ZZ Top – Tres Hombres

Rhino can have all my money! Like all of my Rhino Hifi pressings, this thing is excellent. Packaging is stellar and record is dead quiet. Incredible soundstage, instrument separation and punch. I don’t have a history with ZZ Top outside of loving Eliminator as a teen, so I don’t have an opinion on how ZZ “should” sound. KG does not disappoint here. The man is basically defeated. To be fair, these modern audiophile pressings can be a bit much for some but I can’t get enough.

Vinyl Quality - 4.625 stars
Sound Quality - 4.75 stars
Packaging(I don’t really care) - 4.5 stars
Value - 4.75 stars
Overall - 4.65625 stars

Rega P10, Hana SH cartridge, Dynaudio Contour 30i

10/10 Dripping with sweat and swagger. I see some reviews here that are praising other pressings (VMP) as “warmer”, don’t have em so can’t compare but — let’s be real— Tres Hombres is not a smooth jazz record. It’s a grimy, whiskey-soaked Texas blues album. That bite, that energy—it’s part of what makes this Rhino HiFi pressing feel like a front-row seat to the recording sessions. Again — just my ears. I do not understand the criticism of KG’s mastering as leaning too heavily toward detail? and transient response? I guess I’m not that sophisticated because I feel this presentation brings the album’s legendary grit and groove into sharper focus than ever before. Example: The infamous La Grange shuffle? It absolutely cooks here—snare snaps, hi-hats sizzle, and the room ambience feels immediate and alive.

The pressing is flat and silent and plays oh so well but the sound is not to my liking and again a Rhino Hifi cut has flaws. I personally think KPG is either overworked or past his prime or both. The RHF series so far has seen every single remaster done for maximum presence and clarity. With the Cars Candy O this worked out badly with a thin bright dry sound with distortion on hotter moments. The Television Adventure album... again dry and bright and bitty. The ZZ Tops First Album... bright, tonally try and simply not as good as the older Bellman cut. Where the mastering choices have worked is the Faces Ooh La La and the Coltrane Lps.

Anyway, with Tres Hombres ive now added this RHF cut to my existing KPG/SH Rhino SYEOR pressing and the Ryan Smith VMP pressing. This one again in line with all 10 RHF ive had/have goes for detail at the expense of rich, juicy and sweet analogue sound. It has snappy transients so the bass and drums seem more prominent than usual and the top end is the KPG/Rhino signature dry and crisp and presence boosted style. It doesnt work for me and my ears. The VMP is better balanced and the SYEOR is just a party on a record with bass and juicyness aplenty which for this album just works. The VMP and RHF are the two most close. As the VMP has more dead wax its a db or two down but the sound is not as dry and crispy. On top of this like the RHF Cars Candy O which has distortion on the keys and hotter moments at the end of sides this Tres Hombres also has a slight breakup in that presence region. Its just a distortion not heard on the VMP or SYEOR. Im sorry to say while this is easily the best pressed of the three and lovely - if tight - of packaging i am ranking it last in mastering as its not to my tastes and the slight peaky distortion is once again not welcome.

I feel many blindly worship at the altar of KPG and im now of true belief he is vastly overrated and knocks out alot of mediocre masterings where in the past i dont think i could fault any of his work (at least the KPG WITH SH era). Dont get me wrong, this press has alot to offer and many will likely prefer a spotlit upper mids/lower treble as it fools people into thinking a press is more detailed. I do like the transient attack of it but thats not enough to compensate for the shortcomings.

Talk about first world problems eh!!!

I've never listened to the original , this is an astounding pressing , sonically big , wide and deep soundstage , deep bass, clear treble and no crackles or noise at all

I write this as someone who is neither a huge ZZ Top fan or who is particularly familiar w/ this album in general, so I can't compare it at all to previous versions, pressings, masterings, etc. What I can say is that this pressing absolutely rips. Pressing is flat, quiet, and punchy. The soundstage is huge, vibrant, and dynamic.

I can't weigh in on how faithful this is to the original or not, but this pressing rocks and is exactly what I'm hoping for in a reissue, especially for an album that I don't know that well beforehand. Very pleasantly surprised and highly recommend.

It's a completely different album, practically. Your mileage will vary, as this is VERY different sonically, but I prefer it over what is a very flat original pressing.

Over time, I've heard this title hundreds of times and I've come to the conclusion that the original Tres Hombres album, while iconic, is one of the flattest sounding analog LP's I've heard. Zero reverb on the drums and vocals, and very little in the guitar parts give it sort of a one dimensional sound. A super tight, dry, compact soundstage. That isn't a criticism as much as it's just an observation.

This LP does sound pretty different to most versions out there and in the initial listen, it took a minute for my ears to adjust to the changes. There's added volume and definition in the bass frequencies - you can actually hear some of the bass parts that were kinda buried in the original mix. And there's better clarity in the drums. It also sounds like there's a touch of added reverb around the vocals, drums, and many of the guitar parts, so there's some air and depth in the recording overall that isn't present in other current pressings/reissues. I don't find those changes offensive at all and they sound like improvements to my ears. No regrets - nice LP - well worth the money and it will definitely get some play time going forward.

Compared to my OG ZZ Top - Tres Hombres, the Rhino is has more aggressive sounding bass and guitar which I like. It really rocks. The original 1973 has it's nostalgic "warmer" appeal but I think I prefer the Rhino to the original. Songs like Master of Sparks sounds and Hot Blue and Righteous, and Sheik just sound bigger and more room filling. I also noticed in Sheik someone saying "Uh Huh" in the background I missed on my original. The original is no slouch though. Compared to their first two albums which sound very neutral/flat to me, this is the first ZZ Top album with where the OG starts to get that punchyness. I love them both but I am a big ZZ Top fan so I'm probably too partial to the music. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with any number of versions of this album. I think there are just excellent sounding versions and not so great ones. I put the Rhino Hi-Fi in the excellent pile.

It's astonishing to hear these songs sound so life-size and life-like. My copy is flawless, flat and the utterly quiet..the clarity of the sonics is amazing..on my system the soundstage is tall and wide with plenty of space and separation between images..I had a big grin on my face as soon as the stylus dropped and those killer guitars started cranking the intro to Waitin' For The Bus..I'm massively impressed with both the quality of the pressing and the packaging

I did an extensive shoot-out with this, an original first pressing, the 2006 SH/KG cut, and the 24-bit digital version from the box set on HDtracks.

This one came in last place. It just isn't correct. It does not sound BAD by any means, but it does not sound true to the original in any way. The bass is bloated, the mids are sorely missing, and the high end is tipped up quite a bit. The snare has a very bright sound to it, unlike any other version of this recording that I've ever heard. The vocals sound oddly unique too. Everything sounds very "modern." There is lots of detail in the mix, but it is a completely different EQ than the original. I'm willing to bet this is not what the original master tape sounds like.

The Hoffman/Grey cut from 2006 had even more bass (too much) but still had the detail and much of the warmth of the original. However, it was also missing some mids. I preferred it to this cut.

The original sounded great to me; it had a much more natural sound to it, was a lot more balanced, and it just "felt" like ZZ Top. Frank's drums are that typical 70s "dead" sound, Dusty's bass sits just right & doesn't overpower, and Billy's guitar is drenched in tubes - just how it should be! Shockingly to me, the 24-Bit digital version sounded a lot more like an original cut than either of the others, albeit a bit harsher and "colder."

So if you like your LPs to sound "freshly remastered" and "modernized," then go for this Rhino HF pressing. Maybe if your system is bloated in the mids or rolled off on top, then this one will suit your taste. But for my money, to hear true sound of this record, pick up a clean original.