Album · 45 years old this year
El loco
El Loco is ZZ Top's seventh studio album, released on 15 July 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. It came after Degüello and just before Eliminator, and it sits right at the hinge of the band's story. The sound is still rooted in blues rock, boogie and Southern rock, the Texas trio's home ground.
What makes it worth hearing is how it looks ahead. A synthesizer turns up on a couple of tracks, played by Linden Hudson, who went uncredited. That small touch points towards the heavy use of synths on Eliminator and Afterburner, and to a lesser extent Recycler. Put it on if you want to catch the band just before their sound changed.
El loco: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 37:24Tracklist
- 1Tube Snake BoogieBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:06
- 2I Wanna Drive You HomeBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:47
- 3Ten Foot PoleBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:23
- 4LeilaBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:17
- 5Don’t Tease MeBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:21
- 6It’s So HardBeard, Gibbons, Hill5:12
- 7Pearl NecklaceBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:06
- 8Groovy Little Hippie PadBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:44
- 9Heaven, Hell or HoustonBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:33
- 10Party on the PatioBeard, Gibbons, Hill2:55
- Produced by
- Bill Ham
- Recorded at
- Ardent Studios
- Engineered by
- Bob Ludwig, Terry Manning
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 37:24
Line-up
- Frank Beard · percussion, drums (drum set)
- Billy Gibbons · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Dusty Hill · electric bass guitar, vocals, lead vocals
Singles
- “Leila” · 1981
- “Tube Snake Boogie” · 1981
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1981 | 17 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1981 | 88 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1981 | 19 |
| Swedish Albums · 1981 | 26 |
| German Albums · 1981 | 52 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1981 | Gold |
| United States · 1981 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
56.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
73k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
299
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 15 July
Every year →
More from ZZ Top
Full discography →
ZZ Top’s First Album
1971
Rio Grande Mud
1972
Tres hombres
1973
La Grange
1974
Fandango!
1975
Tejas
1976
The Best of ZZ Top
1977
Degüello
1979
Eliminator
1983
The ZZ Top Summer Holiday E.P.
1985
Afterburner
1985
The ZZ Top Sixpack
1987
ZZ Top Club 1987
Club
1987
Recycler
1990
Greatest Hits
1992
Antenna
1994
One Foot in the Blues
1994
Rhythmeen
1996
XXX
1999
Mescalero
2003
Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
2003
Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top
2004
Hi‐Five: ZZ Top
2005
Live From Texas
2008
Texicali
2012
La futura
2012
Live! Greatest Hits From Around the World
2016
The best of 1981
All of 1981 →The Rolling Stones 4 Sucessos 1981
4 Sucessos
The Rolling Stones · 1981
Tattoo You
The Rolling Stones · 1981
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
AC/DC · 1981
Killers
Iron Maiden · 1981
Diary of a Madman
Ozzy Osbourne · 1981
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
High ’n’ Dry
Def Leppard · 1981
Greatest Hits
Queen · 1981
Point of Entry
Judas Priest · 1981
Too Fast for Love
Mötley Crüe · 1981
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
Motörhead · 1981
Judas Priest Turn Me Loose 1981
Turn Me Loose
Judas Priest · 1981
More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park · 2000
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Minutes to Midnight
Linkin Park · 2007
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac · 1977
A Thousand Suns
Linkin Park · 2010
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
Out of Time
R.E.M. · 1991
Automatic for the People
R.E.M. · 1992
Reanimation
Linkin Park · 2002
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 October 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 15 July 1981 | |
| Wikidata | 1981 | |
| US release | 1 October 1981 | earliest US date |
15 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992359320 | other |
| — | DE | Lone Wolf Productions | 075992359320 | other |
| 1981 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1981 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 07599235931 | other |
| 1981 | ES | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1 October 1981 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992359313 | original |
| 1987 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992359320 | other |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 0208313103267 | other |
| 3 November 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992359320 | other |
| 15 November 1990 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014739863 | other |
| 25 April 2013 | — | Rhino | 603497924561 | other |
| 25 April 2013 | — | Rhino | 603497924561 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 603497960750 | other |
| 7 June 2013 | — | Rhino | 603497921423 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147649 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |