zz top - hell yeah!
first five -
"the first album" bluesy one, for 'bedroom thang' especially with its ridiculous heads down extended breakdowns.
"rio grande mud" bluesy / rocky, super raw with dry, astringent sound...ridiculously tight and funked up. 'just got paid' is waaaaaay up there for me. bits sound almost like beefheart.
"tres hombres" maybe the masterpiece. warmer, more expansive sound. gliding, sunny, heavy...rolling on and on...motorik for truckers..and bizarre downbeat stoner tracks like 'master of sparks'. huge beautiful bottom end throughout.
"fandango!" studio/live split. less essential than the others - but 'nasty dogs and funky kings' and deeply, deeply satisfying riffmonster 'tush' are musts.
"tejas" another must have. moody nocturnal vibes. some country flavs and lotsa limber mexically funk too ('snappie kakkie', 'avalon hideaway'), + 'enjoy and get it on' pure juggernaut of a track that just fuckin' flies off the ground...i mean how ridiculously together is this band? billy gibbons' spitting, fractured guitar at the end of that just destroys me!
some peeps rate "deguello" too but i dunno...it's a bit glossily produced.
they had that perfect poise between looseness and precision. lots of space in there, great power trio dynamics with great interplay. but also dum dum simple, insistent and repetitive. it's all in the bones...perfect rhythm section and a great guitarist that plays super rhythmically always, with great economy, and right in there with the other two.
quite possibly my favourite rock 'band voice' along with can at their best, and creedence...
