Eye of the Zombie

Eye of the Zombie
Studio album by
John Fogerty
ReleasedSeptember 29, 1986
Genre
Length44:07
LabelWarner Bros. (first pressing)
25449
DreamWorks/Interscope/Universal Records (second pressing)
450 307
ProducerJohn Fogerty
John Fogerty chronology
Centerfield
(1985) 		Eye of the Zombie
(1986) 		Blue Moon Swamp
(1997)

Eye of the Zombie is the fourth solo studio album by American singer/songwriter John Fogerty. Released in September 1986, it was his first album with a backing band,[1] and it includes the Creedence-inspired track "Change in the Weather" as well as "Wasn't That a Woman" and "Soda Pop", his first forays into 1960s-1970s Motown-sounding funk and R&B. The title track was released as a single and reached the Billboard charts.[2][3]

The album was not received well by critics and had lukewarm chart success despite a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal in 1987. After the Eye of the Zombie tour in 1986, Fogerty did not perform any material from this album in concerts until 2009, when he played "Change in the Weather" at a few shows. The song was also re-recorded in 2009 for The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again and performed live on several late-night TV shows to promote the album.

After Eye of the Zombie, Fogerty's next album was not until 1997 when Blue Moon Swamp was released.

Billboard called the title track a "dark, shivery tale."[4] Cash Box called it "dirty and gritty" and "rock and roll with a vengeance."[5]

Cash Box called "Change in the Weather" a "swampy, grundgy, soulful groove that could have been a CCR hit."[6] Billboard called it a "swampy down-tempo swayer [with] apocalyptic social predictions."[7] Brian Cullman in SPIN called it the 'strongest, most passionate record of his career'.[1]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Rolling Stone(Mixed)[9]
Kerrang! [10]

Track listing

All songs written by John Fogerty. Song times taken from original LP sticker.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Goin' Back Home"3:25
2."Eye of the Zombie"4:35
3."Headlines"4:30
4."Knockin' on Your Door"4:35
5."Change in the Weather"6:50
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Violence Is Golden"5:21
2."Wasn't That a Woman"4:13
3."Soda Pop"5:53
4."Sail Away"4:45

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 61
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 34
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 15
US Billboard 200[18] 26

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Cullman, Brian (December 1986). "Eye of the Zombie review". SPIN. 2 (9): 29–30 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "John Fogerty Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  3. ^ Leland, John (December 1986). "Singles - review". SPIN. 2 (9): 46 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. August 30, 1986. p. 83. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  5. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 30, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  6. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. November 15, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  7. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. November 22, 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Fogerty Eye of the Zombie review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  9. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (20 November 1986). "John Fogerty - Eye of the Zombie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  10. ^ Henderson, Paul (30 October 1986). "John Fogerty 'Eye of the Zombie'". Kerrang!. Vol. 132. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. p. 21.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  18. ^ "John Fogerty Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2016.