A heinous decision in the ’80s to remix ZZ Top’s classic early tracks didn’t totally diminish Frank Beard’s funky grooves, but it sure was a buzzkill. Fortunately, that call was reversible, and Beard’s beauteous beats were presented in all their gritty glory on a comprehensive 2013 box set. It’s never a bad time to behold the band’s not-so-simple wonders.   It was one thing for ZZ Top to experiment with drum machines, synthesizers, and sequencers in the early ’80s, in an attempt to modernize its swampy boogie-and-blues sound. But it was complete sacrilege when the Little Ol’ Band From Texas took the sheen of its Eliminator (1983) and Afterburner (1985) albums and grafted those tones onto classic early-Top long-players for 1987’s remixed Six Pack collection, which compiled the trio’s first five releases plus 1981’s El Loco. (The records were also reissued individually.) Nothing was worse than hearing Frank Beard’s once […]