ZZ Top Sixpack

I am another casual ZZ Top fan who bought "Six Pack" and quickly got rid of it.

I finally picked up the recent Box set via BMG's "free shipping" sale! The sound seems to be decent and thank goodness for the original mixes! I hope that the individual albums are released on cd with the original mixes.

As for the more "recent" ZZ Top, I can tolerate the "Eliminator" tracks and a few scattered songs from the later years, but if all ZZ Top sounded like this I would not be able to listen.

A friend of mine went to see them "live" a couple years ago. He was convinced that they were lip synching, but I never talked to anyone else that has seen them in concert lately. If this is true, they should pack it in.

 

Six Pack = butchered, echo-laden crap. On Tejas they even eliminated some of the vocal lines for no reason - compare 'Arrested For Driving While Blind' 'tween the vinyl and the 6-pack. Their first album is one of my favorites. The 6-pack version is brutal. Blues rock digitalized as if for MTV airplay. I would buy their first six albums in a heartbeat if they'd release them sounding as they do on Chrome, Smoke & BBQ.

 

Same here. I'd prefer to buy the early individual albums than the BBQ boxset which contains
later material. And, like many others, I don't want that remixed stuff either. Thought I had the 1st 6 'ORIGINAL' albums reading my SixPack back cover. Listening to LaGrange, I screamed "NOOoo!...".

Well, maybe Rhino can swing a deal to release the early original albums.

 

I sure hope so!!!

 

I always HATED what they did to the drums (and guitar) on La Grange! I like the original dry sounding drums and guitar much better than that doctored crap.

 

FWIW I have European CDs of the original albums with the original (non-6pack) mixes. I can post more info later when I get home if anyone is interested.

 

Post away, if you please!!

 

Here we go: - all are WB

ZZ Top's First Album: 7599-27379-2 Made in Germany

Rio Grande Mud: 256602 OMCD1009 Made in Austrailia - Original Masters series

Tres Hombres: 7599-27381-2 Made in Germany

Fandango!: 7599-27382-2 Made in Germany

Tejas: 7599-27383-2 Made in Germany

El Loco: 7599-23593-2 Made in Germany

and for grins

Deguello: 7599-27400-2 Made in Germany - and on the booklet it has Europe 256 701

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I picked all these up from my favorite used cd place a few years ago. And now as I listen to them again, I'm amazed at how open and natural the sound is, especially the really early stuff. I had heard that the individual cds in the US were the original mixes, but I may be mistaken. They may not be that way now, but I'm pretty sure they weren't the "improved more modern" mixes.

Someone earlier inquired about how they replaced the drum sounds - a friend of mine did a trick with some drum multitracks I had done for him. He assigned each track of the ADAT multi to a trigger through a drum brain, so when the recorded snare was hit, the drum machine snare sound was triggered and he recorded it into his DAW. He did this for each tom, the bass drum - everything but the cymbals. Perhaps Bill Ham et al did something similar.

 

First of all we are speaking here of their first 5 albums; 1st Album through Tejas. They are the ones that as far as I'm aware have never been released in their original state. Their 6th album Deguello (released separately) and El Loco were not remixed. The individual 'first 5' CD's in the US followed Six Pack and are definitely not the original mixes. Blah.

Are you familiar with the original 5 albums as far as their sound? Like night and day. It'd be interesting to know how these foreign releases came about then and when they were created - and if they are indeed the original state recordings. If so I better gear up for 'the hunt.' While I have Chrome Smoke & BBQ, I'm dyin' for a little Squank, some Shakin' Your Tree, Neighbor Neighbor, Move Me on Down The Line, and Snappy Kakkie. Lucky I still have the original vinyl, but that stays at home.

 

I've never heard the vinyl - other than over the radio back in the day, but when I picked these up I did have the Sux Pack and did compare each individual cd to it - and the difference was obvious. Definitely NOT the remixes.

Perhaps this evening I can try to put out some sample snippets and let those more in the know listen and compare.

 

)

An easy test is on Tres Hombres... La Grange...at the beginning of the song when the drums kick in after the initial guitar lick. (easy on the reverby, drum machine sound...)

 

IIRC that was the first track I compared. The Sux Pack version always grated on me.

I don't have the 6 pack anylonger, but I'll compare tracks with the Rancho Texacano set. Last night I listened to some of ZZT's First Album & Rio Grande Mud and they sounded very natural, not like I remember the remixes sounding like. I'm a drummer, and so when they remixed/replaced the drums on the remixes it was incredibly noticible to me and La Grange's drums are a great test. In anycase, I'll post my findings (and files or wav shots if I'm able) tonight.

 

If you compare it to Rancho Texicano the drums should sound the same since that double set uses the original mixes.

 

What crack was I smoking? Did I say NOT the remixes? I.. uh.. meant... definitely was the remixes.

I wish I still had the 6 Pack to see what I heard that was different. Maybe the non-US pressings weren't as high-end harsh as the 6 pack?? Cripes ...

in any case, sorry for getting anyone's hopes up. I think I'll just read posts from now on instead of posting anything myself.

Does this forum have a ******* protection plan? - change my name, get a new backstory...

MY APOLOGIES.

 

Lemme get this straight...
ZZTOP's

1.First Album
2.Rio Grande Mud
3.Tejas
4.Tres Hombres and (5.El Loco, but I don't think that was remixed)
are available in the original mixes on current pressed European WEA Cd's???
Or did they change those to the Sux Pack mixes as well???
If not, I'll be ordering those CD's as imports : )

 

That should answer your question. Save your money, evidently the original mixes can only be found on the Chrome, Smoke & BBQ boxed set. Or, as an alternative, don't save yer cash, invest it in the box.
I did

 

I bought the CS&BBQ set as soon as it came out. I think it's an awesome compilation, and has the all original mixes, but...Those other tracks that weren't included well, maybe they were remastered at the same point when they did the box set(let's pray)and maybe they will reissue them sometime. Does anyone know of any release at all of the original mixes(even bootleg) that may exist??? Maybe there's something out there that exists(remember way back when Badfinger's The Magic Sing Totally Bad Bootleg CD came out ???)

 

You forgot to mention that they're also available on Rancho texicano.

 

Have the original mixes of the first 5 ever been released on CD anywhere in the world ever? I don't know anything about ZZ Top, and my friend's dad mentioned to me that he wanted the Tres Hombres album on CD. It looks like I'll have to borrow his record.

 

I hate the Six Pack - the 80's digital remixing now sounds very dated. They should have used the original London LP masters and never touched the multi-tracks.

The air-tight production they got at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, TX (about 28 miles from where I live) was perfect for this band, until Billy Gibbons started messing around with synths and drum machines.

 

Well, nine years later, I've just picked up Six Pack and I really don't think they sound that bad, but then these are now alternatives to the original mixes (which are now easily available) and not substitutes for them...........

 

I had the six-pack early in the CD era, and it was an affordable way to pick up the older albums in one set. I'm very happy with the recent 10-album box, but for its time, the six-pack did the job.

 

3 cd box set is horrible, get the new box set. It's done very good.

 

I still hold on to the Six Pack. I will still listen to the 80s sounding job when I pair it with some listening of the Afterburner and Recycler albums which I enjoy fairly well.
Thankfully the original sounding albums are in a box set for some 70s style listening.