• Artist: ZZ Top
• Rating:
• Styles: Album Rock, Southern Rock, Boogie Rock
• Track Picks: "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "La Grange"
• Similar Albums: Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!, The Best of Mountain, Live at the Monterey International Pop Festival [Split], Barnstorm, The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get, Too Much Too Soon, New York Dolls, Brain Capers, 15 Greatest Hits, The Cry of Love, Grand Funk, Rock & Roll Outlaws, Future Blues

Review

Tres Hombres is the record that brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process. It couldn't have happened to a better record. ZZ Top finally got their low-down, cheerfully sleazy blooze-n-boogie right on this, their third album. As their sound gelled, producer Bill Ham discovered how to record the trio so simply that they sound indestructible, and the group brought the best set of songs they'd ever have to the table. On the surface, there's nothing really special about the record, since it's just a driving blues-rock album from a Texas bar band, but that's what's special about it. It has a filthy groove and an infectious feel, thanks to Billy Gibbons' growling guitars and the steady propulsion of Dusty Hill and Frank Beard's rhythm section. They get the blend of bluesy shuffles, gut-bucket rocking, and off-beat humor just right. ZZ Top's very identity comes from this earthy sound and songs as utterly infectious as "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "Move Me on Down the Line," and the John Lee Hooker boogie "La Grange." In a sense, they kept trying to remake this record from this point on -- what is Eliminator if not Tres Hombres with sequencers and synthesizers? -- but they never got it better than they did here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Waitin' for the Bus		Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(2:59)
Jesus Just Left Chicago		Rube Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:29)
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers		Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:23)
Master of Sparks		Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(3:33)
Hot, Blue and Righteous		Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(3:14)
Move Me on Down the Line		Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(2:30)
Precious and Grace		Rube Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:09)
La Grange		Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:51)
Sheik		Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(4:04)
Have You Heard?		Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:14)

Credits

ZZ Top (Main Performer), Frank Beard (Drums), Billy Gibbons (Guitar), Billy Gibbons (Vocals), Bill Ham (Producer), Dusty Hill (Bass), Dusty Hill (Vocals)

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