ZZ Top debut album, the band released "Rio Grande Mud" (1972), which failed commercially and the promotional tour consisted of mostly empty auditoriums. ZZ Top released "Tres Hombres" in 1973. The album's sound was the result of the propulsive support provided by Hill and Beard, and Gibbons' "growling" guitar tone. Dan Erlewine wrote that the album "brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process". The album included the boogie-driven "La Grange" (written about the Chicken Ranch, a notorious brothel in La Grange, Texas, that also inspired the musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"). On the
Tribute to a Bus Burgess, and the band themselves, respectively. In comparison, "Tribute To A Bus" has a nosier, more melodic and distinctive sound, which may be attributed to Albini's input and production values. Critic Jason Ferguson described it as a "far more complicated album", composed of "straightforward pop songs countered by structurally deprived numbers like the vast "Go! Song" and the sprawling, "Bad Moon Rising"-esque "No Time/11 (Spectators)"." The album's stark sound, minimalist approach and complex song structures has led to comparisons with the work of both modern classical composers such as Philip Glass and Glenn Branca, and rock bands including Sonic Youth