Tres Hombres [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: ZZ Top
Engineer: Terry Manning; Robin Brian
Producer: Bill Ham
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar); Dusty Hill (vocals, bass); Frank "Rube" Beard (drums). Also available with FANDANGO on 1 cassette and as part of the ZZ Top 6 Pack. ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dusty Hill (vocals, bass guitar); Frank Beard (drums). Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig. Liner Note Author: Bob Merlis. Unknown Contributor Roles: Billy Gibbons; Dusty Hill; Rube Beard. On 1973's TRES HOMBRES, everything came together for ZZ Top. While it was near inconceivable that the trio could better its superb previous effort, 1972's RIO GRANDE MUD, here ZZ Top somehow found a way to make the riffs tastier and the blues boogie more lethal. One of classic rock's most identifiable standards, "La Grange," resides here, borrowing liberally from John Lee Hooker. But there's even more great blues-rock to feast on--the moderately paced "Waitin' for the Bus," the 12-bar blues of "Jesus Just Left Chicago," and the party-hearty anthem "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" (a tune Van Halen has covered live from time to time). Elsewhere, the thick rocker "Precious and Grace" easily gives Led Zeppelin a run for its money. 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. [The 2006 reissue of the album adds three live tracks: "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," and "La Grange."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (p.71) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he trio made raw-boned, matter-of-factly infectious songs out of a supercharged bar-band sound." Uncut (p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TRES HOMBRES was a breakthrough, courtesy of the John Lee Hooker-derived 'La Grange'." Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] Tex-Mex combo platter of blues, soul and funky hard rock, spiced with a little Beefheart-inspired weirdness."

Blues-rock has rarely gotten more down and dirty than with Texas's famous long-bearded trio ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill are responsible for some of the greatest party anthems of all time. They produced a number of 1970s rock classics, and in the '80s they managed to adapt successfully to changing times, scoring hits with a souped-up, synth-flavored sound. Eventually, though, they got back to their gritty, bluesy roots, and in 2004 ZZ top's contribution to rock & roll was officially recognized via their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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