Released July 26, 1973 Tres Hombres
(1973) Fandango!
(1975) Release date 26 July 1973 Producer Bill Ham | Length 33:32 Artist ZZ Top Label London Records | |
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Recorded Brian Studios & Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee Genres Blues rock, Hard rock, Southern rock, Boogie rock, Texas blues Similar ZZ Top albums, Southern rock albums | ||
Tres Hombres (Spanish for "three men", referring to the three band members) 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).
Contents
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 was no longer issued. 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. Subsequent releases on digital platforms such as iTunes have used the original mix as well.
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." In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 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."
Recording and singles
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.
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.
Personnel
Production
Songs
1Waitin’ for the Bus3:03
2Jesus Just Left Chicago3:30
3Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers3:25