Rhino is celebrating a half century of ZZ Top with a new, multi-format compilation due this summer.
Goin' 50 collects 18 of the Texas trio's biggest and baddest hits, from their breakthrough in the '70s to their most recent studio release, 2012's La Futura. That disc will be available to buy, stream or download on June 14 - and on August 16, as the group embarks on a 50th anniversary tour, a Lone Star State-sized 3CD or 5LP edition of Goin' 50 will be released. That set offers tracks from every one of the groups releases on London, Warner Bros., RCA and American Recordings, plus both sides of the band's first single, "Salt Lick" and "Miller's Farm," released in 1969 by the original incarnation of ZZ Top (singer/guitarist Billy F. Gibbons, bassist Lanier Greig and drummer Dan Mitchell.
Of course, since 1970, that "little ol' band from Texas" has featured Gibbons alongside singer/bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, and has had one of the most unique careers in rock history. Their rough and ready blues grooves earned them attention throughout the '70s, with fans flocking around the country to their over-the-top stage shows (including one that featured a full recreation of the Texas landscape, complete with live animals and cacti). After a hiatus later in the decade (during which GIbbons and Hill, but ironically not Beard, each grew chest-length beards), ZZ Top gradually reinvented their sound, combining killer guitar with slick blues-pop melodies and even synthesizers. The gamble, combined with a willingness to appear on the burgeoning MTV, paid off nicely, introducing the group to a new generation and helping push them into the pantheon of American rock and roll.
Goin' 50 follows Rhino's last ZZ Top sets, The Baddest and The Very Baddest, released in 2014. Pre-order your preferred version below and check out the full track list!
Goin' 50 (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2019)
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
* denotes track on single-disc version
Disc 1
- La Grange *
- Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
- Tush *
- Salt Lick
- Miller's Farm
- (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree
- Francine
- Heard It On The X
- It's Only Love
- Arrested For Driving While Blind
- Enjoy and Get It On
- I Thank You
- Cheap Sunglasses *
- I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide *
- Leila
- Tube Snake Boogie
- Pearl Necklace
Disc 2
- Gimme All Your Lovin' *
- Got Me Under Pressure *
- Sharp Dressed Man *
- TV Dinners
- Legs *
- Sleeping Bag *
- Can't Stop Rockin'
- Stages
- Rough Boy *
- Delirious
- Woke Up With Wood
- Velcro Fly *
- Doubleback *
- Concrete and Steel
- My Head's In Mississippi
- Give It Up
- Decision Or Collision
Disc 3
- Viva Las Vegas *
- Gun Love
- Pincushion *
- Breakaway
- Girl In a T-Shirt
- Fuzzbox Voodoo
- She's Just Killing Me
- What's Up With That *
- Bang Bang
- Rhythmeen
- Fearless Boogie *
- 36-22-36
- Piece *
- I Gotsta Get Paid *
- Waitin' For The Bus (Live)
- Jesus Just Left Chicago (Live)
Disc 1, Tracks 1-2 from Tres Hombres (London, 1973)
Disc 1, Tracks 3 and 8 from Fandango! (London, 1975)
Disc 1, Tracks 4-5 from Scat Records single 45-500, 1969
Disc 1, Track 6 from ZZ Top's First Album (London, 1971)
Disc 1, Track 7 from Rio Grande Mud (London, 1972)
Disc 1, Tracks 8-10 from Tejas (London, 1976)
Disc 1, Tracks 12-14 from Degüello (Warner Bros., 1979)
Disc 1, Tracks 15-17 from El Loco (Warner Bros., 1981)
Disc 2, Tracks 1-5 from Eliminator (Warner Bros., 1983)
Disc 2, Tracks 6-12 from Afterburner (Warner Bros., 1985)
Disc 2, Tracks 13-17 from Recycler (Warner Bros., 1990)
Disc 3, Tracks 1-2 from Greatest Hits (Warner Bros., 1992)
Disc 3, Tracks 3-6 from Antenna (RCA, 1994)
Disc 3, Tracks 7-10 from Rhythmeen (RCA, 1996)
Disc 3, Tracks 11-12 from XXX (RCA, 1999)
Disc 3, Track 13 from Mescalero (RCA, 2003)
Disc 3, Track 14 from La Futura (American/Universal Republic, 2012)
Disc 3, Tracks 15-16 from Live: Greatest Hits From Around The World (Suretone, 2016)
Bill says
Rancho Texicano and the single disc, One Foot In The Blues are excellent choices for people who do not want to pay for this new box set. I have them both and am more than satisfied.