Billy F Gibbons "Hardware" 2021***

I don't know what the reason is, but Billy F Gibbons (really, when did he add the "F"? I'm sure he wasn't being referred to like that, until lately) had been distancing himself from ZZ Top in the last decade. It's still his dayjob, of course: the band has been touring incessantly, but they've only released one new album in the last 18 years. Gibbons, on the other hand, released his first solo record Perfectamundo in 2015, and followed it with two others in quick succession: 2018's The Big Bad Blues and 2021's Hardware. It seems that the success of his band has led him to be afraid to make changes to their sound, and therefore channel his creativity in his solo albums. Thing is, there's little here to differentiate it from ZZ Top's formula. Gibbons' gruff vocals and fuzzy/dirty blues guitar are on the forefront, although the album is obviously a team effort: the songs are co-written with drummer Matt Sorum and co-producers Chad Shlosser and Mike Fiorentino, while guitarist Austin Hanks also contributes to the overall sound. The songs are quite short (3:00' on the average) giving the impression of a singles collection rather than album. There are recurring themes familiar from ZZ Top (cars, girls, and booze), while the music is also often indistinguishable from ZZ Top's Southern blues boogie. This goes especially for the first tracks ("My Lucky Card", "She’s On Fire", "Shuffle, Step & Slide") as well as "I Was a Highway" and "S-G-L-M-B-B-R". "More-More-More" is similar, although the riff is a bit more metallic and reminiscent of QOTSA. "Vagabond Man" is a blues ballad, while "Spanish Fly" is a mid-paced blues about an old Mexican aphrodisiac featuring nice Hendrix-like guitar and theremin-like synth effects. "Stackin’ Bones" is a groovy piece with delightful backing vocals by the Lovell sisters (from the band Larkin Poe). They give it a night club vibe that makes me think of 60's go-go girls dancing dressed in cowgirl uniforms. "Hey Baby, Que Paso" is the only cover here, a Tex-Mex classic with blues harp and organ reminiscent of Sir Douglas Quintet. The fact that the album was recorded in the Californian desert, rather than Gibbons' Texas homeland, seems to have influenced other songs, in any case at least "West Coast Junkie" with its surf guitar, and especially on the spooky album closer "Desert High", a spoken word piece with references ranging from rattlesnakes and scorpions to dead rock stars Jim Morrison and Gram Parsons, who had a special bond with that area. All in all, this is a strong B.F.Gibbons/ZZ Top album, among his best of the last 30 years. I know there's at least one more ZZ Top album in the plans, containing the last contributions from Dusty Hill, the band's bassist/co-vocalist, and Gibbons' "brother in beard" - Dusty passed away suddenly late last year. Drummer Frank Beard isn't a songwriter, which leaves Gibbons as the sole remaining creative force in the band. It'd be interesting to see whether he will now prioritize ZZ Top, which is by far his more popular musical "vehicle", or continue making solo records and instead just tour with ZZ Top whose name will help selling out the big venues. Whichever the case, albums like this prove that we can still count on him to keep the spirit of his old band alive.

**** for She’s On Fire, West Coast Junkie, Stackin’ Bones, I Was a Highway

*** for My Lucky Card, More-More-More, Shuffle, Step & Slide, Vagabond Man, Spanish Fly, -G-L-M-B-B-R, Hey Baby, Que Paso, Desert High