The sole album by
the Moving Sidewalks
is as fascinating as it is unremarkable. As the birthing ground for legendary
blues-rock
guitarist
Billy Gibbons
, one would expect at least a taste of what would later make
ZZ Top
one of the best touring and recording bands on the planet; sadly, the album offers little in the way of revelation in its 15 tracks. Admittedly, at the time of
's 1970 debut,
Gibbons
' transformation from a journeyman bandleader into a
boogie
-
blues
demigod was still not fully realized, but his chops were miles away from what is heard here. Part of that lies in the fact that
was less about
psychedelia
than straight
; whatever
psychedelic
touches made their way onto the studio albums were largely an accessory. (They would eventually fully integrate on 1979's
Deguello
.)
The Moving Sidewalks
, on the other hand, were
rockers whose songs hinted at the
without fully diving in. The songs show little of
' future promise, and in fact are so thoroughly mediocre (both in writing and playing) that it's amazing to think he was only a few years away from international success.
"Pluto-Sept. 31st"
shows a clear
Hendrix
influence (the two guitarists openly admired each other), and as a bonus,
Akarma
's reissue includes five bonus singles that are some of the strongest material on the album, especially
"Need Me,"
"I Want to Hold Your Hand,"
and the legendary single
"99th Floor."
~ Jim Smith