Customer Reviews

Afterburner

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First of all, let's get one thing straight. This isn't the true ZZ Top as the hardcore fans identify with. Anyone that's a substantial fan of ZZ Top knows that the heart and soul of what makes ZZ Top such an amazing band is found in their blues and boogie rock of their early period (Tres Hombres, Rio Grande Mud, Fandango...etc.). This album is not of that period, and to compare it to that material is a waste of time, because this album was not trying to be what ZZ Top was in their early career.

The truth about Afterburner is that it was made as ZZ Top's true take on the synth-infested, digitized world of 80's mainstream rock, and that's exactly the period that it should be compared to. Whether or not Top was trying to "sellout" in order to garner more mainstream success or just wanted to fiddle around with the sounds of the period is something I sure don't know the answer to. However, I can say one thing for certain; their end result was quite an impressive production.

Many reviewers slam this album for its massive use of synthesizers and other digital equipment and mixing. However, I on the other hand have to praise it for what it's done. Afterburner really seeks to go after its synth-sound headfirst and it puts the synth material at the heart of all of the songs on the album.

I truly view this almost as somewhat of a concept album in that it takes the popular synthesizer sounds of the 80's and tries to take them from the backing track area of most mainstream rock of the time period, and it moves them into the forefront of every track. These are songs led along by their synthesized compositions. The synthesizers own the rhythms of each track, and that's somewhat of a major difference between most music of the 80's which used synthesizers to help back up the rhythms. In this album, Synths are not part of the songs, they are the songs.

So, what we have is an album embracing the technology and style of the time while still adding in some of the blues rock style that ZZ Top has always had in the past. The guitar playing is still often quite heavy and bluesy, like Gibbons style shown on older albums. These aren't the Van Halen-esque solos popular during the time period, but instead it truly is Gibbons being himself and playing his own style.

And, to be frank, this album really rocks harder than most of the music it was trying to emulate and stem from during the 1980's. Just listen to the ending solo to "Rough Boy", for example. This solo is far more "soulful" than most guitar parts coming from other mainstream rock of the same time. Arena power ballads and hair metal of this time period couldn't touch the raw emotion of Gibbons guitar playing throughout this album.

And that, to me, is what makes this album so well done. It retains much of the synthesized sound of the time period, but the music itself is far less "cheesy" at its heart than most contemporary releases. There's soul to this stuff, and there's rock there too.

This album is definately better than "Deguello" and "Tres Hombres." I have those two albums and this is definately better than them. But I noticed how in almost every song on the album, the bass sounds exactly the same. It's almost as if ZZ Top recorded Dusty's bass playing for one song, then Frank and Billy
made the rest of the album on their own.

SLEEPING BAG--This was the fifth ZZ Top song I heard from beginning to end. The others were Mexican Blackbird, She's Just Killing Me, Breakaway, and Pincushion. And it's pretty good. The music video is pretty interesting as well. This is the one song were the bass doesn't sound the same. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons.

STAGES--This song didn't interest me much at first. I knew the chorus too well compared to how well I knew the rest of the song. But I've listened to it a couple more times and it's actually not bad. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

WOKE UP WITH WOOD--The second-to-best song on the album. Has some awesome guitar and a great tune as well. I don't know what else to say. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

ROUGH BOY--This song has a 1:30 minute difference than the music video of it, and I can't figure out why. It's the only ballad on the album, and it's surprisingly good. Billy Gibbons does a good job incorporating an awesome guitar solo into a slow rock song. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

CAN'T STOP ROCKIN'--The third-to-best song on the album. The earliest song that I know of where Dusty Hill really displays his real singing voice after light singing and Little Richard imitations in the 1970s. Featuring vocals by Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons.

PLANET OF WOMEN--The fourth-to-best song on the album. I enjoy the chorus of this song particularly. I noticed that whoever created the ZZ Top ringtones accidentally mislabeled this song's ringtone as 1994's Pincushion, which it sounds nothing like. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

I GOT THE MESSAGE--I'm not too fond of this song. I tried listening to it one day in the morning, and for the rest of the day the intro guitar sound was stuck in my head. I try to avoid it now. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

VELCRO FLY--This song features Dusty Hill playing the keyboards, just like 1983's TV Dinners. It's interesting to see that for a change in the music video, and to hear it in the song. That makes the sound of the song rather unique. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons.

DIPPING LOW IN THE LAP OF LUXURY--This is the other song on the album that I try to avoid. It doesn't have an annoying into guitar sound like I GOT THE MESSAGE, but I'm not fond of it nevertheless. Featuring vocals by Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.

DELIRIOUS--Without a doubt the best song on the album. I'm pretty sure that this song features keyboards too. I admit that the lyrics repeat themselves continueously throughout the song, but I love it despite that. Dusty Hill has the best choice of what songs to sing. Featuring vocals by Dusty Hill.

This album got them into trouble with some fans. Some said it sounds to close to everything that was going on at the time. Some said they were trying to fit in with the keyboard crazed late 80s. I think this album is pure fun. Great songs like "Sleeping Bag", "Planet Of Women", "Velcro Fly", "Rough Boy" and my personal favorite "Stages!" If you claim there are no heavy guitar tracks think again. Check out "Can't Stop Rockin'" Point being, no I don't want every ZZ Top album to sound like this one, but for the time it worked! Not as raw as their 70s and early 80s stuff. That polished sound my scare a few people. Worth a listen anyway.

Afterburner has nothing to do with ZZ's blues roots or why they began playing music back in the 60's. Nope, it's all updated rythms and synths, double entendres and calculated hooks. That said, the album is a ton of fun! It's a bit hard to say whether they were selling out or just noodling around with new technology (or maybe some of both). And I don't give a rats ... about why they turned in this direction, just glad they did, even if just for a while. Party record: yes indeed! Record with brains: hung jury. Gibbons' guitar solos are still fantastic if not featured nearly as frequently as on previous outings. Absoulutely a kick ... solo on "Rough Boy," ... near one of my faves of all time. Also, this is one of the only times on the album where the fun lets up... only to let it air out for a few minutes! But with other titles such as "Woke Up with Wood," "Can't Stop Rockin'" and "Planet of Women" you prettymuch know exactly in which direction this material is headed. Yep, "I Got the Six" parts I, II, and III. Now go pick it up if you haven't already!

One thing about this album over anything else ZZ Top did..It ROLLS with a fun atmosphere!! The only track that actually shouldn't be on it is "Rough Boy"..It's way to slow n bluesy for this album, not that it's a bad song, it just doesn't fit with the rest of the tunes...Many can harp about how ZZ Top was better before Eliminator or how they gave in to the 80's sound, but let me say this.."Rock N Roll is just that...fast cars, shakin' beats and wild girls, down right fun...fun ...fun!!! You need to hear some good Rockin' Texas Boogie to keep you rollin' once in a while, whether it's enhanced digitally or not!! Delta/Chicago Blues isn't rollin' in my books..Just down and out drown in your beer, feelin' bad Blues.."That just doesn't fit the 80's.... ZZ Top's best albums IMHO came in the 80's and why not..The 80's were about big dreams, mega fun and partying...Not about war stories and sorrow, so why should they have played slow blues only? You play what the decade deals ya! Even though Rock N Roll did originate from the Blues, The "Rock N Roll" title alone set's it apart from any basic slow Blues riff, which is why this album out sold any before Eliminator and the boys had one goal in mind..Rockin N Rollin 80's style! I suggest?...Buy this album!!!

Now Eliminators are flying into outer space. That's cool but what happened? ZZ Top became more marketable in the '80s and raked in a lot of jack. The space rock boogie was a good gimmick. It sold well, these guys threw away their razors and dipped low in the lap of luxury. But this is exactly the kind of "Stages" a band goes through. No longer a hungry band and it sounds like it. "Rough Boy" got played constantly and the video wasn't bad but this isn't the ZZ Top I like to remember. Somehow it seemed like this wasn't a bad direction for them to go. But that's where it ended. The following album I believe was "Recycler" and that's pretty much what I did with it.

I was in junior high when this album came out, and I played my cassette copy to death back then. I thought the song "Stages" was the coolest song I had ever heard. I recently bought the CD after not listening to the album in over 10 years. As much as I loved it in 1985, the music has not aged well at all. The heavy synthesized sound that was great back then sounds uninteresting and bland today. However, the CD does bring back a lot of memories. If you grew up during the 80s and want to return to those days (at least in spirit), go ahead and pick this up. Otherwise, don't bother.

I remember the day, 20 years old and just finished basic training at Ft. Benning. You walk into the PX and all you hear is ZZ Top blaring from the Jukebox. That's all you would hear, either the cool and mellow "rough boy" or slip inside my "sleeping bag" or ultimately, the "shhhrch" sound when "velcro fly" is on. This is an excellent album from ZZ Top and really brings back good memories.

Let me make one thing clear: I like Afterburner. I like it because it puts me in a good mood, and brings back memories. It's a fusion of blues and a technical sound that was par for the course in the mid-eighties. I'm not a fan of electronic percussion, nor am I a fan of bands who drastically change their sound to fit into what is in style, but I must say that in the case of ZZ Top, I don't mind, because it's such an enjoyable album. MTV and younger crowds were what bands wanted to appeal to, and ZZ Top jumped on the bandwagon. However, I like ZZ Top's integrity after the 1980's, in that they went back to their roots, and every album after Recycler has their older rooted sound. The albums, Eliminator, Afterburner, and to an extent, Recycler, fit a certain era, and they delivered big-time. Arguably, their 80's albums are what solidified their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. ZZ became "cool" when they released Eliminator, and maintained it with Afterburner. This album has some of the typical "silly" songs that listeners have become accustomed to over the years, i.e. sexually symbolic songs. The true gems on this album are Sleeping Bag, Stages, Planet of Women, Velcro Fly, and Rough Boy. The next time you're having friends over to shoot pool and hang out, put this CD in the stereo, and it'll entertain your guests. 8/10

I have mixed feelings toward this album. On one hand, the singles are excellent and pure fun...
(The singles are: "Sleeping Bag", "Stages", "Planet of Women", "Velcro Fly" and the wonderful ballad "Rough Boy".)

...but on the other hand, the album tracks are just forgettable. Sure, they're good when you hear them, but how often do you find yourself singing "Can't Stop Rockin'" or "Delirious" when you're at work or at school? I'm guessing that you're more often humming to "Sleeping Bag" or "Rough Boy"... I may be wrong though!

Also, there's a lot of synths and clanking drum machines on this album. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it's still a good record, but some fans of their pre-"Eliminator" material might get disappointed because of this. It's actually 80% pop and 20% blues-rock if you ask me.

Still, I love this album. It's just not on par with "Tres Hombres", "Degüello" or "Eliminator". But it's a fantastic party album. Just take my "synth warning" seriously before you buy it if you've only heard their 70's records, otherwise it's recommended.