Published on Aug 6, 1999
When one thinks of make-out music, I don’t think the band whose
name comes to mind first is REO Speedwagon. Then again, what do I
know; the first time I hoped to score with a girl I was dating, I
had Beethoven playing in the background – which she demanded I turn
off. With that history, I’m amazed I ever got laid. But I
digress.
But Kevin Cronin and crew have known for most of their almost
30-year career that the ballad has been a powerful secret weapon
for them. While they’ve been known for their rock edge most of
their career, it has been their ballads that have brought them
success often. Recognizing this, the band has combined tracks old
and new to create
The Ballads, a disc that will probably be getting a lot of
play at weddings this year.
If you have the best-of CD
The Hits, you already have some of these tracks, such as
“Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling”. But what
Cronin and the band do with this disc is to keep things fresh, so
even though I’m listening to “Keep On Loving You” for the
thousandth time, it still sounds like a newer song.
For that matter, all the older music on
The Ballads has kept its freshness well; these tracks could
have been recorded yesterday, with the exception that Cronin’s
vocals have taken on a more mellow sound of late, as evidenced by
the new track “Just For You”.
The two new songs on
The Ballads – “Just For You” and “Till The Rivers Run Dry” –
are both excellent songs, and chances are they, along with some
other songs, will start cropping up at weddings soon. (One of my
college buddies – who happens to write for this site – is getting
married in November. Damn shame he’s hired a band for the
reception; this disc has material that would keep people slow
dancing for hours.)
Chances are some of these songs, like those released on the
albums
Building The Bridge and
The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog, And A Chicken (I’m sorry,
but that ranks up there as one of the dumbest titles ever), will be
surprisingly pleasant discoveries. Songs like “Building The
Bridge,” “The Heart Survives” and “After Tonight” all are wonderful
additions to the REO Speedwagon catalog – and something tells me
these tracks might just revive some interest in these forgotten
albums.
Of course, I have to admit that I miss the rock; sitting through
13 ballads tends to get a little too syrupy sweet for my tastes.
Still,
The Ballads is a pleasant enough disc that rightfully could
be labeled a “greatest hits” package, for there’s no mistakes on
this one.