crackle a bit, recorded it onto a blank disc, and stuck it in the jewel box of the original CD! The more I listen to this album now in it's original form, the more it blows me away. In any case, I highly recommend this release for the music alone. Those who screwed up the sound for the original CD issue (including the band themselves) should be ashamed of themselves!. As the saying goes, 'if it ain't broke - don't fix it!'

This was the third ZZ Top album I purchased, the first 2 being Afterburner and Eliminator. After listening to this bluesy background of ZZ Top, I decided to get more of their older 70's albums. Why? THIS STUFF WAS AWESOME. Throughout all 10 tracks (well, besides a couple songs) this album blew me away

1. (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree
Great start to a great album. Gibbons sounds great on the guitar. This really is one of the better lead-off songs I've heard, aside from Van Halen's "1984" and ZZ Top's own "Gimme All Your Lovin'" 5/5

2. Brown Sugar
Enough said, this was really one of ZZ Top's greatest blues songs. Sure, "Rough Boy" was great, but this song was just the kind of "raw" sound that really fueled this song. 5/5

3. Squank
Great song, but the lyrics are pretty weird. The guitar work combined with the drums went together great. This wasn't the song that blew my mind, but it was still fairly good. 4/5

4. Goin' Down to Mexico
Great song. Period. Sort of like ZZ Top's first rock song, it was still powered by blues, but at heart I believe that it was really a rock song. Not only that, the vocals go great together with the instruments. 5/5

5. Old Man
Great Blues song. After the rockin' song before it, this really brings you back to the blues. This is another 4/5 song because like "Squank", the lyrics are a little bizarre. 4/5

6. Neighbor, Neighbor
What else can I say but: this tried to be a rock song, but failed. I only give it 3/5 because of the guitar-drum combo. 3/5

7. Certified Blues
Certified what? Are you kiddin'? Certified is like "Brown Sugar" or "Backdoor Love Affair". Clever vocals, though. 3/5

8. Bedroom Thang
What a relief!!! After the previous two songs, I was ready to turn it off and only tolerate the first five, but this changed my opinion. Really a great song the way it all falls together. 4/5

9. Just Got Back From Baby's
After this song, I think it's safe to say that ZZ Top redeemed itself. This is what blues rock should be, just the perfect combo of awesome guitar and bluesy swing. 5/5

10. Backdoor Love Affair
Wow, what a great finish. This was probably the least regarded song on the whole album, not showing up on Chrome, Smoke and BBQ. This was a blues song with just the right dose of rock to make it a fantastic finish. 5/5

If you do end up buying this album, I hope you found my review helpful. : - )

Saw these guys in El Paso Tex. in 1971 opening for Ten Years After, who was still riding high on the strength of their Woodstock performance. No one in the audience had heard of ZZ Top yet and ignored them when they were introduced. Everyone kept getting high and throwing frisbees. Billy anounced that they had spent the day in Juarez, Mexico and done some shopping. Dusty Hill showed off some nice rowal spurs to go with his boots. Then they kicked into Shakin' Your Tree and the entire audience stopped, jaws dropped, everyone turned their attention to the stage and from then on we partied like tribal primitives who had just discovered fire. We knew we had been blessed. Ten Years After had no chance to shine as a headliner that night. Amazing what one guitar and one amp can do. The Chicago band Milhous (found here on Amazon) covers (live) Bedroom Thang for the sheer joy of experiencing the riffs. The drumming on the First Album is as good as I've ever heard from anyone in rock, since.

You can't beat this old top. And just so you know the drums are not electric drums and redone drum parts. What those guys did is add reverb and echo to the original drum tracks to all the 70's albums up to Deguello. It does sound weird that way and they outta re-issue all their old albums in the sound of Chrome, Smoke and BBQ. But until that happens, here's some darn good Top.