Six Pack (ZZ Top album)

The Six Pack is a box set released in 1987 by the American blues rock band ZZ Top. The compilation consisted of the first five albums by the band, digitally remixed to add newly recorded contemporary-sounding drum machine and rhythm tracks, digital reverb and distortion, and the original mix of the band's seventh album, El Loco. The remixing gave these releases a sound similar to Eliminator. The resulting remixes were also reissued on the standalone compact disc releases of the albums. The remixing was criticized as being "a disaster".[1] Until 2006, these remixes were the only versions of these albums available on CD.

The Six Pack
Box set by ZZ Top
Released	1987
Recorded	1969-1981
Genre	Blues rock hard rock
Length	212:52
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Bill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
Afterburner (1985) The Six Pack (1987) Recycler (1990)

Content

The box set encompasses the first five studio albums by ZZ Top plus El Loco into a three-disc set. All of the albums, except El Loco and the live tracks from Fandango! were remixed with 1980s percussion. This was done due to the success of the albums Eliminator and Afterburner, on which the band had found success by using such percussion. These were used for the single CD versions of the albums as well.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively gave it 2 stars out of 5, stating: "If Six Pack just delivered the original albums, it'd be a good investment, but the studio tinkering makes this a disaster."[1]

Aftermath

In 2006, the original mixes of Tres Hombres and Fandango! were released on CD. Several tracks from the remaining albums appeared on the box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and its companion compilation release Rancho Texicano until 2013 when the albums were re-released on CD with the original mixes restored.[1]

Track listing

Disc 1 - ZZ Top's First Album & Rio Grande Mud

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Somebody Else Been Shaking Your Tree"	Billy Gibbons	2:29
2.	"Brown Sugar"	Gibbons	5:20
3.	"Squank"	Gibbons, Bill Ham, Dusty Hill	2:49
4.	"Goin' Down to Mexico"	Gibbons, Ham, Hill	3:23
5.	"Old Man"	Frank Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:31
6.	"Neighbor, Neighbor"	Gibbons	2:19
7.	"Certified Blues"	Beard, Gibbons, Ham	3:26
8.	"Bedroom Thang"	Gibbons	3:53
9.	"Just Got Back from Baby's"	Gibbons, Ham	4:10
10.	"Backdoor Love Affair"	Gibbons, Ham	2:42
11.	"Francine"	Kenny Cordray, Gibbons, Steve Perron	2:53
12.	"Just Got Paid"	Gibbons, Ham	3:48
13.	"Mushmouth Shoutin'"	Gibbons, Ham	3:45
14.	"Ko Ko Blue"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:23
15.	"Chevrolet"	Gibbons	3:19
16.	"Apologies to Pearly"	Beard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill	2:45
17.	"Bar-B-Q"	Gibbons, Ham	3:22
18.	"Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell"	Gibbons	6:47
19.	"Whiskey’n Mama"	Beard, Gibbons, Ham, Hill	3:20
20.	"Down Brownie"	Gibbons	2:26

Disc 2 - Tres Hombres & Fandango!

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Waitin' for the Bus"	Gibbons, Hill	2:59
2.	"Jesus Just Left Chicago"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:29
3.	"Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:23
4.	"Master of Sparks"	Gibbons	3:33
5.	"Hot, Blue and Righteous"	Gibbons	3:14
6.	"Move Me on Down the Line"	Gibbons, Hill	2:30
7.	"Precious and Grace"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:09
8.	"La Grange"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:51
9.	"Shiek"	Gibbons, Hill	4:04
10.	"Have You Heard?"	Gibbons, Hill	3:14
11.	"Thunderbird" (Live)	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:49
12.	"Jailhouse Rock" (Live)	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller	1:56
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 Hooker	9:23
14.	"Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:42
15.	"Blue Jean Blues"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:42
16.	"Balinese"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:37
17.	"Mexican Blackbird"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:06
18.	"Heard It on the X"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:23
19.	"Tush"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:14

Disc 3 - Tejas & El Loco

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Only Love"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:24
2.	"Arrested for Driving While Blind"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:05
3.	"El Diablo"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:20
4.	"Snappy Kakkie"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:56
5.	"Enjoy and Get It On"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:23
6.	"Ten Dollar Man"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:42
7.	"Pan Am Highway Blues"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:15
8.	"Avalon Hideaway"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:07
9.	"She's a Heartbreaker"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:02
10.	"Asleep in the Desert"	Gibbons	3:24
11.	"Tube Snake Boogie"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:02
12.	"I Wanna Drive You Home"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:44
13.	"Ten Foot Pole"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:19
14.	"Leila"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	3:13
15.	"Don't Tease Me"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:19
16.	"It's So Hard"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	5:12
17.	"Pearl Necklace"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	4:01
18.	"Groovy Little Hippie Pad"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:40
19.	"Heaven, Hell or Houston"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:31
20.	"Party on the Patio"	Beard, Gibbons, Hill	2:48

Personnel

ZZ Top

• Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals
• Dusty Hill - bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Frank Beard - drums, percussion

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	99

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "ZZ Top Six Pack review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
2. 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.
3. 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.