Tejas (album)

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Tejas
ZZ Top - Tejas.jpg
Studio album by
ZZ Top
ReleasedNovember 29, 1976[1]
Genre
[citation needed]
Length34:38
LabelLondon
ProducerBill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
Fandango!
(1975) 		Tejas
(1976) 		The Best of ZZ Top
(1977)
Singles from Tejas
  1. "It's Only Love"
    Released: 1976
  2. "Arrested for Driving While Blind"
    Released: 1977
  3. "Enjoy and Get It On"
    Released: 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[2]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[3]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide2.5/5 stars[5]

Tejas is the fifth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released in late November 1976, on the London label. The title is a Caddo language word meaning 'friends', which is the origin of the name of the band's home state, Texas.

Background and release[]

Frontman Billy Gibbons said about the album:

It's fair to say that this is a transitional record, although I'm not really sure what we were transitioning from and what we were becoming. (laughs) It may be representative of how rapidly things were changing in the studio.

The equipment was becoming more modernized, and the way that music was being recorded was different – things were moving faster. It was still pre-digital, but there was better gear that was more readily available. We made use of it all.

This period was the wrinkle that kind of suggested what was to come, and change would become a necessary part of the ZZ Top fabric.[6]

Tejas was produced by Bill Ham and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning. In 1987, a digitally remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1976 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the instrument balance and the sound of the instruments, especially the drums.

Tejas was released as a digital download on Amazon.com's MP3 store and iTunes in 2012, with the original mixes of the tracks that are included on Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and the 1987 remixes of the tracks that are not from that boxset. The original mix of the album was released on CD in June 2013 as part of the box set The Complete Studio Albums (1970–1990).[7]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."It's Only Love"4:24
2."Arrested for Driving While Blind"3:05
3."El Diablo"4:20
4."Snappy Kakkie"2:56
5."Enjoy and Get It On"3:23
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Ten Dollar Man"3:42
2."Pan Am Highway Blues"3:15
3."Avalon Hideaway"3:07
4."She's a Heartbreaker"3:02
5."Asleep in the Desert" (Gibbons; instrumental)3:24

Personnel[]

Production[]

  • Producer – Bill Ham
  • Engineer – Terry Manning
  • Mastering – Larry Nix
  • Photography – Lee and Lesser
  • Album concept – Bill Ham
  • Album design – Bill Narum

Charts[]

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 72
United States (Billboard 200) 17

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Billboard, November 20, 1976, page 66, "London Promo for ZZ Top 'Tejas'", [...LP ships Nov. 29th]
  2. ^ Tejas at AllMusic
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: Z". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Robertchristgau.com. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  4. ^ [1][dead link]
  5. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "ZZ Top". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 907-8. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ Joe Bosso (June 2013). "Billy Gibbons talks ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990)". Musicradar.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ^ Gallucci, Michael. "New ZZ Top Box Will Include Original Mixes of First 10 Albums". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "American album certifications – ZZ Top – Tejas". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
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