Fireball Zone
Fireball Zone is an album by the American musician Ric Ocasek, released in 1991.[2][3] The first single was "Rockaway".[4]
Fireball Zone | ||||
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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 | ||||
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Production
The 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
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]
Tracks
All songs written by Ric Ocasek except where noted.
- "Rockaway"
- "Touch Down Easy" (Ric Ocasek, Rick Nowels)
- "Come Back"
- "The Way You Look Tonight"
- "All We Need Is Love"
- "Over and Over"
- "Flowers of Evil"
- "They Tried"
- "Keep That Dream"
- "Balance"
- "Mister Meaner"
- "Fireball Zone"
Personnel
- 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
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] | 119 |
References
- 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. 103 (27): 62. Jul 6, 1991.
- 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.
- Kampert, Patrick (18 July 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- 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.