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Who does his playing remind you of.......

Listened to Eliminator, by ZZ Top, today. Been a long time since I listened to it. 1983 release date, 8th studio album, and the most successful selling album by them, with 3 or 4 top hits. I have seen them live a few times. Anyhoo…….Song 4, I Need You Tonight, shows some fancy, and a different, guitar playing style by Mr. Billy Gibbons, than usual, imo. Am I missing something ? Are there other songs by them where his playing style is like this. His playing on this song reminds me of many other guitar players who riff like this all of the time. Opinions, please. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
2 responses Add your response
bg1968
117 posts
 
I think I Need You Tonight has some Roy Buchanan influence in Billy's playing. 
tablejockey
3,771 posts
 
Huh?
I guess being a 40 year guitar noodler and being a fan of Billy Gibbons/ZZ Top since the early 70's, I  don't hear anything "fancy and different."

Eliminator and later albums were part of the MTV period which I thought was the final nail in the coffin for R&R.

Billy has a Blues player's soul with R&R thrown in. I just hear plenty of delay and maybe some chorus effect with his guitar.

I lost interest in ZZ Top after Deguello. ZZ Top had to evolve with the times and introduced more electronics in their music.

Billy's sound is grittier, less processed  in earlier albums. The first 5 albums are timeless. Fandango, Tres Hombres and Tejas are 3 that get pulled out of mothballs for a spin, now and then.

ZZ Top sounds best on period records. 
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