Hardware (Billy Gibbons album)

Hardware
Studio album by Billy Gibbons
Released	June 4, 2021
Recorded	2020
Genre	Rock
Length	36:56
Label	Concord Records
Producer	Billy Gibbons Matt Sorum Mike Fiorentino
Billy Gibbons chronology
The Big Bad Blues (2018) Hardware (2021)

Hardware is the third solo studio album by American rock musician Billy Gibbons. The album was released on June 4, 2021, by Concord Records. ^{[1] [2]}

Production and recording

Gibbons described the recording process in several interviews.

It was Matt Sorum that rang up out of the clear blue, way back in June, and he said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to do something. And making loud noise is right up our alley, so how would you feel about going out and checking out a new recording studio?” And I said, “Gee whiz! That’s music to my ears! Whaddaya got in mind?” And he said, “Oh, there’s a place out near Joshua Tree.” And I initially suspected that he was referring to Rancho De La Luna, where I had worked with Josh Homme and his Queens of the Stone Age project. But Matt said, “No, it’s right across the highway.” Little did he tell me that it was not only across the highway, but it was 20 miles back into the desert. But sure enough, we teamed up, we went from Palm Springs down the road there, and when we arrived, I thought, “Oh, 30 minutes, we’ll have a look around.” Well, those 30 minutes turned into three months. We walked through the front door, and we didn’t leave until we had wrapped up this album project. And even better was the fact that the studio had already placed a scattering of instruments laying about, because when we arrived, Matt didn’t even have a drum stick, and I didn’t have a guitar pick. But—lo and behold—in the studio, to my delight, they had an old Fender Jazzmaster guitar, leaning up against a Fender reverb tank. And Matt tuned up a set of skins that was in a corner, and off we went. And the first crack outta the box was the single that was released in the last couple of weeks, “West Coast Junkie.” ^[3]

Gibbons said “We found an old Fender Jazz – ’64 or ’65 – in the studio and everyone had a go...The unusual one was watching Matt step out from behind the drums and slamming down on a bass guitar. It was quite a surprise." ^[4]
“The desert settings, replete with shifting sands, cacti and rattlesnakes makes for the kind of backdrop that lends an element of intrigue reflected in the sounds created out there." ^[5] The day they got there they were greeted by a pair of rattlesnakes on the porch. In the afternoon they’d sit and watch the eagles fly overhead. “You read about these places, you see travelogue photos, but when you’re there the energy is imbibed,” says Gibbons. “It’s something you feel.” ^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100 [7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
American Songwriter	[9]
Classic Rock	[10]

Hardware received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 80, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 6 reviews. ^[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Gibbons, Matt Sorum, Mike Fiorentino and Chad Shlosser except where noted.

Hardware track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Lucky Card"		2:33
2.	"She’s On Fire"		2:46
3.	"More-More-More"		3:02
4.	"Shuffle, Step & Slide"		3:10
5.	"Vagabond Man"	Gibbons; Sorum; Fiorentino	3:59
6.	"Spanish Fly"		4:01
7.	"West Coast Junkie"		2:48
8.	"Stackin’ Bones" (featuring Larkin Poe)		3:16
9.	"I Was a Highway"	Gibbons; Josh Dunne; Fiorentino; Neil Mason; Tim Montana; Sorum; Shlosser	2:34
10.	"S-G-L-M-B-B-R"	Gibbons; Fiorentino	2:25
11.	"Hey Baby, Que Paso"	Augie Meyers; Bill Sheffield	2:53
12.	"Desert High"		3:27
Total length:			36:56

Personnel

• Billy Gibbons - vocals, guitars, bass guitar, 'virtual' bass ^{[nb 1] [11]}
• Austin Hanks - guitars, bass guitar, 'virtual' bass
• Matt Sorum – drums, bass guitar
• Larkin Poe - vocals on "Stackin' Bones"

1. Bass parts played on a regular guitar through 'A Little Thunder' pickup, which only picks up sounds from the low strings.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for Hardware Chart (2021) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [12] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [13] 14 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [14] 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 80 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [16] 9 French Albums (SNEP) [17] 66 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 4 Scottish Albums (OCC) [19] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [20] 1 UK Albums (OCC) [21] 18 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [22] 1 US Billboard 200 [23] 111 US Independent Albums (Billboard) [24] 17 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [25] 17 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [26] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Hardware Chart (2021) Position Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 88

References

1. "Hardware by Billy F Gibbons on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved 2021-06-11.
2. Joseph Hudak (2021-03-26). "Billy Gibbons Previews New Solo Album With Surf-Rock Song 'West Coast Junkie'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
3. Lanham, Tom. "Billy F. Gibbons Gets Back on the Road with Hardware". Paste Magazine.
4. Horsley, Jonathan. "Billy Gibbons shares tone secrets from his latest solo album, Hardware".
5. Bienstock, Richard. "Billy Gibbons announces new "raging rocker" solo album, Hardware, unveils first single".
6. Everley, Dave. [Billy Gibbons: storyteller, hot sauce merchant, lover of public transport "Billy Gibbons: storyteller, hot sauce merchant, lover of public transport"].{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
7. "Hardware by Billy Gibbons Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
8. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Hardware - Billy Gibbons". AllMusic . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
9. Hal Horowitz (2021-06-04). "Review: ZZ Top's Frontman Billy Gibbons Goes Solo on 'Hardware'". American Songwriter . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
10. John Aizlewood (2021-06-04). "Review: Billy F Gibbons has a ball on Hardware's riff-strewn feast of scuzz". Classic Rock . Retrieved 2021-06-17.
11. Jonathan Horsley (2021-08-10). "Billy Gibbons shares tone secrets from his latest solo album, Hardware". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
13. "Ultratop.be – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
14. "Ultratop.be – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
16. "Albumit 23/2021" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat . Retrieved June 18, 2021.
17. "Lescharts.com – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Billy F Gibbons – Hardware". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
22. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
23. "Billy Gibbons Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
24. "Billy Gibbons Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
25. "Billy Gibbons Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
26. "Billy Gibbons Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
27. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2021". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved December 26, 2021.