XXX (ZZ Top album) explained

XXX
Type:studio
Longtype:(with live elements)
Artist:ZZ Top
Cover:ZZ_Top_-_XXX.jpg
Released:September 28, 1999
Recorded:April 1998 – June 1999
Length:49:31
Label:RCA
Producer:Billy Gibbons
Prev Title:Rhythmeen
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Mescalero
Next Year:2003

XXX is the thirteenth studio album (also including live material) by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in September 1999. The album's title commemorates the band's 30th anniversary.

Reception

AllMusic only gave the album one and a half stars, and in its review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, he states: "After all, countless blues-based musicians, from Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters to B.B. King and the Rolling Stones, have aged gracefully, albeit in varying degrees. So why does ZZ Top sound so stiff and useless on XXX, a record celebrating their 30th anniversary? Part of that could be that the songwriting is decidedly weak, but a band as seasoned as ZZ Top should be able to make third-rate material at least listenable."

A more positive review was posted by RoughEdge.com, whose reviewer R. Scott Bolton gave it three out of four guitars and stated that the album "represents the best of both worlds of ZZ Top [...] [t]he bluesy sounds that highlight their early years [and] the special effects and tricks that made their later recordings so popular".[1]

The album peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing

Additional studio track on the Japanese edition

Personnel

ZZ Top

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

AlbumBillboard

SinglesBillboard

YearSingleChartPosition
1999"Fearless Boogie"Mainstream Rock Tracks13
2000"36-22-36"Mainstream Rock Tracks31

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rough Edge Recorded Music Reviews: ZZ TOP. 2021-11-30. www.roughedge.com.