ZZ TOP – Eliminator [original mix] (2013)

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Legends ZZ TOP finally have all have all their 1970-1990 albums remastered as it should be: in its original mix. On this just released box from Rhino Records, “ZZ Top – The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 (Warner Bros. 8122-79664-2)”, is exactly what you’re getting at.

Back in 1987, at the dawn of the CD era, ZZ Top’s label released a three-disc box set called ‘Six Pack’ that included the band’s first five albums plus their seventh. But someone decided to take the original recordings and remix them with added percussions and multi-track shifts. It wasn’t long before every ZZ Top CD for sale came like that.
This 10-disc ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990) rights these quarter-century wrongs by reissuing the LPs in their original mixes. And if that means some of them – like 1971’s ‘ZZ Top’s First Album’ – sound a bit sludgy, and others — like 1975’s part-live ‘Fandango!’ – aren’t as crisp or as clear as you once thought, at least the heavily processed mixes that have plagued the records for years are no longer around.

However – and despite its ‘already ’80s overproduced style – we have chosen “Eliminator” to present the box here: not only because it’s a personal favorite, but also to show you how different this album sounded originally.
Most of you must have heard “Eliminator” on CD only, and it features the aforementioned ‘remix’. If you have the vinyl LP you can tell the difference.

Revisiting “Eliminator” it’s amazing to hear how comparatively natural the record really sounds in its original mix. The synth pads and splashy drums don’t undermine the band’s songcraft or ability as players; Beard’s drums, to note just a third of ZZ Top, were already that precise.
This “ZZ Top – The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990” box is a must have. The sound is awesome, there’s a slick packaging with nicely-crafted mini jackets and replicated label art on each disc.
Highly Recommended.

01 – Gimme All Your Lovin’
02 – Got Me Under Pressure
03 – Sharp Dressed Man
04 – I Need You Tonight
05 – I Got The Six
06 – Legs
07 – Thug
08 – TV Dinners
09 – Dirty Dog
10 – If I Could Only Flag Her Down
11 – Bad Girl

Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals
Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards, vocals
Frank Beard – drums, percussion

BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Studio-Albums-1970-1990/dp/B00CQGU9GG
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