ZZ Top Live At Montreux 2013
ZZ Top
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Release Date: July 22, 2014
Review Date: July 20, 2014

My only time I’ve ever seen ZZ Top in person was twenty-four years ago at Stevie Ray Vaughan’s funeral.  I have never seen ZZ Top live in concert.  To fill that void, however, is a new concert DVD by that “lil’ ol’ band from Texas” entitled, “ZZ Top Live At Montreux 2013”.

The DVD is off-the-rails fantastic and is packed with classic ZZ Top hits such as “La Grange,” “Gimme All Your Lovin,’” “Pincushion,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Waitin’ For The Bus,” “Legs,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” “Tush,” and many more. The set list blends tracks from early seventies albums such as “Tres Hombres” and “Fandango” through their eighties blockbuster period with “Eliminator” and “Afterburner” and up to their most recent release and return to their blues roots with “La Futura.” The middle section of the concert features a jazz-blues tribute to the late Montreux Festival founder Claude Nobs with guest appearances by Mike Flanigin on Hammond Organ and Van Wilks on guitar.

What I particularly enjoyed was Top’s tremendous treatment of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady”.  Billy Gibbons’ guitar work is par excellence as well as the solid foundational rhythm work of Dusty Hill (bass) and Frank Beard (drums). This one performance is worth the price of the entire DVD alone.

Yeah, it’s that good.

With an unchanged line-up stretching back to 1969, ZZ Top continue to delight fans around the world with their instantly recognizable brand of blues-infused rock and unmatched live performances. Their iconic sound and image has earned the band (singer/guitarist/frontman Billy F Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard) global album sales in excess of 50 million and an induction in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Throughout their 40+ year career, the band has made a number of visits to Montreux over the years and this concert from the 2013 Festival is undoubtedly one of their finest live performances.

ZZ Top’s “Live At Montreux 2013” represents that “lil’ ol’ band from Texas’ ” rip-roarin’ live energy – rocking the blues as strongly as ever and is a definite must-have for every fan’s video library.