ZZ Top: Eliminator

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Barry Walters wrote in Rolling Stone: "Mention dance rock and people think of Franz Ferdinand or Duran Duran. But when it comes to the American edition, nothing matches the ferocity or success of ZZ Top's 1983 Eliminator, a landmark blend of traditional Texan boogie blues, New Wave synths and disco-steady beats that sold over 10 million U.S. units. Yielding the band's sleek pop breakthrough, 'Legs' … Eliminator announced a major studio reinvention from a hairy Houston threesome previously focused on replicating the grit of their arena-packing Seventies concerts. Guitarist Billy Gibbons already knew how to fill a power-trio framework with rumbling chords and fat leads that double as propulsive rhythmic blare. Here he adds a badass distortion that complements bassist Dusty Hill's quavering synth frills and drummer Frank Beard's Devo-precise stomp as biker hoedowns like 'Gimme All Your Lovin' ' and 'Sharp Dressed Man' overflow with good-natured testosterone. … This special edition's synth-shorn live tracks assert the punkiness that drove the band's retooled attack" ("Reissues & Rarities," 9/4/08, p. 72).