Lord, how I sneered at this album back when it was released. “ZZ Top with sequencers?” I snorted. “More like MTVZ Top!”

Lord, how wrong I can be.

Yes, even though its hits are among classic rock radio’s most overplayed, “Eliminator” is still one hell of a ride. The opening one-two-three punch - “Gimme All Your Lovin,” “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Sharp Dressed Man” - is enough to confirm its essential status. But it’s also got some signature low-down blues in “I Need You Tonight,” typical Top humor in “TV Dinners” and typical Top lasciviousness in “I Got the Six.”

Rhino’s remastered “Collector’s Edition” only makes “Eliminator” shine more brightly. Turn this up and your foot and the accelerator immediately go to the floor. How many speeding tickets has this album been responsible for?

Extra bells and whistles on the Rhino edition include the dance mix of “Legs” and five live tracks. The bonus DVD has all the album’s accompanying video and a live performance from British TV show “The Tube.”