ZZ Top the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson, paying him $600,000 after he proved he held the copyright to the song "Thug". Despite not selling as many copies as "Eliminator", 1985's "Afterburner" became the band's highest-charting album, racking up sales of five million units. All of the singles from "Afterburner" were Top-40 hits, with two ("Sleeping Bag" and "Stages") hitting number one on the Mainstream Rock chart. The music video for "Velcro Fly" was choreographed by pop singer Paula Abdul. ZZ Top's grueling Afterburner World Tour lasted well into 1987, which also had the release of "The ZZ
Tribute to a Bus Burgess, and the band themselves, respectively. In comparison, "Tribute To A Bus" has a nosier, more melodic and distinctive sound, which may be attributed to Albini's input and production values. Critic Jason Ferguson described it as a "far more complicated album", composed of "straightforward pop songs countered by structurally deprived numbers like the vast "Go! Song" and the sprawling, "Bad Moon Rising"-esque "No Time/11 (Spectators)"." The album's stark sound, minimalist approach and complex song structures has led to comparisons with the work of both modern classical composers such as Philip Glass and Glenn Branca, and rock bands including Sonic Youth