Live From Texas (DVD)

ZZ Top

Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2008

http://www.zztop.com

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/01/2008

Legendary and ZZ Top go together like peanut butter and jelly, Ashford & Simpson, and Norm and Cheers. There is no question this trio from Texas is widely known and accepted as a band that has weathered trends in music and still remained relevant. The blues guitar of Billy Gibbons, the bass of Dusty Hill, and the simplistic backbeat of Frank Beard have combined to create some of the best blues rock songs ever written. “Tush,” “LaGrange,” and “Cheap Sunglasses” are just some of the songs that bar bands across the world, including the Hoo Dads in Cedar Falls, Iowa, play to a thunderous reaction on a weekly basis.

So it seems fitting and extremely likely that this DVD, a collection of the band playing their legendary songs, will be the perfect ingredient to a perfect night, assuming ZZ Top is your type of group. Some father-in-laws in their ‘70s won’t appreciate the band’s energy and, well, that’s okay. It’s still about the visual, and seeing Gibbons and Hill in their trademark long beards, moving in synch during various songs, brings a smile to your face. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Longtime ZZ Top fans won’t argue about songs missing from the set list on this DVD either. Sure, it’d have been fantastic to hear my personal favorite “She Don’t Love Me, She Loves My Automobile” included from 1979’s Deguello, but at least “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Legs,” and “Pearl Necklace” are featured (while “Sleeping Bag” is thankfully excluded.) There is also the bonus of hearing the band’s interpretation of Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady,” which sounds like the band tried to find their own approach to the song.

When you watch this DVD, you may also notice the way in which the songs blend into each other. This is a credit to the band. There are always little elements that musicians appreciate about the manner in which the band includes these elements to make the song distinct. Consider the way drummer Beard toggles from playing the drums to playing the rims during the tastefully elongated intro of “LaGrange.” He could have approached the guitar rhythm in any number of ways; he could have ignored the dynamics of the song and played a straight backbeat, or he could have just played his hi-hat or just his cymbals or just his bass drum. Yet the rims are unmistakably Frank Beard. There’s also the way in which Gibbons changes the guitar solos in “Tush” slightly enough so it’s not note-for-note the exact same solo as what was recorded. After all, if any musician has the right or the bestowed honor to change their own interpretation of a song, it’s the band themselves.

This DVD is a treat for those who, like me, grew up watching the band on MTV, first with “TV Dinners,” then with “Sharp Dressed Man,” and then, the ultimate in 1980s videos, “Legs,” which made every boy going through puberty want to work at a shoe store.

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2008 Paul Hanson and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and is used for informational purposes only.