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==Production==

==Production==

The album was produced primarily by [[Nile Rodgers]] and [[Ric Ocasek]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Fireball Zone by Ric Ocasek |magazine=Billboard |date=Jul 6, 1991 |volume=103 |issue=27 |page=62}}</ref> Its title is a reference to [[Thomas Pynchon]]’s ”[[Gravity’s Rainbow]]”.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Jeannie |title=Ric and Paulina’s model Christmas |work=USA Today |date=7 Dec 1990 |page=2D}}</ref> “Over and Over” and “The Way You Look Tonight” are ballads.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gettelman |first1=Parry |title=Ric Ocasek, Fireball Zone |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=2 Aug 1991 |department=Calendar |page=30}}</ref> In contrast to his [[The Cars|Cars]] days, Ocasek recorded the album live, with his band, rather than part by part.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Considine |first1=J.D. |title=Car-Less Ocasek Warms Up |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=5 Aug 1991 |page=1D}}</ref>

The album was produced primarily by [[Nile Rodgers]] and [[Ric Ocasek]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Fireball Zone by Ric Ocasek |magazine=Billboard |date=Jul 6, 1991 |volume=103 |issue=27 |page=62}}</ref> Its title is a reference to [[Thomas Pynchon]]’s ”[[Gravity’s Rainbow]]”.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Jeannie |title=Ric and Paulina’s model Christmas |work=USA Today |date=7 Dec 1990 |page=2D}}</ref> “Over and Over” and “The Way You Look Tonight” are ballads.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gettelman |first1=Parry |title=Ric Ocasek, Fireball Zone |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=2 Aug 1991 |department=Calendar |page=30}}</ref> In contrast to his [[The Cars|Cars]] days, Ocasek recorded the album live, with his band, rather than part by part.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Considine |first1=J.D. |title=Car-Less Ocasek Warms Up |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=5 Aug 1991 |page=1D}}</ref>

This is the only musical 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==

==Critical reception==

Latest revision as of 01:49, 9 December 2025

1991 studio album by Ric Ocasek

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]

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]

This is the only musical 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.

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]

All tracks are written by Ric Ocasek, except where noted.

Title Writer(s)
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
  • 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
  1. ^ a b White, Mary-Lynn (June 30, 1991). “Recent Releases”. Calgary Herald. p. C15.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (June 30, 1991). “Pop Eye”. Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 59.
  3. ^ “Fireball Zone Ric Ocasek”. Part II. Newsday. July 8, 1991. p. 34.
  4. ^ Morse, Steve (June 27, 1991). “Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone”. The Boston Globe.
  5. ^ “Fireball Zone by Ric Ocasek”. Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 27. July 6, 1991. p. 62.
  6. ^ Williams, Jeannie (December 7, 1990). “Ric and Paulina’s model Christmas”. USA Today. p. 2D.
  7. ^ Gettelman, Parry (August 2, 1991). “Ric Ocasek, Fireball Zone”. Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 30.
  8. ^ Considine, J.D. (August 5, 1991). “Car-Less Ocasek Warms Up”. The Baltimore Sun. p. 1D.
  9. ^ “Fireball Zone“. AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Kampert, Patrick (July 18, 1991). “Recordings”. Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  11. ^ “Ric Ocasek: Fireball Zone : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone”. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
  12. ^ Erskine, Evelyn (July 6, 1991). “Ric Ocasek Fireball Zone”. Ottawa Citizen. p. D3.
  13. ^ Popkin, Helen (August 2, 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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