Fireball Zone

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• Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California)Electronic pop54:46Reprise<ref name=CH/>* Nile Rodgers
• Ric Ocasek
• Rick Nowelsx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Fireball Zone is the third solo album by the American musician Ric Ocasek, frontman and songwriter of the Cars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first single from the 1991 release was "Rockaway".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Production

The album was produced primarily by Nile Rodgers and Ric Ocasek.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Its title is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Over and Over" and "The Way You Look Tonight" are ballads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In contrast to his Cars days, Ocasek recorded the album live, with his band, rather than part by part.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Critical reception

Template:Music ratings 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name=CT/> 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	119