Customer Reviews

Earth Small Man His Dog & A Chicken

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Listen to the first half of this album and you'd think that REO had become almost entirely a ballad band. With the exception of the 3rd track, the rocking "Live It Up", which did get a little rock radio airplay when it came out (1990), the first six songs are all quite soft. The leadoff track "Love Is A Rock" is a standard REO gem (also a very brief hit, I believe); but tracks like "The Heart Survives" and "Half Way", while also nice songs, just weigh down the first half of the album with too much slow stuff.

Then...they decide to throw in four very decent rockers among the final five tracks. "Love To Hate" has very basic lyrics but clearly rocks. "L.I.A.R" (which stands for "Love Is All Right") is a bit sarcastic from the title right down to the lyric, and it too is a solid rocker. Even more rocking is the closing track "Go For Broke", which to me is REO at their vintage best. Hard to believe the attitude in this song considering all the early album ballads.

So clearly this is a strange album with the order of the songs compared to their tempo. Also, with a band like this that has a rock history but is proficient in turning out ballads, I get frustrated when there are too many ballads, as it waters down the meaning of what a good rock ballad is supposed to be. Nonetheless, there is still enough good material here to give this now-obscure album a decent overall mark. Call it actually 3 3/4 stars overall. Not this legendary band's best, but still worth a listen in my book.

The Earth... The first REO album not to to feature the guitar stylings of co-founding axe man Gary Richrath and drummer Alan Gratzer. I was a little aphrehensive when I first bought the album. I wasn't sure how REO was going to sound with half of their starting line up missing. But all my worries were over after the first :45 seconds. It's REO alright. Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt fit right in, despite coming from completely different backgrounds...Dave from Ted Nugent's band and Bryan from Wang Chung. I saw REO twice that tour in Michigan. The second time at Club Eastbrook,in Grand Rapids. Which later I learned one of the songs was recorded live for "The Second Decade Of.." REO rocks, plain and simple. Kevin Cronin is one of the best songwriters in music, and this album showcases some of his strongest material. If you like REO or just good music than this is a selection that should be included in your collection.

REO seemed to lose direction with the release of the "chicken' album as some call it. There were a few good songs, but nothing like the past. The line up change did effect REO creatively at this point, but the new line up did get better. While the album was very disappointing, I saw REO on this tour and they ROCKED THE HOUSE down! They played "Live It Up" and "Like A Rock", other than that they stayed with the classics. This CD was a transitional CD for REO and it is evident with the poor quality of the songs, except the two listed above.

Without Gary Richrath, REO Speedwagon's engine is dead in spirit. Even though the songs on this album are great to listen to on a nice, sunny day; without Gary Richrath's unique style of hammering on the guitar, and giving one a sense of power, the group's spirit has been squashed. I would buy this album, but would come away only half full.

This is like a very under rated album by this group. I am an old dude and was around to live the hay day of REO's only smash album High in fidelity. and it was on every girls record player or radio. So naturally I listen to it too, and shamelessly liked it as well. This is not great but very very good, had I found it earlier in my life I would have loved it. With that said it is good to hear this type of music in a nostalgic kind of way. If like REO's girl blades, you owe it to yourself to get this hard to find gem.

It has been a while since I listened to REO, one of my favorite bands of my younger years. I too had lost interest with this line-up change. I recently renewed my interest after seeing REO Speedwagon on TV, performing live music for an ice skating show, and hearing about their Christmas album, which is BTW pretty good. So you might say this revisited listen was a bit less bias. This time around I would say the Chicken is every bit as good as any release from thier prior popular period. Nine Lives and Tuna Fish are still tops for me, but this made the revisit so much more interesting. It was certainly worth the download. Dave and Bryan are quality musicians and bring their own little nuances to the sound, as did Gary and Alan. Hey, change is not always a bad thing.

Some say it isn't Rocky enough, I say it is Classic REO. The rest of you are listening to the wrong band if you are looking for rock buy a KISS album.

I think the song LIAR is the best song on the album should've been the lead single. My Love is A Rock is an OK song but feels more like a filler song then a strong single. Live it Up is a good song and so is the Heart Survives. I love REO and wish they would've had more rockers then ballads on this one. All and all it is an good album and I am glad I have it in my collection.

Good mellow songs to listen to; "Love is a Rock", "The Heart Survives", and "Half Way". Obviously REO havent lost their pop ballad sound on this album. They have , unfortunately, lost Gary Richrath and Alan Gratzer and while no disrespect to Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt, this album would have been better and "rockier" with Alan and Gary on board. I miss the trademark guitar sound of Gary Richrath on this album. With the "Chicken" album, REO rolls with the changes...but not for the better.

Buy the time of the albums release members Gary Richrath and Alan Gratzer had departed from the group being replaced by Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt to form the current Reo Speedwagon line up that is touring into the 2000's. The album starts off with a handful of mellow tracks. Love is a Rock, The Heart Survives, All Heaven Broke Loose, and L.i.a.r. are highlights if you've always enjoyed Reo you'll enjoy this album too.