Rio Grande Mud - ZZ TOP***

Francine/Just Got Paid/Mushmouth Shoutin'/Ko Ko Blue/Chevrolet/Apologies To Pearly/Bar-B-Q/Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell/Whiskey 'N' Mama/Down Brownie

Rio Grande Mud was the follow up album from the blues-rock trio ZZ Top and predates their distinctive long beards and sunglasses image. They would achieve their commercial breakthrough with the next album. (US:104)

“Hard bluesy riffs with unique style speaks for itself: This album is something great, full of superb songs, great riffs and solos and awesome teamwork from this trio.”

“Pretty much a blues rock dominated album with some nice tunes which gives us a foretaste what will come with their next records. Also some nice slide guitar work on Just Got Paid and catchy boogie rock on Bar-B-Q."

“At the time of this release ZZ Top still didn't wear those idiosyncratic Judaic beards, nor the impenetrable mirrorized sunglasses. They were however already cool back then, delivering a simple but effective boogie metal, featuring cooler-than-thou guitar signature and vocals.”

“On Rio Grande Mud, ZZ Top made some good roots-rock and blues-rock. Unfortunately, this is not as well known as it deserves to be. The lead guitarist, Billy Gibbons, is excellent on his instrument, and comes up with a lot of very exciting solos, which is shown off well in the instrumental Apologies To Pearly.”

“Not their first, but the first truly killer Top album, this one's got some absolutely rock-steady bluesy boogie. Gibbons' dirty blues guitar tone is perfect, his playing tasteful, and the groove here is a mile-wide, but still tight.”

“The first side is quite brilliant. The deep bluesy riff to Just Got Paid is fantastic while the short pacing riff to Ko Ko Blue is really simple but also very catchy. Francine is just a simple but catchy rocker, while Mushmouth Shoutin' is a good blues stomp. Chevrolet is relatively inferior but still quite good. The instrumental Apologies To Pearly starts off the second side quite well. However Bar-B-Q suffers from muddy production, Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell is a fairly cheesy ballad and the last two are just lame generic rockers.”

“Basic enough boogie and blues with a raw sound and rough production giving a bar-room feel to it. Billy Gibbons is a much underrated guitar player, he has a very distinctive style with his muted riffing and some cool slide playing.”