Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
Recycler by ZZ Top, album cover
Album

Recycler

by ZZ Top
Released16 October 1990
LabelWarner Bros. Records
Popularity55.3
Also cited23 March 1990
hard rockblues rockrockpop rockarena rock
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Recycler is ZZ Top's tenth studio album, released on 16 October 1990 on Warner Bros. Records. It follows Eliminator and Afterburner and closes the chapter of synth-driven production that began with the former, while nudging the band back towards the blues roots they started from. Hard rock, boogie and pop rock all find a place here.

The record has a neat film connection. The band turned up in Back to the Future Part III, playing an old west take on "Doubleback" with local musicians, while the regular version runs over the credits. Five singles came from it: "Doubleback", "Concrete and Steel", "Burger Man", "Give It Up" and "My Head's in Mississippi". Three of those topped the Album Rock Tracks chart, the last for six weeks. In the UK it earned a Silver certification in 1990.

Recycler: tracklist, credits and charts

10 tracks · 39:54

Tracklist

  1. 1Concrete and SteelBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:50
  2. 2LovethingBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:26
  3. 3Penthouse EyesBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:47
  4. 4Tell ItBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:49
  5. 5My Head’s in MississippiBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:25
  6. 6Decision or CollisionBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:03
  7. 7Give It UpBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:34
  8. 82000 BluesBeard, Gibbons, Hill4:45
  9. 9Burger ManBeard, Gibbons, Hill3:20
  10. 10DoublebackTop, Beard, Gibbons, Hill3:55
Produced by
Bill Ham
Recorded at
Memphis Sound Productions (Memphis, Tennessee)
Recorded
May 1989 – July 1990
Engineered by
Terry Manning
Mastered by
Bob Ludwig
Labels
Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
Length
39:54

Line-up

  • Frank Beard · membranophone, percussion, drums (drum set)
  • Billy Gibbons · guitar, vocals, electric guitar
  • Dusty Hill · bass guitar, vocals, electric bass guitar

Singles

  • “Doubleback” · May 1990
  • “Concrete and Steel” · 1990
  • “My Head's in Mississippi” · 1990
  • “Give It Up” · November 1990
  • “Burger Man” · 1991

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 1990–916
UK Albums Chart · 1990–918
Swiss Albums · 1990–911
US AOR (Radio & Records) · 1990–911
Norwegian Albums · 1990–912
Swedish Albums · 1990–912
German Albums · 1990–914
Austrian Albums · 1990–9115
Hungarian Albums · 1990–9122
New Zealand Albums · 1990–9123
All 12 charts
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1990–9127
Dutch Albums · 1990–9165

Certifications

RegionCertification
Canada · 1991Platinum
Finland · 1991Platinum
France · 20012× Gold
Germany · 2012Platinum
New Zealand · 1990Gold
Sweden · 1991Platinum
Switzerland · 1990Platinum
United Kingdom · 1990Silver
United States · 1991Platinum

Awards

  • SNEP double gold album

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

55.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
53k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
335
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Club (1987)Greatest Hits (1992) →

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Full discography →
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1983
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1985
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1985
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1987
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1987
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1992
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1994
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1994
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1996
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2003
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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1990-03-23 (musicbrainz)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz23 March 1990
Wikipedia infobox16 October 1990
Wikidata16 October 1990
US release6 October 1990earliest US date
UK / Europe release23 March 1990earliest UK or European date
14 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
1990USWarner Bros. Records075992626521other
1990USWarner Bros. Records0208314184291other
1990USWarner Bros. Records075992626514other
1990USWarner Bros. Records075992626545other
1990CAWarner Bros. Records075992626521other
1990XEWarner Bros. Records075992626514other
23 March 1990DELone Wolf Productions075992626521original
23 March 1990XEWarner Bros. Records075992626521original
6 October 1990USWarner Bros. Recordsother
15 November 1990JPWarner Bros. Records4988014738729other
15 February 1994USWarner Bros. Records075992626521other
19 June 2012XWRhino603497931286other
7 June 2013XWRhino603497921386other
28 August 2013JPWarner Bros. Records4943674147670other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1413x1411, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓1413×1411upscaled: minor: best source 1413x1411, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled