The Six Pack
Box set by
ZZ Top
Released1987
Recorded1969–81
Length212:52
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerBill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
Afterburner
(1985) 		The Six Pack
(1987) 		Recycler
(1990)

The Six Pack is a box set released in 1987 by the American rock band ZZ Top. It comprises their first five albums, plus their seventh album, El Loco (1981). All the albums except El Loco and the live side of Fandango! were remixed with new drums and guitar effects for a more "contemporary" sound, similar to ZZ Top's eighth album, Eliminator (1983).[1] Until 2006, these remixes were the only versions of the albums available on CD.[citation needed] British musician and producer Alan Parsons had also remixed his first 1976 Project album Tales of Mystery and Imagination in the same manner to achieve the same sound, which was also released in 1987.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

Reviewing The Six Pack for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "If Six Pack just delivered the original albums, it'd be a good investment, but the studio tinkering makes this a disaster."[2]

Later reissues

The Six Pack remixes were also used on the individual CD releases of the albums and all following compilations of the band (except the CD release of 1977's The Best of ZZ Top) for the next few years. Original mixes were first remastered for the box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and its companion compilation release Rancho Texicano.

In 2006, the original mixes of Tres Hombres and Fandango! were released on CD. Some tracks from the remaining three albums were unavailable digitally in their original versions until 2013 when the albums were re-released on CD with the original mixes restored.[2] All more recent compilations used original mixes.

Track listing

Disc one - ZZ Top's First Album & Rio Grande Mud
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Somebody Else Been Shaking Your Tree"Billy Gibbons2:29
2."Brown Sugar"Gibbons5:20
3."Squank"Gibbons, Bill Ham, Dusty Hill2:49
4."Goin' Down to Mexico"Gibbons, Ham, Hill3:23
5."Old Man"Frank Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:31
6."Neighbor, Neighbor"Gibbons2:19
7."Certified Blues"Beard, Gibbons, Ham3:26
8."Bedroom Thang"Gibbons3:53
9."Just Got Back from Baby's"Gibbons, Ham4:10
10."Backdoor Love Affair"Gibbons, Ham2:42
11."Francine"Kenny Cordray, Gibbons, Steve Perron2:53
12."Just Got Paid"Gibbons, Ham3:48
13."Mushmouth Shoutin'"Gibbons, Ham3:45
14."Ko Ko Blue"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:23
15."Chevrolet"Gibbons3:19
16."Apologies to Pearly"Beard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill2:45
17."Bar-B-Q"Gibbons, Ham3:22
18."Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell"Gibbons6:47
19."Whiskey’n Mama"Beard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill3:20
20."Down Brownie"Gibbons2:26
Disc two - Tres Hombres & Fandango!
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Waitin' for the Bus"Gibbons, Hill2:59
2."Jesus Just Left Chicago"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:29
3."Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:23
4."Master of Sparks"Gibbons3:33
5."Hot, Blue and Righteous"Gibbons3:14
6."Move Me on Down the Line"Gibbons, Hill2:30
7."Precious and Grace"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:09
8."La Grange"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:51
9."Shiek"Gibbons, Hill4:04
10."Have You Heard?"Gibbons, Hill3:14
11."Thunderbird" (Live)Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:49
12."Jailhouse Rock" (Live)Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller1:56
13."Backdoor Medley" (Live - "Backdoor Love Affair"* / "Mellow Down Easy"** / "Backdoor Love Affair No.2"*** / "Long Distance Boogie"****)*Gibbons, Ham / **Willie Dixon / ***Gibbons / ****John Lee Hooker9:23
14."Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:42
15."Blue Jean Blues"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:42
16."Balinese"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:37
17."Mexican Blackbird"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:06
18."Heard It on the X"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:23
19."Tush"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:14
Disc three - Tejas & El Loco
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It's Only Love"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:24
2."Arrested for Driving While Blind"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:05
3."El Diablo"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:20
4."Snappy Kakkie"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:56
5."Enjoy and Get It On"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:23
6."Ten Dollar Man"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:42
7."Pan Am Highway Blues"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:15
8."Avalon Hideaway"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:07
9."She's a Heartbreaker"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:02
10."Asleep in the Desert"Gibbons3:24
11."Tube Snake Boogie"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:02
12."I Wanna Drive You Home"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:44
13."Ten Foot Pole"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:19
14."Leila"Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:13
15."Don't Tease Me"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:19
16."It's So Hard"Beard, Gibbons, Hill5:12
17."Pearl Necklace"Beard, Gibbons, Hill4:01
18."Groovy Little Hippie Pad"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:40
19."Heaven, Hell or Houston"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:31
20."Party on the Patio"Beard, Gibbons, Hill2:48

Personnel

ZZ Top

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 99

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Thomas. "ZZ Top - Six Pack". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "ZZ Top Six Pack review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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