What Reissue Of ZZ Top Tres Hombres Did I Just Buy?

Dropped into a local chain yesterday looking for some of these Rocktober or Start Your Ear Off Right Rhino Reissues I've been hearing about. A month or so I picked up T Rex Electric Warrior and it has been one of my best purchases of 2017. I went in specifically looking for Alice Cooper Love It To Death, which I found and bought. It's still sealed as I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I was also looking for any of the ZZ Top reissues, primarily Tres Hombres. There was a copy there with a hype sticker stating cut from the original analogue master tapes. I've been reading the various posts here about the ZZ Top reissues and people stating that they have been cut by Chris Bellman I believe, and sound great. In my haste I also bought the Tres Hombres.

This morning I had a chance to just open it. It's on black vinyl. There's no modern date on it. There are no initials from Chris Bellman or Kevin Grey on the deadwax. Instead there are the initials JP by the looks of it. The record is housed in a cheap paper sleeve and has some scuffs. They also chose to use the 1980's style Warner grey/white label for this reissue, which I found strange as this would not have been the original label it was on. That isn't a big deal however. A quick search of Discogs shows that it looks like this version here:

ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

There are three reviews on this listing that are not good. However I have not had a chance to play the record. Has anyone had any experience with this particular reissue? Man, trying to keep on top of what reissue to buy and to avoid has really taken the spontaneity out of record purchases and it doesn't look like I have the pressing I thought it was. Partially my fault I guess, but again, there is so much information to try and wade through.

 

I did the exact same thing. I have the Hoffman green vinyl one now too. It sounds superb. No comparison. The black vinyl from 2014 will be gone and the newer jalapeño green one will sit next to my original early London pressing.

 

I picked up the green vinyl one also. Steve Hoffman did it?

 

You should also be on the hunt for Rio Grande Mud on brown vinyl before they are gone sound is like Tres Hombres IMO and are getting hard to find

 

I have the brown vinyl "Rio" too. Is that a Bellman cut? It's a much brighter album than Tres Hombres. I have multiple copies of the ZZ Top stuff on cd and vinyl. I only have that one copy of Rio Grande Rio on vinyl so I can't compare to an early London pressing. BTW, Kevin Grey and Hoffman did the green vinyl. Get the Bellman black vinyl cut of the first album too. It sounds awesome.

 

My Rio Grande Mud on side one in the deadwax has CB brown vinyl
So yes Chris Bellman
They both sound great very pleased

 

I can't find the CB initials anywhere and I have a lot of Bellman stuff so I am pretty familiar with what to look for. Do you find the album to be lacking in bottom end?

 

I have it ordered. Should be here any day now. Picked up the coloured Love It To Death and Pretties for you also and the black vinyl Chris Bellman Killer.

 

LOVE the hi rez digital!

 

A lot of people complained about about noise on the coloured vinyl Pretties For You. Mine is just fine. Bellman's black vinyl Killers is fantastic! I have two copies ..... I don't know why.

 

Ahhhhhh ...... with a lot of light and my glasses on, I found the very faint "CB" on Rio Grande Mud.

 

Initials are on side one of my copy and yes it could use a little more bottom end

 

Have not pulled the trigger on Pretties For You yet and will be doing that tomorrow

 

I did THE EXACT same thing this past fall....bought Tres Hombres from 2014 and when I put it on I was mortified at how terrible it sounded. It was as if someone put a block of wood in front of my speakers. However...Deguello, Rio Grande Mud, and Fandango that I bought at the same time were pressed at RTI and sound phenomenal. I wonder how the new Rio brown vinyl stacks up against that. I bought the Ltd coloured vinyl as well but haven’t cracked either of them open yet. I am taking your word for it that the green vinyl blows the 2014 out of the water.

 

I really hope that your hearing is better than your eyesight!

 

Yes, I guess that’s the way it was recorded although as I said before, that’s the only case where I prefer the CD (the one in the 10 CD box) over Chris Bellman’s vinyl cut. Anyway, all the music in the world seems to lack bottom end after a spin of Hoffman’s Tres Hombres.

 

I have that CD box so I will have to A/B them. Nothing sounds as good as the Six Pack though ...................................... just kidding my ears are fine.

 

I would actually say Tres Hombres sounds muddier than Rio Grande Mud...

Regardless I think that’s just the way they were recorded. They aren’t great recordings and the guys who did the mastering of each are among the very best in the business. If add too much bottom to Rio Grande Mud or too much top-end to Tres Hombres and you probably just make a mess of the all important middle.

 

As I posted in the Rhino thread, the CB initials are very hard to see on Side 1 (you kinda need to know what his initials look like to see it). The initials are not on Side 2, but it’s the same handwriting as Side 1 otherwise.

 

Well I finally cracked open the Tres Hombres coloured vinyl....kicks the S**t out of the 2014 version. No contest. Still somewhat muddy sounding but that’s how it was originally recorded. This new version definitely has some punch.

 

That's my impression of the green vinyl edition. It's a good listen but it's not the best sounding album in my collection.

 

Some punch! It has THE punch!

 

Just so I am clear....is the green vinyl the same Remaster as the 2006, which was cut by Kevin Grey and Steve Hoffman?

 

Did Steve Hoffman do this title?

 

Yes!