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REO Speedwagon - The Essential REO Speedwagon Audio CD

A fair review of the REO Speedwagon "The Essential REO Speedwagon" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all REO Speedwagon reviews here, or go back to the REO Speedwagon tabs.

REO Speedwagon Band: REO Speedwagon
Title: The Essential REO Speedwagon
Rating:
Release Date: 2004-08-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sophisticated Lady 2: Music Man 3: Golden Country 4: Son of a Poor Man 5: Lost in a Dream 6: Keep Pushin' 7: (I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come 8: Lightning 9: Like You Do 10: Flying Turkey Trot 11: 157 Riverside Avenue 12: Ridin' the Storm Out 13: Roll with the Changes 14: Time for Me to Fly 15: Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight 16: Back on the Road Again 17: Only the Strong Survive 18: Don't Let Him Go 19: Keep on Loving You 20: In Your Letter 21: Take It on the Run 22: Keep the Fire Burnin' 23: Key 24: One Lonely Night 25: Live Every Moment 26: Can't Fight This Feeling 27: That Ain't Love 28: In My Dreams 29: Variety Tonight 30: Here With Me 31: Love Is a Rock 32: Building the Bridge 33: Just for You

Excellent REO Speedwagon Collection
Singer Kevin Cronin has a cool distinctive voice and guitarist Gary Richrath never disappoints! The selection includes songs from the self-titled 1971 debut up to the 1996 recording "Building The Brigde" and a song from a 1999 compilation called "Just For You". A perfect collection to get familar with this stadium rock/AOR group! The first disc showcases the band's more hard rock material while the second disc consist mostly of their catchy ballads.

Some favorite songs of mine from CD 1 are "Golden Country", "Music Man", "Riding The Storm Out", "Son Of A Poor Man" and "Keep Pushing". Also in the first disk are two underrated ballads that are not played on radio: "Lightning" and "Time For Me To Fly".
On the second disk you can find the more well known ballads like "Can't Fight This Feeling", "Take It On The Run", "Keep On Loving You", and "One Lonely Night" but some of the lesser known compositions are as good if not better than the radio hits like for example "In My Dreams". Also there are a few excellent rockers and some more up-tempo pop songs on CD 2 like "Back On The Road Again", "Only The Strong Survive", "The Key", "Live Every Moment", and "In Your Letter".

If you like melodic hard rock/pop with plenty of ballads, then you should enjoy this!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later. . . .


Good collection, poor sound mixing
I might have picked a slightly different combination of songs, but this is definitely a workable listing. The compilation is acceptable. The sound mixing is another story entirely. The person that mixed/mastered this collection managed to completely change the sound. Playing the originals against this - there is absolutely no comparison. Go back to the original mixes. .


The Most Complete REO Speedwagon Collection Available
Besides all the great songs the band cut for Epic, it also features the few good songs from the band's twilight years after guitarist Gary Ricrath quit in 1990. THE ESSENTIAL REO SPEEDWAGON is the most complete anthology available on this great rock & roll band, proving that there was more to them than their hit ballads would indicate. This collection was compiled with the input of singer Kevin Cronin, and thus includes the version of "Son Of A Poor Man" with his vocal, rather than that with Mike Murphy singing. Often, when the artist has a say in compiling a best-of, it can be problematic, as fan favorites are passed over in favor of songs the artist prefers, but such is not the case here. This anthology is consistent from soup to nuts, with both the obvious hits and many great album cuts.


STARTED GOOD-FADED FAST
Around the time "Keep On Lovin'You" hit it big on the charts, It was all over. REO was a really good live band in the beginning, who backed it up with 3 excellent records in a row. Going for Pop hits is one thing, but really BAD pop hits is another. Watered down drivel with inane lyics was the new REO. "Can't Fight this Feeling" should be used to torture suspected terrorists!-And the lyrics? Nobody will ever mistake this for Dylan.
So a few good cuts are to be found on disc 1, the rest of it is a painful waste. Too bad- since they started off so strong.


Loved It
I absolutely loved every song on this double CD set. As a newcomer to REO Speedwagon this is my first cd but soon it won't be my only one. My introduction to these guys was on the Styx/REO Arch Allies colaberation and I had to go out and buy this and I absolutely love it. My favorite song is the live version of 157 Riverside Ave. All the other live songs were greatly appreciated too. I loved it from start to finish I am definetly hooked on this band. I really like how they have taken 70's rock and 50's roll to combine a very unique sound. That was very charachteristic of alot of the 70s/80s bands or "The Golden Age Of Music" as I like to call it. This truly is a great collection and I highly recommend it to anyone.


You can see a complete list of all REO Speedwagon discography, or go back to the REO Speedwagon tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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