Rio Grande Mud

Rio Grande Mud
Studio album by ZZ Top
Released	April 4, 1972 (1972-04-04)
Recorded	1971–1972 at Robin Hood Studios, Tyler, Texas
Genre	Texas blues, hard rock, blues rock, boogie rock, southern rock
Length	38:55
Label	London
Producer	Bill Ham
ZZ Top chronology
ZZ Top's First Album (1971) Rio Grande Mud (1972) Tres Hombres (1973)
Singles from Rio Grande Mud
"Francine" Released: 1972

Rio Grande Mud is the second album by the American southern rock band ZZ Top. It was released in 1972.

The album title was inspired by the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border between Mexico and Texas.

In 1987, the album was remixed for CD release. On January 11, 2011, Rhino released a remastered version from the original 1972 mix on vinyl only. This album was put up for download on Amazon.com's MP3 store and iTunes as a digital download in 2012, and features the original mixes of the tracks that are on Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and the 1987 remixes of the tracks that are not from that boxset. The original mix of the album was released on CD in June 2013 as part of the box set The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990).^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	C[3]
Rolling Stone	Mixed[4]

AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars stating: "With their second album, Rio Grande Mud, ZZ Top uses the sound they sketched out on their debut as a blueprint, yet they tweak it in slight but important ways."^[2]

The album peaked at number 104 on the Billboard 200.

Singles

The only single released from the album was "Francine" (b/w "Down Brownie") which peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another 45 version was released with "Francine" appearing on both sides (side one with English vocals and side two with Spanish vocals). Various official ZZ Top releases throughout the years, beginning in 1972, have used the alternative spelling "Francene", especially on the various 45 releases both within and outside the United States. A song about romance with an underage girl, the lyrics contain lines such as "My Francine just turned thirteen, she's my angelic teenage queen, and I love her, she's all that I want."

Track listing

Side A

1. "Francine" (Billy Gibbons, Marty Cordray) - 3:33
2. "Just Got Paid" (Gibbons, Bill Ham) - 4:49
3. "Mushmouth Shoutin'" (Gibbons, Ham) - 3:41
4. "Ko Ko Blue" (Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) - 4:56
5. "Chevrolet" (Gibbons) - 3:47

Side B

6. "Apologies to Pearly" (Gibbons, Hill, Beard, Ham) - 2:39
7. "Bar-B-Q" (Gibbons, Ham) – 3:34
8. "Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell" (Gibbons) – 7:39
9. "Whiskey'n Mama" (Gibbons, Hill, Beard, Ham) - 3:20
10. "Down Brownie" (Gibbons) - 2:53

Personnel

ZZ Top

• Frank Beard – drums, percussion
• Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals
• Dusty Hill – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals on "Francine" and "Chevrolet"
• Pete Tickle - acoustic guitar on "Mushmouth Shoutin'"

Production

• Bill Ham – production
• Robin Brian – engineering

Charts

Album

Singles

References