Tres Hombres
Encyclopedia
Tres Hombres is the third album
by American
blues rock band ZZ Top
and was released in 1973. The album marked the first of many times the band worked with engineer Terry Manning
which proved a successful combination as the release was the band's first commercial breakthrough. The album hit the top ten while the single "La Grange" hit #41 on the singles chart.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
During the height of ZZ Top's success in the early 1980s a digitally
remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1973 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, which contains three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Manning's original 1973 mix.
The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200
.
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues rock band ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
and was released in 1973. The album marked the first of many times the band worked with engineer Terry Manning
Terry Manning
Terry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
which proved a successful combination as the release was the band's first commercial breakthrough. The album hit the top ten while the single "La Grange" hit #41 on the singles chart.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
During the height of ZZ Top's success in the early 1980s a digitally
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1973 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, which contains three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Manning's original 1973 mix.
Reception
Allmusic gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating: "Tres Hombres is the record that bought ZZ Top their first top ten record, making them stars in the process. It couldn't have happened to a better record."The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Singles
The only single released from the album was "La Grange" (b/w "Just Got Paid" from ZZ Top's second album Rio Grande Mud) which peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Side A
- "Waitin' for the Bus" (Gibbons, Hill) – 2:59
- "Jesus Just Left Chicago" (Gibbons, Hill, Frank Beard) – 3:30
- "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) – 3:23
- "Master of SparksMaster of sparks"Master of Sparks" is a song by ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres. It tells the story of a bunch of hillbillies who weld together a steel cage, tie it to the back of their truck, and encourage the hapless narrator to take a ride inside it.-Personnel:*Billy Gibbons - guitar,...
" (Gibbons) – 3:33 - "Hot, Blue and Righteous" (Gibbons) – 3:14
Side B
- "Move Me on Down the Line" (Gibbons, Hill) – 2:32
- "Precious and Grace" (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) – 3:09
- "La GrangeLa Grange (song)"La Grange" is a song by the rock group ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres, released in 1973. One of their most successful songs, it was released in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to #41 in the Billboard Pop Singles list in 1974. The song refers to a bordello on the outskirts of...
" (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) – 3:52 - "Sheik" (Gibbons, Hill) – 4:05
- "Have You Heard?" (Gibbons, Hill) – 3:15
2006 remastered version bonus tracks
- "Waitin' for the Bus" (Live) (Gibbons, Hill) – 2:42
- "Jesus Just Left Chicago" (Live) (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) – 4:03
- "La Grange" (Live) (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) – 4:44
Personnel
- Billy GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Dusty HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Frank BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion - Bill HamBill HamBill Ham was the manager, producer, and image-maker of ZZ Top, from its inception in late 1969 until September 2006.-Career:...
– production - Terry Manning, Robin Brians - engineering
- Bill NarumBill NarumBill Narum was an artist, illustrator, and Texas counter-culture icon known for his work in popular entertainment, and for being one of the few non-natives to have lived with the Tarahumara tribe of northern Mexico in Copper Canyon...
- album cover - Galen Scott - photography
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
8 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "La Grange" | Billboard Pop Singles | 41 |