ZZ Top – La Futura
Universal Music
www.zztop.com
Rating: B
On September 11th, ZZ Top will release their 15th studio album, La Futura. The album, produced by Rick Rubin and Reverend Billy Gibbons, features old school blues rock reminiscent of the early days of that Little Ol’ Band from Texas.
Bill G. had this to say about the direction the band wanted to take on the new album, “We thought long and hard about what this album should be. We wanted to recall the directness of our early stuff but not turn our backs on contemporary technology. The result of this melding of the past and the present is, of course, 'La Futura'."
The music is just how the bearded Reverend describes. The album kicks off with “I Gotsta Get Paid” and is followed by “Chartreuse,” both tunes sounding like they could have been released on Rio Grande Mud.
“Consumption” has the patented ZZ Top guitar swagger; one can actually visualize Dusty Hill and Gibbons swaying in unison during the song’s intro. Some of the best of the bunch are hidden toward the end of the album. “Big Shiny Nine” and “Have a Little Mercy” are both classic ZZ.
On the ballad, “It’s Too Easy” Gibbon’s gruff voice fits like a glove. The older he gets the rougher, and better, he sounds. The songs on this album are all well written and evoke the good old days.
This is strongest effort ZZ Top has released in years.
By Jeb Wright
