| Fandango! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album (with live tracks) by | ||||
| Released | April 18, 1975[citation needed] | |||
| Recorded | April 12, 1974 (tracks 1–3) December 30, 1974 – March 23, 1975 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:33 | |||
| Label | London | |||
| Producer | Bill Ham | |||
| ZZ Top chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fandango! | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
Fandango! is the fourth album by the American 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, from which the album gets its name, is a type of dance similar to flamenco.
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.[4]
The album's opening song, "Thunderbird", despite having ZZ Top writing credit, was originally written and performed by The Nightcaps, a band formed in the 1950s when its members were teenagers.[5] The Nightcaps performed the song and distributed it on their album Wine, Wine, Wine but never applied for copyright.[5] ZZ Top began performing the song as early as 1974, and has conceded that their version is lyrically and musically identical to the Nightcaps' song.[6] The Nightcaps sued ZZ Top for copyright infringement but their claims were dismissed as ZZ Top had registered a copyright on the song in 1975.[7]
The song "Heard It on the X" was written about the influence of a Mexican border blaster radio station, X-Rock 80. The station was located in El Paso, Texas while the transmitter was across the border in Juárez, Mexico. That allowed it to put out 150,000 watts of power from 5p.m. to 6a.m. Mountain Time. It could be heard in up to 44 states and parts of Canada.[8]
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 in the US. The song "Heard It on the X" also received heavy rotation on classic rock radio.[citation needed]
In the late 1980s the album was released on CD with the studio recordings being digitally remixed 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.[citation needed] 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.
All tracks are written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thunderbird" (Live) | Gibbons | 4:10 | |
| 2. | "Jailhouse Rock" (Live) | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | Hill | 2:01 |
| 3. | "Backdoor Medley" (Live)
|
| Gibbons, Hill | 9:45
|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" | Gibbons | 2:37 |
| 5. | "Blue Jean Blues" | Gibbons | 4:42 |
| 6. | "Balinese" | Hill | 2:37 |
| 7. | "Mexican Blackbird" | Gibbons | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Heard It on the X" | Gibbons, Hill | 2:23 |
| 9. | "Tush" | Hill | 2:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Heard it on the X" (Live) | Gibbons, Hill | 2:36 | |
| 11. | "Jailhouse Rock" (Live) | Leiber, Stoller | Hill | 1:52 |
| 12. | "Tush" (Live) | Hill | 3:42 |
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] | 61 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 60 |
| USBillboard 200[12] | 10 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[13] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold | 500,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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| Studio albums |
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| Compilations |
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| Live albums |
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| Box sets |
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| Singles |
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| Other songs |
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| Video albums |
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| Tours |
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| Related articles |
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