Fandango!
Fandango! is the fourth album by the American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1975. The album's first side consists of selections from live shows, with the second side being new studio recordings. A remastered and expanded edition of this album was released on February 28, 2006.
Fandango! | ||||
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Studio album / Live album by | ||||
Released | April 18, 1975[1] | |||
Recorded | April 12, 1974 (tracks 1–3) December 30, 1974 – March 23, 1975 | |||
Genre | Texas blues, southern rock, boogie rock, blues rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 33:20 | |||
Label | London | |||
Producer | Bill Ham | |||
ZZ Top chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fandango! | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | (not rated)[3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Background
Frontman Billy Gibbons said of the album:
The live capture wound up being in the can first. We had enough live material to make up one side of the disc, so we decided to go with the unusual move of making the album half live, half studio. It turned out to be a winning combination for us.[5]
In the late 1980s a digitally remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1975 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially the drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, containing three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Terry Manning's original 1975 mix. The album was re-released in 2009 on 180 gram vinyl using the original master tapes. It appears exactly the same except that it had a 180 gram vinyl LP sticker, by Back to Vinyl records.
Singles
The only single released from the album was "Tush". The single peaked at #20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's first top 40 single.
Track listing
All songs by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard except where noted.
Side one
- "Thunderbird" (Live) – 4:08
- "Jailhouse Rock" (Live) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 1:57
- "Backdoor Medley" (Live) – 9:25
- "Backdoor Love Affair" (Gibbons, Bill Ham) – 1:10
- "Mellow Down Easy" (Willie Dixon) – 3:39
- "Backdoor Love Affair No. 2" (Gibbons) – 2:05
- "Long Distance Boogie" (John Lee Hooker) – 2:32
Side two
- "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" – 2:42
- "Blue Jean Blues" – 4:43
- "Balinese" – 2:39
- "Mexican Blackbird" – 3:07
- "Heard It on the X" – 2:24
- "Tush" – 2:15
2006 remastered version bonus tracks
- "Heard it on the X" (Live) - 2:36
- "Jailhouse Rock" (Live) (Leiber, Stoller) - 1:52
- "Tush" (Live) - 3:42
Tracks 1-3 (side A of the original LP) were recorded live at The Warehouse in New Orleans on April 12, 1974, "captured as it came down - hot, spontaneous and presented to you honestly, without the assistance of studio gimmicks". Tracks 4-9 (side B) were new studio recordings.
Tracks 10-12 (of the expanded 2006 version) were recorded live at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on August 30, 1980.
"Thunderbird"
"Thunderbird" was originally written and performed by The Nightcaps, a band formed in the 1950s when the members were teenagers.[6] The Nightcaps performed the song and distributed it on their album Wine, Wine, Wine but never applied for copyright.[6] ZZ Top began performing its version of the song in 1975, and has conceded that its version is lyrically and musically identical to the Nightcaps' song.[7] The Nightcaps sued ZZ Top for, among other things, copyright infringement, but their claims were dismissed because, in part, ZZ Top had registered a copyright on the song in 1975.[8]
Personnel
- Billy Gibbons – guitar, vocals
- Dusty Hill – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Jailhouse Rock", "Balinese", and "Tush", co-lead vocals on "Backdoor Medley" and "Heard It on the X"
- Frank Beard – drums, percussion
Production
- Producer – Bill Ham
- Engineers – Jim Reeves, John L. Venable, and, Norman Mershon for Record Plant Truck. Robin Brians, Terry Kane, Bob Ludwig (mastering), Terry Manning
- Album concept – Bill Ham
- Design – Bill Narum
- Photography – John Dekalb
Charts
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 61 |
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 60 |
United States (Billboard 200) | 10 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada)[10] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[11] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/zz-top/fandango-4/
- Fandango! at AllMusic
- https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/zztop/albums/album/198546/review/5941643/fandango Archived November 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Cross, Charles R. (2004). "ZZ Top". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 907-8. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/billy-gibbons-talks-zz-top-the-complete-studio-albums-1970-1990-575728
- Dabou/sb v. Gibbons, 42 F.3d 285, 287 (5th Cir. 1995).
- Dabou/sb v. Gibbons at 287 and 287 n.1.
- Dabou/sb v. Gibbons at 291.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Canadian album certifications – ZZ Top – Fandango". Music Canada. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- "American album certifications – ZZ Top – Fandango". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 9, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.