Customer Reviews

R.E.O./T.W.O.

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the opening riffs of "Let me Ride" I want to fell free inside, to REO's answer to Steppenwolf's Monster in "Golden Country", the rock & roll listener knows that this is a special album. REO cranks it up for Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie" and sends a message out to everyman's dream in "Like you Do". Throughout the entire album there isn't a bad tune. Kevin Cronin is showing his wares with the band for the first time and puts his heart and soul into it. The band is tight and fresh. Yeah, I'd love to see the 1st album out on CD, but this is REO at there best. A must have for every serious Rock & Roll collector, if only for "Golden Country".

REO's second album is the a good early 70's hard rock record. It is a good example of how REO sounded before their sound turned to AOR pop. They were mid-west hard rock. They played in bars for ten years before they became big in '80/'81. If you like hard rock, you can't exclude REO's albums from you collection.

This is THE R.E.O. album - when they truly rocked. Love every song on the album (oops - "album" - showing my age?).So incredibly different and infinitely better than anything they did from 1980 forward. I absolutely CANNOT listen to anything they did after 1980 - pure drivel, compared to REO TWO. (In a similar vein, if you like Sammy Hagar with Van Halan, then check out his superior stint with Montrose - another classic must-have). I challenge anyone to stay still while listening to this CD.

Excellent album. The band sounds alive and energetic. They should. It was recorded live. The crowd was produced out in the studio. If you listen carefully during the course of the songs, you can here the audience through the music.

I do not believe that Kevin Cronin wrote any of the songs on this album. Maybe one or two. Gary Richrath was the bands leader along with Neil Doughty the keyboardist, although Kevin's voice was the final piece of the puzzle to make the band stand out.

This album, along with 'Live: You Get What You Play For!', stand out as perfect examples of what REO really was: one of the greatest live bar bands to walk on stage, their rightful home.

By far the best R.E.O. Speedwagon ever put out..Pure Rock & Roll !!!!!
I Still own the 8 track I use to blast on my Craig Power Play.

Formed at the University of Illinois in the late '60's, Kronon and Co. introduced so many of us to rock, we owe it to them to carry on. I saw them in the girls gym! in 1970. The GIRL'S GYM! Soon after, there first album REO, which has vanished for some reason, became the toast of rockville. This follow-up includes some equally great stuff. "Like You Do", fits early 70's rock like a glove. "Golden Country" is a follow-up protest song from REO ("Anti-establishment Man"). There is not a dissable tune on the entire recording. Their next 3 albums - "Ridin' The Storm Out", "Lost in a Dream", and a great live effort rock as well. After that, they went for the top [...] bucks. But who can blame them really? REO Speedwagon's first 5 albums help define the spirit of a time long lost, and mostly forgotten. But they were an intregal part of that spirit, and for that they shall remain deifyed. A final ob, their transition album, "The Gambler", [stinks]. Avoid at all costs!

This is Kevin Cronins debut with Reo. Every song is strong. "Flash tan Queen" is the closest thing to filler but it is very listenable. This cd has energy and quality musicianship. The best tracks are "Music Man", "Like You Do", and Golden Country," All of which deserve massive classic rock airplay. Other songs which are almost as good are "How the Story Goes", "Being Kind...", and the cover of "Little Queenie". This cd has a heavy early seventies sound with great guitar and catchy melodies. Kevins voice sounds strong here, Not syrupy like in Reos much later releases. This has the energy of "Riding the Storm out" and the quality and production of REO. If you Like the REO album and "You Can Tune a Piano....", this is in the same league, just a touch more raw. GET IT!

This has to be one of the most underated rock albums of all time! " Like you do" is awesome. REO did not get much radio air time until they went to a more pop sound later in the bands days, but there was not much pop about "T.W.O.". Gary Richrath was considered one of the best guitar players going at this time. I am still waiting for the cd release of their first album (untitled) which was also very good.

This was the first rock record album I ever heard. I played over and over for years....they never came close to anything this good again. We used to party like hell to this record..loud is the only way to hear it...

REO TWO is a great example of down to earth rock. Seeing them in concert was fantastic in summer 1973, before the stardom took over. The talent was always there, but this was authentic enthusiasm and love for the stage. Opening for Black Oak Arkansas(REO should have been the headliners) they had the crowd of 35000 on their feet and dancing everywhere! Black Oak had a tough time bringing the crowd to the frenzy that REO had brought them to. They finally left the stage after many encores, leaving many of us wanting more, but bowing to the headliners out of respect. A class act with honesty in their blood. ROCK ON REO!!!