ZZ Top “CHEAP SUNGLASSES”
I remember going to see ZZ Top one summer in the early 1980s at the Cape Cod Coliseum. Most of it is a blur now, but I recall doing the obligatory floor-level walk with my friends ALL THE WAY to the front row. I don’t remember them playing “Cheap Sunglasses” or really caring about what they were playing. It was a party and they were rocking. Through the years, I’ve really gotten to like this song. After all, I used to wear sunglasses at night from time to time. It may have been stupid to most people, but I didn’t care. Peter Reynolds, a good friend, remembers the time when a young woman walked up to me, did not say hello and just blurted out something like, “You’re a tool!!!” I gotta ask Pete what the exact wording was. It was not an expletive, and looking back, it was, however, great diction. I digress from the main point here, which is that “Cheap Sunglasses” is a solid, rocking song, and it’s partly about being who you are. And something that did not really hit home until I heard it the other day — it has really incredible guitar work.
— Nick Abramo, Bedrock Sports Hawaii