Customer Reviews

Rhythmeen

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1996, long after their 80s MTV heyday, ZZ Top ditched the gloss and the synthesizers to record a back-to-basics, no BS rock album. The result was Rhythmeen, one of the best albums of ZZ Top's career. After seeing the pop-friendly monstrosity that they became in the mid 80s (Afterburner?! Ick.....), Rhythmeen is a breath of fresh air and a reminder of what a great rock band ZZ Top is. Billy Gibbons cranks the amp way up and incorporates various distortion effects to produce Top's heaviest, hardest rocking album ever. Billy's guitar rules the show, his riffs and solos are spectacular and there are several tracks that are quite memorable. "Bang Bang" and "She's Just Killing Me" could have been rock radio hits.

If you like ZZ Top's earlier material (Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres) then you must check out Rhythmeen. It's not quite as bluesy as that earlier material; this is more hard rock than anything, and some of the songs are not far from Black Sabbath-style heavy metal. Rhythmeen is a must-own for fans of bluesy hard rock. This is the loudest album ZZ Top has ever made and probably ever will make and it rocks hard.

That's what this CD is. And I mean that in a good way. The hardest ZZ Top album EVER, IMHO. Yeah, the lyrics are goofy, but they're been lame ever since Eliminator, for the most part. Focus on the sound... that grinding, distorted, blistering lead guitar sound on some great Texas blues melodies... I've played it over and over again, and I just don't get tired of this dirty little grease monkey.

This album seemingly goes back to the way ZZ Top started out in the '70's, back to the rootsy riffing and blues-soaked soloing of guitarist Billy Gibbons. The synthesized sound of Eliminator, the album that gave ZZ Top huge popularity and commercial success in '83, has seemingly been put to rest. Rhythmeen sees the band returning to earlier, earthier tones. The songs might not have the hooks'n'humor of Eliminator and Afterburner, but Gibbons's playing here is grittier and sharper than it has been for some time. The overall feel of the album is a welcome return to roots.

Highly original, experimental, heavy, and filled with black humor. ZZ sounds as if they've gotten bored with themselves and pulled out all the stops on this one. Billy G. did quite a bit of experimentation with guitar amplification and new effects to come up with some great new tones. The title track, Rhythmeen, has a good reworking of the Just Got Paid rhythm from Rio Grande Mud. Whats up With That was the most successfull track commercially and it features Billy G. on blues harp, something he should do more often. Vincent Price Blues is the only track that is reminiscent of past ZZ, sounding like something from Recycler but with a lot more attitude. The whole album hits really hard with staccato-spasmic guitar licks that sound as if Billy G. was being possesed by some devil...HHHMMM...down at the crossroads? There are no cover tunes, just a lot of originals that are drawn from the same place as Heaven, Hell or Houston and Manic Mechanic, from El Loco and Deguello respectively, and with a lot of blues/funk/soul references 'ala Rio Grande Mud. The purposely dark and twisted lyrical references may leave those without some knowledge of blues and southern culture "trivia" (and ZZ Top trivia) a bit lost, but for those who do... The other drawback of this album is that there is a real lack of songs like La Grange or Gimme All Your Lovin', with the strong rhythmic drive that ZZ Top proved it had so many times in the past. But there are plenty of other ZZ Top albums with a lot of THAT.

I picked this album up the other day in the used CD bin for six bucks. I am a longtime ZZ fan, but not too fond of their post-Deguello work. I had heard a few cuts on this in the past, and thought I'd give it a chance. This album is really one of their better "new ZZ" records. This is a very back-to-basics recording, no sequencers and synths here. It sounds like they set up a couple of amps and a drum kit in the studio and just rolled the tape. Few if any overdubs, basic song structures. The best thing of course, is Reverend Billy G's AWESOME guitar tone. Almost every song uses a dropped low E string which really gives it that low, heavy, down & dirty blues-rock sound. Love that tremelo, too!
The only weakness of this album is the writing, a lot of the lyrics are just goofy as hell, but then most of ZZ's later stuff is that way anyhow.
Bottom line: great music, goofy songs, still not as good as their old stuff.

This is my favorite up to date ZZ Top album their dirty guitar picking, distorted sound, and their loud amps makes this ZZ Top album much better than XXX. I believe this was the first album that ZZ Top switched over to RCA the record label. I know the best songs on this album are Bang Bang which is really cool the vocals may have no meaning but man its all about the music!!!! I also love the blues songs included on this one Vincent Prince Blues is a great jam. Hummbucking, Part 2 has a really cool grove. The whole band including Dusty Hall, Frank Beard, and Billy F. Gibbons just rock their Rhythmeen!!!This is a must have ZZ Top album!!!!

This album rocks and rocks hard!! Billy Gibbons' guitar really cooks here. His tone is impeccable and his solos are always great. On the downside, the lyrics and songwriting are not the best, but who cares when the music is this good? If you're a fan of old ZZ Top (Fandango, Tres Hombres), you will probably liket his album. It's not as bluesy as their older work though. It's pretty much hard rock.

Wow. Absolutely Amazing. This is where the goods are right here boy. This is dirty, "Mud Music". Like a freight train in a short skirt drivin through a sludge pond. Complete with grinding rhythms, wierd shrieks, and all the phlegmy gutteral moans you can chew, that'll have you checking the liner notes to see if what you heard was actually a word or not. It's a yummy mudpie.

In the long discography of ZZ Top, there are certain albums that stand out.
-1971's "First Album" showed the world that the then-emerging "southern rock" genre had a tougher, grittier but ultimately humorous cousin in "Texas Blues/Rock/Roadhouse Music".
-1973's "Tres Hombres" stands out for solidifying the classic ZZ Top sound and style.
-1975's "Fandango" rises due to a great live side one, and an even greater studio side two.
-1983's RIAA Diamond Certified "Eliminator" combined electronic synthesizers with the classic ZZ Top "wink-and-a-smile-boogie-blues" and benefitted from the new phenomenon of MTV, a red 1933 Ford and some leggy chicks.
"Rhythmeen" is as strong as any of those albums, whether from the standpoint of creativity and artistic ability, continuation of a well-established thread, or just plain fun boogie-blues.
By 1996, the 1980s Texas Blues Revolution had suffered the loss of Stevie Ray Vaughan, grunge had peaked and was quickly collapsing, "Eliminator" was a pleasant-but-distant memory, and ZZ Top was making their second disc for their new label (RCA). Time to re-tool, re-invent and re-invigorate...
The Boyzz tuned down (in some cases, two full steps below 440/concert pitch!), turned up the distortion, and went on a seedy surrealistic sonic roadtrip from New Orleans to Tijuana. This is the first disc of the Drums-Bass-Fuzzy Guitar trilogy (continued and completed by 1999's "XXX" and 2003's Mescalero").
From the first track to the last, your senses are pleasantly assaulted by reverb- and tremolo-drenched distortion and crunch, heavy drums, growly vocals and rumbling bass. The disc pushes forward with a slightly ominous tone reminiscent of heavier Black Keys tracks (who are, according to 2008 Billboard[...] reports, writing material with Billy Gibbons for a new ZZ Top disc to be produced by Rick Rubin).
One note for the casual ZZ Top fan; this disc requires more than one listen to fully appreciate and enjoy the full effect, much like the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street".
If you can find it, and if you can afford it, the Japanese import version of the CD is desirable, due to the inclusion of the bonus track "Isn't Love Amazing".

Either way, Buy This Disc and TURN IT UP! Good Vibes To Y'all...

Rhythmeen overall is a high energy album despite its somewhat laid-back approach, and many ways superior in performance than any other release from ZZ TOP. Every song is rock solid and well constructed, deep killer bass, thunderous drums, and incredible guitar work. This album is Heavy, Dark and Loud! Hidden gems that youll find in this album are Rhythmeen, Black Fly, Shes Just Killing Me, Vincent Price Blues, and Hairdresser. This album Rocks Hard! Mr Gibbons made some sort of a deal at the Cross Roads. I never heard him play like this before. Billys difinitely got his mojo working overtime on this recording. The sound reminds me of Black Sabbath. Heavy Blues Rock. If you dont already have this album and are a fan of hard blues rock than buy this cd immediately,and then crank it up!!!!