Eye of the Zombie

Eye of the Zombie
Studio album by
John Fogerty
ReleasedSeptember 29, 1986
Genre
Length44:07
LabelWarner Bros. (first pressing)
DreamWorks/Interscope/Universal (second pressing)
ProducerJohn Fogerty
John Fogerty chronology
Centerfield
(1985) 		Eye of the Zombie
(1986) 		Blue Moon Swamp
(1997)
Singles from Eye of the Zombie
  1. "Eye of the Zombie"
    Released: August 1986
  2. "Change in the Weather"
    Released: November 1986

Eye of the Zombie is the fourth solo studio album by the American guitarist and 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 mediocre 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.

John Carl Buechler created the make-up worn by Fogerty in the album cover.[4] The singer originally wanted himself covered in tribal markings, but label Warner Bros. Records vetoed given David Lee Roth had already used this get-up for his album Eat 'Em and Smile.[5]

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

Reception

Billboard called the title track a "dark, shivery tale."[6] Cash Box called it "dirty and gritty" and "rock and roll with a vengeance."[7]

Cash Box called "Change in the Weather" a "swampy, grundgy, soulful groove that could have been a CCR hit."[8] Billboard called it a "swampy down-tempo swayer [with] apocalyptic social predictions."[9] Brian Cullman in SPIN called it the 'strongest, most passionate record of his career'.[1]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[10]
Rolling Stone(Mixed)[11]
Kerrang! [12]

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

Charts

Chart (1986-87) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[13] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 15
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 61
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[17] 5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 34
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 15
US Billboard 200[22] 26

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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 November 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Leland, John (December 1986). "Singles - review". SPIN. 2 (9): 46 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Creep Master Likes the Ghoul Next Door
  5. ^ Fogerty, John; McDonough, Jimmy (2015). Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0316244572. OCLC 1001704588.
  6. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. August 30, 1986. p. 83. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 30, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. November 15, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. November 22, 1986. p. 79. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Fogerty Eye of the Zombie review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  11. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (November 20, 1986). "John Fogerty - Eye of the Zombie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  12. ^ Henderson, Paul (October 30, 1986). "John Fogerty 'Eye of the Zombie'". Kerrang!. Vol. 132. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. p. 21.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 115. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Image 0854". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – John Fogerty – Eye of the Zombie". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  22. ^ "John Fogerty Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – John Fogerty – Eye of the tiger". Recording Industry Association of America.
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