ZZ Top - Double Down Live 1980/2008

Top-drawer stuff

This double disc-set of ZZ Top concerts, from 1980 and 2008, is interesting in that it barely includes any material from the band’s most successful 80s albums, Eliminator and Afterburner. This means no Legs, Sharp Dressed Man or Gimme All Your Lovin’. Nevertheless, the set is a real treat for fans, including all-time favourites such as Tush and Waitin’ For The Bus in their modern and harder-rocking late 70s guises.

The earlier concert, filmed for Germany’s Rockpalast show, is the better of the two, the no-frills camerawork and lack of backstage footage putting the focus firmly on the trio’s powerful, hard-edged performance. The satisfyingly raw and ragged set really highlights just how great both Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill’s vocals and musicianship are.

The 2008 footage was filmed during the band’s world tour of that year and suffers from too many montages of plane flights/backstage antics and so forth being shown over the soundtrack. Unsurprisingly, the band seems a little more effortful than in days of yore but still prove that they can rock with the best of them.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Eagle Vision | EREFV764 (2-DVD)

Reviewed by William Pinfold
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