Though it's on the road until early November, ZZ Top is gearing up for its next album -- its first with producer Rick Rubin under a new deal with Rubin's Columbia-distributed American Recordings imprint. "All I can say at this point this a new venture between the two of us," guitarist Billy F. Gibbons tells Billboard.com. "I've known Rick for 20 years and we've waited for this opportunity for a double decade. I've not sat down with him pointedly to get down to business just yet, but I feel very comfortable working within the framework that he envisions. He's got a good feel on the pulse, and I'm very interested in what he might have in mind." Gibbons says that Rubin has forwarded one idea -- hooking ZZ Top up with the Black Keys for some writing and possibly recording. "I'm such a big fan of those guys ... it makes total sense," says Gibbons, who first checked out the band during a fall 2005 show at New York's Irving Plaza. "And that's pretty down and dirty, which is good for ZZ Top." There is some new material around already, from a 15-day studio session Gibbons did in May with a couple of engineers, during which he says he "managed to squeeze out 15 tunes. "It was just me kickin' back and having a good time," Gibbons recalls. "We did everything from a black church gospel ballad to updated versions of 'Rollin' and Tumblin',' did some Jimmy Reed take-off things, just keeping that bluesy thread throughout. I think that as long as we maintain that blues tradition, the material takes on an identity that's easily digestible, at least in terms of what our fans have asked for."
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