Rio Grande Mud
Band:
Frank Beard - Drums
Billy Gibbons - Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
Dusty Hill - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Before ZZ Top were a band of long beards and fuzzy guitars, they were an unknown Blues-Rock bands out of Texas. Their first three albums are living proof of this. Sure the production may not have been the best ever seen, but during this time they always stuck to their roots inside their music. After this release they came out with one more album called
Tres Hombres after that release it is thought by many that they had sold out at this point because of the hit of "La Grange". They continue to remain together to this day, but it can easily be determined that their music will never again reach the height of the early days.
The Songs:
1)
Francine - The starts off with a very addictive main riff, that goes throughtout the rest of the song, and is just great. This song isn't as blues influenced as most of the others on the album. The lyrics in this song are obvioiusly about a girl with the name Francine, which is pretty obvious. There is also a terrific solo towards the end delivered by the wonderful Billy Gibbons, as usual. Then goes back to the main theme, and that is the end.
5/5
2)
Just Got Paid - Starts the song off with a great riff, which is one of the things that ZZ Top is known for fairly well. Goes on for the main riff for quite a long time, accompanied by some great guitar fills every now and then. This song is a whole lot more blues based than "Francine". After a little while, there is an amazing guitar solo, probaly one of the best on the album, and that is not the easiest thing to do. Afterwards, the song goes back to the main theme of the song again and slowly fades away. Great song
5/5
3)
Mushouth Shoutin' - I find this song to be the weakest track on the album. Its a slower blues song with a lot of harmonica. Harmonica can be a very good thing if it is used properly, but I believe they overdid it in this song. Also, there is hardly any guitar which is very strange for the band. And doesnt seem to really work for them in this song. I'll give this track a
3/5
4)
Ko Ko Blue - This is a pretty good song, with some very interesting guitar parts. This song has a great groove sort of similar to that of "Francine" except that this song is a little more fast paced than the other. The song contains some very good harmonica parts that go along with the song well. Also has quite a few intersting guitar fills. And then the song slowly fades away. Good song
4/5
5)
Chevrolet - This song has some very intersting guitar parts, I believe this is partly because Billy's peso pick adds a certain effect to the guitar parts on the song. This song, as the name suggests is about taking a ride in a Chevrolet truck. The bridge is the real turning point in the song, from the bridge it goes straight into a wonderful solo. It's a much longer solo than the others on the album but it keeps your interest throughtout the whole time. Afterwards, it goes back into the main riff, then that is the end.
Pretty good song
4.5/5
6)
Apologies to Pearly - This is a song where Billy gets to show off his skills on a slide. Not many people would think that Billy could play the slide like he can, simple because he does not do it often. There is no vocals or anything just a rather simple instrumental, where the main showcase is Billy.
Good song 4/5
7)
Bar-B-Q - The song starts off with a very good guitar riff. The rhythym section is at its best on this song, it really holds the song together nice on this song. Goes with the same riff for most of the song, with the occasional guitar fill every now and then. Towards the middle of the song, the bridge is consisted of some nice harmonics, after this it goes straight into a great guitar solo and goes with the song perfectly. Great Song
5/5
8)
Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell - This is another slower blues type song, but it is much more intersting than "Mushmouth Shoutin". The lyrics are pretty depressing, as in most blues songs. The verses are pretty simple as well, nothing too spectacular. The solo in the song is once again amazing, and goes just great with the rest of the song. After the solo the song goes straight back into the main theme of the verses. Good song
4/5
9)
Whiskey'n Mama - The riff in this song is a lot simpler compared to other songs on the album. It is a very simple song going like this for the most part of the song, except for the solo. I find this song just Okay.
3.5/5
10) Down Brownie - Starts off again with a very simple riff, but accompanied along with some very intersting guitar licks over the lick. After a little of this it goes into a guitar solo and thats basically the end, a really short song. It is a pretty good way to close a great album but the only real complaint I have about this song is the length so that makes it get a
3.5/5
Overall Rating:
4/5
