You didn't really have to be told to listen to ZZ Top, did you? But maybe you needed a reminder. Well, consider yourself reminded.

Awhile back I picked up ZZ Top's best-of, Rancho Texicano, second-hand for a ridiculously low price. The first disc is 21 songs from their earliest albums, and it has been all but glued in my CD player since I got it.

ZZ Top went in my rearview mirror at the end of the 1980's along with Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and others. I had heard a lot about the greatness of their pre-"Sharp Dressed Man" era, but an early run-in with DeGuello and El Loco at the behest of my first guitar teacher left me less than impressed. In fact Scott and I rolled around laughing at "Manic Mechanic," and "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" went right past us. But through the influence of hearing Van Halen covers of Top tunes like "Waiting for the Bus" and "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers," as well as the endorsement of the now-defunct Classic Van Halen chat board, I checked out Rancho.

I can now see that Scott and I were 12-year-old idiots. Old ZZ Top has a groove and funk only superseded in intensity by the Godfather himself. The riff that kicks in at the end of "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," for example, is just unstoppable, as is the one at the end of "Cheap Sunglasses." "Just Got Paid"...wow, that's all, just wow. And "It's Only Love," now one of my favorite songs of all time, has catapulted bassist Dusty Hill into the league of my favorite singers of all time. That guy can blow! And listen to that bass drum!

Rancho Texicano and the box set, Chrome, Smoke and BBQ, which contains some dance mix filler, are the only places to get ZZ Top greatness in its original form. For some reason Billy Gibbons caught George Lucas disease in the `80's and thought he would "improve" the classic first six albums for CD by adding another layer of distortion on the guitars and re-recording the drums on electric drums with heavy reverb. Good Lord! But fortunately Rhino has brought back the original sound we love for these two special releases.

"Let's drive the old Chrysler down to Mexico, boys! Keep your hands on the wheel, there." Whatever you say, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Hill and Mr. Beard!