"...I Need You Tonight..."
Originally released on LP and
Cassette in March 1983 on Warner Brothers - the Blues Boogie of
"Eliminator" was an absolute phenomenon for the Texas trio ZZ Top.
They’d been bubbling under
for years and seven albums - "La Grange" in 1973 from the "Tres
Hombres" LP, "Tush" in 1975 from the "Fandango!" album
- and a minor hit with "I Thank You" in 1980. But none of it even
remotely indicated what would happen in 1983 and 1984. "Eliminator" –
one of the best boogie albums ever made – changed everything for ZZ TOP and us
- it was little short of absolute global domination.
It was a combination of
things - the umpteen tracks that were all single/radio friendly hits, the
emergence of rotation MTV, the videos with leggy sexy babes – the fabulous 1956
coupe car – the ZZ TOP keyring flying through the air to the hapless buck trying
to be a 'sharp dressed man' - the image of dusty dudes with beards - all of it
combined in one heady mix to produce domestic sales in the USA topping 10
million with the same number estimated for the rest of the world. And if you
take into account second-hand sales since that heady time 25 years ago and an
early issue on CD, you’re looking at a "Rumours", a "Purple
Rain" and even a "Thriller".
"Eliminator's" history on CD however has not been the stuff of legend - which brings us to this good yet ultimately frustrating 2008 reissue. Here are the car jacks...
"Eliminator's" history on CD however has not been the stuff of legend - which brings us to this good yet ultimately frustrating 2008 reissue. Here are the car jacks...
UK and US released September 2008 - this UK 2-Disc version gives us "Eliminator: Collector's Edition" by ZZ
TOP on Rhino/Warner Brothers 8122-79951-1 (Barcode 081227995119) - a CD and
DVD multi-media version that plays out as follows:
CD (78:27 minutes):
1. Gimme All Your Lovin'
[Side 1 of the original LP]
2. Got Me Under Pressure
3. Sharp Dressed Man
4. I Need You Tonight
5. I Got The Six
6. Legs (Original 4:34 minute
Mix) [Side 2]
7. Thug
8. TV Dinners
9. Dirty Dog
10. If I Could Only Flag Her
Down
11. Bad Girl
Tracks 1 to 11 are the album
"Eliminator" REMASTERED in its entirety with the original lengthier
mix of "Legs" at 4:34 minutes re-instated for the first time (it was
replaced after initial pressings by the shorter single mix of 3:37 minutes).
BONUS TRACKS (13 to 17 are
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED):
12. Legs (Single Mix)
13. Gimme All Your Lovin'
(Live)
14. Sharp Dressed Man (Live)
15. I Got The Six (Live)
16. TV Dinners (Live)
17. Got Me Under Pressure
(Live)
18. Legs (12" Dance Mix)
”
Tracks 13 to 17 are
Previously Unreleased live tracks - 13, 14, 16 and 17 recorded at Castle
Donington Festival in Leicestershire in England - 15 recorded at The Marquee
Club in London (no dates supplied).
DVD:
THE VIDEOS
1. Gimme All Your Lovin'
2. Sharp Dressed Man
3. Legs
4. TV Dinners
LIVE ON THE TUBE 17 November
1983
5. Got Me Under Pressure
6. Gimme All Your Lovin'
7. Sharp Dressed Man
8. Tube Snake Boogie
The remastering of the
original 1983 album is FANTASTIC – muscular, in your living room, detailed –
all that it should have been these last two and half decades. I’ve waited years
to hear “I Need You Tonight” in this sound quality and it was worth it. But the
really bad news is the audio bonus tracks, which are a huge letdown. The live
versions have what is laughable called ‘audio restoration’ on them – they sound
like rubbish bootleg recordings – someone standing in a field with a microphone
held up. The truly awful extended mix of “Legs” was on the box set anyway –
unlistenable then and the same now. Worse - there are single edits of “Gimme
All Your Lovin” and “Sharp Dressed Man”, but maddeningly they’re not included
here - they should have been - it would have been far more appropriate to a
supposed ‘collector’s edition’. Also there’s nothing new worth hearing – no
outtakes, alternatives, no demos, no new songs – nothing. Really disappointing
stuff I’m afraid. The album is great, but the supposed bonuses are awful.
Things fare better on the 2nd
disc, an 8-track DVD. First up are the 4 famous videos that broke the album
with a worldwide TV audience and their inclusion on this ‘special edition’ is
only right and proper - they were such an integral part of the “Eliminator”
experience. The prints are clean, but unfortunately blurry in that cheap 1980s
kind of a way. They’re fun to re-watch, but not much more than that. Things get
considerably better with tracks 5 to 8, which are professionally filmed studio
performances. They were recorded live in front of a studio audience on 17
November 1983 for one the UK’s popular pop programs of the time - “The Tube”.
The sound and visuals are great and while the vocals are live, I’m fairly sure
some tweaking has been done to beef up the sound. Whatever way you look at it –
this is primo ZZ TOP and makes up somewhat for the disappointing crap that is
tail-ending the Audio CD. Fans will really enjoy these.
The packaging isn’t great
either - a gatefold digipak with a 20-page booklet. The layers under the
see-through trays have no photos of singles – outtakes – they’re blank – pretty
crappy really. The car’s pictured a couple of times, lyrics reproduced, a basic
essay on the album – but no real event feel to it – no live shots – no
interesting formats pictured – fan stuff left out – it’s basic really, when it
could have been so much better.
In truth, you’d have to say
that if Rhino had just issued the remaster of the album with the single edits
and the 12” mix added on at the end – then that would have been so much better.
As it is, you’re being asked to spend £13 to £16 on a package that smacks of
laziness and greed - and worse – leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth - an
underwhelming experience that should have been a real celebration of a really
great album…
To sum up – fantastic remaster of the album, good stuff on the DVD, but
docked a star for the rubbish filler at the end of Disc 1...
