XXX (ZZ Top album)

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.

XXX
Studio album with live elements by
ZZ Top
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1999
RecordedApril 1998 - June 1999
Length49:31
LabelRCA
ProducerBilly Gibbons
ZZ Top chronology
Rhythmeen
(1996)		 XXX
(1999)		 Mescalero
(2003)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[3]
Rolling Stone [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

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."[1]

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".[6]

The album peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Poke Chop Sandwich"4:50
2."Crucifixx-A-Flatt"3:59
3."Fearless Boogie"4:01
4."36-22-36"2:36
5."Made into a Movie"5:13
6."Beatbox"2:48
7."Trippin'"3:55
8."Dreadmonboogaloo"2:36
9."Live Intro by Ross Mitchell"0:35
10."Sinpusher [Live]"5:18
11."(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear [Live]" (Bernie Lowe, Kal Mann)5:21
12."Hey Mr. Millionaire [Live]"4:14
13."Belt Buckle [Live]"4:05
Total length:49:31

Additional studio track on the Japanese edition

All tracks are written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, except where noted

No.TitleLength
9."Ninja Shack"5:00

Personnel

ZZ Top

Additional personnel
  • Jeff Beck – guitar on "Hey Mr. Millionaire"

Production
  • Producer: Billy Gibbons
  • Engineer: Joe Hardy
  • Assistant engineer: Gary Moon
  • Mixing: Joe Hardy
  • Mastering: Bob Ludwig
  • Digital editing: Brad Blackwood
  • Recording: Joe Hardy
  • Art direction: Bill Narum

Charts

Album – Billboard

Chart (1999) Peak
position
The Billboard 200 100

Singles – Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1999 "Fearless Boogie" Mainstream Rock Tracks 13
2000 "36-22-36" Mainstream Rock Tracks 31

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ZZ Top – XXX: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  2. Hernandez, Raoul (29 October 1999). "ZZ Top XXX (RCA)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  3. "Consumer Guide Reviews: XXX". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. Archived October 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "ZZ Top". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 907-8. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. "Rough Edge Recorded Music Reviews: ZZ TOP". www.roughedge.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
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