Deguello

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
First released in 1979, Deguello was three years in the making. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard had disappeared into the sagebrush to recharge their batteries following their grueling World Texas Tour. They returned with a new antic sense of themselves that first appeared in songs like "Cheap Sunglasses," "She Loves My Automobile," and "Esther Be the One" and came to fruition almost four years later with Eliminator. Deguello forges the last link to the band's early blues-rock years, before they became the sleeker, less threatening entity that graced MTV during the '80s. Tunes like their rendering of David Porter and Isaac Hayes's steamy "I Thank You," the salacious "Hi Fi Mama," and the boastful "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" careen on the edges of good taste, but these guys didn't give a damn who they offended as long as they entertained. And, of course, they did entertain legions of fans with their ribald lyrics, off-kilter timing, and Gibbons's daredevil guitar wizardry. But ZZ Top isn't all hard edges and pinup fantasies; the heartbreakingly beautiful intro to their eccentric love song, "Fool for Her Stockings" rivals the lyricism of Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary." --Jaan Uhelszki

Album Details
1979 Classic with 'Cheap Sunglasses' and 'i Thank You'. Currently Out of Print in the USA.

Tracks:

I Thank You
She Loves My Automobile
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
A Fool For Your Stockings
Manic Mechanic
Dust My Broom
Lowdown In The Street
Hi Fi Mama
Cheap Sunglasses
Esther Be The One

Amazon.com

First released in 1979, Deguello was three years in the making. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard had disappeared into the sagebrush to recharge their batteries following their grueling World Texas Tour. They returned with a new antic sense of themselves that first appeared in songs like "Cheap Sunglasses," "She Loves My Automobile," and "Esther Be the One" and came to fruition almost four years later with Eliminator. Deguello forges the last link to the band's early blues-rock years, before they became the sleeker, less threatening entity that graced MTV during the '80s. Tunes like their rendering of David Porter and Isaac Hayes's steamy "I Thank You," the salacious "Hi Fi Mama," and the boastful "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" careen on the edges of good taste, but these guys didn't give a damn who they offended as long as they entertained. And, of course, they did entertain legions of fans with their ribald lyrics, off-kilter timing, and Gibbons's daredevil guitar wizardry. But ZZ Top isn't all hard edges and pinup fantasies; the heartbreakingly beautiful intro to their eccentric love song, "Fool for Her Stockings" rivals the lyricism of Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary." --Jaan Uhelszki

Album Details

1979 Classic with 'Cheap Sunglasses' and 'i Thank You'. Currently Out of Print in the USA.

Customer Reviews:

Can't Top This ZZ!.......2007-04-21

This is ZZ at their best. Forget Eliminator. This pounds it into oblivion.
Okay, so maybe The Top aren't as good at blues as, say, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf or B.B. King. But it's still pure BLUES, y'know? Take A Fool for Your Stockings. Could've easily been an old blues standard. Great, great song too. Very good use of the hammer-on during the guitar solo, and those vocals are solid blues. I'd go out on a limb and say it's the best slow song The Top ever recorded. Meanwhile, the hits I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide and Cheap Sunglasses are essential Top: raw, raunchy, rockin' and bluesy. Them at their best.
You also get a couple of fine covers for your money: I Thank You and Dust My Broom. Neither compare to the originals, but that's simply because the originals are COMPLETELY amazing, as opposed to simply amazing, as these two are. You also get some funny stuff, like the dirty Manic Mechanic (even if you don't think the immature lyrics are funny, gotta love that basso-profundo voice!) and She Loves My Automobile.
Four stars because a couple of these songs are just average - Lowdown in the Streets has cool backup vocals and nothing else; Esther be the One and Hi-Fi Mama could've stayed or gone, and I wouldn't have been too sad either way. But there is not a SINGLE bad song, making this the best disc they ever did. They're not my favorite band, but I can see why people like them.
Also check out Tres Hombres and Rio Grande Mud!

RED,HOT,TEXAS BLUES.......2006-09-12

This is an excellent cd, great guitar, bass and throaty singing.When you think Texas guitar slingers, think Johnny Winter, think SRV, and think Billy F. Gibbons. Deguello has long stood out as a great album and should be appreciated at high volume on your stereo. This is a must have for anyone who enjoys smokin blues guitar. 5-stars

ZZ TOP DEGUELLO.......2006-07-22

ZZTOP ARE BRILLIANT IN THIER OWN RIGHT,DEGUELLO IS THEIR MASTERPIECE.ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN 79,IT BRIMMED WITH HISTORICAL GUITAR WORK AND MR.GIBBONS OUTSTANDING GRITTY VOCALS.ITS AN INCREDIBLE ALBUM BUT LESS HEAVIER THAN TRES HOMBRES,BUT THE SONGS ARE JUST GREAT.EVEN STEVIE RAY VAUGHNS KILLER DEPUT-TEXAS FLOOD ALBUM RELEASED IN 83 COULDNT OVERPOWER BILLYS WIZARDRY THAT SHINED ON DEGUELLO.JIMI HENDRIX WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH BILLY GIBBONS MOVING SIDEWALKS BAND IN 69,THAT HE NAMED HIM AS ONE HIS FAVORITE GUITARIST WITH A PROMISING FUTURE.IF YOU DO NOT OWN ANY ZZ TOP ALBUMS,THIS IS THE ONE TO GET - ALONG WITH (TRES HOMBRES).YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

It's Bad, It's Nationwide.......2006-06-02

After three years of rest, Billy & Dusty & Frank returned as ZZ Top for Deguello (1979). With their beards grown out (the class Top image was born), the band shifted gears from the bard band boogie of their previous albums (and the near-country of their last, Tejas), and funked up their sound a bit. An image of the band as Texas pimps lurching about the streets like urban cowboys was established here. ZZ Top was now becoming synonymous with antic fun. The cartoony image of the band cruising around in custom-hot rods and ladies abound got its start here. Now this might make you think Deguello is a sell-out, but its one of ZZ Top's best. Billy Gibbon's plays some fine guitar throughout, combining his licks and tricks with brilliance. "Cheap Sunglasses" is menacing funk that makes you wanna cruise hte streets at night. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," makes you wanna cruise in the day, in all your finery. "Fool For Your Stalkings" is a dark and brooding love lament that sounds good when you;re alone at night. "Manic Mechanic" is kooky instumental (if you don't count the slowed down voice) that grooves as well. "Low Down In The Street" tells a fine story. One two tracks, all three guys play saxophone, calling themselves the lone wolf horns; of these two, Dusty Hill's "Hi Fi Mamma" is the swingin' best.

In short, Deguello is simply fun music that sounds good, makes you happy, and is played well. ZZ's on top.

Original Mix Is Intact Unlike Previous 6 CDS.......2006-03-07

For reasons unknown, after completely butchering the CD releases of their previous 6 albums by remixing and re-recording, ZZ Top saw fit to leave this one lone album and an early Greatest Hits collection alone in it's original form. It's not remastered but at least you can hear the album as it sounded when it was first released on vinyl. So it's a safe buy, but since Tres Hombres and Fandango are now finally available in original mix, remastered form, I would wait for this one to be re-released.

Average customer rating:

Don't Remeber THIS "Alamo"
Defending the Alamo
Excellent CD
Enjoyable a-typical score
None Better

The Alamo

Manufacturer: Hollywood Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Alamo (Widescreen Edition)
Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis
The History Channel Presents The Alamo
Remembers the Alamo
Glory: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B0001NBN6G
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

Flesh And Honor
300 Miles Of Snow
What We're Defending
El Bexareno
La Zandunga
Who Took Their Loved Ones
Listen To The Mockingbird Sing
The Evacuation Of Bexar
The Calm After The Storm
The Visitation Of Saint Ursula
Quiet Mountain
They Ain't Bear
Bonham's Ride
Sell Our Lives Dearly
Night Falls On The Alamo
Deguello De Crockett
The Last Night
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 1
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 2
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 3
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 4
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 5
The Battle Of The Alamo, Part 6
The Death Of Crockett
Runaway Scrape
Blood, Or Texas

Amazon.com

Carter Burwell cut his film scoring teeth on many a Coen brothers movie, quickly gaining a reputation for a quirky, human-scaled inventiveness that informed everything from jazz and folk to orchestral music and even the well-timed nod to Morricone. That often introspective sensibility is well paired to director John Lee Hancock's revisionist take on the legend of San Antonio's fabled doomed fortress, which focuses more on the conflicted human dimensions of its characters than familiar cardboard, pop culture heroics. Burwell's use of orchestral pomp is deliberate and decidedly restrained; more often the composer leans on spare, evocative passages of simple, though ever-inventive folk-based music (like the elegiac "Quiet Mountain") played by various combinations of guitar, banjo, and violin. Vintage traditional Mexican and American tunes are also given their atmospheric due via Jennifer Hammond's and Craig Eastman's arrangements of "La Zandunga" and "Listen to the Mockingbird Sing," respectively. But its Burwell's own peculiarly modernist instincts that inform both tradition ("Crockett's DeGuello") and his own masterfully understated cues, particularly the bleak, almost gothic emotional landscape of his six-part "Battle of the Alamo Suite" and its bittersweet coda, "Blood or Texas." --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Don't Remeber THIS "Alamo".......2006-07-21

When making another version of a film that has already been made producers,directors,performers,and score composers are too often tempted to "do it differently",as if by twisting and turning a basic premise they will succeed..The classic film version of"The Alamo"is and remains the John Wyane version,which was nominated for several academy awards.Granted,the John Wyane version had little to do with actual history,but,then again,the purpose of the film industry has always been to entertain,not to teach..John Wyane,who produced and directed,as well as being the star of that film chose Dimitri Tiomkin to score his film.
Tiomkin,and old-line symphonic genius,provided a magnificent score,at once adventurous and poingnant..
The people responsible for this version of"The Alamo"decided to teach,rather than entertain,and,at the same time attempted to be politically correct as well.Thus,the mythic aspects inherent in the John Wyane version were replaced by morally ambiguous nonsense,and heroics were more or less eliminated in favor of a rather desperate survival theme,coupled with some added imperialistic touches with the addition of the Sam Houston charecter as a major player along with Bowie,Crockett,and Travis.
The people responsible for this film ,having many fine symphonic-oriented composers to choose from instead opted for minalmism by Carter Burwell..One can hardly imagine,for instance,a five-star gourmet meal served on a foam plate,with plastic knife and fork.Likewise one can hardly imagine a would-be epic western (even if it is very revisionist)bearing a score that plays like a new-age snoozer...But this is exactly what Burwell has given us...There are no epic themes here...There is an enormous orchestra credited as having participated in this project however when one listens to the finished product one is hard-pressed to HEAR any evidence of this participation.
John Wyane's script called for a lot of action on-screen,and Tiomkin obligingly provided very suitable musical themes..
The script for this new film does not call for very much action,even short-changing the audience during the final battle scene by shooting it in near-darkness,and underscoring it with a dirge-like monotone.
This new film was"troubled"from the very start.Ron Howard was supposed to direct but he didn't.The cast was shuffled around several times.Some "Main"charecters were eliminated entirely ,although thier traces continued to show up in the trailers released for this movie..While on the subject of the trailers for this film,the music used in them was 110% better than the Burwell claptrap..Scenes featured in the trailers were actually NOT in the finished film.The film was scheduled for a christmas opening,a slot usually reserved for top-of-the-line oscar contenders,and was then,suddenly yanked,and later released in April,where it died a much-deserved death after about a week in theatres,a colossal flop.
The film was terrible,and part of this is due to the Burwell score which is terrible-plus.

Defending the Alamo.......2005-09-09

I enjoyed the film and, in particular, the intelligent and sensitive portrayal of David Crockett but...so much had been cut by the time it was released as a DVD in England. The soundtrack is pleasant enough so if you liked it on the screen you will enjoy the CD but we do not have the Deguello on its own, (but have the haunting duo with David Crockett's fiddle), and we do not have the saucy little tune played at San Jacinto. On balance, worth buying.

Excellent CD.......2005-06-22

This is an excellent CD. If you are interested in this CD you will love "Audio Tour of the Alamo and Old San Antonio of the Wild West". This CD will gudie you around the Alamo Battlefield in present day San Antonio sshowing yu the actual locations of events of the battle. To hear a sample of this audio tour go to
http:www.alamoaudiotours.com you can also purchase this CD here on Amazon.com

Enjoyable a-typical score.......2005-03-05

Most war movies have underscore's that pulse with energy and power of battle. Carter Burwell takes another course. His music is melancholy and some people have taken the celtic sounding music and complained out it but I found the music to be powerful and perfectly fitting with the movie. The Alamo is also enjoyable as a single listening experience although it does help to have seen the movie. I particularly enjoyed the track where Crockets fiddle is combined with the Mexican "Slit Throat" band. Overall, I found this cd to be enjoyable and it gets better every time i listen to it.

None Better.......2004-12-01

A few comments about the movie The Alamo, if you would indulge me for a moment. It is pertinent. I didn't have high expectations for this film, the trailers I saw made it out to be another larger-than-life, ain't-afraid-of-nothing, cliché-filled motion picture. We lived in San Antonio for several years, it is a great town filled with wonderful people. We visited the Alamo on several occasions. It is a holy place for Texans, sacred, and being "non-Texans" I am sure most of the locals felt we really couldn't appreciate or even grasp the significance of the place, the honor of those who fought and died there. I must admit it was all somewhat lost on me. Thus, I was fully expecting this movie to be overdone and nauseating, especially considering I am not the biggest fan of two of the lead actors (Billy Bob Thorton and Dennis Quaid).

OK, please bear with me, I will get to my point in a second. We ended up renting the film as I had heard the cinematography was sensational (it was). But my biggest surprise was the film itself. Not the script, not the actors, but the entire film. I can't really put into words how good it was, not perfect, but an excellent motion picture and probably an accurate depiction of the individuals and events as they occurred. And both Thornton and Quaid were exceptional...they deserve Oscars come January, and it will be a shame if they don't get them.

Now, concerning this soundtrack. To put it simply, if this CD isn't the best soundtrack winner for 2004, then there is a conspiracy going on. It isn't on Amazon's editors picks, nor the customer's favorites list, I chalk that up to being it was just recently released. However, it should be on both, and highly competitive for the top honors this year. It is simply that good. Carter Burwell set a new standard with the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou? and may have exceeded it with this one. The music here just puts the visualizations of the movie back into my head...the music retells the story as well as the images.

The bottom like is fairly straightforward, if you liked the movie than you owe it to yourself to get this soundtrack. There is absolutely no way you will be anything other than engrossed in it.