ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas blu-ray

I searched and didn't find a thread on this, but you know, searches don't always surface stuff . . .

But I can't imagine that others, esp. Z.Z. Top fans, wouldn't be interested in this blu-ray: ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas Blu-ray

I always want early performances by bands; note this line from the advertisement:

"Alongside the film, the DVD & Blu-ray also includes two live performance segments. 18 minutes of the Gruene Hall performance, along with the Ham Estate Archive, which spotlights rare pre-Eliminator ZZ Top concert footage from 1976 and 1981, complete the set.

• Gruene Hall Bonus Performances (18 minutes):
  • Shuffle In C / Fannie Mae
  • La Grange
  • Brown Sugar
  • Blue Jean Blues
• Ham Estate Archives Bonus Performances (17 minutes):
  • Thunderbird
  • Tush
  • Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
  • I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
  • Manic Mechanic

Still to this day, my favorite Z.Z. Top album is the first one -- with Brown Sugar and Shakin' Your Tree.

 

Absolutely! I haven't seen or read their whole story told before, and of course the bonus performances sound amazing.

 

Woke up to the news of the February, 2020 release. Been waiting for this !

 

$30.00 at their official store for the BD / DVD combo. I'll wait for a lower price myself.

That Lil Ol' Band From Texas (DVD/Blu-ray)

 

The documentary itself is great and much recommended, it has been talked about a bit towards the end of this thread: ZZ TOP 50th Anniversary

I had no idea there would be bonus features, and I never thought we'd ever get to see footage of complete songs from a 70s show, that is absolute holy grail stuff for me and an automatic buy! (The '81 stuff is not as exciting, as they started with a lot of the pre-recorded vocals, added off-stage instruments and really weird effects on both vocals and guitar, but the songs selected are good choices which will not have too much of that.)

 

Why is it a DVD & Blu-ray combination pack? Why would anyone want both?

 

Because some people preserve their Blu rays by playing their DVDs in a lesser player, like a car, or van, or over to a friend's house. Not nearly as expensive as the Pink Floyd The Later Years Box, where no less than five DVDs duplicate what's on the Blu rays already !!!

 

Those shows in the early years were incredible, that's how they got so big. I saw them three times here in a couple of years back then . They were relentless.

 

Bull Moose up first, at $22.97 : - ZZ Top

 

I frequently lend the sets to friends and family who don't have Blu-ray so they can watch the DVD. Also, on rare occasions I have hit a defective spot on the Blu-ray and been very glad to have the DVD so we could finish the film.

 

So, are the bonus features the full live sessions and concert clips excerpted during the main program?

 

See post # 1.

 

Yes, I knew they were on there, but was wondering if that was it for extras. It seems it is!!

 

It seems that it is only the American release that is a combo (and I assume it is because it is cheaper to do it that way), in Europe there are separate Blu-ray and DVD releases.

Here are the tracks listed:
1. "Shuffle In C" (live in Texas 2017)
2. "La Grange" (live in Texas 2017)
3. "Brown Sugar" (live in Texas 2017)
4. "Blue Jeans Blues" (live in Texas 2017)
5. "Thunderbird" (live in Maryland 1976)
6. "Tush" (live in Maryland 1976)
7. "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" (live in Texas 1981)
8. "I'm Bad I'm Nationwide" (live in Texas 1981)
9. "Manic Mechanic" (live in Texas 1981)

The first four from 2017 are in the actual documentary (not sure if this means they are featured again on their own, although seeing them once is enough), the main attaction is obviously the last five. I hope including them here is a teaser for a fuller release, as the gates to the vault have now finally been pryed open. There is one other song ("Chevrolet") from (presumably) the same Largo, Maryland show on YouTube, it has been there a while, so one would hope the whole show is recorded (that would have been the second song in the set after "Thunderbird", but "Tush" would have been played in one of the encore sets).

 

Couldn't they play it any faster ? I like how it states it took place on my 18th birthday too !

 

Everything was played at lightning speed live in the 70s, just check out "Backdoor Love Affair" on Fandango! compared to the original version. Quite the opposite to today when they play everything as slow as possible, to the point where you think things will fall apart or grind to a halt at any moment.

Apologies for repeating the track list, I forgot that they are in the OP, but at least here there are sources and years as well.

 

I have no memory of that in either 1974, 1975, 1976, or 1979, and my buddies and I would've noticed, trust me. That's the videotape, or whatever it is, sped up, and you'll never convince me of otherwise.

 

Well, I didn't see them live in the 70s, but I have recordings of a dozen shows from 1970 to 1977, so I'm basing it on that. If you want to refresh your memory some are on YouTube, I don't want to link directly because doing so on this forum has made stuff disappear, but search for the channel "Zee Zee Top".

 

LOL We'll never convince you? Well here's concrete proof. The song as played on the Maryland video is still in the proper key of E. If it were sped up, it would be in a higher key and the vocals would go up in pitch. It was 100% played that fast. Are you a musician? If so, shame on you.

Your comment of never being convinced reminds me a of a guy online who in spite of an entire Rush concert from 2002 being recorded (and the tour well documented) this guy insists that three songs (including one that hadn't been played since 1980) were played that night (they definitely weren't and I was at the same show) and he wasn't going to be convinced otherwise.

 

"Chevrolet" is actually in A (even if it starts on E), but the point still stands.

I am often surprised when I hear playbacks of recordings of myself in any band (and so are usually the other players as well) by how fast things are, in the heat of the moment you don't experience it the same way, and that would I think apply to both performers and audience, I would never trust my memory to recall the tempo of a performance (especially not if the performance was almost 50 years ago).

 

Thanks for backing me up on my point. As to the song, I thought it was in E. The lead lick at the beginning is in E. The main descending turnaround "riff" is in E though it resolves on A each time. The verses all start on E. The break starts off in E. The solo goes back and forth from E to A. Thanks again.

 

Yes, it is a bit deceptive in how it goes back to E all the time, but that is actually the dominant (V) chord. I guess you could view it as being in E mixolydian, but I don't think that's right. Think about the intro for example, it starts on E but lands on A, and that feels like "home", it comes to rest there, or, as you quite correctly express it, it resolves to A, that is precisely what happens.

 

You know I've been playing seriously for 32 years, I even did a short ZZ Top Halloween gig as Billy Gibbons with beard and cowboy hat and I like to consider myself as a very good player. But I am not what I'd call a schooled musician - I don't sight read for guitar or know a ton of theory (though I do know quite a bit). I appreciate your comments on this song.

 

I was there that day at Gruene Hall - a lot was played.

 

I had a ZZ cover band for a while, but we skipped the beards, hats and sunglasses and just played the music. We called ourselves Salt Lick and only played 70s songs, incuding "Chevrolet", in the arrangement (and the tempo) that can be heard in that video.

I know maybe you aren't in a position to tell some things, but I was wondering: was it the band's idea to include those performance bits or was it a request from the filmmakers?