Recycler

by ZZ Top

Overview

The continuation of Eliminator's synthesized blues boogie made sense on Afterburner, since it arrived two years after its predecessor. ZZ Top's choice to pursue that direction on Recycler is puzzling, since a full five years separates this from Afterburner. It's not just that they continue to follow this path; it's that they embalm it, creating a record that may be marginally ballsier than its predecessor, but lacking the sense of goofy fun and warped ambition that made Afterburner fascinating. Here, there's just a steady, relentless beat (Frank Beard is still chained to the sequencer, as he has been for a decade), topped off by processed guitars turning out licks that fall short of being true riffs. Put it this way, apart from "Doubleback," a continuation of the arena pop of "Stages," the other number that really works here is "My Head's in Mississippi," the closest they'd come to the greasy boogie of "La Grange" since Degueello. When it arrives halfway through Recycler, it not only sounds refreshing; it puts the rest of the album in perspective, showing how tired the once-bracing synth-blooze-boogie has become. And the worst thing about it all, it doesn't seem like the band realizes how uncomfortably ironic the title of Recycler is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/15/1994
Label:	Warner Bros.
UPC:	0075992626521
Rank:	2640

Tracks

1. Concrete and Steel
2. Lovething
3. Penthouse Eyes
4. Tell It
5. My Head's in Mississippi
6. Decision or Collision
7. Give It Up
8. 2000 Blues
9. Burger Man
10. Doubleback

Album Credits

Performance Credits

ZZ Top   Primary Artist
Dusty Hill   Bass,Vocals,Double Bass
Frank Beard   Drums,Percussion
Billy Gibbons   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Dusty Hill   Composer
Bob Ludwig   Engineer
Terry Manning   Engineer
Billy Gibbons   Composer
Bill Ham   Producer
Frank Beard   Composer