Fireball Zone is the third solo album by the American musician Ric Ocasek, frontman and songwriter of the Cars.[2][3] The first single from the 1991 release was "Rockaway".[4]
| Fireball Zone | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Recorded | Skyline Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Electronic pop | |||
| Length | 54:46 | |||
| Label | Reprise[1] | |||
| Producer | Nile Rodgers, Ric Ocasek | |||
| Ric Ocasek chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editThe album was produced by Nile Rodgers and Ric Ocasek.[5] Its title is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow.[6] "Over and Over" and "The Way You Look Tonight" are ballads.[7] In contrast to his Cars days, Ocasek recorded the album live, with his band, rather than part by part.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Calgary Herald | D[1] |
| Chicago Tribune | [10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
The Ottawa Citizen wrote that "the main thrust of Fireball Zone is to emphasize a funk element within what has always been Ocasek's music style—cold, lean, electronic pop with a tortured bottom end."[12] The Chicago Tribune opined that Fireball Zone "may not be a masterpiece, but it's better than any album by the repetitive Cars, easily one of the most overrated bands of the '80s."[10] The St. Petersburg Times determined that the album finds Ocasek's "rubber-band voice crawling over indistinguishable over-synthesized tunes set to a maddeningly tedious beat."[13]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Ric Ocasek, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rockaway" | 4:21 | |
| 2. | "Touch Down Easy" | Ric Ocasek, Rick Nowels | 4:12 |
| 3. | "Come Back" | 4:20 | |
| 4. | "The Way You Look Tonight" | 4:38 | |
| 5. | "All We Need Is Love" | 4:57 | |
| 6. | "Over And Over" | 5:30 | |
| 7. | "Flowers Of Evil" | 4:42 | |
| 8. | "They Tried" | 3:53 | |
| 9. | "Keep That Dream" | 4:26 | |
| 10. | "Balance" | 4:42 | |
| 11. | "Mister Meaner" | 4:50 | |
| 12. | "Fireball Zone" | 4:24 | |
| Total length: | 54:46 | ||
Personnel
edit- Ric Ocasek - vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Nile Rodgers - guitar
- Larry Mitchell - lead guitar
- Dann Huff - guitar on "Balance" and "Mister Meaner"
- Steve Elson - horns
- Stan Harrison - horns
- Matt Collehon - horns
- Richard Hilton - keyboards
- Al Berry - bass guitar
- Larry Aberman - drums
- Mickey Curry - drums on "Balance" and "Mister Meaner"
- Tawatha Agee - backing vocals
- Fonzi Thornton - backing vocals
- Curtis King Jr. - backing vocals
- Dennis Collins - backing vocals
- Katherine Miller - engineer
- Hiro Ishihara - engineer
- Dave Schiffman - engineer
- Justin Luchter - engineer
- Jon Goldberger - engineer
Charts
edit| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] | 119 |
References
edit- ^ a b White, Mary-Lynn (30 June 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C15.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (30 June 1991). "Pop Eye". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 59.
- ^ "Fireball Zone Ric Ocasek". Part II. Newsday. 8 July 1991. p. 34.
- ^ Morse, Steve (27 June 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "Fireball Zone by Ric Ocasek". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 27. Jul 6, 1991. p. 62.
- ^ Williams, Jeannie (7 Dec 1990). "Ric and Paulina's model Christmas". USA Today. p. 2D.
- ^ Gettelman, Parry (2 Aug 1991). "Ric Ocasek, Fireball Zone". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 30.
- ^ Considine, J.D. (5 Aug 1991). "Car-Less Ocasek Warms Up". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1D.
- ^ "Fireball Zone". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ^ a b Kampert, Patrick (18 July 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Erskine, Evelyn (6 July 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". Ottawa Citizen. p. D3.
- ^ Popkin, Helen (2 Aug 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 21.
- ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing July 29, 1991". Retrieved July 29, 2022.