Arch Allies is a live album recorded by REO Speedwagon and Styx at Riverport Amphitheatre (now Hollywood Casino Amphitheater) in Maryland Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It was released on September 26, 2000, by Sanctuary Records, and a single DVD was also released on November 7, 2000.[1]
| Arch Allies: Live at Riverport | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by Styx and REO Speedwagon | ||||
| Released | September 26, 2000 (US) | |||
| Recorded | June 9, 2000 | |||
| Venue | Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis, Missouri, USA | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 124:35 | |||
| Label | Sanctuary (US) | |||
| Producer | James Young Gary Loizzo Joe Vannelli Kevin Cronin | |||
| Styx compilations chronology | ||||
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| REO Speedwagon chronology | ||||
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Each band also released single live albums containing only their own tracks from this album. This includes songs cut from the combined release. The Styx songs were released alone as At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis (also including the songs "Everything Is Cool" and "Lorelei") and the REO Speedwagon songs (including "Keep Pushin'", "Tough Guys" and "That Ain't Love") were released as Live Plus and Extended Versions.
Background edit
According to REO Speedwagon vocalist/rhythm guitarist Kevin Cronin, the tour sampled on the album was the first time REO Speedwagon and Styx had ever played together, and "We hit it off so well, we ended up putting on a double live CD together. It’s just been a tremendous synergy between the bands on a personal level and on a musical level as well. Tommy Shaw and I have become really good friends."[2]
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Allmusic gave the video release a rave review, opining that both bands gave strong performances and gel together "surprisingly well" in the collaborative jam which ends the album. The review especially praised the performances of new Styx members Glen Burtnik, Todd Sucherman, and Lawrence Gowan, comparing the Styx lineup favorably to that of the band's commercial heyday.[3]
Track listing edit
Styx edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" | Tommy Shaw | Pieces of Eight (1978) | 5:00 |
| 2. | "The Grand Illusion" | Dennis DeYoung | The Grand Illusion (1977) | 5:39 |
| 3. | "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" | Tommy Shaw | The Grand Illusion | 6:18 |
| 4. | "Lady" | Dennis DeYoung | Styx II (1973) | 4:47 |
| 5. | "Brave New World" | Tommy Shaw, James "J.Y." Young | Brave New World (1999) | 5:43 |
| 6. | "Edge of the Century" | Glen Burtnik, Bob Burger | Edge of the Century (1990) | 5:10 |
| 7. | "Heavy Water" | James Young, Tommy Shaw | Brave New World | 5:50 |
| 8. | "Too Much Time on My Hands" | Tommy Shaw | Paradise Theater (1981) | 5:23 |
| 9. | "Renegade" | Tommy Shaw | Pieces of Eight | 7:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" | Tommy Shaw | Pieces of Eight | 5:20 |
| 11. | "Roll with the Changes" | Kevin Cronin | You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 62:31 | |||
REO Speedwagon edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Let Him Go" | Kevin Cronin | Hi Infidelity (1980) | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Music Man" | Kevin Cronin | R.E.O./T.W.O. (1972) | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Take It on the Run" | Gary Richrath | Hi Infidelity | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Can't Fight This Feeling" | Kevin Cronin | Wheels Are Turnin' (1984) | 5:26 |
| 5. | "Time for Me to Fly" | Kevin Cronin | You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Back on the Road Again" | Bruce Hall | Nine Lives (1979) | 7:09 |
| 7. | "Keep on Loving You" | Kevin Cronin | Hi Infidelity | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Roll with the Changes" | Kevin Cronin | You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish | 6:18 |
| 9. | "Ridin' the Storm Out" | Gary Richrath | Ridin' the Storm Out (1973) | 5:11 |
| 10. | "157 Riverside Avenue" | Gary Richrath, Alan Gratzer, Terry Luttrell, Gregg Philbin, Neal Doughty | R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) | 7:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" | Tommy Shaw | Pieces of Eight | 5:20 |
| 12. | "Roll with the Changes" | Kevin Cronin | You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 62:04 | |||
The DVD of the show omits "The Grand Illusion" from the Styx set and "Roll With The Changes" from the REO Speedwagon set (although the jam version with Styx is still present at the end).
Personnel edit
Styx[5]
- Tommy Shaw - guitar, vocals
- Lawrence Gowan - keyboards, vocals
- James "J.Y." Young, guitar, vocals
- Glen Burtnik - bass, guitar, vocals
- Chuck Panozzo - bass
- Todd Sucherman - drums
REO Speedwagon[5]
- Kevin Cronin - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
- Dave Amato - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Bruce Hall - bass, backing and lead vocals
- Neal Doughty - keyboards
- Bryan Hitt - drums
References edit
- ^ "Arch Allies: Live at Riverport (DVD)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
- ^ Everson, Zach (February 24, 2010). "REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin on Louisville, power ballads and if my wife's a slut". Louisville. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
- ^ a b Ticheler, Alan. "Arch Allies: Live at Riverport [Video/DVD]". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 789. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone styx album guide.
- ^ a b Styx and REO Speedwagon, Arch Allies. Sanctuary Records Inc. 2000. pp. 10–11.