Tres Hombres (Spanish for "three men", meaning the three members of the band) is the third album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 1973. The album was the first of many times the band worked with Terry Manning as engineer. It was a successful combination as the release was the band's first commercial breakthrough. In the US, the album entered the top ten while the single "La Grange" reached number 41 on the singles charts. (Meanwhile, "La Grange" debuted number 33 on the American Top 40 broadcast on June 29, 1974.)
At the height of ZZ Top's success in the mid-1980s a digitally remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1973 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, which contains three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Manning's original 1973 mix.
Reception
AllMusic gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating: "Tres Hombres is the record that brought ZZ Top their first top ten record, making them stars in the process. It couldn't have happened to a better record."[1] In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[3] In 2012, the album ranked at number 490 on a revised list. The album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200.
In July 2013, 40 years after its release, the album was described by Andrew Dansby in the Houston Chronicle as "... full of characters and doings so steeped in caricature - yet presented straight-faced - as to invite skepticism. The album is stuffed with color and flavor, much like its famous gate-fold photo on the inside: a gut-busting couple of plates of food from the much-beloved but now-closed Leo's Mexican Restaurant on Lower Westheimer."[4]
Recording and singles
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An audio sample from "La Grange"
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The two tracks "Waitin' for the Bus" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" segue into each other, but not by design: the album's engineer was splicing tape and cut too much, so a song in 4/4 time and one in 6/8 time ended up on the album without any gap between them.[4]
The only single released from the album was "La Grange" (b/w "Just Got Paid" from the band's second album Rio Grande Mud) which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Track listing
| 1. |
"Waitin' for the Bus" |
Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill |
2:59 |
| 2. |
"Jesus Just Left Chicago" |
Gibbons, Hill, Frank Beard |
3:30 |
| 3. |
"Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" |
Gibbons, Hill, Beard |
3:23 |
| 4. |
"Master of Sparks" |
Gibbons |
3:33 |
| 5. |
"Hot, Blue and Righteous" |
Gibbons |
3:14 |
| 1. |
"Move Me on Down the Line" |
Gibbons, Hill |
2:32 |
| 2. |
"Precious and Grace" |
Gibbons, Hill, Beard |
3:09 |
| 3. |
"La Grange" |
Gibbons, Hill, Beard |
3:52 |
| 4. |
"Shiek" |
Gibbons, Hill |
4:05 |
| 5. |
"Have You Heard?" |
Gibbons, Hill |
3:15 |
| 11. |
"Waitin' for the Bus" (Live) |
Gibbons, Hill |
2:42 |
| 12. |
"Jesus Just Left Chicago" (Live) |
Gibbons, Hill, Beard |
4:03 |
| 13. |
"La Grange" (Live) |
Gibbons, Hill, Beard |
4:44 |
Personnel
Production
Charts
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1974 |
Billboard Pop Albums |
8 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1974 |
"La Grange" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
41 (Also debuted #33 on American Top 40 June 29, 1974) |
References
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- Lanier Greig
- Dan Mitchell
- Billy Ethridge
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| Studio albums |
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| Compilations |
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| Live albums |
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| Tours |
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| Singles |
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| Videos |
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| Related articles |
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