ZZ Top are celebrating 50 years of beards, blues, hot cars and fuzzy guitars this year with a new, Texas-sized compilation that includes the 50 songs that helped transform “that little ol’ band from Texas” into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame standard bearers they have become in the 21st century.
On August 16, Goin’ 50 will be released as both 3-CD and 180-gram, 5-LP sets. A single-CD version with 18 tracks as well as digital and streaming versions will also be available on June 14. Pre-order here.
Packed with enough hits to fill a roadhouse jukebox, Goin’ 50 spans the band’s entire musical career, from its 1969 debut, and its multi-platinum zenith during the 80s, to its most recent releases. This new retrospective includes an array from each of the 15 studio albums that guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill have recorded since 1970. Two bonus tracks, “Salt Lick” and “Miller’s Farm” – a single and b-side respectively – were recorded in 1969 by the original incarnation of ZZ Top.
The first disc of Goin’ 50 focuses on the irresistible FM-radio hits that hooked the first generation of ZZ Top fans during the 70s and early-80s with songs like “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” and “Pearl Necklace.”
The additional disc explores the steady stream of hits the band released between 1983 and 1991 that made them international superstars, including six Top 40 tracks: “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Legs,” “Sleeping Bag,” “Stages,” “Rough Boy,” and “Velcro Fly.”
Goin’ 50 closes with a selection of songs recorded between 1992 and 2016 that find the band returning to its blues roots for fresh inspiration on tracks like “Pincushion,” “What’s Up With That,” “Rhythmeen,” and “I Gotsta Get Paid.” The set’s final two tracks – live versions of “Waitin’ For The Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago” – are taken from the band’s most recent release, Live Greatest Hits from Around the World (2016).
ZZ Top will also embark on a 50th Anniversary European tour on June 4 followed by a US tour beginning Aug 16. No mention of Aussie dates yet, but we can hope!
Get all your fave ZZ Top sets on vinyl and CD here.
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