ZZ Top is about to release their first album in nine years, La Futura.  It marks a new collaboration between the band and Rick Rubin, who produced the record with guitarist/singer Billy F. Gibbons.  Rubin will also release the record on his American Recordings label.  Rubin, who made his name as a producer working on hip-hop (Run-DMC, LL Cool J) and metal (Slayer, Danzig) records, also has worked on a number of albums by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers including Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Neil Diamond, AC/DC and Johnny Cash. 

The title is a reference to ZZ Top’s early album titles, many of which were in Spanish including 1973′s Tres Hombres and 1975′s Fandango! The band has been together for 42 years without a lineup change:  the group consists of Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. Regarding the new album, Gibbons says, “We thought long and hard about what this album should be. We wanted to recall the directness of our early stuff but not turn our backs on contemporary technology.”

La Futura‘s first four songs – “I Gotsta Get Paid,” “Chartreuse,” “Consumption” and “Over You” — debuted last month as Texicali, a digital 4 track iTunes EP.  “I Gotsta Get Paid,” made its debut in video spots for the Jeremiah Weed line of beverages.  

– Brian Ives, CBS Local