Last week the Discogs Randomizer spat out Kiss which in turn jogged a lot of memories on this here website. Since Johnny roused us with a stirring tale about his own personal experience with that little band from Tejas, I figured I’d slap one of their LPs on the ‘ol platter for this week’s spin. It also occurred to me that an even better idea would be to spin the very record they were touring in support of in Johnny’s story.

ZZ Top

Tres Hombres

1973

Commentary

ZZ Top is a three-piece outfit with a sound like a 6 or 7-piece arena rock band. Tres Hombres is their third studio album and throughout it is a cornucopia of blues and southern-style rock that, honestly, can never be duplicated. Their lineup has been unchanged since the beginning with the inimitable Billy Gibbons on guitar, Dusty Hill on bass, and Frank Beard on the drums. Ironically enough, Beard is the only member without a beard, let alone the iconic ZZ Top beard. Beard is credited on this album as “Rube Beard.”

ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres is not only famous for the excellent jams, the ZZ Top setlist staple (La Grange), or the quirky segue between “Waitin’ for the Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago”; it also has an all-time hunger inducing gatefold spread. Some internet sleuthing answered a question I have always had, where is that food from? Unfortunately, it is from a now defunct Mexican restaurant in Houston called “Leo’s Mexican Restaurant.” An even deeper dive uncovered that the founder of the restaurant rode with Pancho Villa back in the day.

Aside from that gastro-work of art, the cover is photos of the band in varying states of doing whatever they want. The back has track listing, credits, and a seal that says, “In the fine Texas tradition…” I don’t know if they are talking about the food or the music. As you can tell from the pictures, my copy is well-loved. The wax is pretty clean and noise free. One of the reasons I love collecting OG pressings is that you get to hear the original mix. This album was remastered digitally in the 80s to the chagrin of many, and was the only mix available for a while. Thankfully now, even if purchased digitally, it is the original 1973 mix.

Track by Track

1. Waitin’ for the Bus

There are iconic opening riffs and then there are iconic opening riffs. It is a pretty straightforward blues-rock song. I haven’t even gotten to “La Grange” yet! One of my favorite performances of this song is when they performed it at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival. Of course, on the LP, this song seamlessly segues into “Jesus Just Left Chicago.”

2. Jesus Just Left Chicago

This song is more like 1A on this album. Billy Gibbons has noted that the segue was no accident and that it was intended. This one is a true to form travelin’ blues song. A little bit of biblical-blues cross genre wordplay involved with the line, “Took a jog through Mississippi/Well, muddy water turned to wine.”

3. Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers

Dusty and Billy both sing on this high energy rocker. This is some primo early ZZ Top. They always have been a tight blues-rock band, but as many fans know, they experimented later on with some other sounds. I am thinking specifically of Afterburner. Anyway, like with most, Gibbons’ great guitar work shines through.

4. Master of Sparks

A fascinating true story about a roll cage created for the sole purpose of rolling out of the bed of a pickup truck onto Highway 6 outside of Houston. As you can imagine, once that thing hit the pavement a shit ton of sparks happened. The song describes it best.

When I hit the ground
You could hear the sound
And see the sparks a country mile
End over end I began to spin
But the ball started running wild
But it was too late as I met my fate
And the ball started gettin’ hot
But through the sparks and the flame
I knew that the claim
Of the Master of Sparks was gone

5. Hot, Blue and Righteous

The band tones it down a bit for this slow-tempo and soulful song. Kind of B-Side material to be honest. When I think of ZZ Top, I think of fast-paced rock, or even some slower blues. This one sounds like a knockoff Eagles song. Great guitar solo, of course.

6. Move Me On Down the Line

This song is a combination southern rock and blues boogie jam. It’s a great song to drive to, and hey, wouldn’t you know it, it is about driving! It is a tight song with solid instrumentation and vocals.

7. Precious and Grace

Billy Gibbons is a car aficionado, so a lot of his music has driving themes, or are about cars. Hell, Eliminator features an artist’s rendition of his custom 1933 Ford Coupe. So, this song is another driving song about driving at night under open skies.

8. La Grange

Who ever thought that a song about a brothel would become a gigantic hit? Iconic riffage and lyrics are what make this song legendary. It never gets old. Follow the link for an in-depth story about how the brothel got shut down for the third and final time after this song brought attention to its existence.

9. Sheik

A chill blues jam where the narrator travels through the African continent and somehow ends up in South America. You can tell Gibbons is experimenting with some new guitar sounds on this one, he really leans on the phase and wah. It is a little more soulful with less grit in the guitar tone.

10. Have You Heard?

The last song exhibits some more versatility on the part of ZZ Top. It is somewhat of a gospel blues song, but with some excellent guitar work. While not quite as dull as “Hot, Blue and Righteous,” it certainly slows the tempo down a bit for a slow burn. It is a good bookend to this album.