Linden Hudson: Co-Writer of the ZZ Top ELIMINATOR album!

 

Yup you read that title right! I did some research on Linden Hudson as I thought what a great ’10 Questions With… Linden Hudson’ it would have been!

But I tried through FaceCrack/Websites/and other social avenues to track Linden down but to no avail which is a shame. But if you ever come across this Blog Sir please feel free to contact me. Would love to hear your story about your involvement with ZZ TOP.

Please watch the  clip the video posted above that features some demo’s of the mega selling Eliminator album from the Top’s!

You will hear  snippets of four songs from Eliminator along with a story to go along with the songs on how they were recorded plus on one of the tracks you hear some blazing harmonica playing!

From my take on it. Sounds like Billy Gibbons and Linden Hudson wrote and recorded in demo form pretty much the whole album together or most of it.

The video is a fascinating as you can read along on  what was going on for the four tracks here that are posted . All  I will say is that it looks like Frank Beard and Dusty Hill got a lot of time off during the actual recording of the final result of Eliminator!

I have no idea why Linden was not acknowledged but after my recent interview with Jonathan Valen this stuff makes sense.

I still hold this album in High Regard as its easily one of all my time Fav’s! But credit should be given where credit is due.

Here are a couple of quotes I found online from Reddit.com. Interesting stuff!

FROM THE BOOK: ZZ TOP – BAD AND WORLDWIDE (ROLLING STONE PRESS, WRITTEN BY DEBORAH FROST): “Linden was always doing computer studies. It was something that fascinated him, like studio technology. He thought he might understand the components of popular songs better if he fed certain data into his computer. It might help him understand what hits (song releases) of any given period share. He first found out about speed; all the songs he studied deviated no more than one beat from 120 beats per minute. Billy immediately started to write some songs with 120 beats per minute. Linden helped out with a couple, like UNDER PRESSURE and SHARP DRESSED MAN. Someone had to help Billy out. Dusty and Frank didn’t even like to rehearse much. Their studio absence wasn’t really a problem though. The bass and drum parts were easily played with a synthesizer or Linn drum machine.” 

FROM THE BOOK: “ZZ TOP – BAD AND WORLDWIDE” (ROLLING STONE PRESS, BY DEBORAH FROST): “With the release of their ninth album, ELIMINATOR, in 1983, these hairy, unlikely rock heroes had become a pop phenomenon. This had something to do with the discoveries of a young preproduction engineer (Linden Hudson) whose contributions, like those of many associated with the band over the years, were never acknowledged.”

FROM THE BOOK: ​SHARP DRESSED MEN – ZZ TOP (By DAVID BLAYNEY) : “The integral position Linden occupied in the process of building El​iminator was demonstrated eloquently in the case of song Under Pressure. Billy and Linden, the studio wizards, did the whole song all in one afternoon without either the bass player or drummer even knowing it had been written and recorded on a demo tape. Linden synthesized the bass and drums and helped write the lyrics; Billy did the guitars and vocals.

Also here’s a pic below of the credits on the back cover of Eliminator. It does not say anywhere where it Eliminator was recorded.

Oh thats right  it was recorded over at Linden’s place.

Something to think about Folk’s!