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Does ZZ Top have one more magic track in them? Do they have one more song that can capture the interest of the masses?

BW&BK (Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles-great name) says ZZ Top is bringing in Rick Rubin.

Arguably the world’s greatest living bluesman, Billy Gibbons, spoke to BW&BK recently about ZZ TOP’s upcoming DVD Live In Texas, the reissue of Eliminator, and also work on the band’s first record since the highly entertaining but somewhat ignored Mescalero album from fully five years ago.

“That starts pretty soon,” says Billy. “We just inked a deal with Rick Rubin that will be announced shortly. And I’m sure he’s got plans to make way to drag us off the touring trail back into the studio, which will be a nice excursion.”

Given his reputation for paring things back, would you be moving in the same direction, going for a back to the roots thing?

“Could be. Rick and I have been friends for a couple of decades now. And we both like a lot of the same things. And mostly it is that rootsy kind of sense of realism. That’s his genius.”

Here’s the thing, they don’t need to do this. They aren’t an arena act anymore but, they can go on playing casinos, fairgrounds and big time biker gigs like Sturgis endlessly. They can sell their merch, sell fan club memberships, sell meet and greet packages and the die hard fans are going to participate.

Bringing Rubin in is a sign that they want more. They want to be large again. And, the legend is that Rubin brings his own hype. Probably adds a bit of legitimacy up front too as far as deals go, as far as branding goes. Who knows, maybe some corporate tie-in happens because of a perception that Rubin still knows what is relevant an what is not. And, that he has a reputation for resurrection.

And, Rubin is a song guy. He knows how to eek the best out of a song. If it’s close but, not quite there, he’ll make the guys go back and write another verse or, whatever it lacks. You got to have the song first and then you go get the track.

And, those guys will get a good track. They know how to get guitar sounds and drum sounds. Hell, if their going for “that rootsy kind of sense of realism”, it shouldn’t be rocket science. After all, ZZ Top is a “blues” band, right?

Something about the whole thing just seems kind of whacked up to me. Evidently, ZZ Top wants to make new music and be relevant but, they’re not going to be Coldplay or Radiohead. And, they aren’t Neil Diamond or Johnny Cash, for that matter.

You know, Dee Snider and Twisted Sister have a business model that goes something like this; we’re going to wear the spandex, the wigs and the makeup, doesn’t matter how old or fat we are and we’re going to play that same batch of songs we played in the ’80s the same way we played them then ’cause, that’s what the fans want-that’s what they’re paying for. And, it works for them. They are a nostalgia act.

Now, if Billy Gibbons and Co. don’t want to be a nostalgia act, is going in the studio with Rick Rubin for a few months and recording a full length CD the ticket? That, seems like nostalgic thinking.

I went to Top’s website and looked at their tour schedule. They’re booked up. They’ve got core fans. I don’t, for the life of me, know why a band in this position wouldn’t just keep doing what they’re doing and along with that, record singles. Go in, do one song, release it digitally, get their XM mileage, go play a casino or biker gig and repeat. Hell, they charge $40.00 a year for a fan club membership. Release it to the fans for free and let it get viral. I think you got a better chance of chasing down Radiohead that way than putting the pressure on with a high concept album that could end up being an albatross.

What’s funny is, that’s actually real old time thinking there. That, isn’t all that different than the way Muddy or Wolf went about their business. Release a song, try and cause a stir and do some more gigs.

That’s thinking like a bluesman Billy.

Tonight’s episode could prove to be very revealing. In fact, this particular topic for Friday Night Cage Match/Fondue Party/Evolving Conversation/Dancing About Architecture could be used as part of a psychological profile.

The two subjects have much in common.

They are both icons.

They have both been in the news recently.

They have both been subjects of blog posts here, in the last week.

Tonight children’s, it’s all about Neil;

Neil Diamond or Neil Young?

As always, any line of reason, logic or, lack thereof is fair game.

I’m listening to the new Neil Diamond record “Home Before Dark” right now. You can listen to a stream of the entire record at Spinner.

Neil Diamond, I wasn’t a big fan when I was growing up. When I was a teenager, in the ’70s, Neil was still making hit records but, I kind of thought of him as the musical equivalent of the middle aged guy that drove a Firebird and showed up at the party with booze and trying to score with chicks that were just getting out of high school.

Then, I went to see “The Last Waltz” at the Tivoli on Delmar in St. Louis. The movie had been out for a while and it was on a double bill with the dreadful “No Nukes” concert film. “No Nukes” was first and the place was filled with aging hippies who were smoking pot and drinking Boone’s Farm. They were loud and boisterous and cheering like they were at the actual “No Nukes” concert. Pretty harmless stuff.

“The Last Waltz” came on and it was the main event. So, this crowd was partying pretty good by that time and the atmosphere was kind of contagious. I had not been to more than a few concerts in my life, at this point but, this movie theater really was taking on the concert vibe. It was pretty raucous, like a club.

Then, Neil Diamond came out to sing “Dry Your Eyes” and the crowd turned. They started booing and throwing F bombs around; they were heckling! At a movie! At first, it was kind of funny but, as the song went on, it seemed ridiculous that people would be verbally insulting a guy in a movie. It wasn’t a bad song and it wasn’t a bad performance. I’ll tell you this, I just sat through the whole “No Nukes” debacle and what Neil Diamond was certainly not as bad as a lot of that jive. So, I started silently rooting for old Neil. I mean, if all those people hated him, he couldn’t be that bad, right?

I’m not saying it made me a Neil Diamond fan but, after that movie, I didn’t just dismiss him anymore. If I’m driving down the road and “Cherry, Cherry” comes on, I turn it up, you know?

Anyway, I’m listening to “Home Before Dark” right now, first time through as I’m writing. So, I’m not going to get into analyzing the songwriting because, I have to listen to something several times before I’m in that mode. The first time through, I’m listening more to performance and production.

The producer, of course, is Rick Rubin. Now, there aren’t a whole lot of producers around, who I’m going to go out of my way to check out but, Rubin is one. I’m always interested in hearing what he is up to. He is a master of compression. He makes things sound big by resisting the temptation to add layers of effects and arrangement. No doubling of acoustic guitar parts and big reverb on vocals, it sounds bigger without it. That’s one reason for the success of “Hurt”. It was a simple arrangement but, it held it’s ground on the radio with all the hyper-mastered stuff. The trick is in getting the good performance, a solid signal and compression. And the trick works with Neil Diamond the same way it did with Cash. It puts the listener up close and personal with the voice.

“Another Day (That Time Forgot)” is a duet with Natalie Maines. Natalie comes in on the second verse and I swear it’s the best her voice has ever sounded. Rubin has the touch. This song should be a radio hit.

And, Diamond is out working the record too. He did the big American Idol thing last week and next he’s doing a MySpace concert (Brooklyn Vegan has details here).

Neil gets a bit rhymy from time to time and he cops the melody from “Tom Dooley” on the bridge of “If I don’t See You Again” but, like I said, I’m going to withhold judgment on the songwriting during the first run through. Sometimes the stuff that sounds trite the first time, seems brilliant later on and, the opposite can be true as well.

All in all, I’ve enjoyed listening on a humid spring night. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.