XXX (ZZ Top album)
{{More citations needed|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name = XXX
| type = studio
| longtype = (with live elements)
| artist = ZZ Top
| cover = ZZ_Top_-_XXX.jpg
| alt =
| released = September 28, 1999
| recorded = April 1998 – June 1999
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 49:31
| label = RCA
| producer = Billy Gibbons
| prev_title = Rhythmeen
| prev_year = 1996
| next_title = Mescalero
| next_year = 2003
}}
XXX is the thirteenth studio album (also including live material) by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in September 1999. The album's title commemorates the band's 30th anniversary.
Reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|1.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=xxx-mw0000252763|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|label=ZZ Top – XXX: Review|access-date=January 11, 2012}}
| rev2 = The Austin Chronicle
| rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite web |last1=Hernandez |first1=Raoul |title=ZZ Top XXX (RCA) |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/1999-10-29/74477/ |website=The Austin Chronicle |access-date=20 April 2023 |date=29 October 1999}}
| rev3 = Robert Christgau
| rev3score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm2}}{{cite web |title=Consumer Guide Reviews: XXX | url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=ZZ+top |website=Robert Christgau |access-date=16 June 2018}}
| rev4 = Rolling Stone
| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}[https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/zztop/albums/album/230155/review/5945302/xxx ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002064155/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/zztop/albums/album/230155/review/5945302/xxx |date=October 2, 2007 }}
| rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev5score = {{Rating|1.5|5}}{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=ZZ Top|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/907 907-8]}}
}}
AllMusic only gave the album one and a half stars, and in its review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, he states: "After all, countless blues-based musicians, from Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters to B.B. King and the Rolling Stones, have aged gracefully, albeit in varying degrees. So why does ZZ Top sound so stiff and useless on XXX, a record celebrating their 30th anniversary? Part of that could be that the songwriting is decidedly weak, but a band as seasoned as ZZ Top should be able to make third-rate material at least listenable."
A more positive review was posted by RoughEdge.com, whose reviewer R. Scott Bolton gave it three out of four guitars and stated that the album "represents the best of both worlds of ZZ Top [...] [t]he bluesy sounds that highlight their early years [and] the special effects and tricks that made their later recordings so popular".{{Cite web|title=Rough Edge Recorded Music Reviews: ZZ TOP|url=http://www.roughedge.com/cdreviews/z/zztop.htm#XXX|access-date=2021-11-30|website=www.roughedge.com}}
The album peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, except where noted
| extra_column = Writer(s)
| total_length = 49:31
| title1 = Poke Chop Sandwich
| length1 = 4:50
| title2 = Crucifixx-A-Flatt
| length2 = 3:59
| title3 = Fearless Boogie
| length3 = 4:01
| title4 = 36-22-36
| length4 = 2:36
| title5 = Made into a Movie
| length5 = 5:13
| title6 = Beatbox
| length6 = 2:48
| title7 = Trippin{{'-}}
| length7 = 3:55
| title8 = Dreadmonboogaloo
| length8 = 2:36
| title9 = Live Intro by Ross Mitchell
| length9 = 0:35
| title10 = Sinpusher
| note10 = Live
| length10 = 5:18
| title11 = (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
| note11 = Live
| extra11 = Bernie Lowe, Kal Mann
| length11 = 5:21
| title12 = Hey Mr. Millionaire
| note12 = Live
| length12 = 4:14
| title13 = Belt Buckle
| note13 = Live
| length13 = 4:05
}}
=Additional studio track on the Japanese edition=
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard, except where noted
| title9 = Ninja Shack
| length9 = 5:00
}}
Personnel
=ZZ Top=
- Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals
- Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocal on "(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear"
- Frank Beard – drums, percussion
=Additional personnel=
- Jeff Beck – guitar on "Hey Mr. Millionaire"
Production
- Producer: Billy Gibbons
- Engineer: Joe Hardy
- Assistant engineer: Gary Moon
- Mixing: Joe Hardy
- Mastering: Bob Ludwig
- Digital editing: Brad Blackwood
- Recording: Joe Hardy
- Art direction: Bill Narum
Charts
Album – Billboard
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1999)
!Peak |
|---|
| The Billboard 200
|align="center"|100 |
Singles – Billboard
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!Single !Chart !Position |
|---|
| 1999
|"Fearless Boogie" |Mainstream Rock Tracks |align="center"|13 |
| 2000
|"36-22-36" |Mainstream Rock Tracks |align="center"|31 |