ZZ Top – Double Down Live: 1980-2008 [2-DVD]
Eagle Rock Entertainment (10/20/09)
Unrated
154 minutes

Finally, a ZZ Top concert DVD that includes both vintage and recent performances! The recently released Double Down Live: 1980-2008 showcases two complete sets of vintage, and modern, howling blues-rock.

The first disc, from 1980, dubbed “THEN”, includes 22 tracks from their Tres Hombres, Fandango! and Deguello albums, recorded at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany, for the Rockplast television series. Raw and powerful, this first performance captures ZZ Top before the synthesizers and sequencers. The second disc, known as “ALMOST NOW”, features 11 songs, backstage footage and interview clips, making it sort of a documentary/concert film.

Amazingly enough, ZZ Top’s more recent, overly-produced hits from the mid- to late-’80s—in particular, “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs”, “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sleeping Bag”—do not appear on the second disc. I’m probably missing a few titles, but I’m not missing them at all on the DVD because the band’s stripped-down hits are the ones worth the price of admission. This band merits a viewing in a live context, and getting two complete shows with all the bonus features sweetens the deal.

Rating:

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