Rio Grande Mud
Studio album by
ZZ Top
ReleasedApril 4, 1972 (1972-04-04)
RecordedSeptember 1971 – January 1972 at Robin Hood Studios, Tyler, Texas
Genre
Length40:51
LabelLondon
ProducerBill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
ZZ Top's First Album
(1971)		 Rio Grande Mud
(1972)		 Tres Hombres
(1973)
Singles from Rio Grande Mud
  1. "Francine"
    Released: April 1972

Rio Grande Mud is the second studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 1972 by the London Records label. The album title was inspired by the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border between Mexico and Texas.

Background

ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons said of the album:

It was the first record that brought us into step with the writing experience. We started documenting events as they happened to us on the road; all of these elements went into the songwriting notebook. As we went along, we were keeping track of skeleton ideas as they popped up. The craft was certainly developing.[3]

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideC[4]
Rolling StoneMixed[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
The Daily VaultA−[7]

The only single released from the album was "Francine", which peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100. The A-side was the album version, while the B-side featured the song with the vocals re-recorded in Spanish.[8] Another 45 version was released in the UK and Germany backed with "Down Brownie". Various official ZZ Top releases throughout the years, beginning in 1972, have used the alternative spelling "Francene", especially on the various 45 releases both within and outside the United States as well as the first edition of the LP.

In 1987, the album was remixed for CD release. On January 11, 2011, Rhino released a remastered version from the original 1972 mix on vinyl only. This album was put up for download on Amazon's MP3 store and iTunes as a digital download in 2012, and features the original mixes of the tracks that are on Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and the 1987 remixes of the tracks that are not from that box set. The original mix of the album was released on CD in June 2013 as part of the box set The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990).[9]

Reception

AllMusic retrospectively gave the album 3.5 stars, stating: "With their second album, Rio Grande Mud, ZZ Top uses the sound they sketched out on their debut as a blueprint, yet they tweak it in slight but important ways."[2]

The album peaked at number 104 on the Billboard 200 in June 1972.[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Francine"Billy Gibbons, Steve Perron, Kenny Cordray3:33
2."Just Got Paid"Gibbons, Bill Ham4:49
3."Mushmouth Shoutin'"Gibbons, Ham3:41
4."Ko Ko Blue"Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard4:56
5."Chevrolet"Gibbons3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Apologies to Pearly (instrumental)"Gibbons, Hill, Beard, Ham2:39
2."Bar-B-Q"Gibbons, Ham3:34
3."Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell"Gibbons7:39
4."Whiskey'n Mama"Gibbons, Hill, Beard, Ham3:20
5."Down Brownie"Gibbons2:53
Total length:38:55

Personnel

ZZ Top
Additional personnel
  • Pete Tickle – acoustic guitar on "Mushmouth Shoutin'"
Production

Charts

Chart performance for Rio Grande Mud
Chart (1972–1974) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 85
US Billboard 200[12] 104

References

  1. 1 2 Myers, Marc (April 4, 2022). "ZZ Top's 'Rio Grande Mud' at 50". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Rio Grande Mud at AllMusic
  3. ↑ "Billy Gibbons talks ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990)". June 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: Z". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ "ZZ Top: Rio Grande Mud". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  6. ↑ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "ZZ Top". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 907–8. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ↑ Thelen, Christopher (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Rio Grande Mud". dailyvault.com. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  8. ↑ "The Hot 100, The week of July 8, 1972". Billboard.
  9. ↑ Gallucci, Michael (April 30, 2013). "New ZZ Top Box Will Include Original Mixes of First 10 Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Billboard 200, The week of June 17 & June 24, 1972". Billboard.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "ZZ Top Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
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