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Sonic Bond Publishing (Release Date 28.04.23)
The ever growing On Track series is now spreading its wings to bands with at best cult status in the UK, in this case REO Speedwagon who, despite three big power ballad hits in the eighties, boast a fraction of their popularity across the pond. Whereas they are constantly an attractive touring proposition in the States, they were met by disappointing crowds on their last two UK headline tours in 2007/8, and an indifferent if larger audience of Status Quo fans when supporting Rossi and co in 2016.
So unusually for this series they have had to rely on an American author, James Romag, for the text, albeit one based in Colorado at the far end of the Midwest from REO’s birthplace of Champaign, Illinois.
He goes into extraordinary detail as to the genesis of the band when they were very far from the radio friendly act they became. In this he was helped by first person interviews with figures in their early years, sadly not any who were band members for a significant length of time. Their early seventies albums, featuring Terry Luttrell and Mike Murphy as well as Kevin Cronin, the recognisable face and voice of REO- and by this book’s accounts an ever present figure on American TV shows to this day- are also covered comprehensively.
They spent ten years treading the boards in the states (my thought on reading their chart positions was just how loyal Epic Records were in the seventies) then ‘Hi Infidelity’ went massive and they became an international phenomenon for a short while. However to the writer’s credit he goes against the prevailing wisdom to assert ‘Good Trouble’ as actually a very strong follow up (a view shared both by me and our live editor and Speedwagon fan Dave Wilson!)
There is impressive detail on every conceivable song with REO connection, some of which have never emerged. However where Romag suffers compared to some of the other authors in the series is in leaving his critical faculties at home. He lacks the honesty or objectivity to call out when songs or albums dipped below their usual high standards. And who really needs an earnest six page appraisal of their Christmas album? I also didn’t really see a vivid picture of the personalities of the band members emerge.
Nevertheless this was an enjoyable detailed and informative read about a band that both on album and on tour- especially in their mid west heartland – have given me a lot of pleasure over the years. *** 1/2
Review by Andy Nathan
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