Ric Ocasek – Fireball Zone – 1991
The first sign of life from Mr. Ocasek in ages. Co-produced by…Nile Rodgers of all people, Fireball Zone opens with the scorching “Rockaway” and really just keeps cruising for a while.
Easily much more accessible than his previous solo records, he seems to have kissed goodbye to The Cars and embraced his own muse. No longer trying to distance himself from his devotion to Bowie/Numan, he comes into his own in many places (also gets a little funky at times) and scores. It’s sort of strange to hear Ocasek try so hard to sound like Bryan Ferry meets Spandau Ballet on “The Way You Look Tonight”, but, then again, it’s not surprising, listening back to the direction he was always taking The Cars and his solo work.
So, it is surprising when he comes up with something like “Flowers of Evil”, which, for lack of a more imaginative description, sounds like it fell off Adam Ant’s Manners & Physique. Which is also to say that it’s the most alive anything Ocasek has put out…in years. And something has heavy as “Balance” seems out of place in the rest of Ric’s catalog but, on FZ it’s perfectly fine. In fact, I want more.
There’s a lot to like on Fireball Zone. It doesn’t sound like The Cars. And that’s a good thing. Because I think I’ve heard enough of that for a while.
Grade: B+
ASide: Rockaway
BlindSide: Over and Over, Flowers of Evil, They Tried, Balance, Fireball Zone
