Description
Packed with enough hits to fill a roadhouse jukebox, GOIN’ 50 spans the band’s entire musical career, from its 1969 debut, and its multi-platinum zenith during the Eighties, to its most-recent releases. This new retrospective includes an array from each of the 15 studio albums that guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill have recorded since 1970. Two bonus tracks, “Salt Lick” and “Miller’s Farm” – a single and b-side respectively – were recorded in 1969 by the original incarnation of ZZ Top.

Tracklist
[CD1]
1. La Grange (Remastered)
2. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (Remastered)
3. Tush (Remastered)
4. Salt Lick (Remastered)
5. Miller's Farm (Remastered)
6. (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree [Remastered]
7. Francine (Remastered)
8. Heard It on the X (Remastered)
9. It's Only Love (Remastered)
10. Arrested for Driving While Blind (Remastered)
11. Enjoy and Get It On (Remastered)
12. I Thank You (Remastered)
13. Cheap Sunglasses (Remastered)
14. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide (Remastered)
15. Leila (Remastered)
16. Tube Snake Boogie (Remastered)
17. Pearl Necklace (Remastered)

[CD2]
1. Gimme All Your Lovin' (Remastered)
2. Got Me Under Pressure (Remastered)
3. Sharp Dressed Man (Remastered)
4. TV Dinners (Remastered)
5. Legs (2008 Remastered)
6. Sleeping Bag (Remastered)
7. Can't Stop Rockin' (Remastered)
8. Stages (Remastered)
9. Rough Boy (Remastered)
10. Delirious (Remastered)
11. Woke up with Wood (Remastered)
12. Velcro Fly (Remastered)
13. Doubleback (Remastered)
14. Concrete and Steel (Remastered)
15. My Head's in Mississippi (Remastered)
16. Give It Up (Remastered)
17. Decision or Collision (Remastered)

[CD3]
1. Viva Las Vegas (Remastered)
2. Gun Love (Remastered)
3. Pincushion
4. Breakaway
5. Girl In A T-Shirt
6. Fuzzbox Voodoo
7. She's Just Killing Me
8. What's Up With That
9. Bang Bang
10. Rhythmeen
11. Fearless Boogie
12. 36-22-36
13. Piece
14. I Gotsta Get Paid
15. Waitin For The Bus (Live from Nashville)
16. Jesus Just Left Chicago (Live from Nashville)

3CD Compilation (shown above)
Aug 16, 2019
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QYQ4GKS/?tag=imwan-20

1CD Distillation
Jun 14, 2019
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R219G67/?tag=imwan-20

The USA links are in the first post, but the UK pre-order price for the 3CD set is currently better:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QYQ4GKS/?tag=imwan-21

The first comp to include songs from all albums.

Some odd omissions and strange inclusions (some albums get one song, others get six), but the best comp out there would be this one.

They had plenty of room for more songs though, as they don't exactly have long songs

Nice to see the inclusion of the single and b-side from the original lineup which only appears on the Chrome, Smoke and BBQ box (I think).

Also, the 2 new songs from 1992's Greatest Hits are here as well.

when the muse has gone.............................a best of can be always released.

according to wikipedia, this will be their 7th.

That's okay. They can put out a hundred if they want. I can buy them, or not. (In this case, probably not. So far there's nothing to indicate there's content I don't have. If it turns out there is, I'll probably get it.) I don't think there's any reason artists or labels should limit the amount of times they release comps, expanded versions, or straight reissues just because some people don't like it. How does it hurt anyone?

it doesn't hurt anyone.

i'm just a not fan of constant recycling of old material..

7 'best of's' fits my criteria.

Why even argue this?

It's commerce.

And they have never had a career-spanning best of.

Also, why care? Why be upset?

And, as for the "muse is gone"...would you prefer garbage new albums from artists who have already achieved excellence, or should they keep trotting out crap because you think they should continue recording albums?

Isn't that worse than a compilation?

If you know your best material is behind you, and you've achieved a Hall of Fame career, who the hell do you owe it to, to do another album nobody will buy and you're guaranteed to lose money on?

ZZ Top did a fine album with La Futura in 2012. Let it end at that.

It's just not a big deal that labels issue compilations and it's been that way since albums were the attraction they were in the 60s.

Geez.

I agree here, having worked in record store retail at times P/T the rule is that you must return unsold product at a certain point to receive credit.

Stores pull inventory, CD's returned and labels are not going to sell something on a second attempt after initial failure.

Therefore product is destroyed or marked for the Big Lots of the world.

With the new reissue (comps) labels have the opportunity to reintroduce a G.H. title even though previous incarnations may have not sold as expected.
The new release date allows for a store to try again.

I think it is all good, keeps the music alive and provides another opportunity in its new configuration for purchase.

"Just Got Paid Today" from their 2nd lp, Rio Grande Mud is missing. This is a huge miss. Probably one of their best songs.

Release a new comp every 2 years. I don't care.

Rarely is it the band's decision to release a GH/Best of compilation. In some cases it's a label trying to recoup advances to bands (apparently that's the case with Sony/Columbia and the numerous Blue Oyster Cult comps).

i am not arguing.

i am simply stating how i feel.

i am not right nor am i wrong.

you are not right nor are you wrong.

we are both 100% entitled to feel however we like about these things.

i will probably continue to state how i feel, much tot he dismay of those who feel differently than me.

just ignore me, buy, i'm sure it won;t be long before a new doors or who comp is on the horizon.

and never forget, as long people continue to buy these redundant compilations, they will keep on making them.

I've already got all this stuff and don't feel the need to hear remasters.

It's an interesting selection, though. Certainly some stuff there that surprised me (Pearl Necklace? Never would've expected that), but I'm not in the market for this.

Really? Why are you surprised by that track? "Pearl Necklace" hit # 28 on the Billboard Rock chart, and has been included on every ZZ hits comp since it's release.

I knew it got quite a bit of airplay around here, but I didn't realize it hit the Billboard charts back then. I thought it was just an album cut getting played. When I saw ZZ Top last year, I was mildly surprised - and very pleased - that they played it.

'pearl necklace'.........still can't believe they ever got away with getting it on the radio.

I didn't hear ZZ Top until I was about 13 and I don't really follow charts and such. As soon as I heard Rough Boy I started collecting records and cassettes, not that I could afford to buy that many until a few years later.

Pearl Necklace is always on these compilations, as you say, so it surprises me to see it again when there are other songs (Master Of Sparks, Hot Blue & Righteous, Bar-B-Q, Waitin' For The Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Blue Jean Blues, Esther Be The One, A Fool For Your Stockings, obviously a lot of others ) that could've been used. They seem to be utilising a lot of the same material when there's a whole bunch of stuff that's been overlooked (in my opinion). For a band with such a diverse and extensive back catalogue it seems like 'more of the same' - as others have said, this is the record companies' doing. It's not surprising that they'd stick with the tried and true hits, but given the band's enduring popularity I would've thought they might have included some different stuff for a change.

Yes, it would be nice if the catalog was explored a little deeper and more creatively, but these comps do tend to regurgitate the same titles.

They had so much great stuff - Manic Mechanic, Mexican Blackbird, Ko Ko Blue, Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell, Precious and Grace, Just Got Back from Baby's, Brown Sugar...just so much greatness. They were the first band I ever got heavily into (closely followed by Pink Floyd and...well pretty much every rock and jazz fusion band ever).

It really makes no difference - I have all that stuff and can listen to it any time I want to, but it'd be good to see more than the 'usual suspects' on these compilations.

Actually, they DID go with more than the usual suspects.

Leila, Enjoy and Get it On, Somebody Else (Been Shakin’ Your Tree), Breakaway, What’s Up With That, TV Dinners, Woke Up With Wood, Fearless Boogie, Salt Lick, etc are among the many intriguing inclusions.

They could’ve added a few different choices, but just tossing in random album tracks isn’t how these comps are made.

As for “Pearl Necklace,” that was always on the radio here in Philly and I’ve never not seen them do it live. Very saucy one, that!

If Manic Mechanic would have been included, I'd be all over this.

I'll probably pass on it.

The cover image for the 3CD edition has been updated to the "gold lettering on black background" image which is now in the first post. The earlier version with the reverse colour scheme is going to be used for the 1CD distillation instead.