Fireball Zone
Studio album by
Ric Ocasek
Released1991
RecordedSkyline Studios, New York City
GenreElectronic pop
Length54:46
LabelReprise[1]
ProducerNile Rodgers, Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek chronology
This Side of Paradise
(1986) 		Fireball Zone
(1991) 		Quick Change World
(1993)

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]

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Calgary HeraldD[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.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rockaway" 4:21
2."Touch Down Easy"Ric Ocasek, Rick Nowels4:12
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

Charts

Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[14] 119

References

  1. ^ a b White, Mary-Lynn (30 June 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C15.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (30 June 1991). "Pop Eye". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 59.
  3. ^ "Fireball Zone Ric Ocasek". Part II. Newsday. 8 July 1991. p. 34.
  4. ^ Morse, Steve (27 June 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". The Boston Globe.
  5. ^ "Fireball Zone by Ric Ocasek". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 27. Jul 6, 1991. p. 62.
  6. ^ Williams, Jeannie (7 Dec 1990). "Ric and Paulina's model Christmas". USA Today. p. 2D.
  7. ^ Gettelman, Parry (2 Aug 1991). "Ric Ocasek, Fireball Zone". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 30.
  8. ^ Considine, J.D. (5 Aug 1991). "Car-Less Ocasek Warms Up". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1D.
  9. ^ "Fireball Zone". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  10. ^ a b Kampert, Patrick (18 July 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  11. ^ Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Erskine, Evelyn (6 July 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". Ottawa Citizen. p. D3.
  13. ^ Popkin, Helen (2 Aug 1991). "Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 21.
  14. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing July 29, 1991". Retrieved July 29, 2022.
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