Posts Tagged ‘REO Speedwagon’

  
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Bottom Feeders: The Ass End of the ’80s, Part 73

by Dave Steed

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It’s week number two of the letter R, as we continue to look at the bottom three-fifths of the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1980s.

Leon Redbone
“Seduced” — 1981, #72 (download)

As if there weren’t enough songs in this series that sound like they didn’t belong in the decade, let’s bring some good ‘ol ragtime music into the mix. I’m not necessarily saying it’s a bad song, but radio stations really played this? I mean, really? My God, how the musical climate has changed.

The Reddings
“Remote Control” — 1980, #89 (download)
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” — 1982, #55 (download)

TheReddingsBackToBasics1983AMost artists that are relatives of someone majorly famous seem to try to do anything they can to prove the point they are their own artist and get out of the famous relative’s shadow. But Otis Redding’s sons Dexter and Otis III as well as nephew Mark Lockett seemed to embrace it and work it to their advantage. While Otis is known for his sweet soul sounds, the Reddings brought more funk and disco elements into their songs early in their career. But they weren’t ashamed to cover Otis’s most famous song — “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” — either. However, even as a group they weren’t nearly as talented as the big man and nothing really propelled them to stardom. They released six albums in the ‘80s, but without the impressive lineage they would really be just another R&B group.

Helen Reddy
“I Can’t Say Goodbye to You” — 1981, #88 (download)

Well, actually Helen did sort of say “Goodbye” to us, as this was her 21st and last charting song. I wish her well, and I hope I never ever hear from her again.

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Friday, August 28th, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 8/28/82

by Jason Hare

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Howdy, everybody! Hope you’re all enjoying the last of your summer days, while I sit indoors and listen to ten artists who are likely never be found on the Top 10 — hell, probably the Top 40 — ever again. Let’s take a look back at the week ending August 28, 1982!

10. Take It Away — Paul McCartney Amazon iTunes
9. Wasted On the Way — Crosby, Stills & Nash Amazon iTunes
8. Vacation — Go-Go’s Amazon iTunes
7. Keep the Fire Burnin’ — REO Speedwagon Amazon iTunes
6. Even the Nights Are Better — Air Supply Amazon iTunes
5. Hard to Say I’m Sorry — Chicago Amazon iTunes
4. Hold Me — Fleetwood Mac Amazon iTunes
3. Abracadabra — Steve Miller Band Amazon iTunes
2. Hurts So Good — John Cougar Amazon iTunes
1. Eye of the Tiger — Survivor Amazon iTunes

10. Take It Away — Paul McCartney

I consider myself relatively well-versed in Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles career (though I do not know a single song from Press to Play), and yet I think I need someone who knows his stuff a little better to explain what the difference is between this song — a Macca solo song from Tug of War — and a Wings song. Production-wise, this doesn’t sound much different from “Listen to What the Man Said.” But what do I know. “Take It Away” features Ringo on drums, who also appears in the video with Tug of War producer George Martin on piano. I didn’t like this song the first time I heard it, but like so many of his songs, I just can’t get it out of my head now.

9. Wasted On the Way — Crosby, Stills & Nash

In 1982, Crosby, Stills & Nash peaked here at #9 (their second highest charting single behind 1977’s “Just a Song Before I Go”), and also had a #18 hit with “Southern Cross.” Do you think they were thinking, “Hello, ’80s!”? Because that certainly didn’t happen. Not that it matters, but “Wasted On the Way” was their final Top 40 appearance.

Interesting story behind Daylight Again, the album containing the single: it was intended to be a Stills & Nash project, mainly due to Crosby’s never-ending drug problems. They went straight to the B-list for possible replacements, including Art Garfunkel and the Cryptkeeper Timothy B. Schmit, but the folks at Atlantic Records pretty much told ‘em they had to get Crosby or the album wasn’t happening. Crosby and Nash tried to hold their ground, even paying for the recording sessions out-of-pocket, but eventually relented and asked Crosby to join the project. Personally, my imagery goes straight to Crosby in a Hawaiian shirt, being dragged on his back by his ponytail into the studio while eating a slice of pizza, never quite realizing what’s happening, and the scary thing is that it might not be far from the truth.

For all that I love harmony and acoustic music, I’ve never been much of a CSN fan. One of the guitarists in my band is always asking me why I don’t care for CSN, so I was excited to tell him that I actually like this one. You know what he said? “Oh, that one’s so wimpy.” I said, “…As opposed to what?” Either way, I do think this is a nice song. I think the instrumentation on the studio version is pretty much unnecessary; I like this live version from 1982 instead. You really do get the sense that Crosby has no idea where the hell he is. Check out the part where he makes the “shhh” motion, either to an already-quiet audience or the goblins doing a rain dance in his head. It doesn’t matter, though; they sound fantastic.

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Friday, July 31st, 2009

The Friday Mixtape: 7/31/09

by Dw. Dunphy

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We, at the site, really do strive to bring the coolest stuff possible to the readers and I think you’d agree our commitment pays off. But sometimes things float through our transom that don’t make it to the site for one reason or another. Such was the case when your own, your very own Dirk McQuickly Jason Hare e-mailed some links to the staff. A friend of his transferred old cassettes recorded from radio broadcasts in the ’80s, complete with commercials, DJ banter and other ephemera, to MP3. Nerdlet that I am, I downloaded as many as I could and reveled in a little regressive therapy at maximum volume.

Then I recalled, “Wait a minute. I’m a notorious packrat! I might have a few tapes of my own!” I did, in fact. Recordings of the fabled WPLJ from 1980s New York actually existed in a tape box that had an inch of dust congealed atop it. I thought this would be a very cool addition to our little Internet menagerie, and it would have been – were it not for the fact I only bought the cheapest, crappy blanks back then.

Yes, friends, the tapes had stretched, warped, some even seized up into circular spools of utter uselessness, but all were rendered ruined by time. But that doesn’t stop a man on a mission, now does it? I decided to build the playlist back from the ground up, based on the information on the J-card. Also, this one particular tape was playable but it sounded horrible, warbly, drifting in azimuth alignment so that sound meandered from fuzzy and muddy to irritatingly sharp. (more…)

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Death by Power Ballad: REO Speedwagon, “I Needed to Fall”

by Rob Smith

One of my favorite things about joining the Popdose brother/sisterhood is the fact that I have found a group of people whose taste in music is as broad and, on occasion, wussified as my own. For example, my illustrious editor, Jason Hare, has seen Air Supply live (recently!), and no one busts his balls for it, at least not in any serious, make-Jason-cry kinda way. Those who bow at the altar of the Two-Headed Russell know they’ve found a kindred spirit in Jason, possibly even a virtual gang of them. There is a safe haven for us all under the banner of the ‘Dose. Say hallelujah, say amen.

And then there’s REO fucking Speedwagon. I’ve proudly flown the flag for Kevin Cronin (or K-Crone, in street parlance) and the boys ever since I bought Hi Infidelity at the Record Town in Woodbridge Mall back in ‘81. However, reactions from the Popdose staff are mixed for the man who said he would love us for-eh-vurr. And while I’m not the kind of fan who would engage in a physical altercation to defend K-Crone’s honor (Jefito could probably kick my ass, and he’s about as fierce as a nine-year-old), I am the kind who will spend time at a bar or a record store or on a Web site to make the case for the man and his music.

Last year, in fact, REO delivered its first new studio album since the Clinton administration, a better-than-expected, Wal-Mart-approved record called Find Your Own Way Home. It’s a dignified collection of tunes from a band working in an industry that’s anything but dignified, particularly for a bunch of guys pushing 60.

No, really, it’s quite good. You should definitely check it out, particularly if you’re around 40 and can name the second single off Good Trouble without thinking about it. The pinched-nose affectations K-Crone incorporated into his vocals in the ’90s (which made Building the Bridge and the REO half of the Arch Allies live record unlistenable) have been subsumed to a large extent. Neal Doughty, the band’s keyboardist and longtime secret weapon, provides all the great low-mix color and texture, as he has for almost 40 years. And though I miss Gary Richrath’s chunka-chunka burnin’ chords and chirping solos, my appreciation for Dave Amato has finally exited the grudging stage.

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Friday, February 13th, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 2/14/81

by Jason Hare

Howdy, everybody!  Happy Friday and welcome back to another edition of CHART ATTACK! This week’s mix is relatively eclectic, yet — as was often the case in the early ’80s — completely inoffensive.  And you’ll find references to John Lennon in four of this week’s singles.  On with the chart — let’s look at February 14, 1981!

10. Hey Nineteen — Steely Dan Amazon iTunes
9. Givin’ it Up for Your Love — Delbert McClinton Amazon iTunes
8. Keep On Loving You — REO Speedwagon Amazon iTunes
7. (Just Like) Starting Over — John Lennon Amazon iTunes
6. Woman — John Lennon Amazon iTunes
5. Passion — Rod Stewart Amazon iTunes
4. The Tide is High — Blondie Amazon iTunes
3. I Love a Rainy Night — Eddie Rabbitt Amazon iTunes
2. 9 to 5 — Dolly Parton Amazon iTunes
1. Celebration — Kool & the Gang Amazon iTunes

10. Hey Nineteen — Steely Dan (download)

I love Steely Dan.  And I love “Hey Nineteen.”  And although I’ve never had any misconception about this song’s subject, it was only when listening to this song the other day that I realized: Donald Fagen both looks and sounds like a skeevy, dirty old man, and “Hey Nineteen” is, in fact, not helping his image.  And despite the fact that Fagen was only 32 when this song was recorded, it’s not a stretch to hear it and imagine him being, say, 50.  SKETCHY.  Here’s a picture of Donald Fagen with Japanese musician Juri Panda Jones.  Look at this while listening to “Hey Nineteen,” willya?

Right?

Something else weird happened to me while I was listening to “Hey Nineteen” recently.  Whenever I sing along with it, I always avoid the lead line (except for “that’s ‘retha Franklin”).  I just sing the backing vocals.  And, when I sing them, I sing them like…you guessed it.

Oh, picture of 3 Time Grammy Award Winner Michael McDonald, how I’ve missed you.

Anyway, so yeah, I always sing those backing vocals like McD.  But when listening to the song the other day, I realized: I don’t hear McD as a prominent voice.  I mean, I think I hear him in there, and I know he sang backing vocals on Gaucho, but you know that I have a tendency to hear a little bit of McD in everything, so I could just be crazy.

Steely Dan only had a few Top 10 hits ( “Do It Again” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” and what the hell, we’ll give “Peg” credit for reaching #11, only because of McD), but this was their last one, peaking here at #10 for only two weeks.

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Friday, June 6th, 2008

Chartburn: 6/6/08

by The Chartburn Panel

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Mainstream Rock: Kiss, “Psycho Circus” (1998)

Robert: In my best Paul Stanley impression, minus the made-in-Brooklyn falsetto: “Ya know something, people, we have been given a gift. More specifically, you have been given a gift — the gift of this attached MP3!”

Classic Kiss is back! Ace and Peter are back! The makeup and costumes are back! … Unfortunately, the melodies aren’t, at least not on this song. I like a lot of Kiss’s tracks from the ’70s, and 1982’s “I Love It Loud” is great, but “Psycho Circus” is forgettable. Didn’t the Psycho Circus album bomb? And is it still Kiss’s most recent studio album? Gee, I hope Paul and Gene have found a way to make money aside from album sales. Good luck, fellas. You can do it. I just know you can.

Jeff: I want to rock and roll all night — and party every day. I do not, however, want to hear this song ever again.

Beau: The line between Kiss and Spinal Tap, never designed to be a full-scale wall in the first place, has never seemed so blurry.

Darren: Crikey, somebody got a sweet deal on a green-screen room. Also, just taking a swing in the dark, did Desmond Child cowrite this? If not, he was certainly there in spirit. Paul Stanley and Child in the same room, each taking their stab at the lyrics, could actually create a cheese-flavored cliche vortex the likes of which Chester Cheetah has never seen.

Ken: I’m not a Kiss fan. They made a total of one song that I really like (”Tears Are Falling”). That said, I have to say … no, I don’t like this, either. The video has flashes of humor, though.

Will: “Psycho Circus” was the title track to the band’s reunion album — trumpeted as the first featuring all four original members in two decades — and it was everything you possibly could’ve hoped for. It sounded like old-school KISS, offering a catchy chorus and plenty of rock goodness, and it was the perfect concert opener, with Paul bidding you “welcome to the show.” And, hey, I saw the band on their reunion tour, and it fucking rocked. (Paul’s best patter for the evening: “Hey, everybody, it’s Wednesday night … but let’s pretend it’s Friday night! All right!”)

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