“If you’re on a motorcycle, really sharp leathers is great. “Sharp dressed depends on who you are,” Hill told Spin in 1986. Along with its high-fashion video, the song was peak Eighties, even if the band members themselves chose to don dusters and fedoras instead of blazers and scarves. While Billy Gibbons’ guitars remained fuzzy and raw, a synth doubled Dusty Hill’s bass track (or all but provided it, depending on who you ask) on “Sharp Dressed Man,” infusing the peacocking anthem with a pulsing rhythm. ZZ Top and producer Bill Ham gave a big ol’ Texas bear hug to the synthesizer on the trio’s monster 1983 LP, Eliminator. A four-minute blast of Eighties synthesizers and fiery riffs that emits pure adrenaline, the song became a classic-rock radio staple, and inspired a video - directed by Randy Newman’s brother, Tim, and showcasing the band’s red 1930s Ford Coupe seen on the Eliminator cover - that defined ZZ Top’s signature iconography of cars, guitars, and women for all times. This was one of the first tracks that started unfolding,” Billy Gibbons told Rolling Stone of the band’s state-of-the-art Eighties makeover, which began in earnest with this lead single from Eliminator. “We had dabbled with the synthesizer, and then all this gear was showing up from manufacturers. Before the MTV era kicked in, it was an early testament to the group’s knack for making roadhouse blues riffs feel bracingly modern. According to Hill, ZZ Top’s travels led them to many a roadside stop, and, as he told Spin, “Every gas station in the world had a cardboard display of the cheapest and ugliest sunglasses you could imagine.” Starting with its gnarly riff, and extending to Hill’s rock-steady bass line, “Cheap Sunglasses” wasn’t just advice for anyone with a hangover. Who says the drudgery of touring can’t be inspiring? One of the highlights of 1979’s Degüello (along with “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”) was this ode to low-cost eyewear, which came to the band on tour. If the guy’s got good wine, it’s OK.” The way the song seamlessly segued into Hombres’ bar rocker “Jesus Just Left Chicago” as if nothing happened made for one of the best one-two punches in the history of road rock. The thing about a bus is who you have to sit beside. “You can meet some very unique people on a bus and in a bus station,” Hill told Spin in 1985. The Homeric track that opened their iconic Tres Hombres album starts with a thin, precise bluesy guitar lick and a tight, sighing drum line that foreshadows the band’s electro-blues era, setting up Gibbons and Hill to plead for compassion in concert: “Have mercy!” Gibbons goes on to explain they’ve been waiting for the bus all day, with a bottle of booze and some leftover scratch, but, horror of horrors, when the bus arrives, it’s “packed up tight.” Blues harp virtuoso James Harman takes a solo, and by the time the song finishes up, the ZZ guys are dreaming of getting a Cadillac someday (fast forward to Eliminator ). Copyright 2006.Poor ZZ Top, they just wanted to get home. ↑ Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008.↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 12th Edition.Die Offizieel Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community (неопр.). ↑ Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum (неопр.).↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by ZZ Top (неопр.).« (Somebody Else Been) Shakin’ Your Tree» Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World
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