Product Description

Double Down Live is a 2 DVD set from ZZ Top combining shows from 1980 and 2008. Disc one was filmed at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany for the Rockpalast TV series. Hot on the heels of their classic Deguello album (it features 9 of the 10 songs from it) the show finds ZZ Top before sequencers and synthesizers epitomising their lil ol blues band from Texas nickname. Complimented by tracks drawn predominantly from their Tres Hombres and Fandango! albums this is a true best of ZZ Top in the seventies. Disc Two was shot during their European tour in 2008 and combines great live performances, interview clips and back stage footage to create the ultimate ZZ Top on the road movie. With nearly 30 years between the performances the two disc set gives a fascinating then and now insight into what has maintained the ZZ Top live phenomenon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2805 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-10-19
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 154 minutes

Synopsis
Veteran rockers ZZ Top have been entertaining audiences since the late '60s with their blues-inflected rock music and iconic facial hair. This live set sees the band performing on Germany's Rockpalast TV series in 1980, and then again in 2008 on their European tour, giving a well-rounded overview of their career.
Definitely Then... 1980 tracklisting: 'I Thank You', 'Waitin' For The Bus', 'Jesus Just Left Chicago', 'Precious And Grace', 'I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide', 'Manic Mechanic', 'Lowdown In The Street', 'Heard It On The X', 'Fool For Your Stockings', 'Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings', 'El Diablo', ' Cheap Sunglasses', 'Arrested For Driving While Blind', 'Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers', 'La Grange', 'She Loves My Automobile', 'Hi Fi Mama', 'Dust My Broom', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Tush', 'Tube Snake Boogie', 'Just Got Paid'. Almost Now... 2008 tracklisting: 'Got Me Under Pressure', 'Waitin' For The Bus', 'Jesus Just Left Chicago', 'I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide', 'Blue Jeans Blues', 'Heard It On The X', 'Just Got Paid', 'I Need You Tonight', 'La Grange', 'Hey Joe', 'Tush'.

Customer Reviews

Great ZZ on TOP!
Wow, finally, after 29 years of waiting we got here the legendary Rockpalast concert of ZZ Top on a great dvd. Image is OK. Sound is fantastic. Superb dolby digital stereo and DTS surround mixes are included. If you like the old ZZ Top sound, get this dvd! ZZ Top never played better than on this night. All the great old songs are passing by: Waitin For The Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Precious And Grace, Heard It On The X, Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings, Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers, La Grange, Tush, Just Got Paid and many more! Disc 2 has a interesting view on the 2008 tour but disc 1, the Rockpalast concert is the one to get!

Superb!
The way this video is made is just perfect. The first dvd is from their brilliant gig for German TV in 1980 so the picture quality isn't perfect ut you won't notice. The sound is loud raw and brilliant! Billy hops about the stage and they really put on a greaty show with a maximum attack style of playing many classics. It's an unpolished way about things that ends up being great. Every song is done in a classic way on this first dvd.

The second DVD has a good on the road feel to it. It was done with just one camera so the sound from one performence from 08 is heard of the images from many (particularly like the compilation of security having to pull fans out of the crowd during La Grange) different gigs throughout the 08 double down tour. One thing worth noticing is that Billy has grown alot as a guitarist between the two. Although being more polished isn't necasserily better he can do great things effortlessly(notice his one handed guitar solo in I need you tonight)! The shots of stages being built, planes taking off and little interview snippets make it like a ZZ Top movie about the joy of performing. Although the first DVD's the gem in this thing, the second one shows beyond any doubt that they still love what they do. enjoy

ZZ TOP - A disc of two halves - part trasure, part fool's gold.
Disc 1 is a 1980 Rockpalast show, dating from just before they discovered those naughty synthesisers and almost cartoon-image videos that made ZZ Top into a commercial monster. The first disc alone is superb and is well worth the price of admission. It has a whopping 22 songs and is arguably illustrative of the band at their live peak.

Disc 2 by comparison is surprisingly poor. It has a meagre 11 songs - still played with immense spirit and enthusiasm - ZZ Top admittedly do a faultless show - but.... the 11 songs are just about all interrupted or ruined by additional footage and interviews, split screens with images of roadies messing with stage lights. Why? If we buy a ZZ TOP DVD, then it surely naturally follows that want to watch ZZ TOP...... not a roadies cabaret, the view of clouds from an aeroplane window, or even the deepest thoughts of the admittedly marvelous Billy Gibbons.

The 'Live In Texas' DVD that is also available covers the latter period of their career admirably with a fairly recent and truly beautifully filmed show. I advise you to buy both this set and the 'Live In Texas' DVD and when you have them, just skip the second disc of this set, as the constant interruptions are really irritating.

Interviews are meant to be extras, not placed between songs in the main feature. When will they ever learn?