#Billy F. Gibbons

[undergroundrockpress]

Billy F. Gibbons - 2013

Photo : Katarina Benzova.

[blackros78]

A young Billy F. Gibbons with a Fender Stratocaster

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour feat. Brian May - “Too Much Stress”

“Too Much Stress” has a lot of cooks. But it doesn’t really cook.

The lead single from Steve Cropper’s forthcoming (Aug. 23) Friendlytown finds the M.G. supported by the Midnight Hour with Billy F. Gibbons and features Brian May on guitar and vocals. But it’s an uptempo mish-mash of guitar solos, Queenly backgrounds and silly lyrics delivered by May:

I’m behind, I must confess/my apologies/too much stress/too much stress/just to keep my head straight/takes all my power/life is coming at me/like, 100 miles per hour, he sings.

Full of talent though it may be, “Too Much Stress” is an empty vessel of a track.

Grade card: Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour feat. Brian May - “Too Much Stress” - C-

7/1/24

[myvinylplaylist]

ZZ Top: La Futura (2012)

American Recordings

[jeffcbliss]

(Left to right) Kenny Aronoff, Billy F. Gibbons, Steve "Seasick Steve" Wold, playing at The Billy Gibbons Birthday Jam - The Troubadour; West Hollywood, CA (12-15-22). @AronoffOFFICIAL @BillyFGibbons @SeasickSteve @ZZTop

Photo: Jeff Bliss

[americanahighways]

Show Review: Billy F. Gibbons at the Blue Note in Hawaii

Show Review: Billy F. Gibbons at the Blue Note in Hawaii @billyfgibbons @carlnhawaii @americanahighways @bluenotehawaii #livemusicphotography #concertphotography #americanamusic #blues #zztop #americanahighways

[psychterminal]

[falkonryderz]

[thisaintascenereviews]

Slash - Orgy Of The Damned

Hey, Slash dropped a new album this past Friday, entitled Orgy Of The Damned, and it’s a (checks notes) blues covers album? Okay, color me curious, especially since I’m a fan of his work, but let’s see what kind of vocalists he’s recruited — Brian Johnson, Gary Clark Jr., Demi Lovato, Dorothy, Chris Stapleton, and a handful more. Now that’s even more interesting, as I like a lot of the vocalists here, and I’d love to hear these artists tackle a blues song. The only trepidation I had with the album before listening to it was how long it was, because 70 minutes is a bit daunting for an album, regardless of its style.

I will say, that after spending the last week with this album, my curiosity paid off, because this record is pretty cool. It’s not perfect, but it’s not necessarily the album’s fault, or anyone attached to it. I still enjoy it a lot, though, and blues / rock fans are sure to have a blast listening to this thing. I absolutely love that this is a blues covers album, so every song is from a classic blues artist with a couple of exceptions, including a Stevie Wonder song, and a Norman Whitfield song made famous by The Temptations in the late 60s, but those songs are given the blues treatment.

Every song on here is done with the utmost care and effort, regardless of the vocalist attached, and there’s not a bad cover here, although I will say that some of the covers are better than others, but that’s kind of due to the vocalist just not being one of my favorites. With that said, the songs usually work to the vocalist’s strengths. Chris Stapleton’s cover of “Oh Well” is a blues and southern-rock banger, whereas Brian Johnson’s “Killing Floor” is a hard-rock song with blues touches, so an AC/DC song, basically. A lot of songs here are what you’d expect, especially since everyone here has some blues cred, but that leads me to its biggest issue — some of this album, while Slash’s guitarwork is great, is pretty run of the mill, and the vocalists don’t stick out as much.

Dorothy’s cover of “Keys To The Highway” is good, but a rather forgettable slice of blues-rock, just as the covers with Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes), Iggy Pop, and Billy F Gibbons. A few covers really stick out, like Chris Stapleton’s, Paul Rodgers’ cover of “Born Under A Bad Sign,” or what is both the most surprising and my favorite cover, Demi Lovato’s cover of “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” It’s a fantastic cover and her vocals are wonderful on it. The rest of the album is good, albeit what you’d expect for a blues covers album. A couple songs could have been cut, but nothing is bad here. The album ends with a cool instrumental track from Slash, showing off his musical chops without any accompaniment.

Honestly, I really enjoy this record, despite it being a little too long, and the album having some peaks and valleys, but it’s a really fun, loose, energetic, and catchy album with some great performances from both the featured vocalists and Slash himself. This is Slash’s album, so he’s the main star, and he rules here. He matches his playing to the song and vocalist, but his playing is great throughout nonetheless. Slash fans should check this out, and fans of blues and rock should check this out, too, but only a handful of songs are really memorable. I’m not sure if this will be one of my favorite albums of the year, but even so, it’s a good time.

[brightfametexan]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Billy F Gibbons (@billyfgibbons)

[blackros78]

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour - “Friendlytown”

There’s hopeless blues and there’s hopeful blues. Steve Cropper’s “Friendlytown,” a guitar-driven, brass-goosed number about feeling bad until the good guys come along, is the latter.

Don’t let it get you down you could be walkin’ into Friendlytown, Cropper sings on the cut, which was preceded by “Too Much Stress.”

Billy F. Gibbons is one of four co-writers - including Cropper - on “Friendlytown” and his ZZ influence is obvious the title track from Cropper’s forthcoming (Aug. 23) LP.

Grade card: Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour - “Friendlytown” - C+

8/13/24

[jeffcbliss]

On a windy day: Elwood Francis (left) and Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top - BeachLife Music Festival; Redondo Beach, CA (5-6-24). @BillyFGibbons @ZZTop @BeachLifeFest

Photo: Jeff Bliss (for The Flow)

[brokenpiecesshine]

Joe Hottinger via Instagram Stories, 24/02/2023.

BFG!

[psychterminal]

[falkonryderz]

CARDBOARD SESSIONS ~ Billy F Gibbons and Matt Sorum #15