ZZ Top's First Album

• Artist: ZZ Top
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1970
• Total Time: 35:16
• Genre: Rock

Review

ZZ Top's First Album may not be perfectly polished, but it does establish their sound, attitude, and quirks. Simply put, it's a dirty little blues-rock record, filled with fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang. They have a good, ballsy sound that hits at gut level, and if the record's not entirely satisfying, it's because they're still learning how to craft records -- which means that they're still learning pacing as much as they're learning how to assemble a set of indelible material. Too much of this record glides by on its sound, without offering any true substance, but the tracks that really work -- "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree," "Backdoor Love Affair," "Brown Sugar," and "Goin' Down to Mexico," among them -- show that from their very first record on, ZZ Top was that lil' ol' blues band from Texas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree	Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(2:32)
Brown Sugar	Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(5:22)
Squank	Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(2:46)
Goin' Down to Mexico	Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:26)
Old Man	Rube Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	ZZ Top	(3:23)
Neighbor, Neighbor	Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(2:18)
Certified Blues	Rube Beard, Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham	ZZ Top	(3:25)
Bedroom Thang	Billy Gibbons	ZZ Top	(4:37)
Just Got Back from Baby's	Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham	ZZ Top	(4:07)
Backdoor Love Affair	Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham	ZZ Top	(3:20)

Credits

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

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