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"Live: Plus" REO Speedwagon |
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The label that tried to resurrect the career of Christopher Cross… well either haven't learned their lesson yet or still believe they'll strike lightning in the nostalgic bottle that's seen many old favorites and post-'80s targets getting the juices flowing again… REO Speedwagon for a brief run was one of the biggest Rock acts of their time, culminating with the monumental "Hi Infidelity" million selling machine from '81-the year's top selling record and quite a feat considering how Journey's "Escape" was doing some serious chart-climbing of its own… Thankfully for their sake REO opted not to do as the song suggests and "Roll With The Changes," synonymous with sudden death for yesterday's news, though the middle part of the decade did find 'em doing just that within the ranks, still at a high level of "Wheels Are Turning" productivity in '85 and then never quite able to slow thing down once the steep end of decade drop fast approached. Here the focus lies strictly with the hits, plus a few golden oldies, plus… an accompanying DVD of this very live performance in that make or break hot bed city of good ol' St. Loo… And in case you're wondering, yes, VH1 has already come calling-look for 'em later this summer. Hard as it is for some to believe, myself included, REO has been around an astounding thirty years, seen their ups, downs, faced their fair share of invisibility, and managed to record some seventeen records and probably do quite nicely living off their past glory. And hey, how many others can even say they had a past glory? I like the song selections here, everything you'd expect-"Don't Let Him Go," "Take It On The Run," "Can't Fight This Feeling…" there were many and aside from sounding a bit subdued with the crowd either... A. completely awed to silence or C. Still overcome with riotous memories of the G 'n R "non" spaghetti incident. REO thusly becomes all the more
focus here and does a manageable job with their well-bred mix of ballads
and blues Not big on the REO history, and
there's plenty to get through for sure, but I was glad to hear 'em dig
up a few relics from the old days-"Keep Pushin," "Back
on the Road Again," and the thunderous show closing staple "Ridin'
The Released by CMC International
Records. Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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