Recycler (album)

Recycler is the tenth studio album by the American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in October 1990.

Recycler
Studio album by
ZZ Top
ReleasedOctober 16, 1990[1]
RecordedMay 1989–July 1990
StudioMemphis Sound Productions, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre
Length39:10
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerBill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
Six Pack
(1987)		 Recycler
(1990)		 Greatest Hits
(1992)

The band had a cameo in the 1990 movie Back to the Future Part III playing an "old west" version of "Doubleback" along with some local musicians. (The regular version of the song plays over the credits). The music video for "Doubleback" also had clips from the movie and was included on the DVD. There were three hit singles from the album: "Doubleback" (No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks for five weeks), "Concrete And Steel" (No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks for four weeks) and "My Head's In Mississippi" (No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks for six weeks).

Music videos were also made for "My Head's in Mississippi", "Burger Man" and "Give It Up".

In the UK, it was the band's third album to be certified by the British Phonographic Industry attaining Silver (60,000 units) in 1990. To date, this is the last studio album to achieve UK certification.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]
Robert Christgau [3]
Rolling Stone [4]
Entertainment Weekly(B+) [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic retrospectively gave it 2 stars out of 5, stating: "The continuation of Eliminator's synthesized blues made sense on Afterburner, since it arrived two years after its predecessor. ZZ Top's choice to pursue that direction on Recycler is puzzling, since a full five years separate this from Afterburner. It's not just that they continue to follow this path; it's that they embalm it, creating a record that may be marginally ballsier than its predecessor, but lacking the sense of goofy fun and warped ambition that made Afterburner fascinating. [...] And the worst thing about it all, it doesn't seem like the band realizes how uncomfortably ironic the title of "Recycler" is." Erlewine did however note that "Doubleback" and especially "My Head's in Mississippi" were standouts, and "Give It Up" also got an "AMG Pick", meaning that it was another highlight.

Robert Christgau gave it a one star honorable mention, meaning "A worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like" and called "Concrete and Steel" and "Decision or Collision" as the strongest tracks.

The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 27 on the Australian Albums chart.

Track listing

All songs by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

Side 1
  1. "Concrete and Steel" – 3:45
  2. "Lovething" – 3:20
  3. "Penthouse Eyes" – 3:49
  4. "Tell It" – 4:39
  5. "My Head's in Mississippi" – 4:25
Side 2
  1. "Decision or Collision" – 3:59
  2. "Give It Up" – 3:24
  3. "2000 Blues" – 4:37
  4. "Burger Man" – 3:18
  5. "Doubleback" – 3:53

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[21] Platinum 65,520[21]
France (SNEP)[22] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[23] Platinum 500,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Gold 7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[25] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "iTunes". Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  2. Recycler at AllMusic
  3. Robert Christgau review Retrieved on August 28, 2012.
  4. Archived February 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Tucker, Ken (October 19, 1990). "Recycler". ew.com. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  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. "Australiancharts.com – ZZ Top – Recycler". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  8. "Austriancharts.at – ZZ Top – Recycler" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – ZZ Top – Recycler" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – ZZ Top – Recycler" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  11. "Charts.nz – ZZ Top – Recycler". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  12. "Norwegiancharts.com – ZZ Top – Recycler". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – ZZ Top – Recycler". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – ZZ Top – Recycler". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  15. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  16. "ZZ Top Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  17. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  18. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1991". hitparade.ch. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  20. "Canadian album certifications – ZZ Top – Recycler". Music Canada. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  21. "ZZ Top" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  22. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved December 18, 2019. (select "ZZ Top" from drop-down list)
  23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ZZ Top; 'Recycler')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  24. "New Zealand album certifications – ZZ Top – Recycler". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  25. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (ZZ Top; 'Recycler')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  26. "British album certifications – ZZ Top – Recycler". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 16, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Recycler in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. "American album certifications – ZZ Top – Recycler". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 16, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.