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.

Album title

, from which the album gets its name, is a type of dance similar to flamenco.

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.

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 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
  1. "Thunderbird" – 4:08
  2. "Jailhouse Rock" – 1:57
  3. "Backdoor Medley" – 9:25
  4. *"Backdoor Love Affair" – 1:10
  5. *"Mellow Down Easy" – 3:39
  6. *"Backdoor Love Affair No. 2" – 2:05
  7. *"Long Distance Boogie" – 2:32
Side two
  2. "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" – 2:42
  3. "Blue Jean Blues" – 4:43
  4. "Balinese" – 2:39
  5. "Mexican Blackbird" – 3:07
  6. "Heard It on the X" – 2:24
  7. "Tush" – 2:15

    2006 remastered version bonus tracks

  9. "Heard it on the X" - 2:36
  10. "Jailhouse Rock" - 1:52
  11. "Tush" - 3:42
Tracks 1-3 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 were new studio recordings.
Tracks 10-12 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.Dabou/sb v. Gibbons, 42 F.3d 285, 287. The Nightcaps performed the song and distributed it on their album Wine, Wine, Wine but never applied for copyright. 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. 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.

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, Terry Manning
  • Album concept – Bill Ham
  • Design – Bill Narum
  • Photography – John Dekalb

    Charts

Album – Billboard
YearChartPosition
1975Pop Albums10

Singles – Billboard
YearSingleChartPosition
1975"Tush"Pop Singles20

Certifications