REO Speedwagon - Biography (1999)
Since the release of R.E.O. Speedwagon's first record in 1971, the
band that started out in a rented Chevy station wagon playing bars
across America, has produced 17 critically acclaimed albums, scored
13 Top 40 singles (including two Billboard #1's) and sold over 40
million records. They have packed concert halls from Peoria to San
Francisco to New Orleans to New York City, from Belfast to Berlin to
Buenos Aires, from Toronto to Tokyo. From their electrifying
performance at the historic
Live Aid concert, to numerous guest
appearances on the Howard Stern Show, to playing their music along
side Bill Clinton during the final swing of his successful 1996
presidential campaign, the band has plenty of rock 'n roll stories to
tell.
The latest chapter of the R.E.O. story began when lead singer/songwriter Kevin Cronin, keyboardist and founding member Neal Doughty and bass guitarist Bruce Hall joined forces with former Ted Nugent lead guitarist Dave Amato and studio-giant drummer Bryan Hitt to form the new and improved 1990's Speedwagon. Upon completing back-to-back sold out North American amphitheater tours in '96 and '97 the band took a much-needed break from their national concert schedule.
The birth of my daughter Holly has refocused my soul center, says Cronin, I feel rejuvenated, revitalized, re-inspired... re-everythinged! In the midst of his new marital and parental bliss, an exciting burst of creativity has emerged and from that came some of the strongest and most fulfilling songwriting of his career. The best of this new batch is the lush and powerful Just For You. Co-written with Jim Peterik (Eye Of The Tiger, The Search Is Over), this track captures the essence of REO's classic hits coupled with the urgency and intensity of Cronin's current emotional state. The heart of our band has always been our live shows, Cronin explains, but the soul of the band is our songs.
We started out in bars playing as loud and as fast as we could says Doughty, when K.C. played us his demo of Keep On Loving You we thought he was kidding... but one day Richrath (original lead guitarist Gary Richrath) cranked up his Marshall amp and the rest is power-ballad history. With this thought in mind, the band, along with Epic/Sony A&R guru John Kalodner and hit producer Peter Asher, set off to create the latest addition to REO's prolific catalogue. Entitled simply The Ballads, the new CD consists of eleven of the group's most popular love songs including Can't Fight This Feeling, Keep On Loving You and Take It On The Run, as well as two newly recorded Cronin originals... Just For You and Till The Rivers Run Dry. Our band has two sides, says Hall, we rock out big time when we play live, and The Ballads CD is for when you want to kick back with that special person.
Initial response to the entire CD, and in particular that of females to the lead single Just For You has been described as goosebump city. Other comments include, I can't help but get emotional every time I hear it... can you play it again? Can't Fight This Feeling for the new millennium. Can't Fight 2000? muses Cronin, I can live with that. People sure have a similar reaction when they hear it.
At a time when flavor-of-the-month style records play such a big role in popular music, it is refreshing when a classic band such as R.E.O. Speedwagon comes up with a quality compilation - The Ballads - including the timeless love song Just For You.