Great Rock Albums of 1980: REO Speedwagon- A Decade of Rock and Roll

Aerosmith weren't the only one to put out a great compilation album of all of their best stuff in 1980, REO Speedwagon did likewise with "A Decade in Rock and Roll, 1970-1980." Unlike Aerosmith however, REO Speedwagon weren't being written off as finished. If anything, they were very much in their ascendency to rock and roll glory. What this album does is to celebrate ten great years of thrilling listeners to some brilliant rock albums.

As with many artists back then, I was also late jumping on the train in regards to REO Speedwagon. I didn't even hear of them until I was in the service for six months and saw one of their songs on a bar juke box. The name amused me straight away and for some reason that name kept appearing before me like some sort of beckon. As a result, I bought the "Nine Lives" album and I was hooked. I played that album to death and when someone suggested this album, I took up the suggestion and I don't regret it. I got to hear what I had been missing all these years. Some of their early songs like "Golden Country," "Keep Pushin" and "Son of a Poor Man" were great insights into what this band was made of. Even the material with Mike Murphy as lead singer doesn't disappoint. I thought putting the live versions of "157 Riverside Avenue" and "Riding the Storm Out" was a genius idea as those songs totally rock me. And of course there's the two big songs from "You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish:" "Roll With the Changes" and "Time For Me To Fly" although Kevin Cronin probably doesn't want me to mention the latter because according to what he said on "Family Guy," all the royalties go to his bitch ex-wife. It doesn't stop me from playing it though.

Kevin Cronin on Family Guy

Track Listing:

1. Sophisticated Lady

2. Music Man

3. Golden Country

4. Son of a Poor Man

5. Lost in a Dream

6. Reeling

7. Keep Pushin

8.  I Believe Our Time is Gonna Come

9. Breakaway

10. Lightning

11. Like You Do

12. Flying Turkey Trot

13. 157 Riverside Avenue

14. Riding the Storm Out

15. Roll With the Changes

16. Time For Me to Fly

17, Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight

18. Only the Strong Survive

19. Back On the Road Again

REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin- rhythm guitar, lead vocals

Garry Richrath- lead guitar

Neil Doughty- keyboards, backing vocals

Bruce Hall- bass, backing vocals

Alan Gratzer- drums, percussion

Mike Murphy- lead vocals

Greg Philbin- bass

This album celebrates exactly what it says on the package, a decade in rock and roll. Ten years worth of good tunes and for those who aren't into compilations, this album will definitely entice you to check out their albums from this period. This album wouldn't be the end for them as they would go on to find commercial success but it celebrates a time when they were great because you will see as we journey further down the road, in the 70s REO Speedwagon were good, if not fantastic. In the 80s, they would settle for being popular.

Next post: Tragedies and Triumphs Part II

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1979: REO Speedwagon- Nine Lives

Nowadays, when REO Speedwagon is mentioned, the first thing that pops into most people's heads are love rock ballads such as "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Loving You." Yes, unfortunately REO Speedwagon is an example of what happened to a lot of great bands who managed to get a song in the top ten back in the early 80s. After that, they try to make all their songs sound like that hit single and abandoned the hard rock that got them there in the first place. They weren't the only band this happened to either.

"Nine Lives" was the first ever album by REO Speedwagon I listened to and my total reaction to it was "This album really rocks!" From the heavy riffs of the opening track "Heavy On Your Love" through to the crunching guitars of "Only the Strong Survive" and the great hard rock musicianship that made "Easy Money" and their own rocking spin on the classic Beach Boys hit "Rock and Roll Music," that finally culminates in the pure heavy finale of "Back On the Road Again," I can say this album is a true rocker. The music is a far cry from some of their later stuff. It's even heavier that their 1978 smash "You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish." Even the album cover suggests heavy metal. If they didn't do it in 1979, some heavy metal band in the 80s would have definitely used a cover photo like this on their album. I will go on a limb and speculate that maybe Motley Crue got some of their image ideas from this.

Track Listing:

1. Heavy On Your Love

2. Drop It (An Old Disguise)

3. Only the Strong Survive

4. Easy Money

5. Rock and Roll Music

6. Take Me

7. I Need You Tonight

8. Meet Me On the Mountain

9. Back On the Road Again

REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin- lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar

Gary Richrath- lead guitar, B52 guitar

Neil Doughty- keyboards

Bruce Hall- bass, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Back On the Road Again"

Alan Gratzer- drums, percussion, backing vocals

For those who are only familiar with REO Speedwagon's more pop oriented 80's sound, then you must go back and listen to "Nine Lives." The hard rock sound on this album will leave you asking yourself, "Is this the same band?" For this album is a true hard rocking classic and yes I will mention again what an underrated guitarist Gary Richrath has been. For he totally smashes it here!

Next Post: Hawkwind- PXR5

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1978: REO Speedwagon- You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish

Forget about the ballads form the 1980s because back in the 70's REO Speedwagon were a true hard rock outfit. Their seventh album, "You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish" is a prime example of this. This album exudes rock all the way through with some great rocking tunes like "Roll With the Changes." In this song, Gary Richrath shows exactly why I included him as one of the great guitarists of the 70s and his talents are still under appreciated today. I dare any true rocker to listen to this song and not say that they had a rocking vibe throughout.

In my last post, I stated that "How You Gonna See Me Now" was the first true power ballad. If that's the case, then "Time for Me to Fly" would be the second. The problem was that I didn't hear the song until 1980. Like your traditional ballad, it starts with the accoustic intro and builds up before exploding with heavy chords and reinforced by a killer solo from Richrath. Another triumph that makes this album so cool.

Track Listing:

1. Roll With the Changes

2. Time for Me to Fly

3. Runnin' Blind

4. Blaze Your Own Trail, Again

5. Sing to Me

6. Lucky For You

7. Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight

8. The Unidentified Flying Tuna Trot

9. Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight

REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin- vocals, rhythm guitar

Gary Richrath- lead guitar

Bruce Hall- bass

Neil Doughty- keyboards

Alan Gratzer- drums

Before they found the billboard singles charts, REO Speedwagon was a true hard rocking band. This classic album proves this.

Next post: The Cars

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle