Eliminator (album) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eliminator by Released March 23, 1983 Recorded 1982 at , , , Length 44:28
CD 23774 chronology
(1981) Eliminator
(1983)
(1985) from Eliminator ""
Released: April 1983 ""
Released: May 1983 ""
Released: July 1983 ""
Released: December 1983 ""
Released: May 1984

Eliminator is the eighth by the band . It was released on March 23, 1983, by . Recorded in during 1982, the album was produced by the band's and peaked at the top of the in many countries. "", "", "", "" and "" were released as . A winner, Eliminator is ZZ Top's most successful release with sales of .

The band wanted to expand on the sound of their 1981 record . Influenced by , Eliminator′s tracks were recorded with a combination of the synthesizer, and . The album used as successful promotional tools — the videos for "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" all received regular on . A customized 1930s , depicted on the album cover, could be seen in the videos. Following Eliminator′s release, ZZ Top embarked on a .

Eliminator received widespread critical acclaim, centered on its and use of . Often considered ZZ Top's most popular release, the record has appeared in several publications' best albums lists. It was ranked at number 396 in magazine's and was listed at number 39 in The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s.

After the success of "Legs", Eliminator was reissued with the song's edited single mix replacing the original version. The single version was also used when Eliminator was issued on CD in 1984. In 2008, Eliminator was and reissued, with the addition of bonus tracks and a containing music videos and live performances. The original version of "Legs" was restored, making its first appearance on CD, while the single mix of the song remained on the album as a bonus track.

The Eliminator album was not without controversy. According to their former stage manager David Blayney (15 years as ZZ Top's stage manager) in his book, Sharp Dressed Men (Hyperion Books), the sound engineer Linden Hudson co-wrote much of the material on the album as a live-in high-tech music teacher to Beard and Gibbons. And, despite continued denials by the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson, paying him $600,000 after he proved he held the copyright to the song "Thug" which appeared on Eliminator.

Contents

Background "Eliminator" coupe

In 1976, met with Don Thelen of Buffalo Motor Cars in , to build a customized . The car was built with a -style engine fabricated by the .[] It was finished in 1983 and called the Eliminator. The car has become recognizable for its red finish and graphics, which can be seen in several of the band's . The Eliminator has also made worldwide appearances in television, movies, and events.

In 1979, ZZ Top reunited after a two-year break from touring and signed a new , switching from to Gibbons and grew chest-length which, along with black , have become distinctive aspects of the band's image. ZZ Top's sixth studio album was released in August 1979. The album went platinum and sold over a million units in the . (1981) experimented with the sounds of . It went gold and initially sold over half a million copies. "" went to number four on the chart.

Recording

In 1982, ZZ Top convened at in . Ardent had become the group's main since 1973. was handled by the band's , while was responsible for the . Recording occurred in Studio A and included an "SpectraSonics by Auditronics" that was a permanent fixture until 1985.[] Both Gibbons and Manning took charge of the studio sessions to make an album with various . Despite the on the album, Hill and did not attend most of the sessions.[]

Gibbons used a that had Super Distortion .[] Manning recalled that the guitar was "very resonant", always on the verge of , and difficult to keep in tune. He often edited Gibbons' guitar parts to eliminate extra noise. Gibbons used a Legend Rock 'n' Roll , a 50-watt with a single 12-inch .[] According to Manning, an C414 B-ULS captured the amp and was placed about five inches from the , slightly off-axis.[]

There is some dispute as to the writing credits for the songs on the album. According to their former stage manager David Blayney (15 years with ZZ Top) in his book, Sharp Dressed Men, the sound engineer Linden Hudson co-wrote much of the material on the album as a live-in high-tech music teacher to Beard and Gibbons. And, despite continued denials by the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson, paying him $600,000 after he proved he held the copyright to the song "Thug". Additionally, Blayney wrote that Hudson was involved in the writing and recording of a demo of the song "Under Pressure". According to Blayney, Gibbons and Hudson wrote the whole song and recorded a demo all in one afternoon without the involvement of Hill or Beard. Hudson created the bass on a synthesizer, created drums on a drum machine and helped Gibbons write the lyrics; Gibbons performed the guitars and vocals. David Sinclair, of , writes in his book, The Story Of ZZ Top, that Hudson suggested to Gibbons the possibility of using a drum machine for the final recording of the Eliminator album. Deborah Frost, writer for magazine, described in her book ZZ Top—Bad and Worldwide how Hudson researched popular song tempos, then presented Gibbons with the results of his studies. Linden's data suggested that 120 beats per minute was the most popular tempo in the rock music market at that time. Gibbons decided to go for it and recorded most of the Eliminator album at that tempo.

Promotion and release The guitars used in the "Legs" music video

Eliminator was released worldwide on March 23, 1983. The name of the album derives from a term for winning a . The front cover is an illustration of the Eliminator coupe by Tom Hunnicutt. Three of Eliminator's five singles appeared in the top 10 on the chart. "Gimme All Your Lovin'", released in April 1983, went to the number two position.

In 1983, ZZ Top made several in . "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was filmed at a in , while "Sharp Dressed Man" was filmed at night on the streets of .[] "Legs" took place at a and shoe salon in ;[] Gibbons and Hill had custom guitars made with authentic sheepskin covering the body and , as well as a unit to make the guitars spin in a complete circle. With Tim Newman as , the "Legs" video won an in 1984. The Eliminator , along with three models, made an appearance in the videos.

Critical reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating

In 2005, Eliminator was listed in magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Track listing

All songs written by , and .

No. Title Length 1. ""   3:59 2. ""   4:00 3. ""   4:13 4. "I Need You Tonight"   6:14 5. "I Got the Six"   2:52 6. ""   4:35 7. "Thug"   4:17 8. ""   3:50 9. "Dirty Dog"   4:05 10. "If I Could Only Flag Her Down"   3:40 11. "Bad Girl"   3:16 Collector's Edition No. Title Length 12. "Legs" (Single Mix) 3:33 13. "Gimme All Your Lovin" (Live) 4:46 14. "Sharp Dressed Man" (Live) 4:47 15. "I Got the Six" (Live) 3:05 16. "TV Dinners" (Live) 4:11 17. "Got Me Under Pressure" (Live) 4:04 18. "Legs" (Dance Mix) 7:48 Charts and certifications Album Weekly charts Chart (1983-85) Peak
position Australian Albums ()[] 2 Austrian Albums ()[] 4 Dutch Albums () 4 German Albums () 25 Swedish Albums () 13 Swiss Albums () 11 Norwegian Albums () 13 New Zealand Albums () 4 UK Albums () 3 US 9 Chart (1987) Peak
position New Zealand Albums () 11 Year-end charts Chart (1983) Peak
position US Billboard 200 65 Singles

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position 1983 "Gimme All Your Lovin" Mainstream Rock 2 1983 "Gimme All Your Lovin" The Billboard Hot 100 37 1983 "Got Me Under Pressure" Mainstream Rock 18 1983 "Sharp Dressed Man" Mainstream Rock 8 1983 "Sharp Dressed Man" The Billboard Hot 100 56 1983 "TV Dinners" Mainstream Rock 38 1984 "Legs" Hot Dance Music/Club Play 13 1984 "Legs" The Billboard Hot 100 8 1984 "Legs" Mainstream Rock 3 Certifications Region Certification Australia () 4× Platinum 280,000^ Austria ( Austria) Gold 25,000x Canada () Diamond 1,000,000^ Finland () Platinum 71,121 France () 2× Platinum 672,600 Germany () 3× Gold 750,000^ United Kingdom () 4× Platinum 1,200,000^ United States () Diamond 10,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Personnel ZZ Top – , – , , vocals – , Production – – Linden Hudson – pre-production engineer – Bob Alford –
References ^ Blayney, David (1994). Sharp Dressed Men. New York: Hyperion. pp. 196–203. . ^ Deborah Frost (1985). ZZ Top - Bad And Worldwide. New York: Rolling Stone Press. ISBN . David Sinclair (1986). Tres Hombres: The Story of ZZ Top. 95 pages. Virgin Books, 1986, . Blayney, David (1994). Sharp Dressed Men. New York: Hyperion. pp. 196–203.  . Sinclair, David (1986). Tres Hombres - The Story Of ZZ Top. London: Virgin. p. 76.  . Frost, Deborah (1985). ZZ Top - Bad And Worldwide. New York: Rolling Stone Press / Macmillan. p. 115.  . Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. . Retrieved 8 June 2013. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 105.  . ". Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2013. ". Charts.de. . Retrieved April 8, 2013. ". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2013. ". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2013. ". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2013. ". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2013. . . The Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2013. for ZZ Top. . Retrieved April 8, 2013. . Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 8, 2013. . . (in German). Austria. Enter ZZ Top in the field Interpret. Enter Eliminator in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen . . The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits: (in Finnish). . (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. (in French). . (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved April 8, 2013. (in German). . . . Enter Eliminator in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go . . If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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