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Check the exclusive video of the LP for sale!

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Every single song is amazing! Not a single average song.

Afterburner is the ninth studio album by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 1985. Afterburner was a financial success, going several times platinum and launching several hit singles.
The song “”Can’t Stop Rockin'”” was featured in the 1993 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
The song “”Velcro Fly”” was an element in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands; Eddie keeps hearing drums playing off in the distance and thinks it sounds like, then later realizes it is, the drum track for “”Velcro Fly””.
The most successful single released from this album was “”Sleeping Bag””, which peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the UK, it was the band’s second album to be certified by the British Phonographic Industry, attaining Gold (100,000 units) in 1985. In 1990, it was certified Platinum (300,000 units), to date their final Platinum certification in the UK.

All songs by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 925 342-1, Warner Bros. Records ‎– WX 27
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album  (VG condition)
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 28 Oct 1985
Genre: Rock, Blues Rock, Pop Rock
Tracklist
A1 Sleeping Bag 4:02
A2 Stages 3:32
A3 Woke Up With Wood 3:45
A4 Rough Boy 4:50
A5 Can’t Stop Rockin’ 3:01
B1 Planet Of Women 4:04
B2 I Got The Message 3:27
B3 Velcro Fly 3:29
B4 Dipping Low (In The Lap Of Luxury) 3:11
B5 Delirious 3:41

Sleeping Bag:

Personnel:
Billy Gibbons – guitar, lead vocals
Dusty Hill – bass, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on “”Can’t Stop Rockin'”” and “”Delirious””
Frank Beard – drums

Album – Billboard (North America)
Year Chart Position
1985 The Billboard 200 4
Singles – Billboard (North America)
Year Single Chart Position
1985 “”Can’t Stop Rockin'”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 8

Velcro Fly :

1985 “”Sleeping Bag”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
1985 “”Sleeping Bag”” The Billboard Hot 100 8
1985 “”Stages”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
1986 “”Delirious”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 16
1986 “”Rough Boy”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 5
1986 “”Rough Boy”” The Billboard Hot 100 22
1986 “”Sleeping Bag”” Hot Dance Music/Club Play 41
1986 “”Stages”” The Billboard Hot 100 21
1986 “”Velcro Fly”” Hot Dance Music/Club Play 43
1986 “”Velcro Fly”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 15
1986 “”Velcro Fly”” The Billboard Hot 100 35
1986 “”Woke up With Wood”” Mainstream Rock Tracks 18

CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’

WARNER BROTHERS RECORD LABEL – 925 342 1 – 1985

2 years after the mega selling Eliminator comes Afterburner in Oct of 1985 and to me it’s sides 3 and 4 to Eliminator. ZZ boys decide if it ain’t broke we ain’t fixing! But along with the no fixin claus someone in the Top Organization decides to jack up the synth, throw down some drum machines and  embrace the musical sounds of the mid 80s hard rock style. Plus the cover was cool as they took the ZZ car and torqued up into a rocket ship looking car! Kudos to ZZ there going into frontiers unknown!

ZZ  stays the course and me for one I’m ok with it!

Billy/Frank and Dusty fire up the Afterburners (Ha) and take off and hey where did that dang drum machine go…….

SLEEPING BAG- cue Frank Beard and the drum machine and some robotic musical patterns and whoosh thank God here comes Billy with his guitar and uhhey this has too be the coolest song ever written about a Sleeping Bag. This is total 80s sound in production trickery. All the bells and whistles are here folks!

STAGES- ahh this sounds familiar. This song rocks straight ahead with Gibbon’s guitar driving the tune cool catchy song and was one of the singles that did well for them.

WOKE UP WITH WOOD- what a great title! This is top heavy with the synthy rhythms and beats and shit but man it’s once again like Quirky Top. I love this tune and still do! The  solo, the outro solo is real good as well! Hey ladies be careful lying next to a piece of wood and no I’m not warning you!! Billy Gibbons/ Frank Beard and Dusty Hill are warning Ya!

ROUGH BOY- ah yes track 4 and it time to slow the brakes down. Just like Eliminator with that track number 4 ( I Need You Tonight) ZZ plays some power spacey blues that I guess it’s as close to a ZZ ballad as any. Well played and Billy, well played guitar as always! Love his sound!

CAN’T STOP ROCKING- Dusty takes over and this is 4/4 ZZ saying hey we can chillax with the Rough Boy but we ain’t staying quiet for too long….

PLANET OF WOMEN- oh yeah…one of my all time fav ZZ tunes! This song rips right out of the gate and Billy tells us he’s a nervous wreck that the girls are everywhere so check it out! Hahahaha….love it man. Super catchy chorus and wickedly good Gibbon’s solo!

I GOT THE MESSAGE- drums drums and more electronic drums Done ZZ Style….this song is pretty much saved by Billy Gibbon’s guitaring which punches in and punches out on this track! It’s pretty amazing listening back to this album after a lot of years that ZZ was firmly entrenched into 1985 musically. I mean man other bands at the time like Duran Duran were using the electronics, but when ZZ dialed up 1-800-ZZ-Drums they made it at least sound cool!

VELCRO FLY-ha…. Jesus was that Dusty playing the keyboard in the vid?

DIPPING LOW (IN THE LAP OF LUXURY)- pretty catchy harmony vocals in this tune and its a better track than Velcro Fly! Haha…Billy slaps,down some cool guitar and ZZ sees the finish line!

DELIRIOUS- Dusty rocks up with his second lead vocal….this song is pretty good for a ending tracks but ZZ falls thru the trap door with the robotic sounding vocal of Delirious! the vocal of the chorus reminds me of Styxs Mr Roboto…Hahahaha….but at least ZZ goes to the ends with a rocker of a track !

IN CONCLUSION: ZZ doesn’t want the payday to end and neither do we, so buy Afterburner.

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ZZ top 1986 ‘Afterburner’ Tour Jacket featuring King Tut fan club pass:

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ZZ Top Afterburner album cover on an Ibanez guitar body

 

Μετά την σαρωτική επιτυχία του “Eliminator”, η συνέχεια μόνο δύσκολη μπορούσε να είναι για τους Τεξανούς blues rockers. Το όνομα της ήταν “Afterburner” κι έφτασε στο #4 στο Billboard 200, και στο #2 στον πίνακα επιτυχιών των άλμπουμ της Μ. Βρετανίας. Η συνθετική τριάδα των Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill και Frank Beard ακολούθησε την συνταγή του προηγούμενου άλμπουμ. Ηλεκτρονικοί ήχοι, ηλεκτρονικά ντραμς, groove, συναίσθημα και Hi tech παραγωγή με τα αντίστοιχα βίντεο. Η ένατη στούντιο προσπάθεια τους αποτελεί ένα παράδειγμα του πως παραμένεις επιτυχημένος χωρίς να επαναλαμβάνεσαι αλλά ούτε και να διαφοροποιείσαι. Τα hit singles δεν έλειψαν: “Sleeping bag”, “Can’t stop rockin” και ειδικά το “Rough boy” με το σεξιστικό του (ναι και μας αρέσει) βίντεο ενδυνάμωσαν κι άλλο τον θρύλο των γενειοφόρων rockers στις ΗΠΑ. Μουσικά δεν έλειψαν και τα σκληρά τραγούδια σαν το “Woke up with wood”, “Delirious” και οι πειραματισμοί στο “Dipping low (in the lap of luxury)”. Blues rock για τον επόμενο αιώνα ή απλά μια επιτυχημένη εμπορική κίνηση, το “Afterburner” αποτέλεσε την τελευταία καλή δουλειά των Τεξανών