Firecracker (Lisa Loeb album)

Firecracker is a studio album by Lisa Loeb. It was released in 1997 through Geffen Records. Its cover features original artwork by illustrator Mark Miller, who transposed Loeb on to one of his original artworks, "Kitten".[1]

Firecracker
Studio album by
Lisa Loeb
ReleasedNovember 11, 1997
Recorded1997
GenrePop rock
Length46:14
LabelGeffen
Producer
  • Juan Patiño
  • Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb chronology
Tails
(1995)		 Firecracker
(1997)		 Cake and Pie
(2002)

Composition and production

Loeb frames Firecracker as "sort of a sequel" to her first album Tails, noting, for example, that the song "Split Second" "evolved musically out of the previous album's 'Taffy'".[1]

The album was produced with Juan Patino, "with an ear for greater 'orchestration'" to reflect the dual influence of classical music and 70s pop on Loeb. She cited two things as particularly influential on the composition of the album: touring with Lyle Lovett and performing at the inaugural Lilith Fair festival.[1]

Reception

The album was met with mixed reviews upon release. Rolling Stone labeled it a "disappointing" return that felt like "the sound of a songwriter stumbling toward adulthood with a sophomore's two left feet."[2] Entertainment Weekly declared it a, "well-crafted but largely soporific" that "could have benefited from some extra gunpowder."[3] Spin Magazine, meanwhile, found it "underwhelming and middlebrow, overproduced and pointlessly moody."[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

Charts

The album was certified Gold in the U.S. and Canada and was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The first single from the album, "I Do" hit #17 on the U.S. Billboard Charts, her third Top 20 single after "Stay (I Missed You)" and "Do You Sleep?". The single also hit #1 in Canada.

The follow-up single, "Let's Forget About It" hit #71 in the U.S. and #21 in Canada. "Truthfully" was also issued as a single in Japan.

Weekly charts
Year Chart Position
1997 Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 182
1997 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] 31
1997 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 57
1997 US Billboard 200[10] 88
1997 Canadian Album Chart[11] 53
1997 Japan Album Chart[12] 10

The song, "How", was used in the feature films, Twister and Jack Frost.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lisa Loeb, except where indicated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Do" 3:39
2."Falling in Love" 4:05
3."Truthfully" 2:58
4."Let's Forget About It"
  • Loeb
  • Juan Patiño
2:43
5."How" 3:49
6."Furious Rose" 3:22
7."Wishing Heart" 2:52
8."Dance with the Angels" 3:38
9."Jake" 3:03
10."This" 3:28
11."Split Second" 2:37
12."Firecracker" 5:43
Total length:46:14
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Guessing Game" (European and Japanese releases)4:02
14."Eno Ambient #5" (Japanese release) 

References
  1. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1997.
  2. "Lisa Loeb: Firecracker : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2009-02-01. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  3. November 14, Scott Schinder Updated; EST, 1997 at 05:00 AM. "Music Review: 'Firecracker'". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  4. LLC, SPIN Media (1998). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC.
  5. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Firecracker – Lisa Loeb – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  6. "Music Review: 'Firecracker'". Ew.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  7. "Firecracker". Rolling Stone. No. 774. November 27, 1997. p. 110. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009.
  8. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2017-01-20". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
  9. "Lisa Loeb - Firecracker". Charts.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  10. Billboard – Lisa Loeb Charts Lynne Segall Billboard Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  11. "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. November 24, 1997. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  12. "Billboard" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 1997-11-15. Retrieved 2022-05-25.


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