Fandango! Songs Ranked
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. 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. (However, in the case of this album, only the studio side was remixed.) 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. Here are all of Fandango! songs ranked.
Don’t Miss out on the CLASSIC ZZ Top Music! Click to experience the power of the Gibbons brothers!
9. Balinese
“The only songs that sound like they were written by a world-class rock band are ‘Balinese’, it has some very good vocal harmonies, and the final two cuts, a couple of stomping rockers that have enthusiasm as their strongest asset.”
8. Backdoor Medley
“This is a great piece of American hard rock! The first side is a blistering segment of the band live with the trio covering a host of songs which come to a boil when they couple their own Backdoor Love Affair with other blues standards in a speaker-frying medley of ZZ insanity.”
7. Blue Jean Blues
“Blue Jean Blues” is easily the best song on the entire album. It’s a slow, bluesy number with pretty good guitar playing. Really the band is just copying what Led Zeppelin and countless other rock bands did better, but for what it is, it’s acceptable”
See more: ZZ Top Albums Ranked
6. Jailhouse Rock
“Their cover of “Jailhouse Rock” is not only inferior to the original, but inferior to every version of the song I know. It’s WAY too short, and not interesting.”
5. Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
“Things pick up a bit for the second side (the studio portion of the album). “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings” has a nice funky beat, which was ZZ Top’s trademark back in the day. The guitar solo fails, and the vocals go by harmlessly, but with hardly *any* excitement whatsoever.”
4. Thunderbird
“Fandango! opens with a smoking version of “Thunderbird”, a brilliant live rocker which might have lacked the appropriate energy in the studio. However, after this promising start, there’s a distinct drop in quality on the live material, as it eventually finds itself relying on the second most annoying cliché of live albums of the 70s after the drum solo, the rock and roll medley.”
See more: ZZ Top Songs Ranked
3. Mexican Blackbird
“Mexican Blackbird” is only worthwhile for the neat southern accent from the lead singer. That alone makes the song stand out, but it can’t escape the reality of being just an above-average rocker.”
2. Heard It on the X
“Heard It On the X” is perhaps the best song on Fandango. It rocks convincingly, not carelessly like the rest of the album. Heard It On The X boogies along like a freight train. It’s excellent”
1. Tush
“Tush” finishes off the album. Everybody knows it. It’s pretty good, but overplayed thanks to classic rock radio. The hit song “Tush” which had been written in 6-7 minutes is unbelievable.”
