SONIC WAVES….ZZ Top/Recycler

This Blog is for Geoff who writes a real excellent blog that you can find at 1001albumsin10years.wordpress.com   Take the time friends and check it out!

October 1990 and the Tops release Recycler and it’s the followup to Afterburner which came out 5 years earlier in 1985! So I guess the two long beards (Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill )and Stache(Frank Beard) figured it was about time right?

Recycler I have always liked and that’s maybe due to the fact that myself and Tbone caught this tour in early October 1990 a good few weeks before the actual release of the album. So perhaps that’s why maybe I like it  as much since that was the tour I saw who knows but they also threw down some real cool musical mustard on these tracks for the most part! Here’s the review of the show….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/recycled-in-the-peg/

Tbone is still looking for La Grange!

CONCRETE AND STEEL- ZZ blast off from the start and this is a great opener! No one and I mean no one has the guitar tone of Billy Gibbons! You hear him and you know it’s him! Plus not only does he play the wicked guitar his voice is so tailor made for this band. It’s a win win. Beard on the drums and Hill on the bass push the song along and it’s the start of the decade and it’s good to have the Tops back boogie Rockin!

LOVETHING-Beard slams down some Thunder and the guitars go in slo mo and than pick up and this is a great track. Tons of percussion jives up the backing tracks and it rocks in a ZZ kinda way! Lots of good Ol sexual innuendo here in this song at Top HQ’s! 2 songs in ….2 sure fire winners!

PENTHOUSE EYES-ZZ takes off with there bluesy cool riffs mixed with Beards drums and we’re off an running to the Penthouse! Isn’t it great when ZZ gets into story telling like this two …..”can’t blame a boy for asking!” Chirps Billster and Wowzers he’s chilling in the Penthouse. Tons of slipping and sliding Blues Riff a Rolla on this track!

TELL IT-this tune is one of my favs from Recycler! TELL IT,tell it like is …Sez Billy and I’m onboard. This song is a cool little creepy crawl of boogie woogie Blues rock! Just a real good laid back tempo! What better way to introduce Gibbons guitar solo with someone chirping BANG! …that’s also the one thing about ZZ tunes not only do you get the great solos in the song but also the great outro solos that take the song out!

MY HEADS IN MISSISSIPPI-hangover is what this reminds me of! Not myself with a hangover but the two Beards and Stache with em! Gibbons voice fits this tune to a T! Cool gruff voice and real catchy guitaring add the salt to the pepper for this tune! I just love it. Crank the video folks!

DECISION OR COLLISION-bam bam this song is pure solid driving ZZ Top! A pretty good tune goes forward Into Billyvilles zone which is guitar blues rock! Good stuff…and a pretty snappy happy ZZ tune!

GIVE IT UP-love the opening riff from Gibbons. Than all the bells and whistles of ZZs driving late 80s sound is unleashed BUT this song still cooks man I love it. Now that summer is upon us when your barbecuing some juicy steaks and knocking it down your hatch with some cold suds crank this track! And invite uncle DeKEs over! Hint hint Probie! Ha!

2000 BLUES-great slow mover groover of a track! Gibbons like he always does lays down a great guitar! 200o Blues is just that Blues down low down sleazy breezy ZZ style! Sign me up!

BURGERMAN- Ok ok so ZZ even though know its 1990 old habits die hard and hey let’s toss Deke and Tbone a musical patty and call it  BURGERMAN! It’s all here a ton of toppings layered with guitars,bass and a loaded up drum sound and a loaded up ZZ! BURGERMAN though is a pretty funny tune from the two beards and stache!

DOUBLEBACK-I tell Ya I love this tune! Sure it’s from Mikey J Foxes Back To The Future Film but this song is Gold! I love the pre chorus and chorus it’s the best of what ZZ does and that’s play a catchey hook! Gibbons nails down some sleazy meaty biggie bouncy riffs of Texas Rock! ….”Running high and low don’t know which way to go I gotta DOUBLEBACK my friends”..sings Gibbons! Wowzers 25 years old this song is and I still love it as much as I did back in 90!

IN CONCLUSION-Afterburner i loved side one of that record and it kinda tailed off for me after Planet Of Women led off side 2 ..read it here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/sonic-waves-zz-top-afterburner/

ZZ slam back with a real solid effort and perhaps I dig this one more like i said for the fact that I caught them on the Recycler World Tour?! Who knows for sure but I will say it was a step in the right direction and i still spin this one quite frequently! ZZ was headed into the 90s and they were rolling with the changes but still doing there own deal! Good on them and good for me!