Customer Reviews

Essential Reo Speedwagon

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

 

 

Some of the "Essentials" in Sony's series are merely bad rehashes of already existing hits discs (Eddie Money, Cyndi Lauper), but others use this opportunity to provide the most complete best-ofs ever done on an artist (Heart, Cheap Trick). This falls clearly in the latter category, with almost no filler and almost nothing crucial left out. Some may miss "I Do' Wanna Know" and "Sweet Time," but "Live Every Moment" and "The Key" were probably better choices from the albums those came from. Timing at over 75 minutes per disc, there was literally no room to fit anything else.

The booklet includes well-written liner notes from Kevin Cronin, along with time listings and chart info for each track.

First of all, let me say I've been an REO fan ever since I saw them on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (and I know I'm dating myself, that was in 1974)...when I went to purchase the three albums they had out at that point I was a little confused to see that there was a different lead vocalist on each of them. Mike Murphy managed to stay with them for three LPs in a row before Kevin Cronin (the second singer) returned for good. My only complaint is that more of Murphy's stuff wasn't included (Give Me a Ride, Reelin' and a couple others were good rockin' tunes and deserve a listen) and my very favorite track from 1984's Wheels are Turnin' - I Do'wanna Know was in fact a top 30 hit for the band and really set the pace for that album...one listen and how can you not be smiling at the end of the song? Aside from that, not a bad collection at all. I do agree with the reviewer that said a 4-CD boxed set is in order. I bet the boys from Champaign have some stuff up their sleeve that'd knock us all out...

REO Speedwagon have a large, loyal following in their homeland although, like other similar groups, they have only made a limited impact internationally. Still, they have some fans outside America and I'm one of them.

The pinnacle of their career came with the album Hi infidelity, an album full of rousing, up-tempo songs that topped the American album charts for several months and spawned several American hit singles - Don't let him go, Keep on loving you (a number one hit), Take it on the run and In your letter. In the UK, Keep on loving you made the top ten while Take it on the run made the top twenty.

Understandably, the group never came close to matching the phenomenal success of Hi infidelity again, but they had another American number one hit with Can't fight this feeling, which became their third and last UK hit, making the top twenty.

Elsewhere, there are many fine songs here. That ain't love, In my dreams and One lonely night are among the other highlights but I particularly like Time for me to fly, which Dolly Parton later covered in a bluegrass style for her album, White Limozeen - very different from the original, but both versions are brilliant in their different ways.

This compilation includes all the tracks available on the earlier compilation (The hits) except I don't want to lose you, which I can live without. This is the best hits package yet released of the group's music, although if you are new to their music, I recommend that you start with Hi infidelity. Great as their other music is, that album was something else again.

The essential Reo Speedwagon is the ultimate Reo hits collection,it covers their whole career from 1971 up to the newest studio tracks they have recorded back in the 90's.All of Reo's biggest hits are here,even the top 40 "Keep the Fire Burnin" which failed to make it onto 1988's The Hits.The Essential Reo Speedwagon is a great purchase for someone who is buying their first Reo CD, or for casual fans who own the Hits, but have a desire to hear more without buying every individual title.My only complaint is that "I don't wanna lose you" didn't make it onto the album,but that's allright.

First off, the good aspects of this album: It was digitally remastered, for optimum sound quality. Liner notes are from Kevin Cronin, so you get an "inside account" summarizing the band's history. There is a generous amount of music covered by the two CDs, nicely fitting into the size of a single CD package. There seems to be an attempt to include material from all albums, chronologically.

Now the down side: Although the first disc contains decent rock songs, the second one decends into a sea of lame, syrupy pop songs (mostly ballads). Where the first one has some muscle and energy and rock, the second one sounds like music written for bunnies and koala bears in love. The fake, sugary delivery sounds completely unlike the same band that delivered the music on the first disc. It's hard to understand how a band can so easily sell out, and sell their soul to pop music. I realize that the second disc has some of their biggest songs, but their change in directions is overwhelming and hard to digest.

As a newcomer to REO Speedwagon this is my first cd but soon it won't be my only one. I absolutely loved every song on this double CD set. My introduction to these guys was on the Styx/REO Arch Allies colaberation and I had to go out and buy this and I absolutely love it. My favorite song is the live version of 157 Riverside Ave. All the other live songs were greatly appreciated too. I loved it from start to finish I am definetly hooked on this band. I really like how they have taken 70's rock and 50's roll to combine a very unique sound. That was very charachteristic of alot of the 70s/80s bands or "The Golden Age Of Music" as I like to call it. This truly is a great collection and I highly recommend it to anyone.

This a great REO comp that like most of the releases in the Essential series, is targeted at the fans like me that do not have all of the albums, and want a compilation of the best album tracks and hits. It's a great release for a car ride on a hot summer night, and if you are an REO fan, you will enjoy it! Like most of the Essential compilations, there is usually an odd track missing, and for me, that would be "I Don't Wanna Lose You", which was the other new track off the previous "The Hits" compilation. Still, even with that omission, this is still a good one to grab, and it's a good price too!

OK, this is fairly comprehensive when it comes to hits but it really doesn't do justice to the band's history. It's obvious that Kevin Cronin had a big hand in this compilation which is why it might be fine for the Johnny come lately REO fans who got on board in the late seventies or eighties, but for long time fans going back to the early seventies it is sadly lacking. There are those of us from the midwest who were there from the beginning. We saw this band in the clubs and bars when they were working hard to get second and third bill on bigger gigs. A nice bunch of guys who busted their butts and rocked harder than the pop band it became in the 80's (referred to in my household as R.E.O. Weeniewagon). Fans like us abandoned ship when the glossy pop started paying dividends for the band (ie. they sold out).

So, with Cronin picking the tunes, it's no surprise how he minimizes the contributions of early vocalists Terry Luttrel (who after leaving the band was in Starcastle) and Mike Murphey. R.E.O.'s 1st LP certainly wasn't their greatest and hasn't aged well, but it did include the original version of 157 Riverside Avenue which would have been a better choice than Sophisticated Lady. It's also more concise and less histrionic than the live version (naturally featuring Cronin and included in the package). 1972's R.E.O. T.W.O. was, in my opinion one of the band's finest records (1973's Ridin the Storm Out was also fantastic) and featured Cronin on vocals. Essential features two songs from the 2nd LP (Cronin's autobiographical Music Man & social commentary Golden Country) and later features the live version of Like You Do which was also originally on the album. But, there was an absolutely killer version of Little Queenie on this album which featured Boots Randolph on sax that was a toure de force. Also a great mellower track from the LP was Being Kind Can Hurt Someone Sometimes.

The band's third LP Ridin' the Storm Out saw a third change in vocalists in as many albums when red-headed, wine drinkin' Mike Murphey took over the mic. The album was a winner all the way through and certainly deserves more than the one track offered here (Son of a Poor Man). The original version of Ridin' the Storm Out instead of the live version (of course featuring Cronin) would have been a preferable choice. The album also featured Whiskey Night (with Joe Walsh on slide guitar) a great cover of Terry Reid's Without Expression, a cover of Steve Still's Open Up and Mike Murphy singing a Kevin Cronin original titled Movin'. None of these are included.

REO's second, third and fourth albums were very strong records. The fourth, Lost In A Dream, pales only in comparison to the previous two LP's. The title track is featured here but there are better tracks on this excellent album.

'Essential,' due to the bias of sales versus quality, and, Cronin's desire to feature himself over previous vocalists, under represents the period when the band was building its following. This is a critical mistake. In fact the first five tracks on the disc are an exact duplication of the first five tracks on the earlier compilation 'A Decade of Rock N Roll.' These first five tracks represent the group's first five LP's (actually there are no songs included from the fifth album, This Time We Mean It, which was admittedly weak but featured the excellent You Better Realize). Essential continues by including nearly every charted song by the band after Cronin re-joined in 1976, along with the aforementioned live tracks which rob us of the original versions.

1976's R.E.O. wasn't the breakthrough album that Epic Records had hoped for the band - I lived in Los Angeles at the time and this album was an instant cut out sold in used record stores for 98 cents. The breakthrough for the band came with the live album. In that respect, their career is somewhat similar to Peter Frampton's.

Frampton built his following with his first four LP's. Frampton Comes Alive didn't just crop up from nowhere. Frampton toured his butt off with midling sales to a following he built up. After all, the songs on Frampton Comes Alive were all from his first four albums. When Frampton followed his success with I'm In You, the album cover alone was a huge clue as to which direction his career was headed. No surprise that after it's release and his subsequent association with the Sgt. Pepper film fiasco, that his original fans abandoned ship.

I think it's fair to say that most of REO's original fans headed for the hills when the band started achieving mass success in the eighties. This was no longer the hard working bar band we grew up with in the midwest.

Hopefully a four disc box set will be in the offing in the near future with a truly discriminating re-mix and master that pays attention to the critical early development of the band as they built their following. Hey Sony, next time consult true original fans of the band so that a proper representation of their first five albums occurs.

REO SPEEDWAGON
The Essential REO Speedwagon
Epic Records

For REO Speedwagon most of the band's musical legacy remains unknown to most fans. Despite a history of constant touring and high profile gigs including opening for some of the biggest names in Rock and Roll the band is still under appreciated. Recently the band has had great success co-headlining with fellow rocker Styx.

Capitalizing on the success of the aforementioned tour, REO Speedwagon has released a definitive two-disc album entitled The Essential REO Speedwagon. For many fans, the bulk of who were gained during the band's mid 80's chart topping run, will not only be educational but a pleasant surprise.

The two-disc retrospective of course includes such chart toppers as "I Can't Fight This Feeling," "Keep on Loving You" and "Take it on the Run". What make this album worthwhile is the inclusion of earlier REO Speedwagon fare like "Sophisticated Lady," "Time for Me to Fly," and the like.

For fans that only the band from their top 40 hits, The Essential REO Speedwagon provides an all-in-one collection of classic rocks most enduring music. Compiled by Al Quaglieri and Kevin Cronin and remastered by Darcy M. Proper, all of REO Speedwagon's songs sound better than ever.

For long time fans and newcomers alike, this two-disc set is well worth the money and proves that REO Speedwagon is still delivering the goods.

Brandon Daviet

This essential compilation proves that it was obvious when REO got a new lead vocalist. They went from sounding almost folk to sounding like an ultimate power-ballad 80's band. Listen to "Lightning"... & once you've heard that listen to "Keep on Lovin' You". You'll know that there was, indeed, a great transition.

If you are a casual fan, I'd suggest you'd invest your money on "The Hits" instead. It is more cut clean to the singles & leaves out everything that did not make it onto the Billboard Chart.

Well, I believe it is time for me to fly...