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Having been launched into the pop stratosphere via the recorded rocket that was ‘Hi Infidelity’, REO Speedwagon had become the darlings of the ‘AOR’ (adult/arena oriented rock) FM set, thanks to their glossy production and hook laden soft rock and power ballads, which populated FM radio play lists from coast to coast. Sure to a degree it was formulaic, but it was high quality and millions liked it, so why change a winning formula? Of course it proved to be a rhetorical question, as REO Speedwagon set about reproducing the lightning in a bottle that was ‘Hi Infidelity’ - no easy ask, but they had the same song writing team, the same production team, the same musicians, so hopes were riding high.
First cab off the rank in the new supergroup era of REO Speedwagon was the 1982 album ‘Good Trouble’ (is there any other kind?). Vocalist Kevin Cronin himself described the album as “half-baked”, so it seemed that even internally there were doubts over matching the critical and commercial acclaim of its predecessor. The lead out single ‘Keep The Fire Burnin’ was a high intensity rocker that possessed enough heat to reach #7 on the U.S. Hot 100. The core song writing cylinders were joined in the song writing stakes by bassist Bruce Hall, but it was the chirpy, harmony laden track ‘Sweet Time’ (US#26) that helped
push album sales along (US#7/ UK#29), though all in all ‘Good Trouble’ experienced some musically mechanical issues compared to the hi-octane performance of ‘Hi Infidelity’. After nearly fifteen years of relentless touring, and year-in, year-out album releases, REO Speedwagon decided to pit for a while, and ended up taking a two year sabbatical.
With instruments washed and polished, and every bell and whistle tested, REO Speedwagon rolled out of the firehouse in late ‘84 to test the waters as it were, on a record buying public that hadn’t seen anything new emerge from the quintet in over two years. The band had initially spent two months working in the studio in preparation and laying down of base tracks. The core song writing duo of Richrath and Cronin had between them penned 25 songs, in addition to material from Hall and Doughty, but the group could only agree on a handful that they felt worthy of inclusion on the new album. So the studio sessions were canned whilst the band went away in search of enough artistic inspiration to fuel a new REO Speedwagon album. The band reconvened in studio during the latter part of ‘84, and the first result of their creative efforts surfaced in the form of the catchy, rockabilly inflected single ‘I Do’Wanna Know’ (US#29), but that was but an aperitif for what would prove to be the biggest hit of the band’s career.
Vocalist Kevin Cronin had a tune that he’d started writing a decade earlier, but could never seem to join the creative dots to finish it. In essence it was a ballad, the subject matter of which addressed facing up to a
change that was fearful, but a change that nonetheless was necessary. The rumour goes that Cronin had tried to introduce this particular ballad so many times over the years that the other members of REO Speedwagon just referred to it as ‘that stupid ballad’. However, during the sessions for the ‘Wheels Are Turnin’ album, Cronin had found said needed inspiration to finish his long derided ballad which took the form of ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’. The other band members, who were initially less than enamoured with the song, recognised the finished studio product as another potential power ballad bonanza.
Soon after its release, ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ was placed on heavy rotation on FM stations across the U.S., and the video was a regular on MTV and the like. The band’s previous concerns over the power ballad were consigned to ancient history, as record buyers couldn’t fight the feeling that they should buy this single. Cronin’s compelling and emotive power ballad entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #46 in January of ‘85, and just seven weeks later sat at the pinnacle (OZ#2/UK#16), from which it surveyed the competition for three weeks during March. ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ supplanted George Michael’s ballad ‘Careless Whisper’, and in turn was replaced by another ballad (less the potent power churned out by REO Speedwagon) in the form of Phil Collins’ ‘One More Night’.
The single went on to achieve double platinum status Stateside, and became the 12th biggest selling single in the U.S. for 1985. Not bad for a ‘stupid ballad’ that had been sitting unfinished for a decade.
The source album, ‘Wheels Are Turnin’ (US#7/OZ#54) was proving to have nearly as much kinetic energy as 1981’s ‘Hi Fidelity’, and yielded two more US Top 40 singles. Pristine production values and vocal arrangements shone through in the quality throughout the album, including the brooding ballad ‘One Lonely Night (US#19), and the vibrant pop of ‘Live Every Moment’ (US#34). A greatest hits album soon followed, ‘Best Foot Forward’, before REO Speedwagon once more parked in the garage and waited to accumulate enough creative fuel to launch once more onto the charts.
In early ‘87, a decidedly dishevelled REO Speedwagon pulled out of the studio drive way and cautiously entered the main stream of popular music traffic. The lead out single for a new album was the uninspiring ‘That Ain’t Love’ (US#16), which though it found a space inside the Top 20, had the air of a tired reworking
of an old formula. As it began it’s slide down the grid, or charts (take your pick), REO’s 12th studio album hit the shelves (yes new albums once did hit the shelves of record stores). ‘Life As We Know It’ did at least have a pulse and managed to notch up some modest sales (US#28), in relative terms. But the album overall lacked the zest and spark of earlier sets. Critics were universally lukewarm toward the latest offering, citing a rehash of old ideas, with little regard toward adding a fresh approach. The album’s biggest selling single ‘In My Dreams’ (US#19) was at best ordinary and uninspiring, though the Neal Doughty penned ‘Variety Tonight’ (US#60) stands out in an otherwise lacklustre track listing.
The 1988 best of compilation ‘The Hits’ managed only #56 on the U.S. album charts, reflective of the increasing disinterest in REO Speedwagon’s music. That same year the stand alone single ‘Here With Me’
did touch the rev limiter at #20 in the U.S., and it was a single I purchased myself at the time (which clearly indicates it was of unquestionable quality). All in all as the 80s drew to a close there was a general apathy among even long time fans for REO Speedwagon’s latest work. And as so often happens, internal rumblings from under the hood signalled disharmony with the crew of REO Speedwagon. Long time drummer Alan Gratzer departed the group during 1988, and was replaced initially by former Santana sticks man Graham Lear. During the first half of 1990 original guitarist and key song writing man Gary Richrath left in acrimonious circumstances to be replaced initially by Miles Joseph (ex-Player - see previous post), but soon thereafter REO Speedwagon underwent a major personnel overhaul. The long time trio of Kevin Cronin, Neal Doughty, and Bruce Hall were joined by Dave Amato (ex Ted Nugent Band) in place of Joseph, Bryan Hitt (ex Wang Chung - see previous post) in place of Lear, and the quintet broadened to a sextet with the inclusion of Jesse Harms (keyboards/vocals). And so it was that a revamped REO
Speedwagon recorded the eccentrically entitled album ‘The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog, And A Chicken’, released during the latter half of 1990. Though the single ‘Love Is A Rock’ (US#65) flirted with the outer reaches of the Billboard galaxy, the album remained little more than a curiosity in the songbook of REO Speedwagon. A second ‘celebration of a decade’ live set was released in 1991 - ‘The Second Decade Of Rock ‘N Roll 1981-1991’, but soon after the band decided to take an indefinite sojourn.
With a resurgence in interest for the good ole 1980s, a plethora of one time arena acts dusted off the gear and set sail for a nostalgia show near you. REO Speedwagon soon found themselves once more sharing a bill alongside some of the all time great arena rock acts; Styx, Foreigner, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Bad Company et al. It was a chance to deliver the same power ballad punch they’d unleashed on fans all those years before, albeit at smaller venues.
Sadly, throughout the 90s and 00s, the ongoing creative riff between long time band mates Cronin and Richrath couldn’t be bridged, though a clear message was evident in the title to their 1996 album ‘Building A Bridge’. However, Cronin once more took the wheel of REO Speedwagon in the late 00s, alongside long time cohorts Neal Doughty and Bruce Hall, and 90s recruits Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt, with the album release ‘Find Your Own Way Home’ and yet more touring.
One of the fascinating aspects to delving into the world of popular music (among many fascinating things), is examining the meaning behind band names (and sometimes the names of individual artists). At times the nomenclature is quite straight forward, say for example the Steve Miller Band (see recent post), in that case the driving force behind the band is singer/guitarist Steve Miller. On other occasions the meanings behind the names are more obscure, say for example, A Flock of Seagulls (see previous post) took their name from a lyric in the Stranglers song ‘Toiler On The Sea’, or English duo Everything But The Girl took inspiration from a furniture store on England’s Hull University campus. Of all of the hundreds of pop group handles that I’ve come across of the past few decades, one of the most eccentric yet appealing monikers belongs to a soft rock quintet formed during 1968 (it was a good year) in Champaign, Illinois, who took their name from that of a 1911 model fire truck (designed by one Ransom Eli Olds). REO Speedwagon didn’t exactly conquer the pop rock world in record time, but twelve years after they were rolled off the assembly line, Kevin Cronin (vocals/rhythm guitar), Gary Richrath (lead guitar), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Bruce Hall (bass), and Alan Gratzer (drums) took the U.S. charts by storm with the power ballad ‘Keep On Loving You’, and remained parked on the charts for most of the 80s. But there had been a long road travelled to reach the pinnacle of the pop music mountain.
During 1968, University of Illinois students Neal Doughty (keyboards) and Alan Grazer (drums), sketched the blueprint for a new rock band, and soon after had recruited guitarist Gary Richrath, bassist Greg Philbin, and vocalist/guitarist Terry Luttrell. The ignition was turned over on REO Speedwagon soon after, and
initially the band developed their live act in front of audiences in and around their native Illinios. By 1970, the band had built up a repertoire of original material and were stretching their touring itinerary nationally. With a steadily growing live act profile, soon to be Steely Dan and Eagles’ manager Irving Azoff helped to negotiate a recording contract with Epic Records. The band’s eponymous debut album was released in July of ‘72, but neither album or the three accompanying singles (‘Prison Women’/ ‘157 Riverside Avenue’/‘Gypsy Woman’s Passion’) made a tyre mark on the U.S. charts. Soon after Terry Luttrell was replaced in the driver’s seat by 21 year old Kevin Cronin. Cronin answered an inquiry from the band which came via his own musician referral service, promptly staged a successful audition with an Elton John song, and went on to contributed lead vocals (rhythm guitar) for REO Speedwagon’s second album, released in December of ’72, and imaginatively titled ‘R.E.O.T.W.O.’.
Gassed up with new material, REO Speedwagon hit the touring road throughout 1973, supporting the likes of Aerosmith, Kansas and Bob Seger, and further augmented an already substantive national audience, but all was not well within the cabin of this particular Speedwagon. Lead vocalist Kevin Cronin, who had been with the band little more than a year, hit the brakes and ground the band to a temporary halt, during which he
advised his fellow crew that due to artistic differences (there’s a rarity) he wished to pursue a solo career (it turned out to little avail). REO Speedwagon recruited vocalist Mike Murphy and parked themselves back in the recording studio for the January ‘74 release ‘Ridin’ The Storm Out’. A hectic touring schedule ensued, before the quintet returned once more to the studio resulting in the November ‘74 album release ‘Lost In A Dream’, the album being somewhat of a landmark moment for REO Speedwagon, when it crept into the U.S. Top 100 album chart at 98.
In April of ‘75, vocalist Kevin Cronin was welcomed back to the fold with open arms. He and guitarist Gary Richrath then struck up a fruitful song writing partnership in the engine room which soon produced sufficient creative horsepower to propel the REO Speedwagon brand to #74 on the U.S. album chart with ‘This Time We Mean It’ (featuring contributions from Sly Stone). The 1976 set ‘R.E.O.’ slid beneath the speed gun, but another live album, ‘You Get What You Play For’ peaked at #72 in late ‘77, adding further to the band’s burgeoning national profile, though critical acclaim was still short - the band often
being labelled as formulaic for its melodic rockers and power ballads (but hey what artist isn’t in their own way). Soon after bassist Greg Philbin was replaced by Bruce Hall, who was on board for REO Speedwagon’s lap record to date, 1978’s album ‘You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish’ (US#29/OZ#98), arguably one of the worst album title puns in popular music history, but a title that spawned two minor hit singles, ‘Roll With The Changes’ (US#58), and ‘Time For Me To Fly’ (US#56). Cronin and Richrath in particular were entering a rich vein of high octane hit making song writing, and also assisting in production to further finely hone the band’s sound, but 1979’s album ‘Nine Lives’ (US#33) was but an entrée to the main course just around the corner.
The aptly titled live album ‘A Decade Of Rock ‘N Roll: 1970 - 1980’ rounded out ten years of straight edged album oriented rock from REO Speedwagon, but the next studio release in April of 1981 would be brimming with hook laden pop rock and power ballads. The lead out single was the shimmering power
ballad ‘Keep On Loving You’. The immaculate, glistening instrumentation proved a perfect marriage to Kevin Cronin’s impassioned vocals resulting in a pristine song throughout. It was the hook laden pop rock classic that REO Speedwagon had bean searching for over more than a decade, and after entering the Billboard Hot 100 in December of 1980, it ascended steadily to #1 for one week during March of ‘81 (OZ#3/UK#7 - replaced the following week by Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ - now there’s a contrast), going on to spend 20 weeks inside the Hot 100.
The source album would redefine the profile of REO Speedwagon, and the quintet of rock journeyman within, and place the band firmly in the headlining pantheon of U.S. album oriented rock, jostling for supremacy alongside the likes of Styx, Toto, Heart, Starship, Foreigner (see future posts), Journey, Asia, and Survivor (see previous posts). The cleverly titled ‘Hi Infidelity’ was released in the U.S. during late 1980 (Britain/Australia - early ‘81), in line with ‘Keep On Loving You’ dominating the singles charts. Incidentally
‘Hi Infidelity’ was released on the (then) highest fidelity audio format - the compact disc - as one of the first 100 albums to ever be released on the format. Featuring ten tracks of crystal clear, sublime soft rock, and a cover which gave a clear indication as to the lyrical ambience within, ‘Hi Infidelity’ peaked at #1 on the U.S. charts (ascending to top spot no fewer than three times - OZ#6/UK#6), during the first half of ‘81, and had three more hit singles in store, which would see REO Speedwagon remain strong chart competitors for most of the year. The single ‘Take It On The Run’ was less ornate than its predecessor but no less easy on the ear. The stripped bare soft rock ballad, a lyrical tale of infidelity, reached a peak of #5 in the U.S. (UK#19/OZ#30), and contained the memorable lyric “heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from another” - in this case that ‘Take It On The Run’ was a melodically magnificent track. The emotionally laden soft rock formula wasn’t exactly fashionable in many circa early 80s quarters, but the melodic hooks, and relatable lyrics proved irresistible to both the FM radio scene, and countless
listeners, and record buyers. The bubbling rocker ‘Don’t Let Him Go’ (US#24), and the pure vocal harmonies of ‘In Your Letter’ (US#20/OZ#100) rounded out an impressive quartet of hit singles (two of which were in the top 30 selling in the U.S. for 1981), from a seven million selling album that would prove a tough act to follow.
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