In 1996, long after their 80s MTV heyday, ZZ Top ditched the gloss and the synthesizers to record a back-to-basics, no BS rock album. The result was Rhythmeen, one of the best albums of ZZ Top's career. After seeing the pop-friendly monstrosity that they became in the mid 80s (Afterburner?! Ick.....), Rhythmeen is a breath of fresh air and a reminder of what a great rock band ZZ Top is. Billy Gibbons cranks the amp way up and incorporates various distortion effects to produce Top's heaviest, hardest rocking album ever. Billy's guitar rules the show, his riffs and solos are spectacular and there are several tracks that are quite memorable. "Bang Bang" and "She's Just Killing Me" could have been rock radio hits.

If you like ZZ Top's earlier material (Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres) then you must check out Rhythmeen. It's not quite as bluesy as that earlier material; this is more hard rock than anything, and some of the songs are not far from Black Sabbath-style heavy metal. Rhythmeen is a must-own for fans of bluesy hard rock. This is the loudest album ZZ Top has ever made and probably ever will make and it rocks hard.

That's what this CD is. And I mean that in a good way. The hardest ZZ Top album EVER, IMHO. Yeah, the lyrics are goofy, but they're been lame ever since Eliminator, for the most part. Focus on the sound... that grinding, distorted, blistering lead guitar sound on some great Texas blues melodies... I've played it over and over again, and I just don't get tired of this dirty little grease monkey.

This album seemingly goes back to the way ZZ Top started out in the '70's, back to the rootsy riffing and blues-soaked soloing of guitarist Billy Gibbons. The synthesized sound of Eliminator, the album that gave ZZ Top huge popularity and commercial success in '83, has seemingly been put to rest. Rhythmeen sees the band returning to earlier, earthier tones. The songs might not have the hooks'n'humor of Eliminator and Afterburner, but Gibbons's playing here is grittier and sharper than it has been for some time. The overall feel of the album is a welcome return to roots.

Highly original, experimental, heavy, and filled with black humor. ZZ sounds as if they've gotten bored with themselves and pulled out all the stops on this one. Billy G. did quite a bit of experimentation with guitar amplification and new effects to come up with some great new tones. The title track, Rhythmeen, has a good reworking of the Just Got Paid rhythm from Rio Grande Mud. Whats up With That was the most successfull track commercially and it features Billy G. on blues harp, something he should do more often. Vincent Price Blues is the only track that is reminiscent of past ZZ, sounding like something from Recycler but with a lot more attitude. The whole album hits really hard with staccato-spasmic guitar licks that sound as if Billy G. was being possesed by some devil...HHHMMM...down at the crossroads? There are no cover tunes, just a lot of originals that are drawn from the same place as Heaven, Hell or Houston and Manic Mechanic, from El Loco and Deguello respectively, and with a lot of blues/funk/soul references 'ala Rio Grande Mud. The purposely dark and twisted lyrical references may leave those without some knowledge of blues and southern culture "trivia" (and ZZ Top trivia) a bit lost, but for those who do... The other drawback of this album is that there is a real lack of songs like La Grange or Gimme All Your Lovin', with the strong rhythmic drive that ZZ Top proved it had so many times in the past. But there are plenty of other ZZ Top albums with a lot of THAT.

I picked this album up the other day in the used CD bin for six bucks. I am a longtime ZZ fan, but not too fond of their post-Deguello work. I had heard a few cuts on this in the past, and thought I'd give it a chance. This album is really one of their better "new ZZ" records. This is a very back-to-basics recording, no sequencers and synths here. It sounds like they set up a couple of amps and a drum kit in the studio and just rolled the tape. Few if any overdubs, basic song structures. The best thing of course, is Reverend Billy G's AWESOME guitar tone. Almost every song uses a dropped low E string which really gives it that low, heavy, down & dirty blues-rock sound. Love that tremelo, too!
The only weakness of this album is the writing, a lot of the lyrics are just goofy as hell, but then most of ZZ's later stuff is that way anyhow.
Bottom line: great music, goofy songs, still not as good as their old stuff.