ZZ Top ‘Tres Hombres’ Gets Ultra High-Quality Vinyl Treatment in Limited Run

Analogue Productions announced that they will release a special edition of ZZ Top's 1973 album Tres Hombres as an Ultra High Quality Record on April 24. Only 5,000 copies will be produced, making the release attractive to collectors worldwide.

The UHQR 45 RPM 2LP edition gets pressed on 180-gram Clarity Vinyl at Quality Record Pressings. Matthew Luthans at The Mastering Lab handled the mastering work, pulling directly from original analog master tapes.

This set spans four sides, cut at 45 RPM. This makes artridges track with more precision, as distortion drops and high-frequency information stays intact.

Tres Hombres transformed the band from Texas favorites into national rock powerhouses when it was released in 1973. Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard crafted a record that merged Texas blues with boogie and rock, forging a sound that still turns heads today.

The album's most famous song is "La Grange," which became a cornerstone of 1970s blues-rock. Other tracks include "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "Hot, Blue and Righteous," and "Move Me on Down the Line."

The recording caught the Texas trio at the exact moment their sound crystallized. Each UHQR set arrives in archival-grade, tip-on old-style gatefold double-pocket jackets made by Stoughton Printing. The packaging includes a scuff-resistant finish.

Acoustic Sounds, the parent company, runs a pressing plant that produces over a million records each year. Chad Kassem founded the company, which now houses Quality Record Pressings, The Mastering Lab at Acoustic Sounds, Blue Heaven Studios, Consolidated Printing, and APO Records.

The Salina, Kansas-based operation has reissued recordings from labels like Verve, Impulse, Atlantic, and Contemporary Records. Artists such as John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, and The Doors have received treatments from the facility.

Pre-orders for the vinyl and SACD versions are available through the Acoustic Sounds store.