........Chic's loved this shit back then.
Did you know that was the album that destroyed that band?
For you see, inside that band were men who chose to go in different musical directions at the same time.
And as history will show retrospectively, Kevin Cronin won:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REO_Speedwagon
before being replaced by Gary Richrath in late 1970.
Richrath had driven 100 miles (160 km) to see the band and become a part of it, saying "I'm going to be a part of that band whether they like it or not." Richrath was a Peoria, Illinois-based guitarist and prolific songwriter who brought fresh original compositions. With him on board, the regional popularity of the band grew tremendously. The St. Louis, Missouri-based radio station KSHE, one of America's most influential rock stations, began supporting it, elevating the band's profile outside its Midwestern stronghold.
Epic Records signed the band to a recording contract in 1971.[4] Paul Leka, an East Coast record producer, brought the band to his recording studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut where it recorded original material for its first album. The lineup on the first album consisted of Richrath, Gratzer, Doughty, Philbin, and Luttrell.[4]
Early years
With its equipment being hauled to dates in a friend's station wagon, REO played bars and clubs all over the Midwest. The band's debut album, R.E.O. Speedwagon, was released on Epic Records in 1971.[4] The most popular track on this record was "157 Riverside Avenue"; it remains an in-concert favorite. The title refers to the address in Westport, Connecticut, where the band stayed while recording in Leka's studio in Bridgeport.
A newspaper advertisement for a concert featuring REO in Indianapolis in 1973
Although the rest of the band's lineup remained stable, REO Speedwagon switched lead vocalists three times for their first three albums. Luttrell left the band in early 1972, eventually becoming the vocalist for Starcastle. He was replaced by Kevin Cronin.[4] Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972's R.E.O./T.W.O. but left the band during the recording sessions for 1973's Ridin' the Storm Out because of internal conflicts.[5] Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Michael Bryan Murphy on lead vocal, and it featured Neal Doughty's "wailing storm siren" synthesizer intro on the title track. Murphy stayed on for two more albums, Lost in a Dream and This Time We Mean It, before Cronin returned to the fold in January 1976 and recorded R.E.O., which was released that same year.[4]
Cronin's return came after Greg X. Volz turned down the position for lead vocalist after becoming a Christian.[6]
In 1977, the REO members convinced Epic Records that their strength was in their live performances. Epic agreed to let them produce the band's first live album, Live: You Get What You Play For, which was eventually certified platinum.[4] That same year, the band moved to Los Angeles.
In 1977, bassist Gregg Philbin left the band.[4] Depending upon which member is expressing an opinion, it was either because Philbin was disenchanted with the new corporate-structure REO where Cronin and Richrath got bigger slices of the pie instead of the equal credit they once shared as a "garage band", or that he was asked to leave over his lifestyle issues affecting the music quality.[7] Philbin was replaced by another Centennial High School (in Champaign, Illinois) alumnus, Bruce Hall,[3] to record You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish.[4] The album was released in 1978 and has received FM radio airplay over the years, thanks to songs like "Roll with the Changes" and "Time for Me to Fly". The album was REO's first to make the top 40, peaking at No. 29. The album sold over two million copies in the US, ultimately achieving double platinum status.
In 1979, the band took a turn back to hard rock with the release of Nine Lives.[4]
Mainstream success
On November 21, 1980, Epic released Hi Infidelity,[4] which represented a change in sound, going from hard rock to more pop-oriented material.[8] Hi Infidelity spawned four hit singles written by Richrath and Cronin, including the chart-topping "Keep On Loving You" (Cronin),[4] plus "Take It on the Run" (#5) (Richrath), "In Your Letter" (#20) (Richrath), and "Don't Let Him Go" (#24) (Cronin), and remained on the charts for 65 weeks, 32 of which were spent in the top ten, including 15 weeks atop the Billboard 200. Hi Infidelity sold over 10 million copies.
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According to the history books, neither Gary RichRath nor Kevin Cronin were original band members.
The core of the band that started REO Speedwagon came and went. The band was inherited by Gary RichRath who made it a true rock band with great songs like Golden Country, Ridin' The Storm Out, and others.
Kevin Cronin joined 2 years after Gary RichRath(1970) did in 1972, and it says above due to "conflicts" within the band:
"Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972's R.E.O./T.W.O. but left the band during the recording sessions for 1973's Ridin' the Storm Out because of internal conflicts.[5] Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Michael Bryan Murphy on lead vocal, and it featured Neal Doughty's "wailing storm siren" synthesizer intro on the title track. Murphy stayed on for two more albums, Lost in a Dream and This Time We Mean It, before Cronin returned to the fold in January 1976 and recorded R.E.O., which was released that same year"
So what we are witnessing to here is another Ed King being created.
Kevin Cronin recorded one album and ran into conflict instantly because of creative differences. He joined someone else's band and promptly tried to take it over and failed and left the band.
But when the control freak asshole returned to the band, a band controlled by RichRath, Cronin was now a full fledged Ed King financial predator and music control freak. He was coming back this time to not only take it over, but to take it all. And he did.
Now you want to talk about conflict?
Just look at what type of music this band produced with Gary RichRath at the helm... great rock classics designed and patterned more for guitar soloing like Allen Collins FreeBird. RichRath had his songs to shine within.
Kevin Cronin however had other ideas.
So if you will notice on this album here posted by our resident backseat lover with a miner's hat... where are the long rock songs with open spaces for guitar soloing?
All gone.
Kevin Cronin took a once great rock band and turned them into a friggin' pop band. He cut the song lengths down and restructured the songs around vocals and only used guitar now for a little flavor here and there.
Kevin Cronin had shifted the focus of the band's music from guitar oriented classic rock to vocal oriented pop with rock flavoring.
Cagey's opinion... Kevin Cronin, the Ed King of REO SpeedWagon destroyed that band. I stand with Gary RichRath now and forever. His band was REO SpeedWagon. What they are today is not even recognizable, but Kevin Cronin has made himself a multi-millionaire by running that band in the same way as other predators do like Bobby Ingram and Gary Rossington and Hughie Thomasson and Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke have all done with their respective bands. One takes them over and runs them into the ground and the quality of the music along with it.
And now back to our backseat lovers thread direction:
"One of those cassette tapes that got played a million times in my 76-Chevy Nova back in the 80's. Chic's loved this shit back then. "
.38 Special did the same thing.
And we called them "the little girls band" for a reason. And this would be it.
And this is why Kevin Cronin went that route. He intentionally created more popular sounding pop music as rock aimed right straight for the little girl market in the same way .38 Special did and even Elvis did it and the Beatles did it. More pop than anything else. Aiming for the teenage girly crowd. Guy rock. Girl market.
And our backseat lover here with a box of tapes each one coming from bands and artists aiming for the little girl market same as our skivies wearing miner hat wearing backseat lover! Ha!
I'm gonna dig back into some higher level quality rock of Gary RichRath with Ed King on vocals here unfortunately. Would be so much better if just instrumental. Ya fucked up Gary! Should of kept the predator out of your band! This album above is what happens when you do!
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Take a look at what happens when a selfish, self centered world class asshole takes over someone else's band from the inside out and look at how that type of financial predator and personal gain predator does the legacy of someone else's band"
Look at the song list of so called hit songs for this band. REO SpeedWagon's greatest hits of all time!
All but one song are all NEW BAND KEVIN CRONIN!
The old, original REO band of Gary RichRath is virtually NON-EXISTENT on Kevin Cronin's new greatest hits album!
It is as if there are two different bands. One belongs to Gary RichRath and this one belongs to Kevin Cronin. And Kevin Cronin wants only his greatest hits to appear on an REO greatest hits album.
Just imagine if an Ed King had been able to do Skynyrd what Kevin Cronin did to REO! Ed King kind of did with the 1990 album, and then his heart failed so his plans were cut short and Skynyrd saved.
REO was not saved. REO was destroyed.
Does anyone here listen to any brand new Kevin Cronin music or songs he puts out under this band's name today?
Kind of historically ironic, and I say this over and over that it is precisely the personal internal human conflicts that can create some of the best music ever made. Like this album for example is a great example of hit pop rock. Pink Floyd was conflict music and while conflict was going on inside that band we got Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Meddle, Animals and The Wall. As soon as conflict resolved and Roger Waters fired from band, Pink Floyd and quality music ceased to exist.
Fleetwood Mac same thing. Their Rumors albums was their greatest album of all time. It came from the romantic conflicts within the band.
The album this thread was created for is a conflict album. It clearly shows a band being pulled in two directions with now the pop side and money flow because of it winning out. Gary RichRath has lost because of this album. His guitar had now been replaced by a vocalist. No more room in short songs for a RichRath.
Another little girls band 38 Special was also a hit making machine of conflict with the band over which direction to go in. Pop rock aimed at little girls and backseat lovers no doubt.
"By the late 1980s, the band's popularity was starting to decline.[8] Original drummer Alan Gratzer left in September 1988 after he decided to retire from music to open a restaurant. In early 1989, Gary Richrath was fired after tensions between him and Kevin Cronin boiled over."
Sounds like an Ed King rejoining Lynyrd Skynyrd and firing Allen Collins.
Oh wait, he did.