Tracks

1. Waitin' For The Bus

2. Jesus Just Left Chicago

3. Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers

4. Master Of Sparks

5. Hot, Blue And Righteous

6. Move Me On Down The Line

7. Precious And Grace

8. LA Grange

9. Sheik

10. Have You Heard?

11. Waitin' For The Bus (Live)

12. Jesus Just Left Chicago (Live)

13. LA Grange (Live)

Performer Notes

ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar); Dusty Hill (vocals, bass); Frank "Rube" Beard (drums).
Also available with FANDANGO on 1 cassette and as part of the ZZ Top 6 Pack.
ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dusty Hill (vocals, bass guitar); Frank Beard (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig.
Liner Note Author: Bob Merlis.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Billy Gibbons; Dusty Hill; Rube Beard.
On 1973's TRES HOMBRES, everything came together for ZZ Top. While it was near inconceivable that the trio could better its superb previous effort, 1972's RIO GRANDE MUD, here ZZ Top somehow found a way to make the riffs tastier and the blues boogie more lethal.
One of classic rock's most identifiable standards, "La Grange," resides here, borrowing liberally from John Lee Hooker. But there's even more great blues-rock to feast on--the moderately paced "Waitin' for the Bus," the 12-bar blues of "Jesus Just Left Chicago," and the party-hearty anthem "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" (a tune Van Halen has covered live from time to time). Elsewhere, the thick rocker "Precious and Grace" easily gives Led Zeppelin a run for its money.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.71) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he trio made raw-boned, matter-of-factly infectious songs out of a supercharged bar-band sound."

Uncut (p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TRES HOMBRES was a breakthrough, courtesy of the John Lee Hooker-derived 'La Grange'."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] Tex-Mex combo platter of blues, soul and funky hard rock, spiced with a little Beefheart-inspired weirdness."

Pitchfork (Website) - "ZZ Top's 1973 breakthrough was a masterful melding of complementary styles, cramming Southern rock and blues boogie through the band's own idiosyncratic filter."