Fireball Zone
1991 studio album by Ric Ocasek
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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]
- Skyline and One Take (New York City, New York)
- Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California)
| Fireball Zone | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Electronic pop | |||
| Length | 54:46 | |||
| Label | Reprise[1] | |||
| Producer |
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| Ric Ocasek chronology | ||||
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Production
The album was produced primarily 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]
Fireball Zone is the only album of Ocasek's nearly 40-year recording career—whether solo, with the Cars, or with his early group, Milkwood—that does not include contributions from multi-instrumentalist Greg Hawkes.
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]
Track listing
All 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
- Ric Ocasek – vocals, keyboards, guitars
- Richard Hilton – keyboards
- Larry Mitchell – lead guitar (1–9, 12)
- Nile Rodgers – guitars (1–9, 12)
- Dann Huff – guitars (10, 11)
- Al Berry – bass
- Larry Aberman – drums (1–9, 12)
- Mickey Curry – drums (10, 11)
- Steve Elson – horns
- Stan Harrison – horns
- Matt Collehon – horns
- Tawatha Agee – backing vocals
- Dennis Collins – backing vocals
- Curtis King Jr. – backing vocals
- Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals
Production
- Nile Rodgers – producer
- Ric Ocasek – producer, basic track producer (10, 11), other computer photography
- Nile Rodgers – producer
- Rick Nowels – basic track producer (10, 11)
- Jon Goldberger – engineer, mixing
- David Heglmeier – basic track engineer
- Steve MacMillan – basic track recording (10, 11)
- Katherine Miller – assistant engineer
- Hiro Ishihara – assistant engineer
- Justin Luchter – associate engineer
- Dave Schiffman – assistant engineer
- George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
- Jeff Gold – art direction
- Janet Levinson – design
- Paulina Porizkova – cover artwork
- Marco Glaviano – photography
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] | 119 |