10 More Perfect 1980s Hard Rock Albums With No Bad Songs

9. Eliminator - ZZ Top (1983)

For a band consisting of a couple Duck Dynasty looking bluesmen, they did a remarkable job of staying relevant during the '80s. Hitting the scene at the tail end of the '60s, these Houston boys, played swinging boogie blues. It was the type of guitar-led rock that required you to sip of moonshine, while slappin' a knee.

But the band could easily have been resigned to a certain time and place. New wave and synthesisers were all the range during the '80s. Without the proper diligence, the marrying of boogie blues with an electro dance beat, could have resulted in the band being branded as sellouts.

Enter, Eliminator. Billy Gibbons figured out how to keep the integral gritty blues core, while bringing everything into the most decadent of decades. Stick this album on and tell me that initial drum machine beat, doesn't sound like it's signalling in a Michael Jackson album? These guys were savvy enough to use a contemporary pop foundation, to layer biting guitar riffs over. Gibbons' car engine, guitar tone gave this whole album a driving motion - you could practically smell the engine grease, and see the oil dripping from his finger tips.

 
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Before engrossing myself in the written word, I spent several years in the TV and film industry. During this time I became proficient at picking things up, moving things and putting things down again.