While not listed as an official commemoration of their 40th anniversary, Double Down Live celebrates ZZ Top and makes clear why their blues-based rock has been such an enduring success over the decades. Considering the unpredictable nature of the music business and many of its practitioners, it’s very impressive that founding members guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank (the only one who doesn’t have a) Beard have been the only members of this lil ol’ band from Texas.
“Definitely Then…1980” on Disc 1 presents a 93-minute concert at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany on April, 20th, recorded for the TV series Rockpalast. The band was touring in support of 1979’s Degüello which they play in its entirety except for "Esther Be the One." For those who only know their hits, a number of gems await, especially for fans of the blues.
They open with Sam and Dave’s “I Thank You,” and people who don’t know the band before they became music video stars with their Eliminator album will be surprised to find the boys sans sunglasses. That is, until they all don a pair of “Cheap Sunglasses” as a prop for that song.
As someone not familiar with the deep cuts off early albums, I very much enjoyed the mix of popular songs, such as “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” with new discoveries, like “Arrested For Driving Blind” and “She Loves My Automobile” because it was quintessential ZZ Top no matter the song. They traffic in tales of fast cars and fast women, things familiar to and appreciated by their fans, most of whom identify with the band’s “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers.”
Of course, the lyrics are only half the story as the band is an outstanding musical trio. Hill and Beard make an excellent rhythm combo allowing Gibbons free reign, and he makes the most of it. He delivers a smoldering blues solo during “Fool For Your Stocking.” “Manic Mechanic” is played with a heavy, hard rock ‘70s sound. Their classic “La Grange,” which owes a great debt to John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen,” gets an awesome, extended nine-minute jam and they close out the main set with it.
When they return to encore, they are joined, by way of a film projected behind them, by The Lone Wolf Horns, which is them in disguise. Hill, who earlier sang lead on “Heard It On The X,” takes over the vocal duties with “Hi Fi Mama,” “Dust My Broom,” a cover of “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Tush.” They returned for a second encore with Gibbons singing some girls in his life on “Tube Snake Boogie” and the workingman ode “Just Got Paid.”
Article comments
1 - Greg Barbrick
Wow, the 1980 set sounds really cool.
I hate to say it, but this is a band who should have just called it a day after "Eliminator" They had nothing left to prove after those brilliant videos, although I do give them credit for titling their 1990 record "Recycler"
It's pretty funny that the guy without a beard is named Frank Beard.
2 - El Bicho
They certainly haven't reached similar heights with anything since Eliminator, and for a while there everything after had too much synthesizer. But I don't begrudge them continuing to tour and make a buck, and I am very much looking forward to their new album because it's being produced by Rick Rubin.