ZZ Top - Live In Germany (1980)

Classic ZZ Top before they hit it big and started to get more commercial (read: lame)What is there not to love about ZZ Top?  With exception of a few albums in the 80's, not much.  This band has been rocking us for over 40 years and don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.  The southern blues rockers from Texas are nationwide and global.  The band slowly built a following crossing over into Europe in the early 80's.  One of the band's first gigs was in Essen, Germany for the Rockpalast TV show.  Rockaplast was like Dick Clark (American Bandstand) with balls.  There were several great acts to perform on this show, and ZZ Top were one of them.  The first time this show surfaced in some 30 years, was last November with its release on DVD.  A mere 6 months later we now have the audio. 

Live in Germany is a historical record of the band before they broke through.  As seen and now heard on this release; you get a hungry band firing on all cylinders, on the brink of stardom.  The CD is good, but I believe the DVD was more entertaining.  The live show is raw and doesn't appear to be touched up in the slightest bit.  The bands sounds well, but their are times when the vocals are a little off key, but that is a live show for ya.  I don't think it was as noticeable on the DVD, as it is on the CD.  Also, the mix on the CD seems a little muddy, making it hard to hear the guitars at times.  Don't get me wrong, the CD is good, but I think the mix could have been better.  The CD includes a 16 song set of classics mixed with a few surprises.  Not a bad CD, but not a great one either.  The more recent live releases stand up a bit better than this one for me.

Bottom Line: ZZ Top in their prime before hitting it big.  This is a raw recording that will be essential for any ZZ Top fanatic.  The casual fan may be better suited with a more recent recording of the band, like the Live From Texas CD, from a few years back.

Standout Tracks: Jesus Just Left Chicago, Tush, Waitin for the Bus and Cheap Sunglasses.

- Ragman is thinking about growing out his beard...