Tres Hombres | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 26, 1973 [1] | |||
Studio | Robin Hood Studios, Tyler, Texas & Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:26 | |||
Label | London | |||
Producer | Bill Ham | |||
ZZ Top chronology | ||||
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Singles from Tres Hombres | ||||
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Tres Hombres is the third studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released on July 26, 1973 by London Records. It was the band's first collaboration with engineer Terry Manning. The album would be ZZ Top's commercial breakthrough in the United States charts. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 1974. Its lead single "La Grange" reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 . It is the first of many ZZ Top albums to incorporate the use of Spanish terminology in their branding. "Tres Hombres" means "three men" in Spanish.
The track "Waitin' for the Bus" segues into "Jesus Just Left Chicago" almost seamlessly. Houston Chronicle entertainment writer Andrew Dansby wrote in 2013 that this fusing of the songs was not the original plan. Dansby claimed that the album's engineer was splicing tape and cut too much, leaving no gap between the songs. [6] The album's engineer Terry Manning, who performed the edit, counter-claimed in a 2017 blog post that it was no accident. Manning admitted that although it was not planned beforehand, as an engineer he was "... always looking very carefully at the timings between songs ... counting time, feeling how different time sigs (signatures) go together, different keys, different feels ..." Manning wrote that he, "... tried several things to see how those two (songs) would go together" when it dawned on him that they could "... come together as one song, exactly as if played that way." Manning wrote that when he initially presented the edit, Billy Gibbons loved it but the album's producer Bill Ham was confused and wary of it, "... but after several plays, it was obvious (to) everyone that there was no other way they could ever exist again." [7]
The album was released in July 1973. Frontman Billy Gibbons said in 2013:
We could tell that we had something special. The record became quite the turning point for us. The success was handwriting on the wall, because from that point we became honorary citizens of Memphis. [8]
At the height of ZZ Top's success in the mid-1980s, a digitally remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1973 mix was no longer issued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, which contains three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Manning's original 1973 mix. Subsequent releases on digital platforms such as iTunes have used the original mix as well.
In addition to the standard 2-channel stereo version, a four-channel quadraphonic version was also released in 1973 in the Quad 8 8-track tape and Q4 Reel-to-reel tape formats. [9]
The only international single released from the album in most countries was "La Grange" (backed with "Just Got Paid" from the band's second album Rio Grande Mud ), which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974. [10] The song "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" was released as a UK only single.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Pitchfork | 9.0/10 [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
The Daily Vault | B+ [12] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
The album was released to a lukewarm reception by one critic Steve Apple in a September 1973 review for Rolling Stone who felt that while the "Southern rock & roll sound" was becoming popular, ZZ Top themselves were "only one of several competent Southern rocking bands", though they had "an advantage over most white rockers" because they "sound black". He felt that ZZ Top had "the dynamic rhythms that only the finest of the three-piece bands can cook up. Billy Gibbons plays a tasty Duane Allman lead with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard pounding out the funky bottom", and were "one of the most inventive of the three-piece rockers" but wondered when "audiences will get tired of hearing the same ... 'Poot yawl hans together' patter." [2] The album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200.
In 2000, the album was voted number 501 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [14] In 2003, it was ranked number 498 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and in 2012 ranked at number 490 on a revised list. [15] In 2011 Houston Press named it the best boogie rock album ever in its list of "Five Essential Boogie-Rock Albums". [5] In July 2013, 40 years after its release, the album was described by Andrew Dansby in the Houston Chronicle as "... full of characters and doings so steeped in caricature – yet presented straight-faced – as to invite skepticism. The album is stuffed with color and flavor, much like its famous gate-fold photo on the inside: a gut-busting couple of plates of food from the much-beloved but now-closed Leo's Mexican Restaurant on South Shepherd near Westheimer." [6] AllMusic commented that "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", and rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars. [4] Andy Beta of Pitchfork awarded the album 9.0 out of 10, writing in 2017 that, "ZZ Top's 1973 breakthrough was a masterful melding of complementary styles, cramming Southern rock and blues boogie through the band's own idiosyncratic filter." [3]
The song "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" was covered by British rock band Motörhead on their 1977 EP of the same name. [16] "Jesus Just Left Chicago" has been performed 81 times in concert by American jam band Phish since 1987, and their version of the song appeared on their 1997 live album Slip Stitch and Pass and four volumes of their Live Phish archival concert series. [17]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Waitin' for the Bus" | Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill | 2:59 |
2. | "Jesus Just Left Chicago" | Gibbons, Hill, Rube Beard | 3:29 |
3. | "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" | Gibbons, Hill, Beard | 3:23 |
4. | "Master of Sparks" | Gibbons | 3:33 |
5. | "Hot, Blue and Righteous" | Gibbons | 3:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Move Me on Down the Line" | Gibbons, Hill | 2:30 |
2. | "Precious and Grace" | Gibbons, Hill, Beard | 3:09 |
3. | "La Grange" | Gibbons, Hill, Beard | 3:51 |
4. | "Sheik" | Gibbons, Hill | 4:04 |
5. | "Have You Heard?" | Gibbons, Hill | 3:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Waitin' for the Bus" (live) | Gibbons, Hill | 2:42 |
12. | "Jesus Just Left Chicago" (live) | Gibbons, Hill, Beard | 4:03 |
13. | "La Grange" (live) | Gibbons, Hill, Beard | 4:44 |
ZZ Top
Production
Chart (1974) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [18] | 36 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [19] | 13 |
US Billboard 200 [20] | 8 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [22] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For 51 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound based on Gibbons' blues style and Hill and Beard's rhythm section. They are known for their live performances, sly and humorous lyrics, and the matching appearances of Gibbons and Hill, who wore sunglasses, hats and long beards.
El Loco is the seventh studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1981. It foreshadowed the band's extensive usage of synthesizers on Eliminator, Afterburner, and to a lesser extent, Recycler, by way of employing a synthesizer on a couple tracks, played by an uncredited Linden Hudson.
Mescalero is the fourteenth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released in September 2003, as the band's final release for RCA Records. While the band still retained their foundation in blues rock, Mescalero explored genres like country and Tejano. Recording sessions took place at Foam Box Recordings in Houston, with Billy Gibbons as producer.
Eliminator is the eighth studio album by American rock band ZZ Top. It was released on March 23, 1983, by Warner Bros. Records, and rose high on the charts in many countries. Four hit singles were released—"Gimme All Your Lovin'" which reached the American Top 40, "Sharp Dressed Man", "TV Dinners" and their most successful single, "Legs". Eliminator is ZZ Top's most commercially successful release, with sales of 11 million and diamond certification in the US.
Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top is a greatest hits album by the rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 2004 on Rhino Entertainment. The title is a portmanteau of "texan" and "mexicano", meaning "Tex-mex Ranch". The 2-CD compilation is essentially a pared-down version of the 4-CD box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, released the previous year. All songs are original mixes that have been digitally remastered.
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ is a 4-CD box set by American rock band ZZ Top. Released in 2003, it is a compilation album of material from the band's tenures with London Records and Warner Bros. Records, recorded from 1967 to 1992. An abbreviated 2-CD version of this compilation, Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top (2004), was released the following year.
William Frederick Gibbons is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist and primary vocalist of ZZ Top. He began his career in Moving Sidewalks, who recorded Flash (1969) and opened four dates for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969 and released ZZ Top's First Album in early 1971. He has also maintained a solo career in recent years, starting with his first album Perfectamundo (2015).
Frank Lee Beard is an American drummer best known as a member of the rock band ZZ Top.
"Master of Sparks" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1973 album Tres Hombres.
"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top, released on their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. Pre-production recording engineer Linden Hudson was very involved in the early stages of this song's production.
"Legs" is a song by the band ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as the fourth single in May 1984 more than a year after the album came out. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and the dance mix version of the song peaked at number 13 on the dance charts.
"La Grange" is a song by the American rock group ZZ Top, from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. One of ZZ Top's most successful songs, it was released as a single in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974. The song refers to a brothel on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas. The brothel is also the subject of the Broadway play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
"TV Dinners" is a song by American band ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. It was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. The song is a simple, beat-driven and tongue-in-cheek tune with lyrics about pre-packaged, oven-ready meals. Promoted for radio play in the US, and released commercially as a single in the UK, it reached number 38 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. Robert Palmer recorded "TV Dinners" for his 2003 album Drive.
"Got Me Under Pressure" is a song by ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator.
The Worldwide Texas Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. Arranged in support of their 1975 album Fandango!, the band visited arenas, stadiums, and auditoriums from 1976 to 1977. The elaborate stage production was designed to bring Texas to national audiences, with regional fauna and flora.
Fandango! is the fourth album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1975. The album's first side consists of selections from live shows, with the second side being new studio recordings. A remastered and expanded edition of this album was released on February 28, 2006.
Recycler is the tenth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in October 1990. It was the last album to utilize the band's synthesizer-driven production style which began on Eliminator and marked a return to the band's blues roots.
ZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends is the fourth tribute album to honor American blues-rock band ZZ Top. It includes performances from Daughtry, Nickelback, Wolfmother, Filter and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith among others.
"My Head's In Mississippi" is a song by ZZ Top from their album Recycler. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. In December 1990, the song reached number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 166 in Australia.
"Waitin' for the Bus" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" are two songs by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. The two songs open the album, segued into each other, and for years radio stations played the two tracks together. "Waitin' for the Bus" was written solely by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, while "Jesus Just Left Chicago" was also co-written by drummer Frank Beard.