ZZ Top - Eliminator (1983)

Let's face it.  When you approach a ZZ Top album like Eliminator, you don't bother scouring for intricate time signatures or irregular beats.  You don't analyze the lyrics for any profound meanings.  You don't wax rhapsodic over production values.  You just want to know one thing and one thing only: Does it rock?

The answer is yes - and it rocks hard.  Eliminator is all about straightforward Texas boogie from start to finish, with eleven songs powered by by guitarist Billy Gibbons' rapid-fire riffs, bassist Dusty Hill's consistent pacing, and drummer Frank Beard's reliable backbeat.  Innovation?  There is a little bit of that - Gibbons added some electronic sounds in the mix along with some clever guitar distortions, and producer Bill Ham quickened the pace with a smooth veneer that gives this album away as an eighties record - but Eliminator is mostly just good fun, chock full of songs about sharp dressed men and the long-legged ladies who give 'em all their lovin' and got them under pressure.  The words - when they jump out of the mix - are silly at best, a little  too misogynistic at times, but then, if you're a hard rocker who takes the words seriously, you're better off sticking with another trio . . . Rush.

Eliminator, named for ZZ Top's customized 1933 Ford hot rod, is as glossy and cool as the car itself, and anyone who saw the promotional videos for "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs" would be forgiven for thinking it was a fourth member of the band.  So while there is a killer blues song recalling the Top's roots ("I Need You Tonight") and a bit of clever satire with "TV Dinners," an ironic tribute to frozen old food ready to cook and eat, don't look for too much substance here.  You'll sooner appreciate the fact that ZZ Top could pull off a record like this in style.  And they sure made good use of all that facial hair.