Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First rate sampler of Texas' biggest & baddest export: ZZ TOP, May 11, 2006
THE BAND: Billy Gibbons (guitars, vocals, hermonica, fiddle, baritone sax, keyboards), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals, tenor sax, keyboards), Frank Beard (drums, percussion, vocals, alto sax). Bill Ham (manager, producer, inspiration).
THE DISCS: (2004) 38 tracks on two discs clocking in at approximately 154 minutes (78+ on Disc-1, 75+ on Disc-2). Included with the discs is an 18-page booklet containing a 12 pages of history and retrospective on the band, song titles/credits and chart success, assorted pictures, what songs came from which albums; 14 album covers pictured on 1 page, and thank you's. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Warner Bros.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: ZZ Top's First Album (3), Rio Grande Mud (3), Tres Hombres (4), Fandango! (5), Tejas (2), Deguello (4), El Loco (2), Eliminator (4), Afterburner (5), Recycler (2), Greatest Hits (1), Promo Singles (3).
COMMENTS: 30+ years and still chugging along. ZZ Top has proven it's ability to rock & roll over the years. Complete with their trademark Texas-blues fused rock, overly long beards, (probably not cheap) sunglasses, love of fast hot rods, and seemingly countless videos on MTV. The liner notes are extensive in regards to the birth of the band - touching on family, teenage garage bands (The Moving Sidewalks & The Warlocks), running into producer Bill Ham (backstage at a Doors concert), first gig (1970), opening shows for Jimi Hendrix, etc. Outside of the 4-disc box set that's overly priced - as of 2004 this is now the best ZZ Top compilation available. The two other most notable 'best of' pacakges are now expendable. 9 of 10 songs are here on "Rancho Texicano" from ZZ Top's first 'Best Of' compilation (1977)... only song missing is "No Back Door Love Affair". 15 of the 18 songs off ZZ Top's "Greatest Hits (1992) are here as well (missing are "Gun Love", "Give It Up" and "Planet Of Women"). All of the omissions are OK in my book. The only songs I would have removed from "Rancho" would be "Mexican Blackbird" and "Woke Up With Wood"... and replaced them with the strangely absent "TV Dinners" and/or "Concrete And Steel". Overall though, the 38 songs are simply dead on accurate. All songs are the original studio versions except the last 2 dance remixes of "Legs" and "Velcro Fly" (you do however get the original versions of these 2 songs earlier on the disc), and 2 live songs ("Cheap Sunglasses" and "Thunderbird"). Anyone else find it interesting when reading the liner notes, that Billy, Frank, and Dusty all play the saxophone? Every rock & roll collection needs some ZZ TOP and this is the ideal place to start. Great set of discs (5 stars).
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43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great cross section of ZZ Top's music, June 15, 2004
Been a ZZ Top fan for a long time, and I'm one of the people who likes both their early stuff, and the stuff in the Eliminator / Afterburner period (it seems most ZZ Top fans don't like both, just one era or the other). Anyway, if you don't own ZZ Top at all, this is the one to get, as you get all the big hits, and a few others you might not know of.As usual with a Greatest Hits package, there's always stuff that's missing, and this is no exception. Despite being put out in 2004, it has nothing from the albums Antenna, Mescalero, XXX, & Rhythmeen. Rhythmeen is one of my favs by ZZ Top, so I was kind of disappointed that nothing was there from that. I understand that with Greatest Hits albums, that will always happen - someone's personal preference left off. I could accept that. But this colletion has THREE songs on there TWICE EACH! Cheap Sunglasses, Legs, & Velcro Fly are on here in live or alternate mixes. BORING! That's three spaces that could have been better allotted to songs from the albums not covered. That's the reason I gave this four stars - it would have been 5, and I would have given it 4.5 stars if I could. But that I admit is my own personal gripe. What is here is most excellent, and as I said, if you don't have any ZZ Top at all, this is the one to get. This essentially replaces the most excellent 1992 "Greatest Hits" albums, with only two tracks that were on that one not here, but neither of them are a big loss at all. Check it out! Edit a week later: I found out why the four most recent albums aren't represented here. They're on a different label, that's why they're not here. Still would have been nice to have seen the entire career represented. After having listened to it for a couple of weeks now, it's a fabulous collection, and is a great pickup if you don't own all their albums already.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Purchase Than The Box?, October 7, 2004
I own both this 2 cd collection and the "Chrome, Smoke & BBQ" 4 cd box. If you are a casual ZZ Top fan or want to add a ZZ Top album to your collection, this 2 cd set is the way to go. The sound is suberb and track selection excellent. "Rancho Texicano" flat out smokes any previous ZZ Top "greatest/best of" package of 2 cds or less. Plus, I praise the "Gods" of boogie for not including ZZ Top's worst song ever, "Heaven, Hell Or Houston", here. If you are more than a casual ZZ Top fan, bordering on or crossing into die-hard territory (like me) skip this set and drop the extra cash on the box set. The Moving Sidewalks tracks are a must. And, even though disc four of the box is a little weaker than the previous three, it is still essential ZZ Top. Finally, if you have the extra cash around, buy both!
"Rancho Texicano" is much more user friendly for the car.
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