Click here to subscribe today or Login.
After nearly 45 years in the music business, REO Speedwagon really knows how to give its fans exactly what they want.
By deftly mixing its ‘70s rockers with its ‘80s mega-hit ballads, the Midwestern quintet kept the sold-out crowd at Mohegan Sun Pocono on its feet for most of its 85-minute set on Friday night.
“It’s always great to be back here in Wilkes-Barre,” lead singer Kevin Cronin said as the band took the Keystone Grand Ballroom stage with “Don’t Let Him Go,” a Top 25 hit from 1981. The opener was quickly followed by “Music Man,” a Cronin composition from the band’s 1972 album “R.E.O./T.W.O.”
The evening’s third song – the No. 5 hit “Take It On The Run” from 1980’s “Hi Infidelity,” the band’s 10-times Platinum blockbuster – got the raucous crowd up and singing along.
“You’ve been messing around Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, haven’t you?” Cronin said. “Let’s keep it going, what do you say?”
The band then moved right into “Keep Pushin’,” from 1976’s “R.E.O.” album, which has always been a highlight of REO’s set.
Named after a precursor to the pickup truck first manufactured in 1915, the band first came together at the University of Illinois at Champaign in 1967. Keyboard player Neal Doughty is the only original member still with the group and the only band member to play on all of REO’s albums.
The band recorded its self-titled debut album in 1971 with lead singer Terry Luttrell. Cronin joined for “R.E.O./T.W.O.” in 1972, but had a falling out with the others while working on 1973’s “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and Mike Murphy took over vocals for that album and two more in the following two years. Cronin rejoined for 1976’s “R.E.O.” record and has been at the helm ever since.
In addition to Doughty and Cronin, the band’s current lineup – which has been playing together for 25 years – includes bass guitarist Bruce Hall, who joined in 1977, lead guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt, each of whom joined in 1989.
REO paid tribute to long-time lead guitarist and songwriter Gary Richrath, who died in September, on Friday with a spirited performance of Richrath’s “Golden Country” from the group’s second album. Other Richrath tunes played on Friday included the aforementioned “Take It On The Run,” “In Your Letter” (another hit from “Hi Infidelity”) and “Ridin’ The Storm Out,” which closed out the show in fine style.
Cronin, who just turned 64 on Oct. 6, may not be able to sing the high notes on 1985’s chart topper “Can’t Fight This Feeling” any more, but the audience knows every word and heartily sang along.
Other highlights of REO’s performance included “That Ain’t Love,” a No. 16 hit from 1987’s “Life as We Know It,” “Tough Guys” (from “Hi Infidelity”), and “Time For Me To Fly,” a minor hit from 1978’s “You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish” that has become a mainstay of rock radio.
Following a fine lead vocal performance by bassist Hall on “Back on the Road Again,” the band wrapped up the main set with “Roll with the Changes,” another minor hit from 1978.
For the first song of the encore, Cronin reminisced about the summer of 1980, a time when the band was under pressure from its record company to come up with a hit.
“We had to have a hit or we were going to be dropped,” he said. “Then I had a dream about three simple piano chords, and luckily I remembered them as our lives have not been quite the same since.”
With that, he played the piano intro to “Keep On Loving You,” a No. 1 tune that helped keep “Hi Infidelity” at the top of the album charts for 15 weeks, as he and nearly every member of the sold-out crowd sang the song in unison.
