{"id":43737,"date":"2014-08-07T20:40:58","date_gmt":"2014-08-08T01:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=43737"},"modified":"2014-08-07T20:40:58","modified_gmt":"2014-08-08T01:40:58","slug":"neil-daniels-beer-drinkers-hell-raisers-a-zz-top-guide-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/neil-daniels-beer-drinkers-hell-raisers-a-zz-top-guide-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Daniels | Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers: A ZZ Top Guide<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"ZZWhat can be say about this \u2013 or actually, any \u2013 book on ZZ Top\u2026? Well, one certain thing is that it\u2019s neither The Dirt nor a story about The Rolling Stones and you won\u2019t find many shocking vignettes about notorious sexual stunts, bloody fights between the band members and scandalous drug-infused antics there. The four decades of ZZ Top story may be thus devoid of controversy and personal dramas, but still, never dull or jejune \u2013 what one of the recent books penned by Neil Daniels, entitled Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers: A ZZ Top Guide<\/em> is clear proof of.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s much more to Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers than just a biography of a Texan trio. Perhaps more apt is to follow the suggestion of the author and call it a \u201cguide\u201d to, or a compendium on, ZZ Top\u2019s history, music and legacy. It may be a valuable item for the fans, but most of all, it should be a handbook for those whose knowledge on ZZ Top is limited to \u201cGimme All Your Lovin\u201d and \u201cLegs\u201d videos seen on MTV 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s preceded with a very personal foreword from an acclaimed rock journalist Steven Rosen (Guitar Player, Guitar World, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Creem, Circus), delivered not as much from a perspective of a writer as of the band\u2019s fan and friend. Full of entertaining vignettes of his personal meetings with Billy Gibbons (with Eddie Van Halen appearing at some point to a reader\u2019s surprise) and told in a warm, amiable manner, this behind-the-scenes look at ZZ Top is simply unique. It finishes with an afterword from a Canadian rock journalist Martin Popoff taking a reader through his personal highlights of ZZ Top\u2019s discography.<\/p>\n

Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers<\/em> is divided into the four subsequent parts. First is, predictably, the band\u2019s detailed chronicle covering a span from 1969 \u2013 when ZZ Top was formed \u2013 to their most recent endeavors as for 2013. The first few pages introduce a reader to an outline of Texan culture and musical heritage, shaped by the Mexican and Spanish influence. This attempts at explaining both ZZ Top\u2019s uniqueness and the slight error behind dubbing their music \u201cSouthern Rock\u201d (not entirely comparable with the \u201credneck\u201d bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd). Further on, the biography delivers many interesting facts and details, from the history behind band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill growing their trademark beards to the origin of the legendary Eliminator car (Gibbon\u2019s red Ford Coup\u00e9). It also examines ZZ Top\u2019s relationship with the popular imagery of the US \u2013 scantily clad ladies, fast cars, sunglasses etc. Although devoid of scandal, the band appears more flamboyant and vivid than expected \u2013 their custom stage set designs (as in 1976, when their Texan desert-like set design was complete with animals and cacti) makes one think twice about ZZ Top being only beards and MTV-friendly red car!<\/p>\n

The first part of the book being history-oriented, the subsequent three focus more on music and numerous achievements of the band. Part two \u2013 \u201cZZ Top\u2019s Friends and Influences\u201d \u2013 is especially interesting as the reader is presented with short yet amazingly informative pieces on different people (or bands) having associations with ZZ Top. First go the particular collaborators and associates of the band (photographers, costume designers, producers, sound engineers, video directors etc.). Next to be presented are the musicians and bands influential towards the Texan trio (divided neatly into genres, from blues to rock and country\/folk rock). The chapter entitled \u201cZZ Top\u2019s peers\u201d is 1970s Blues Rock\/Southern Rock\/Americana boom in a nutshell, with the information on the likes of The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd or Molly Hatchet. Its follow-up \u201cZZ Top\u2019s Fellow Modern Blues Rock Contemporaries\u201d focuses more on the bands who, alongside the mostly bearded trio, helped to transform blues rock into the late 20th\/early 21st century form.<\/p>\n

Part three is on ZZ Top\u2019s legacy \u2013 the music industry awards, movie cameos and a solid handful of funny-to-eyebrow-raising trivia. It also features a chapter \u201cZZ Top and Their Critics\u201d in which rock writers from Classic Rock, Get Ready To Rock, Fireworks: The Melodic Rock Magazine or Blabbermouth share their thoughts on ZZ Top\u2019s early blues days, MTV-friendly \u201880s era, their back-to-the-roots shift and further career. The most encyclopedic is the fourth part, much detailed compilation of ZZ Top\u2019s discography, the band members\u2019 guest studio appearances, tours, festival\/TV appearances and even the selective list of their support bands and tour guests. <\/p>\n

Neil Daniels\u2019 Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers: A ZZ Top Guide<\/em> should make it to the bookshelf of every rock listener \u2013 ZZ Top fans in particular, but not only. The book is a coherent, comprehensive source of information on all things ZZ Top, but also a vivid picture of a popular and acclaimed rock band who, differently from many of their peers, didn\u2019t end up lost in the mists of time due to their talent, perseverance and lasting friendship. It\u2019s one-of-a-kind handbook on how to start a band, play the blues and grow a beard so as to march into the new century 40 years later \u2013 all this delivered by ever-reliable author. Certainly unputdownable and thus recommended.<\/p>\n

ISBN: 978-0957144279<\/p>\n

Publisher: Soundcheckbooks<\/p>\n

Website:
\nhttp:\/\/www.neildanielsbooks.com\/<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.soundcheckbooks.co.uk\/letitrock\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — What can be say about this \u2013 or actually, any \u2013 book on ZZ Top\u2026? Well, one certain thing is that it\u2019s neither The Dirt nor a story […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":43770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9786,8719,9542,9597],"class_list":{"0":"post-43737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-beer-drinkers-hell-raisers-a-zz-top-guide","9":"tag-book-review","10":"tag-neil-daniels","11":"tag-soundcheckbooks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}