Z.Z. Top is a 70’s blues-rock band formed in Houston, Texas. They created spine chilling songs that crossed over a sort of groggy blues feel to a heavy rock feel. They adopted hipsters, punkers, and metal-heads as fans, even though they sang of highway succubuses, greyhounds abound, and supernatural mingling between Jesus and ghost boys.
The band was a genuinely odd blend of southern rock with an urban cowboy ideal image. Luckily they were filled with raw talent, and the stunning combination worked to their benefit.
The band’s original line-up was made up of Billy Gibbons, Lanier Greig (guitarist/organist/bassist), and Dan Mitchell (drummer). The band was mostly Gibbons’ idea; he had thought of ‘ZZ King’ as a band name. Yet quickly noticed it was far too close to the original names he had stolen it from (B.B King and Z.Z. Hill). Later on, they made friend Bill Ham their manager.
And as I am being one thousand percent honest, their first couple of singles were absolute rubbish. Perhaps they didn’t know how to create half-way decent work until about their third album. I did find myself enjoying some parts hidden in 1969’s “Salt Lick” (their first-ever single composed by Billy Gibbons). They next came out with ‘Miller’s Farm.’ It was still not so enjoyable; however, they were granted a deal from London Records, and Billy Ethridge replaced Greig. They had only sided with London Records because of the lack of attention from American record labels.
Soon after Ethridge joined, he quit because he didn’t want to sign the record deal. Dusty Hill was next and sure to stay. They had gone threw two bandmates in a little less than a year. In the early 70s, they performed their first concert together at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont, Texas.
Yet, once they were capable, they recorded their music professionally, instead of in a crappy studio. This time the music came out much better. They recorded in Ardent, the same place artists like Led Zepplin and Isaac Hayes recorded their albums.
Gibbons became (he always had been, but he was given the official title of) lyricist, bandleader, and musical arranger. He was genuinely excellent while playing the guitar because he was in touch with masses of different music cosmos that most don’t even know existed.
Rio Grande Mud, their debut album, came out in 1972, kick-starting their career. The album pushed out their first charting single, “Francine.” They went to a handful of other concerts and began writing and recording further work. This album had been much better than their earlier singles.
A year later, Tres Hombres came out, and their name was now out there. It was ten songs and had a running time of thirty-three minutes. It personally sounds like dimmed heavy rock and blues X country.
Billy used ‘boogie’ rock stunts and stunning blues structures that worked both lyrically and thematically. He had an odd trembling nasal sheer which swayed with the rhythm of their songs.
NME claimed Tres Hombres was “virtually indistinguishable, the lyrics unmemorable.” I say fuck that they reached the top ten for a total of 81 weeks (nearly three bloody months), unable to be knocked down, and the song LA Grange received a gold record.
The two songs “Beer Drinker’s & Hell Raisers” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago” precisely illustrates the band’s aesthetic. They sing about honky-tonk, steel guitars, New Orleans, and of course, beer. Though the lyrics sound like they should belong to pure country music, the guitarist and drummer add back in that sort of edgy rock feel we all love. “Jesus Just Left Chicago” gives off more of an edgy side by showcasing Billy’s stunningly rugged vocals.
When opening up the original record, the inner sleeve is covered in thirteen photos of various characters pulled from the album. Billy later claimed, “We talked about how the album was once again a return of the brotherhood of texas border and threw around some ideas to reflect that.” The middle of the album is a picture of various Mexican dishes from a local restaurant.
The album Tres Hombres by Z.Z. Top is an amazing piece of work. The album captures the attention of almost all sides of diverse rock music. It is bloody perfect.
