REO Speedwagon - Not So Silent Night (2009)

Every once in awhile an album will be released that will leave you scratching your head. It will be an album that generally is not only not expected but some might argue completely unnecessary.

So, REO Speedwagon doing a Christmas album? You've got to be kidding me, right? What's next a Bob Dylan Chri- oh wait not him too!

Upon further consideration, why not? I mean there have been some downright BAD interpretations of Christmas classics over the years. So why not REO Speedwagon putting an arena rock spin on some of the holiday's best?

After I suspended my disbelief, I decided to give this Christmas album a shot. First off, I'm disappointed that REO didn't record this sooner... like twenty-five to thirty years ago when they were at the peak of their success and Kevin Cronin's singing voice was still intact. In all fairness, Cronin's voice is still passable. He could still sing circles around me and heck even a handful of his contemporaries whose voices haven't aged as well... That being said his voice isn't what it once was. And listening to these arrangements, I can't help but wonder how much better this Christmas album might have sounded with a younger Kevin Cronin at the peak of his talents and abilities.

Of all the tracks on this collection, Cronin's voice sounds best on The White Snows of Winter. He doesn't really sound bad on any of the songs, but at the same time he doesn't quite sound as good as he once did.

Some of the other stand-out tracks include REO's power-ballad treatment of Silent Night and Angels We Have Heard On High.

The one moment that could have been omitted was Cronin making reference to those "funky" gentlemen in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Granted, on a journey as long as the one the three wise men embarked upon with limited access to water, I'm guessing they were indeed "funky" but I don't believe that's the context that Cronin was referring to in the album's single lapse.

Other than that lapse, this Christmas release is in addition to being rather unexpected is moderately enjoyable and completely unoffensive. Which, for a Christmas album, is a good thing.

Related Links
Not So Silent Night (Amazon.com)
REO Speedwagon (Official Site)
REO Speedwagon (Wikipedia)
Kevin Cronin (Official Site)
Kevin Cronin (Wikipedia)
Neal Doughty (Official Site)
Neal Doughty (Wikipedia)
Bruce Hall (Official Site)
Bruce Hall (Wikipedia)
Dave Amato (Wikipedia)
Bryan Hitt (Wikipedia)

REO Speedwagon - Lost in a Dream (1974)

Before becoming arena rock giants along with Journey, Foreigner, & Styx; REO Speedwagon was a hard workin', hard rock band. After a rocky start, and on their third lead singer in as many albums REO had seemingly found some stability with Michael Murphy who, at this point, was the first of their singers to sing lead on two consecutive albums.

Much like his predecessor (and as history would bear out-- his successor as well), Kevin Cronin, Murphy had a rather distinct vocal style. Where Cronin's vocals leaned more towards the nasal, Murphy's were more towards the Rod Stewart meets the more contemporary Macy Gray end of the vocal spectrum.

That this band could survive a revolving door of tenor vocalists as distinctly different as Terry Luttrell, Kevin Cronin, and Michael Murphy is a testament to the strength of REO Speedwagon.

This album is a return to form of sorts to the band's roots. Much like their 1971 debut there's a strong roadhouse dive bar vibe to this album. You can almost feel the sticky floors at your feet and see the Harleys lined up outside and the paint peeling from the tattered walls inside.

Unlike Ridin' the Storm Out which also features Murphy on vocals, I don't believe any material from Lost in a Dream or its 1975, follow-up This Time We Mean It has ever made it into the live set since Murphy's departure from and Kevin Cronin's return to the band. It's a shame really as there's some respectable material. The underrated Gary Richrath has some excellent solos, and Neal Doughty's piano/keyboard chops give off that really cool aforementioned roadhouse dive bar vibe, and as always Greg Philbin and Alan Gratzer on bass & drums respectively provide a strong backbone to the band's sound.

The trouble with the album is that it never rises above that roadhouse dive-bar vibe. That's both its greatest strength and Achilles heel. At this point in their career REO's fans were largely a regional cult following. There were hundreds of house bands at roadhouse dive bars playing the same kind of music. The only thing setting REO apart from their more anonymous less famous bar band counterparts was a record deal and the polish of professional studio production that went with the standard recording contracts of that era.

From start to finish the album is fun and catchy but never realizes or even aspires to excellence. If you're a fan of REO's latter day much more pop friendly sound, you'd scarcely be able to tell that the band that recorded Keep On Lovin' You, Take It On the Run, and Can't Fight This Feelin' also recorded this album. On the other hand if you're not a fan of their latter day more pop-friendly material and you think you know REO Speedwagon you might want to give Lost in a Dream a chance. You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Related Links
REO Speedwagon (Official Website)
REO Speedwagon (wikipedia)
Lost in a Dream (wikipedia)
Gary Richrath (wikipedia)
Neal Doughty (Official Website)
Neal Doughty (wikipedia)

"What if?" unreleased albums

Over the years, due to personnel changes, record label resistance, or any myriad of other reasons there have been albums which were either never finished, or finished but never released-- at least not in their original form. These are some of my favorite rock and roll album "what ifs?":

Beach Boys Smile (1966): While Brian Wilson did finally realize his musical vision in 2004, and over the years the Beach Boys did release various tracks that were supposed to be on this-- "teenage symphony for God." I do wonder how the Beach Boys would stack up next to the Beatles today had this musical vision been realized at the time of Wilson's initial creative inception.

REO Speedwagon Ridin' the Storm Out (1973): The album was almost finished, the cover art had even been completed when lead vocalist Kevin Cronin opted to leave the band to pursue a solo career. All tracks were re-recorded with new lead vocalist, Mike Murphy, and Cronin's face was airbrushed out of the cover art and replaced with Murphy's face. One track from the original Kevin Cronin sessions was released on REO's A Decade of Rock & Roll: 1970-1980 (Son of a Poor Man), but as of now the rest of the material from the original Kevin Cronin sessions remains unreleased. Incidentally 3 years and 3 albums later, Mike Murphy left the band and was replaced by... Kevin Cronin, whose "successful" solo career had never materialized.

Toto Isolation (1985): Bobby Kimball has said in interviews this album was almost done when he was fired for drug abuse in 1984. Fergie Frederiksen was hired to replace Kimball and the album was re-recorded with a bit of a different track listing. As much as I love Frederiksen's soaring falsetto, I'd still love to hear what Isolation would have sounded like had Kimball never been fired. A few of the tracks that were recorded for the original Kimball-ized version of Isolation did show up on Toto's 20th anniversary rarities collection XX, it has been rumored from time to time that with Kimball back in the band (after a 14 year "vacation") the band may actually release Isolation as it was originally intended-- with Bobby Kimball on lead vocals.

Chicago Stone of Sisyphus (1994)*: Unlike the other "unreleased" albums mentioned, bootleg copies of SoS were leaked out to fans and have been circulating for years. So I have actually heard it in its entirety. This is easily Chicago's best material since the departure of Peter Cetera-- possibly even their best since the untimely passing of Terry Kath in 1978. The record label absolutely hated it and it was inevitably shelved. For the full story, you can read my review of Stone of Sisyphus. This album has been the source of tremendous fan frustration-- not just due to the fact it's still unreleased, but because next to the recently released XXX it is a masterpiece. Where XXX is sterile and vapid, Stone of Sisyphus, had balls. Where XXX is evidence of a band going through the motions making music in a vain attempt in a less than half-hearted effort to score another hit and "preserve their legacy", SoS is a band firing on all cylinders, making music they believe in for the sake of the music-- not the sake of their "legacy." And the sad thing is, if the band had put even half as much heart into XXX as they put into SoS they might still have a legacy worthy of preservation.

*three different versions of Stone of Sisyphus (in 3 different states of completion) are temporarily available for download here

REO Speedwagon s/t debut (1970)

From the time I first heard REO Speedwagon's A Decade of Rock & Roll 1970-1980 I've been a huge fan of their early material. I grew up being exposed to their softer 80s balladry but it's their special brand of fun-loving 70s rock that I keep going back to.

Since I was in high school I've been searching for their 1970 debut album which was only briefly available on CD. I was hoping to find it on eBay (and did a few times, but the bidding always went way over my range). I recently found it through a file swapping service.

What some of you may or may not know, Kevin Cronin, was not the original lead vocalist of REO Speedwagon. Their original lead singer was Terry Luttrell. Luttrell was let-go so REO could find a "better" singer. Luttrell went on to sing lead for the prog-rock group, Starcastle (sometimes mistaken for, often criticized for and sometimes praised for sounding too much like Yes). I've been hankering to hear Lutrell's voice on songs that Cronin has gone on to make his own, songs like 157 Riverside Avenue (a staple of REO concerts) and the fun-loving and rollicking Lay Me Down.

What strikes me on listening to this time-capsule of music is how well Neal Doughty's keyboard/piano chops fit in to the music making it sound like something you'd expect to hear performed by a bar band at some out of the way dive with Harleys lined up outside. It sounds like biker bar music and it's just plain fun.

It truly is a shame that this isn't more readily available on CD because it's a great set of songs, perfect for road-tripping or just kicking back and listening to over a bottle of your favorite brew after a hard day's work.