With an unchanged line-up stretching back to 1969 and global album sales in excess of 50 million, ZZ Top continue to delight fans around the world with brilliant live concerts and great music. RIP Dusty! All the good ones die to soon! There are a few rare times in music recording when you know this sure on the spot this was certainly one of them.They are an amazing trio. “I had no doubt that it would do exactly what it did in the marketplace.
“We knew exactly what we had right from the very first guitar overdub,” remembered Manning. There was no other band in the world – or, more importantly, on MTV – who looked and sounded like ZZ Top in ’83, and Gimme played a vital role in establishing them firmly in the popular psyche. Splashes of MemoryMoog coloured the choruses and the band was joined on backing vocals by Jimi Jamison (who would later sing Survivor’s hit Burning Heart and I’m Always Here, the theme tune to Baywatch.)Įliminator went on to sell an estimated 15 million copies worldwide.
Gimme’s Fender Precision bassline by the late, great Dusty Hill was augmented by a Moog analogue synth, powering the tune like a hotrod’s popping pistons. The controls were tweaked till the additives felt right and rockin’.” “Terry pointed out the newest contraptions laying about at Ardent,” noted Gibbons, “and we simply put ’em into service, not really knowing what we were doing. ZZ Top had dabbled with synths on previous albums, but they became an integral part of their sound on Eliminator. Midway into the sessions, the general feeling toward the material was upbeat and gaining momentum.”īilly F Gibbons: 10 guitarists who blew my mind And, most assuredly, those elements kept each track cohesively together. “It certainly felt different,” said Gibbons of the technique. They were then cross-faded together as seamlessly as possible to achieve a complete track.” Short phrases were played, then double-tracked onto one set of tracks, then the chord change or next phrase was played on a second set of tracks. “The guitars were done section by section. Manning says those basic tracks were painstakingly reworked to get the characteristic polished, machine-like sound. “The follow through got easier once that initial ground got laid.” “The band cut the basics together to get it up and running,” said Gibbons. The Dean was recorded dry with just one setup: a Legend 50-watt hybrid unit with valve preamp and transistor power amp. Both had a single DiMarzio Super Distortion high-output pickup and no controls at all.” Songs similar to Gimme All Your Lovin by ZZ Top, such as Centerfield by John Fogerty, Love Like A Man by Ten Years After, The Road to Hell by Chris Rea.
There were two Deans, the only major difference was the body shape. “Billy would bring in different guitars,” said Manning, “always looking for something a bit new.
Like most of Eliminator, Gimme was cut using Gibbons’ custom Dean Z. He plugged it straight in, turned it all the way up, and it sounded exactly like Billy Gibbons" – The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach on their new album's special guest "I handed him a guitar he had never played, and an amp he never played. (Image credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images & Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival)