Firecracker (Lisa Loeb album)

Firecracker is the second solo 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
Released	November 11, 1997
Recorded	1997
Genre	Pop rock
Length	46:14
Label	Geffen
Producer	Juan Patiño Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb chronology
Tails (1995) Firecracker (1997) Cake and Pie (2002)
Singles from Firecraker
"I Do" Released: October 14, 1997 "Let's Forget About It" Released: 1997

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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C[4]
Pitchfork	8.8/10[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Spin	5/10[8]
Uncut	[9]
Wall of Sound	42/100[10]

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."^[11] Entertainment Weekly declared it a, "well-crafted but largely soporific" that "could have benefited from some extra gunpowder."^[12] Spin , meanwhile, found it "underwhelming and middlebrow, overproduced and pointlessly moody."^[8]

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)[13]	182
1997	New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14]	31
1997	Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	57
1997	US Billboard 200[15]	88
1997	Canadian Album Chart[16]	53
1997	Japan Album Chart[17]	10

Use in popular culture

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

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(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

All tracks are written by Lisa Loeb, except where indicated.

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Guessing Game" (European and Japanese releases)	4:02
14.	"Eno Ambient #5" (Japanese release)