Love Zone Explained

Love Zone
Type:	studio
Artist:	Billy Ocean
Cover:	Love zone billy ocean album.jpg
Released:	6 May 1986
Recorded:	1985–1986
Studio:	Battery (London)
Genre:	R&B soul
Length:	44:56
Label:	Jive
Producer:	Barry Eastmond Wayne Brathwaite
Prev Title:	Suddenly
Prev Year:	1984
Next Title:	Tear Down These Walls
Next Year:	1988

Love Zone is the sixth studio album by British singer Billy Ocean, released on 6 May 1986 by Jive Records. Three singles were released from the album, including Ocean's second US No. 1 single "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" and the US top ten entry "Love Zone". It also features the UK No. 1 and US No. 2 single "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", which had originally been released as a single from the soundtrack to the 1985 film The Jewel of the Nile.

A critical and commercial success, it became his highest charting album in both the UK and the US, where it peaked at number two and number six respectively, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over two million copies.

Critical reception

Love Zone received favourable reviews from critics. People noted that "Ocean just floats along on this smooth" album and that "the moods [he] creates are so richly romantic they shouldn't be inflicted on the brokenhearted".^[1]

The album received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.^[2] Ocean also won two American Music Awards, including for Favorite Pop/Rock Single.

Production and artwork

• Executive producer on track 1 – Robert John "Mutt" Lange
• Producers – Barry J. Eastmond and Wayne Brathwaite
• Engineers – Steve Power (1–7 and 9); Bryan "Chuck" New (track 8)
• Mixing – Nigel Green (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9); Bryan "Chuck" New (tracks 2, 6 and 7)
• Cover photography – Rob Lee

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986)! scope="col"

Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)	8
European Albums (Music & Media)^[3]	11
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[4]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1986)! scope="col"

Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)	53
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[5]	18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[6]	68
European Albums (Music & Media)^[7]	61
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[8]	48
UK Albums (Gallup)^[9]	37
US Billboard 200^[10]	31
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	14

See also

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1986

References

Bibliography

• Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . illustrated . St Ives, N.S.W. . Australian Chart Book . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6.

Notes and References

1. Picks and Pans Review: Love Zone. 16 June 1986. People.
2. Web site: Billy Ocean. The Recording Academy.
3. European Hot 100 Albums . . 3 . 24 . 21 June 1986 . 16 . 29800226.
4. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Billy Ocean . Sisältää hitin – Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 . fi . 2nd . Helsinki . . 2021 . 188 . 978-952-7460-01-6.
5. Top 100 Albums of '86. RPM. 45. 14. 27 December 1986. 9. 0033-7064. Library and Archives Canada.
6. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986. nl. Dutch Charts. 3 January 2021.
7. European Hot 100 Albums – Hot 100 of the Year 1986. Music & Media. 3. 51/52. 27 December 1986. 35. 29800226.
8. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1986. Recorded Music NZ. 5 February 2022.
9. Top 100 Albums (January to December 1986). Music Week. 24 January 1987. 25. 0265-1548.
10. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1986. Billboard. 3 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210120173930/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1986/top-billboard-200-albums. 20 January 2021.
11. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986. Billboard. 3 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625052244/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1986/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums. 25 June 2021.