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REO Speedwagon
The Essential REO Speedwagon
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I admit it. When 'You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish' came out (1978), I, like so many others, began a love affair with REO Speedwagon. (I also love Abba and The Bee Gees - albeit pre-disco - so there.) This disc made REO an overnight success (some 7 years into their recording career). It was clean, cool, really rocked out, and had great power ballads. In discovering that REO had a considerable output pre-Tuna, I immediately checked into their back catalog. Great stuff. Solid
Chicago
mid-west rock'n'roll without the balladry, although not quite as rootsy or scrappy as, say, Bob Seger's
Detroit
mid-west rock'n'roll. (Which is better rock'n'roll country, Matt Rowe from
Chicago
...
Chicago
or
Detroit
?)
'Tuna Piano...' had singer/songwriter Kevin Cronin all over it. Except for a slight blip on the radar, when Cronin wasn't with the band, he's been the main songwriter and voice of REO throughout their career (since 1971's eponymous release). 1980's 'Hi Infidelity' was their other monster hit album. Just about everyone has heard the hits, such as "Roll With the Changes", "Time For Me to Fly", "Keep On Loving You", "Can't Fight This Feeling"...and on and on. In fact, they're all already on the smash hit collection "The Hits". So, is 'The Essential REO Speedwagon" really necessary? Well, that depends.
If you like all the well-known REO hits and don't care to go any further, then you're already set if you own 'The Hits'. If, however, like I did all those years ago, you wanna check out the best of their earlier rockin' stuff, all gathered in one convenient place, this is, well...essential. These guys were a very good journeyman rock'n'roll band before Tuna hit, and the proof is right here. Great songs like "Sophisticated Lady", Music Man", "Golden Country", "Keep Pushin'", "157 Riverside Avenue", and "Ridin' the Storm Out" are representative of the early stuff (and show Gary Richrath to be a damn fine lead-guitarist).
There are 12 songs pre-Tuna. Then, of course, there are all the hits. There are also some cherry-picked later tunes, from the period after their wave of success, that are well worth having. This two-disc set is remastered, and everything from Tuna forward sounds very good, indeed. Not demo-quality, but clean and crisp. The earlier cuts don't come off quite as well - a bit dry and flat, but only a bit, and only all the more noticeable placed next to the relative quality of the hits and later stuff.So, is 'The Essential REO...' necessary? If you're happy with just the hits, the answer is no. If you wanna hear a damn fine rock'n'roll band's best songs, hand-picked from the beginning, the answer is yes (and at a mid-line price. I paid $11.99 - come on, people!). Now the ball's in your court. Me...I recommend it...alot.
Release Date: August 10, 2004
Tracks: 33 - Disc One - Time: 76:51; Disc Two - Time: 76:55
Produced by: Various
Format: CD
Website: www.speedwagon.com
Track Listing:
Disc One:
Sophisticated Lady / Music Man / Golden Country / Son of a Poor Man (Previously Unreleased) / Lost in a Dream / Keep Pushin' / (I Believe) That Our Time is Gonna Come / Lightning / Like You Do / Flying Turkey Trot / 157 Riverside Avenue / Ridin' the Storm Out / Roll With the Changes / Time For Me to Fly / Say You Love Me or Say Goodbye.
Disc Two:
Back on the Road Again / Only the Strong Survive / Don't Let Him Go / Keep On Lovin' You / In Your Letter / Take It On the Run / Keep the Fire Burnin' / The Key / One Lonely Night / Live Every Moment / Can't Fight This Feeling / This Ain't Love / In My Dreams / Variety Tonight / Here With Me / Love is a Rock / Building a Bridge / Just For You.
REO Speedwagon:
Kevin Cronin - Vocals / Guitar / Piano
Mike Murphy - Vocals
Gary Richrath - Guitar
Bruce Hall - Bass
Neal Doughty - Keyboards
Terry Luttrell - Vocals
Greg Philbin - Bass
Alan Gratzer - Drums
Miles Joseph - Guitar
Graham Lear - Drums
Dave Amato - Guitar
Jesse Harms - Keyboards
Bryan Hitt - Drums
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