ZZ Top - Rhythmeen (RCA) Mention the name ZZ Top and to many it will conjure images of crazy gold-prospector beards, a red hot-rod and guitars spinning like windmills. The trio's best-known hits Sharp Dressed Man, Legs and Gimme All Your Lovin' may have been well over 10 years ago, but everyone seems to remember them. But ZZ Top were around long before the album Eliminator and its satirically (we hoped, in the politically correct 1980s) sexist videos. They have been pumping out their Tex-Mex blues since the death throes of the 1960s, and new release Rhythmeen indicates they see no reason to change course now. Billy Gibbons' husky vocals and growling blues licks are still the order of the day. The Top are good at what they do: though he's no Carlos Santana, Gibbons' smoky guitar playing is at times outstanding (check the solos on What's Up With That ) and drummer Frank Beard (despite the name, famously the only one without facial hair) provides some exotic flourishes. Dusty Hill's bass, as ever, is barely noticeable. Of the few tracks worth singling out, the best is probably the less formulaic My Mind is Gone, while the provocatively titled Zipper Job could be the first (probably) rock song about sex changes (apparently). Tex-Mex imagery - deserts, cacti et cetera - drift through the mind without invitation while listening to this record. However, while everyone likes a bit of no-nonsense blues rock, particularly of the tequila-infused variety, Rhythmeen fails to interest for its full 55 minutes. While Captain Beefheart was forging this type of blues into new shapes 30 years ago, ZZ Top are still content to merely use the same mould time and again. Thankfully, however, their sense of humour seems to be intact, such as the lines 'I can dig a dread, I can dig it buzzed, I can dig a 'do that does the fuzz', from Hairdresser. At least I hope they were joking. - Steve Davy Catatonia - Way Beyond Blue (Warner Music) Certainly bringing nothing new to the Brit-pop party, Catatonia sound a little like what the Cranberries should be - catchy rock without the annoying yodelling and self-indulgent content. This Welsh quintet offer plenty of sing-a-long hooks which should make them a prominent figure in international charts with Sweet Catatonia and You've Got a Lot to Answer For springing straight to mind. The songs sound easily digestible in a pub or club setting, holding back on the volume and intensity to concentrate on melody. Production is wisely kept relatively simple, keeping the great live feel of the band, but the three separate producers behind the album's 12 tracks make the overall work inconsistent in sound and song quality. Infantile and Dream On drag out the album's mid-section, inducing a few snores, but Bleed's more aggressive guitar attack re-ignites interest. But one obvious downfall to these songs is they clock in at an average of two to three minutes, telling their story in the first 30 seconds or so and leaving the rest of the tune seemingly redundant apart from milking their disposable hooks. Several of the tracks have already had moderate success in the UK but reproducing or bettering this internationally will be tough as they vary little the stock Brit-pop everyone's now becoming sick of. - Brendan Delfino Dogstar - Our Little Visionary (Zoo - BMG) Fame is a double-edged sword, as LA rockers Dogstar have discovered. And when that fame comes in the shape of actor-cum-bassman Keanu Reeves it can be a choker around your neck. By rights Dogstar should be seen as singer-guitarist Bret Domrose's project. Domrose pens all the tunes and it was he who pitched Reeves into taking time out from his day job and the film-set to indulge his rock 'n' roll fantasy. Sounded like a good idea at the time, but it was inevitable that critics would savage the three-piece. Branded a vanity vehicle for their star attraction, every concert review reads like a Keanu fashion report. You would think the best way to counter such myopia would be to play good, honest music. Unfortunately, they don't. The fact is, few three-year-old bands this pedestrian would be afforded the promotional push or marketing muscle flexed in the name of Dogstar. They are earnest in an early U2 sort of way and their roots are in the garage. They should have stayed there. When a cover of the Badfinger signature No Matter What is the highlight, you know something is not quite right. This is college-radio fodder at its most mundane. Don't let this one into your house. It bites. - Tim Pratt
