Reo Speedwagon - The Hits (1988)

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that grew in popularity in the Midwestern United States during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. REO Speedwagon hits include "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling". Both songs are power ballads, the former being prototypical of the genre and appearing on the group's most commercially successful album, Hi Infidelity, which also included the hit "Take It on the Run," a song that peaked at number five on the U.S. charts. REO Speedwagon took its name from the REO Speed Wagon, a flatbed truck and fire engine, manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company. ("R.E.O." are initials of the company's founder, Ransom Eli Olds, who also founded Oldsmobile, once a division of General Motors.) REO Speedwagon was formed by students attending the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, in the fall of 1967 to play cover songs in campus bars. The first line up consisted of Alan Gratzer on drums and vocals, Neal Doughty on keyboards, Joe Matt on guitar and vocals and Mike Blair on bass and vocals. In the spring of 1968, Terry Luttrell became lead singer, and Bob Crownover and Gregg Philbin replaced Matt and Blair. Joe McCabe played sax at this time until moving to SIU. Crownover played guitar for the group until the summer of 1969 when Bill Fiorio replaced him. Fiorio then departed in late 1969, eventually assuming the name Duke Tumatoe, and went on to form the All Star Frogs. Another guitarist, Steve Scorfina, came aboard briefly, and was replaced by Gary Richrath in late 1970. Richrath was a Peoria, Illinois-based guitar player and prolific songwriter who brought original material to the band including REO's signature song "Ridin' the Storm Out." With Richrath on board, the regional popularity of the band grew tremendously. The Midwestern United States was the original REO Speedwagon fan stronghold and is pivotal in this period of the band's history. The band signed to Epic Records in 1971. Paul Leka, an East Coast record producer, brought the band to his recording studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut where it recorded original material for its first album. The lineup on the first album consisted of Richrath, Gratzer, Doughty, Philbin, and Luttrell. Starting out in a used Chevy station wagon, REO played bars all over the Midwest. The band's debut album, REO Speedwagon, was released on Epic Records in 1971. One of the most popular tracks on this record was "157 Riverside Avenue". The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut, address where the band stayed while recording in Leka's studio in nearby Bridgeport, and remains an in-concert favorite. Although the rest of the band's line-up remained stable, REO Speedwagon switched lead vocalists three times for their first three albums. Luttrell left the band in early 1972, eventually becoming the vocalist for Starcastle. He was replaced by Kevin Cronin. Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972's R.E.O./T.W.O., but left the band during the recording sessions for 1973's Ridin' The Storm Out because of missed rehearsals and creative disagreements. Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Michael Bryan Murphy on the microphone. Murphy stayed on for two more albums, Lost in a Dream and This Time We Mean It, before Cronin returned to the fold in January 1976 and recorded R.E.O., which was released that same year. REO Speedwagon's first live album, Live: You Get What You Play For (1977), was certified platinum. The band was dissatisfied with the producers on their studio albums because of their alleged inability to capture on tape the quality of the band's live show. The live album, which was self-produced, seemed to change that. In 1977, Philbin was replaced with Bruce Hall to record You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish, released in 1978 which received FM radio airplay but fell short of the Top 40. In 1979, the band took a turn back to hard rock with the release of Nine Lives. The lineup was now set for the band's most popular era. In the fall of 1980, REO Speedwagon released Hi Infidelity, which represented a change in the music from hard rock to more pop-oriented material. Hi Infidelity spawned four hit singles written by Richrath and Cronin, including the #1 "Keep On Loving You", the #5 "Take It on the Run", "In Your Letter" (#20), and "Don't Let Him Go" (#24), and remained on the charts for 65 weeks, 32 of which were spent in the top ten, including three months at number one. Good Trouble (1982) and Wheels Are Turnin' (1984) were follow-up albums which also did well commercially, the former containing the hit singles "Keep the Fire Burnin'" (U.S. #7) and "Sweet Time" (U.S. #26) and the latter containing the #1 hit single "Can't Fight This Feeling." On July 13, 1985, the band made a stop in Philadelphia (en route to a show in Milwaukee) to play at the US Leg of Live Aid. They performed "Can't Fight this Feeling" and "Roll With The Changes," which featured members of the Beach Boys, the REO Speedwagon band members families, and Paul Shaffer on stage for backing vocals. 1987's Life as We Know It saw a decline in sales, but still managed to provide the band with minor hits. However, by the end of the 1980s, the band's popularity had waned and the group began to disintegrate. In 1988-9, the band's future was uncertain as Gratzer retired and Richrath was asked to leave over disagreements with Cronin regarding musical direction. Cronin had been playing in a jazz ensemble called "The Strolling Dudes" with jazz horn player Rick Braun, Miles Joseph on lead guitar and Graham Lear on drums. Joseph and Lear subsequently replaced Richrath and Gratzer as members of REO Speedwagon. The 1990 release The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken, with Bryan Hitt (formerly of Wang Chung) replacing Graham Lear on drums, Dave Amato debuting on lead guitar, and songwriter/keyboardist Jesse Harms was a commercial disappointment. Harms was disillusioned and his tenure in the group ended in early 1991. These lineup changes and Richrath's departure were a stinging blow to many fans, especially those of the band's harder-edged material from the 1970s which had been dominated by Richrath's unique style on the guitar. Shortly after his departure, Richrath assembled former members of the midwestern band, Vancouver, to form a namesake band, Richrath. After touring for several years, the Richrath band released Only the Strong Survive in 1992 on the GNP Crescendo label. Richrath continued to perform for several years before disbanding in the late 1990s. In the meantime, REO Speedwagon lost their recording contract with Epic, and ended up releasing Building the Bridge (1996) on the Priority/Rhythm Safari label. When that label went bankrupt, the album was released on the ill-fated Castle Records which also experienced financial troubles. REO Speedwagon ultimately self-financed this effort, which failed to chart.

Wikipedia

One of the finest melodic rock bands of their era, REO Speedwagon's weakness, as with many similar bands, was that their albums were too often padded out with filler. The Hits then, is an important addition to the catalogue, as it brings together all the strongest singles on one recording. Obviously the best-known tracks, 'Can't Fight This Feeling' and 'Keep On Loving You' are essential for any fan of melodic rock. This album offers much more though. The newer songs, 'I Don't Wanna Lose You' and 'Here With Me' are really top notch and set the standard for the rest of the album. Although there's the odd track dotted about that doesn't quite hit the same heights as the rest, the overall result is much more consistent than anything else they've released, and it will become an important part of your collection.