Mr Mike's High School Record Collection: REO Speedwagon - Wheels Are Turnin'

I never really got this record cover, when I think of science fiction REO Speedwagon doesn't come to mind. Maybe it's the lack of, I don't know, SCIENCE FICTION in their lyrics.

While talking with my wife she came up for the idea of this post, good 'ol REO Speedwagon. Lead singer Kevin Cronin made an appearance on TV recently and if there is a band I loved in High School, it's REO. And while everyone will cite Hi Infidelity (1980) as the definitive REO album or You Can Tuna Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish (1976) as their musical peak, no album means more to me than Wheels Are Turnin' (1984). A true High School classic. For me, at least. Now for a little background.

REO Speedwagon spent the first half of the 70's being everyone else's opening act. The midwestern band made their name as a reliable artist playing decent bar rock. By the late 70's the touring began to pay off in Gold albums. Then, they hit paydirt with the Arena Rock classic Hi Infidelity. The Multi Platinum success led to a long headlining tour and then were rushed for a followup. The result was 1982's tired (but enjoyable) Good Trouble album. The follow up didn't catch hold of their audience and found the group playing to half empty arenas that they had sold out just a year before. REO returned to the studio to record their next album, but they hit a creative wall and decided to take a break before resuming. The break did them good and the result was Wheels Are Turnin'. Track by Track, we'll review my favorite REO record.

1. I Do' Wanna Know

The first song and first single from the record was this nice slice of jumpy Arena rock. A happy rocker with squalling guitars and smooth organ runs, "I Do' Wanna Know" emphasized the group's talents and reminded some of their bar band beginnings. A fun video accompanied the song and was an MTV favorite for a while. It always inspired me and my friends to go play baseball. The song only charted in the mid 20's on Billboard and didn't quite make the inroads to rock radio that was hoped for. As good as the song was, it looked like REO was headed for a commercial slide.

2. One Lonely Night

The third single from Wheels was penned by keyboardist Neal Doughty. Doughty tended to write from a bit more of a personal perspective than the rest of the group and added a touch of darkness to the sound here. The pensive ballad made the Top 20 on Billboard and continued the momentum gained from the second single.

3. Thru The Window

Bassist Bruce Hall would usually take a lead vocal turn on each album and represented himself with "Thru The Window" here. The verse moved to a creeping groove that led to a breakaway chorus where Cronin's voice came to the fore. It took me a little while to warm up to this track. Eventually, I liked it as a solid album cut.

4. Rock & Roll Star

The most direct rocker of the record that tells the story of REO's career and avoiding the pitfalls of having a rock star ego. Used to love this track for pure rock energy, I also liked the touch of Country in the verse section. What was the phrase from that Stones record? This was the song to get your ya-ya's out.

5. Live Every Moment

Remember Friday Night Videos? In 1985, that program picked "Live Every Moment" as their Summer anthem and played the video often. The most inspiring song on the album for me, I liked the positive message and Gary Richrath's guitar solo. Maybe I liked it too much, because I used the lyrics as my High School Graduation quote and people thought it was the dumbest thing they saw all the way through College. I'll never forget walking into my apartment and my roommate saying "Hey, we read your yearbook. REO Speedwagon? Why'd you pick that??" Oh well, still love the song.

6. Can't Fight This Feeling

The song that almost never was and added a good five years to REO's life span as a Platinum selling band. Kevin Cronin had started writing the song thirteen years before but could not find a way to finish it. He finally did and presented the song to the band who hated it. They were a rock band and were tired of doing sappy ballads. The second single from the album, "Can't Fight This Feeling" jumpstarted their flagging career by becoming a #1 smash and propelling the album into the Top 10. REO could suddenly fill Arenas again and embarked on a great tour (which I saw in the Oakland Colesium. A great show with Survivor as the opening act. It was a penultimate Mr. Mike show). An Adult Contemporary staple, this song single handedly changed REOs rep from one album wonders to a career artist.

7. Gotta Feel More

In the 80's, a lot of bands experimented with this sort of bumpy rhythmic groove where the drums move a lot under an urgent vocal (like, um, "Urgent" by Foreigner or "Velcro Fly" by ZZ Top). "Gotta Feel More" was REO's take on that kind of song, I really didn't like it until I heard it live with Cronin running all over the stage. But it's drummer Alan Gratzer who gets the workout as his economical style gets pushed to the limit here.

8. Break His Spell

Guitarist Gary Richrath could write some strong songs ("Take It On The Run" was his) and this track was the one that held up the second half of the record. A little Springsteenish, this song could easily have appeared on "The River" and held its own.

9. Wheels Are Turnin'

Probably my least favorite song on the album, it was another song that I had to hear live to really get into it. Slight echoes of their classic "Ridin' The Storm Out" are in the cut but not enough to make it a copycat.

This was the peak of REOdom for me, a great album that I thought would be a record other people would miss out on until it caught on like wildfire. The concert was a classic, both REO and Survivor were riding high on hit songs with what was for me their definitive lineups. I remember it had this crazy record jacket where you popped out one side and turned it into a kaliedoscope that would show their faces when you spun it around. A lot of teenage memories to this one, more than I care to bore you with. REO continued with another album Life As We Know It (1987) and then that was pretty much the end of their career as an active artist. They tour the oldies circuit to this day, looking for folks like me who want to "Roll With The Changes".