ZZ Top will release a new five-LP box set on July 4 focusing on the studio albums the Texas trio released during its most commercially successful era. From the Top: 1979–1990 is a limited-edition collection boasting 180-gram vinyl editions of Degüello (1979), El Loco (1981), Eliminator (1983), Afterburner (1985), and Recycler (1990).
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Only 3,000 copies of the box set will be available, each individually numbered. Featuring a list price of $199.98, From the Top: 1979–1990 is part of the Rhino High Fidelity series, which features LPs cut from the original stereo master tapes by vinyl-mastering expert Kevin Gray. The albums are housed in high-quality glossy covers and gatefold jackets, which, in turn, are collected in faux-leather slipcase.
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The box set includes ZZ Top’s two most successful albums, Eliminator and Afterburner, which were certified Diamond and five-times platinum, respectively, by the RIAA, signifying sales of more than 10 million and five million copies in the U.S.
Here’s a brief look at all five albums featured in the From the Top: 1979–1990 collection, which can be pre-ordered now:
Degüello
Degüello, ZZ Top’s sixth studio effort, was released in November 1979. The album includes a cover legendary soul duo Sam and Dave’s “I Thank You,” which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Frontman Billy Gibbons commented in the box set’s liner notes, “Our cover emerged unabashedly with a one-take stab onto the tape machine, and the tale was told and remains a recurrent requested number on stage and over radio stations everywhere.”
Degüello also features the band’s enduring fan favorite “Cheap Sunglasses.” The album, which reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the RIAA in 1984 for sales of more than a million copies in the U.S.
El Loco
El Loco was released in July 1981, and featured such tongue-in-cheek gems as “Tube Snake Boogie” and “Pearl Necklace.” The album peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of more than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Eliminator
Eliminator was the album that made ZZ Top superstars. Released in March 1983, the record found the Texas trio adding some slick synthesizers to their trademark blues-rock sound.
Eliminator featured three major hits—“Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs.” The songs’ success was bolstered by popular music videos that got major airplay on MTV and helped turn ZZ Top into pop-culture heroes. “Legs” became ZZ Top’s highest-charting single to date, peaking at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
The album reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200. It also received a Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal category.
Afterburner
Afterburner was released in October 1985, and saw the band continuing to successfully use synthesizers to enhance its sound.
The album featured four songs that reached the Top-40 of the Hot 100—“Sleeping Bag,” “Stages,” “Rough Boy,” and “Velcro Fly.” Like “Legs,” “Sleeping Bag” reached No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Afterburner, meanwhile, became ZZ Top’s highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200, ascending to No. 4.
“So many wacky gadgets suddenly seemed to appear in the studio,” Gibbons recalled about the Afterburner sessions. “The temptation of experimentation took us all in… and some satisfying mayhem unfolded. And that’s defiantly rock ‘n’ roll.”
Like Eliminator, Afterburner was nominated for a Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Grammy.
Recycler
After a five-year gap, ZZ Top released Recycler in October 1990. The album’s lead single, “Doubleback,” appeared in the 1990 film Back to the Future Part III. It reached No. 50 on the Hot 100, while topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock tally.
Another song from the album, “My Head’s in Mississippi,” also peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Recycler reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and went on to receive a platinum certification from the RIAA.
About the From the Top: 1971–1976 Box Set
From the Top: 1979–1990 follows ZZ Top’s 2024 vinyl collection From the Top: 1971–1976. The latter box set, which is sold out, featured high-quality vinyl versions of the band’s first five albums: ZZ Top’s First Album (1971), Rio Grande Mud (1972), Tres Hombres (1973), Fandango! (1975), and Tejas (1976).
(Photo by Gunter W Kienitz/Shutterstock)
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