Wednesday, August 8, 2012

ZZ Top-Rio Grande Mud

Rio Grande Mud
ZZ Top's First Album, while still a great release, didn't really propel the band to stardom like everybody thought they would. So what do you do? Well, tweak the sound, of course! With the first album having a slicker and cleaner sound, on this one, the distortion and mud is tweaked to the max, resulting in a guitar sound with a locomotive force. Yeah, the production is a little dated (Especially on these CD releases - Good God, why did they add in Eliminator-esque drum machines?), but if you can look past that, this is a superb album.

The main reason this album improves on the first is simple: BETTER SONGS. Seriously, every ZZ Top fan needs this in their collection. The driving force of Francine, the rough metal stylings of Just Got Paid, the slow Chicago blues of Mushmouth Shootin, and let's not forget about the slow soul of Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell, one of the best unknown treasures in the Top's catalog.

There are still a couple of songs that should've been worked out a little more, but on a whole, Rio Grande Mud is another fun and fine collection of 70's hard rock before it became a cliche. Add this to your collection, you won't be disappointed.

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