ZZ Top - Texicali

At this point in their long storied career as the musical entity know as ZZ Top the trio has completely lost all the respect and credibility they once had with me. I haven't thought of them as viable in about twenty years when it comes to writing and releasing decent material. The band has run out of ideas as they re-hash old song riffs on Texicali an E.P. that is thankfully only four songs deep.

The slowed down version of "Got Me Under Pressure" titled "Consumption" is so weak that it sounds like Billy Gibbons is about to drop dead as he tried to play the solo of the song. The song "Chartreuse" is "Tush" re-visioned and so painfully dull that if you can make it through the entire song I have to award you with a badge of honour. The E.P. closes with "Over You" a ballad that proves just because you use a simple blues structure for a slow tempo song doesn't mean it will just work. These sort of songs are plentiful and with that said 98% of them suck including this one.

ZZ Top are officially passe there is no reason to see them live because they can't play the songs at the right tempo live they drag. The band obviously can't write new material that doesn't feel recycled, boring or bland and the time has come for this trio of southern rockers to just let it go and retire. They are an embarrassment to the band that arrived in1971 and the re-launched juggernaut that soared from 1983 through 1986. Stick a fork in them they are done.