ZZ Top – Eliminator

My copy sounds great. No surface noise, pretty dynamic sound. Happy to have this classic in my collection

I seem to have this pressing. However, the Matrix/Runout codes are a little different than the ones listed above. It may be another variant:

Side X1: 1-23774-A-JW2 #3 MASTERDISK RL (Drawn Head With Hat) LRW 0
Side X2: 1-23774-B-JW2 #1 MASTERDISK RL 0

Just got an original US pressing new sealed copy. Sounds terrible. Well, maybe not terrible, but it’s too quiet and compressed sounding.
Lots of good songs on here, this needs a 2LP press. Or a least a double disc, with 3 sides for music, and 1 with that beautiful hot rod etched. 15 minutes per side, killer!

Having resurfaced after a long and much-needed hiatus, ZZ Top stood tall in 1983 as the first AOR act to successfully interfuse synthesized grooves and boogie blues with a radio-ready sheen. Inspired by advancing recording technologies and the stylish new wave sounds they had already utilized on "El Loco", the band hoped to sur what had gone before with their next project. "Eliminator" was composed and engineered electronically at 120 beats per minute, apparently the most popular tempo in rock music at that time, by guitarist Billy Gibbons, who, during the recording process, replaced his band mates Dusty Hill and Frank Beard with a combination of synthesized bass, a drum machine and sequencer. It was a process that would prove to be extremely gainful for the band, no matter how programmed and precise it all sounded in comparison to their loose, undulating earlier phase. After all, this was the sound of the times, and ZZ Top were simply adhering to Reaganomics by adopting it for their own ends, with no compunction for their established fanbase.

Perhaps the reason why "Eliminator" succeeded where others had failed was due to their ability to sell their expanded synth sound to MTV, which helped them assimilate the mainstream and take their established motifs to the next level in the process. The music video was the promotional tool the band required to broaden their audience, with the male fantasy-oriented clips for "Sharp Dressed Man," "Gimme All Your Lovin," and "Legs" all receiving regular rotation. Even "Legs" received an edited, synth-heavy single mix to maximize its commercial viability, that said, the album version - replaced on future pressings by the remix, despite being designed purely for radio play - is infinitely superior. Embodied by the omnipresent red coupe featured on the cover art, ZZ Top "eliminated" their competitors, though not in a drag race, in the music industry. Supposedly unmarketable, this Texan trio carefully obscured their unfashionable appearance with hats and sunglasses, exploiting the fact that the untrained young quotient they were now appealing to generally disregarded performers and whether or not they played live on the recordings they consumed if the complementary promo video was sufficiently sexy and colourful. It was this element of ignorance that saw rock music now being as equally stylized and manufactured as pop music, albeit aimed at teenage boys instead of middle-aged hairy men. In actuality, in this instance it was middle-aged hairy men selling millions of records - go figure.

Nevertheless, the dance-inflected music that Gibbons contrived, as mechanized and rhythmic as it so inherently is, still features several irresistible components of ballsy blues rock, with his Dean Z electric guitar providing the album's resonant, riveting riffs. And since the strident arena technique worked so well on their most recent album, ZZ Top expectedly opted for a marketing strategy well-suited to the corporate rock landscape, even if it did disappoint blues rock purists. Not that they pandered to any demographic unless it was profitable - this was a band who preferred to carve their own path, though only if it made sound financial sense. As evidenced by "Got Me Under Pressure," "Thug," "I Need You Tonight," and "If Only I Could Flag Her Down", the principles of heavy metal and white blues, overdriven with forthright hooks and arena rock pulses, compensate for the refinement of the band's Southwestern disposition.

Firmly in touch with their sense of humour and down-and-dirty Texan roots, ZZ Top's vocally-and-lyrically detached hard boogie was long considered their speciality, but here, greatly enhanced by shiny synths, propulsive electronic drum beats and revved up guitars, they emerged into the video age with a contemporary edge. Instantly recognizable, four of the five hit singles contained on this album became classic rock radio staples. Naturally, the band would repeat the grungy groove model on their ninth studio outing "Afterburner", and although it was equally gratifying and consistent, it failed to reach the heights of this slick, swaggering accidental blockbuster.

Rating: 5/5

This is the only ZZ Top album that was around at my place when I was a teen, and the only thing I knew of the band back them. For that reason, I decided to buy it. Side A is great, but Side B is full of fillers.
My copy was buy used as VG+, and it comes with a lot of surface noise, which I don't mind because once the music kicks, it's hardly noticeable.
The guitar tone of 'I Need You Tonight' is worth every penny you may spend on this record.

Great rock album. Period!