Afterburner

Afterburner is the ninth studio album, built on sequenced keyboard beds. It was the first ZZ Top record since Rio Grande Mud without Terry Manning, who was unavailable because of other commitments. The band reused some leftover material from the Eliminator sessions, including part of Can't Stop Rockin'. Bill Ham produced, with Joe Hardy and Bob Ludwig engineering.

The album reached number four on the Billboard 200 and sold five times platinum in the United States. It reached number two in the UK and was the band's first album to top a chart, in New Zealand. All four singles reached the US top 40: Sleeping Bag (number eight), Stages (21), Rough Boy (22) and Velcro Fly (35). Rolling Stone said it may simply represent a transitional phase, and Robert Christgau gave it a B and picked out Rough Boy and Velcro Fly.