But we followed suit, and the synthesizers started to show up on record.

had no fear and was eager to experiment in ways that would frighten most bands. He brought some elements to the forefront that helped reshape what ZZ Top were doing, starting in the studio and eventually to the live stage. He was a gifted songwriter and had production skills that were leading the pack at times. On June 3, 2013, Gibbons told Joe Bosso of that the album was 'a really interesting turning point', explaining that the band had 'befriended somebody who would become an influential associate, a guy named Linden Hudson. In 1987, most of the band's back catalog received a controversial 'digitally enhanced' remix treatment for CD release however, El Loco did not receive this remix treatment and the original mix of the album has been available on CD since 1987. Hudson did not receive credit for engineering the tracks on 'Groovy Little Hippie Pad' which were used on the final album mix. The biographer David Blayney explains in his book Sharp Dressed Men that the recording engineer Linden Hudson was involved as a pre-producer on this album. El Loco is the seventh studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1981.Įl Loco was produced by Bill Ham and recorded and originally mixed by Terry Manning.