ZZ Top’s ‘Afterburner’ Initially Surpassed ‘Eliminator’ in Creative Heights, New Analysis Shows

A retrospective examination of ZZ Top’s 1985 album, Afterburner, reveals the record enjoyed a strong initial burst of innovation, briefly exceeding the impact of their 1983 breakthrough, Eliminator, before settling into a more formulaic approach.

The analysis highlights the album’s opening tracks, “Sleeping Bag” and “Stages,” as particularly audacious and successful expansions on the synth- and drum-machine enhanced sound that propelled Eliminator to stardom. Afterburner notably incorporated hip-hop style scratches into “Sleeping Bag,” demonstrating a willingness to experiment. However, the album’s momentum waned as subsequent tracks relied more heavily on established patterns, with songs like “Woke Up With Wood” and “Dipping Low (In the Lap of Luxury)” offering diminishing returns.

Critical discussion centers on the ballad “Rough Boy,” praised for Billy Gibbons’ vocal performance and guitar work, but criticized for its keyboard-heavy backing track, drawing comparisons to artists like Genesis and Rod Stewart. Despite this, tracks like “Can’t Stop Rockin’” and “Delirious” showcased the band’s continued ability to deliver energetic performances, while “Velcro Fly” explored new dance-oriented rhythms. This period of experimentation ultimately paved the way for ZZ Top to reintroduce more organic elements into their sound with the 1990 album, Recycler. The band’s willingness to push boundaries, even if inconsistently, influenced the landscape of blues-rock in the mid-1980s.

Representatives for the estate of Dusty Hill have not yet commented on the renewed interest in the album’s production history, but further analysis of ZZ Top’s discography is expected in the coming months, according to sources familiar with the ongoing project.