Fandango!

This article is about the album. For other uses, see Fandango (disambiguation)

Fandango!
Studio album by ZZ Top
Released	April 18, 1975
Recorded	December 30, 1974–March 23, 1975
Genre	Hard rock, blues-rock
Length	32:00
Label	London
Producer	Bill Ham
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone (Not Rated) link
ZZ Top chronology
Tres Hombres (1973) Fandango! (1975) Tejas (1977)

Fandango! is the fourth album by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Half the cuts are selections from live shows, the other half are new songs from the studio. A remastered and expanded edition of this album was released on February 28, 2006.

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

During the height of ZZ Tops' success in the early 1980s a remixed version of the recording replaced the original 1975 mix. 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, which contains three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use the original 1975 mix.

Track listing

All songs by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard except where noted.

Side A

1. "Thunderbird" (live) – 4:08
2. "Jailhouse Rock" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) (live) – 1:57
3. "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" – 2:32

Side B

1. "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" – 2:42
2. "Blue Jean Blues" – 4:43
3. "Balinese" – 2:39
4. "Mexican Blackbird" – 3:07
5. "Heard it on the X" – 2:24
6. "Tush" – 2:15

Thunderbird

Thunderbird was originally written and performed by the Nightcaps, a band formed in the 1950s when the members were teenagers.^[1] The Nightcaps performed the song and distributed it on their album "Wine, Wine, Wine" but never applied for copyright.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

2006 Remastered Version Bonus Tracks

10. ""Heard it on the X" (Live)
11. "Jailhouse Rock" (Live) (Leiber, Stoller)
12. "Tush" (Live)

Tracks 1-3 (side A of the original LP) were recorded live at The Warehouse, New Orleans, "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, recorded live, are bonus to CD.

Personnel

• Billy Gibbons – guitar, lead vocals
• Dusty Hill – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Jailhouse Rock", "Balinese" and "Tush, co-lead vocals on "Heard It on the X"
• Frank Beard – drums, percussion

Production

• Producer – Bill Ham
• Engineers – Robin Brian, Terry Kane, Bob Ludwig, Terry Manning, Jim Reeves
• Album concept – Bill Ham
• Design – Bill Narum
• Photography – John Dekalb

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Singles – Billboard (North America)

References

1. ^ Daboub v. Gibbons, 42 F.3d 285, 287 (5th Cir. 1995).
2. ^ Id.
3. ^ Id. at 287 and 287 n.1.
4. ^ Id. at 291.