ZZ Top: Afterburner (Review)

In 1985 ZZ Top had the unenviable task of recording the follow up to the massively successful Eliminator. And they did. And we got Afterburner, a massive hit financially, but oddly underrated by some, even to this day. This was the first ZZ Top album I heard, and to me I don’t think I could have picked a better one to start with.

“Sleeping Bag” commences proceedings and is the only song where the overuse of the synth is a legitimate criticism. It’s a pretty good song with a nice solo, but there are better ones and that synth is definitely too much. Although, it was the most successful single off the album, so what do I know? “Stages” is the next song and is more indicative of the quality of the album. Like most of the other songs it’s features great vocals on the verses, good hooks on the chorus, a cool solo and acceptable levels of synth. Sly “Woke up With Wood” is next and even though it’s definitely formulaic in the sense that it matches previously mentioned four aspects, it’s still a winner.

At this point though we do hit my least favorite song on the album, “Rough Boy”. It’s not particularly bad, it’s just a boring slow song with very little that’s memorable. Extra distaste goes to this song for being the only song from the album that gets played live.

Thankfully things are immediately rectified with “Can’t Stop Rocking”. Though the accuracy of the title is debatable, given the preceding song, the quality of this track is not. This is relentless assault of rock that doesn’t stop (pun fully intended) until the sadly too short song is finished (it’s the shortest song on the disc dammit). Dusty Hill makes for as good a lead vocalist as Billy Gibbons (I might even prefer him) and this thankfully isn’t the last time we’ll hear him on this disc.

Post CSR blues might have been a problem but for the next song “Planet of Woman”, easily my favorite song on the album (not an easy task given some of the other songs on the disc). The vocals on the verses are just sublime, Gibbons is giving it his all and it pays off hugely. As is customary on this album the solos and riffs are of top quality too.

“Velcro Fly” is also on this disc. Another great song, this one really doesn’t mess around, the first thing you hear is the thundering drums of the intro. It’s easily one of the best drum intros to a song I’ve heard. Just thump thump thump (and so on). And it continues throughout the whole song, with some excellent bass accompaniment. It should be illegal to play this song quietly; the drums are that good. This would be an absolute monster live, except they only played it on the bloody Afterburner tour.

“Velcro Fly” is sandwiched in between “I Got the Message” and “Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury)”, which both fall into the same category as “Stages” and “Woke up With Wood” One might call them filler, were they not as good as they are. ZZ Top also helped them out by placing them between the higher caliber songs, so as not to have any large chunks without any top-drawer songs. And it works.

Things end with another Dusty Hill led track, “Delirious”. Just like his other lead vocals feature on the album this one is a relentless rocker. They really knew how to best use him vocally. “Delirious” also features my favorite moment on the whole album: around 2:15 where it transitions from the end of the solo back to the verse riffing. Absolutely brilliant, and a great way to end the album on a high note.

Now there might be a bit of nostalgia associated with this one, but there’s no denying its quality- 4.5/5