REO Speedwagon- The Classic Years 1978-1990 [9 CD, 2019/FLAC + 320]

By the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, R.E.O. Speedwagon had won the hearts, minds and airwaves of continental North America. This hard won ascendance was comprehensively documented on the 8CD “Early Years 1971-1977” collection from HNE.

R.E.O. Speedwagon’s long history goes way back to their formation in Champaign, Illinois in 1967. Initially a covers band playing bars and fraternity houses, the initial line-up featuring Neal Doughty on keyboards and Alan Gratzer on drums and vocals, named themselves after the R.E.O. Speed Wagon, a model of American flat-bed truck.

 

REO Speedwagon - The Early Years 1971-1977 (8 CD, 2018/FLAC)

When “Keep on Loving You” reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980, some listeners could be forgiven for thinking that REO Speedwagon came out of nowhere. Prior to that seminal power ballad, the Illinois-formed band had never attained a chart position higher than No. 56 (“Time for Me to Fly,” 1978). When the success of “Take It on the Run” (No. 5) quickly followed, it was clear that REO Speedwagon was here to stay. But their success was hard-earned, and their catalogue already quite deep by the dawn of the new decade. The original group formed in 1967; after conquering the local and regional scenes, the band signed with Epic Records in 1971. Now, the first part of their Epic journey has been chronicled on a comprehensive new box set. The Early Years 1971-1977, available now from Cherry Red’s Hear No Evil imprint, has REO’s first six studio albums and first live album remastered and expanded on 8 CDs.

REO Speedwagon - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 

1977 Live: You Get What You Play For

1978 You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish

1980 Hi Infidelity

1982 Good Trouble

1984 Wheels Are Turnin'