New ZZ Top Box Will Include Original Mixes of First 10 Albums
ZZ Top have a new box set coming out in June, and this time they're getting it right. The 10-CD 'ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990)' will include, for the first time, the original mixes of the band's early records. That's great news for anyone who's been stuck listening to the '80s remixes of these classic albums for all these years.
The box, which will be released on June 10, includes 'ZZ Tops’ First Album' (1971), 'Rio Grande Mud' (1972), 'Tres Hombres' (1973), 'Fandango!' (1975), 'Tejas' (1976), 'Degüello' (1979), 'El Loco' (1981), 'Eliminator' (1983), 'Afterburner' (1985) and 'Recycler' (1990). Each will come packaged in a sleeve that reproduces the original album. For 'Tres Hombres' and 'Tejas,' this means gatefold sleeves.
Best of all, 'ZZ Top's First Album,' 'Rio Grande Mud' and 'Tejas' will feature those LPs' original mixes, not the mixes included on the 1987 box set 'Six Pack,' and subsequent reissues, which beefed up the '70s production with '80s-style percussion to mirror the more modern sounds found on the multiplatinum 'Eliminator' and the followup record, 'Afterburner.'
Longtime fans have complained over the years that the '80s' remixes of these early albums strip away the original primal blues boogie that they remember hearing on their vinyl LPs. For younger listeners raised on the remixed CDs, the original mixes of these albums should come as revelation.
ZZ Top are also touring the summer, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to see them play many of their classic songs live. Their itinerary is below.
ZZ Top 2013 World Tour Dates
May 2 - First Council Casino Hotel, Newkirk, OK
May 3 - Lucky Star Casino, Concho, OK
May 4 - Beale Street Music Festival, Memphis, TN
May 5 - EKU Center for The Arts, Richmond, KY
May 8 - Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT
May 9 - Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ
May 10 - Hooper Park, Crewe, VA
May 11 - Revel Ovation Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
May 13 - American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA
May 14 - Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
May 15 - Theater at Westbury, Westbury, NY
May 17 - Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton, NH
May 18 - Lynn Auditorium, Lynn, MA
May 19 - Pier Six Pavilion, Baltimore, MD
May 21 - Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN
May 25 - IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi, MS
June 2 - Warsaw Student Festival, Warsaw, Poland
June 18 - Le Zenith, Paris, France
June 19 - Le Zenith, Rouen, France
June 20 - Le Zenith, Dijon, France
June 22 - Hellfest, Clisson, France
June 24 - Hammersmith Apollo, London, United Kingdom
June 25 - Manchester Apollo, Manchester, United Kingdom
June 27 - Marquee, Cork, Ireland
June 30 - Stadtpark, Hamburg, Germany
July 1 - Zitadelle, Berlin, Germany
July 2 - Tollwood Festival, Munich, Germany
July 4 - Moon and Stars Festival, Locarno, Switzerland
July 6 - Lovely Days Festival, Weisen, Austria
July 7 - Castle Clam - Linz, Austria