Maps of Music

Mescalero (2003)

Where the lyrics of Mescalero take you, and where it was really made.

ZZ Top hired a father-and-son marimba duo after a lunch break at a Mexican restaurant, and the duo ended up playing on the title track.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (2002)

Recording site Foam Box Recordings — ZZ Top convened at Foam Box Recordings in Houston in 2002. The band-owned private studio had been used to record XXX and Rhythmeen, and Billy Gibbons produced the sessions for Mescalero there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Mescalero is the fourteenth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top
• Released in September 2003 as the band's final release for RCA Records
• Still rooted in blues rock, the album explores country and Tejano sounds
• Billy Gibbons produced the album and wrote most of the songs
• Recording sessions took place at Foam Box Recordings in Houston

Background

• ZZ Top signed with RCA Records in 1993
• RCA released Antenna (1994), Rhythmeen (1996), and XXX
• XXX marked the band's thirtieth anniversary and received mixed reviews from critics
• Between XXX and Mescalero the band mostly toured Australia, New Zealand, and various European countries
• In 2002 the band performed at the annual RodeoHouston and with Brooks & Dunn on CMT Crossroads

Recording

• Foam Box Recordings is a private studio owned by the band, used to record XXX and Rhythmeen
• Gibbons collaborated with engineers Joe Hardy and Gary Moon, and with band members Dusty Hill and Frank Beard
• A variety of instruments was used, centered on Tejano instrumentation including accordion, pedal steel guitar, and harmonica
• The album often uses slide guitar and fuzzy bass guitar sounds
• James Harman played harmonica on “Que Lastima”

Cover

• The cover depicts a skeleton wearing a sarape and a sombrero while drinking mescal in the desert
• The skeleton appears to be shooting flames out of its mouth
• The title refers to a heavy mescal drinker

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969 after Billy Gibbons' band Moving Sidewalks disbanded.
• The name came from Gibbons' idea, inspired by B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill, reasoning that "king is at the top."
• Signed with London Records and released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971.

Members

• Billy Gibbons on vocals and guitar, the only constant member since 1969.
• Dusty Hill on bass and vocals from 1970 until his death in 2021.
• Frank Beard on drums from 1969 until his death in 2026.
• Elwood Francis took over on bass after Hill's death, at Hill's request.
• Michael Monahan has been on tour as drummer since 2025.

Career

• Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975) brought radio success; "La Grange" and "Tush" became classic rock staples.
• Eliminator (1983) reached international stardom and sold over 10 million copies, the only ZZ Top album certified diamond.
• Afterburner (1985) was their highest-charting album, reaching number four on the Billboard chart.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
• Recognized by Guinness in 2018 as the longest-running active group with no lineup changes.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars
• Reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described thirteen tracks as “by-the-books latter-day ZZ Top relying too much on overly polished sound and familiar form”
• The review says the band sounded like a worthy veteran act on “Liquid”, “Crunchy”, “What Would You Do”, and “Tramp”
• The criticism centers on an overly polished sound and familiar form rather than on the band's roots

Records

• The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200
• Mescalero was ZZ Top's final release for RCA Records
• It was the band's last studio album before La Futura in 2012, after a long gap in new studio releases

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• After a lunch break at a Mexican restaurant, ZZ Top hired a father-and-son marimba duo from Chiapas, Mexico.
• The duo provided entertainment at the restaurant and were anxious to appear on a rock album.
• After the band explained there were only three chords involved, the duo played on the title track.
• Auto-Tune is used on Gibbons' vocals at several points, most audibly on “What Would You Do”, “Que Lastima” and “As Time Goes By”.
• “Buck Nekkid” was used in a television commercial promoting the album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact