Afterburner (ZZ Top album)
Afterburner is the ninth studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1985. "Afterburner" was a financial success, going several times platinum and launching several hit singles, the most successful of which was "Sleeping Bag" which peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and at No. 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). Recording. Like the previous record "Eliminator", the  credits don't necessarily reflect the actual recordings, although the entire band was involved with the album and Frank Beard has repeatedly stated that he likes the album. According to engineer Joe Hardy, a lot of the album was done on the Fairlight, including all the drums and most of the bass. The album is also notable for several songs being built on sequenced keyboard beds. It was the first ZZ Top record since "Rio Grande Mud" without involvement from Terry Manning. Reception. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively gave it 3 stars out of 5, stating: "Well, if you  just had your biggest hit ever, you'd probably try to replicate it, too. And if you were praised for being visionary because you played all your blues grooves to a slightly sequenced beat, you'd probably be tempted to not just continue in that direction, but to tighten the sequencer and graft on synthesizers, since it'll all signal how futuristic you are. [...] Problem is, no matter how much you dress ZZ Top up, they're still ZZ Top. Sometimes they can trick you into thinking they're a little flashier than usual, but they're still a lil ' ol' blues band from Texas, kicking out blues-rockers. And blues-rock just doesn't kick when it's synthesized. [...] All this means that "Afterburner" is merely a product of its time -- the only record ZZ Top could have made at the time, but it hardly exists out of that time." Robert Christgau gave a B score, stating: "With sales on Eliminator over five mil almost by accident, this hard-boogieing market strategy is defined by conscious commercial ambition--by its all but announced intention of making ZZ the next Bruce/Madonna/Prince/Michael, with two beards and a Beard  at every checkout counter." Christgau cited "Rough Boy" and "Velcro Fly" as the highlights of the album. The album was the band's first to hit number 1, topping the charts in New Zealand. It peaked at number 4 on the "Billboard" 200, at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and at number 6 on the Australian albums chart. Track listing. All songs by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.