R.E.O. is the sixth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1976. It peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1976.[3] It marked the return of Kevin Cronin to the band after a four-year absence. Five of the songs ("Keep Pushin", "Any Kind of Love", "(Only A) Summer Love", "(I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come", and "Flying Turkey Trot") were featured on the band's subsequent live album, Live: You Get What You Play For. Many fans refer to the album as C.O.W. (or simply COW) due to the background of the cover art.

R.E.O.
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1976[1]
RecordedJanuary 1976
StudioCriteria Studios, Miami
GenreRock
Length33:25
LabelEpic
ProducerJohn Stronach
REO Speedwagon chronology
This Time We Mean It
(1975)
R.E.O.
(1976)
Live: You Get What You Play For
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

This was the band's last studio album to feature bassist Gregg Philbin; he would be replaced by Bruce Hall the following year. This album is co-sung by Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath. On previous albums (Ridin' the Storm Out, Lost in a Dream, This Time We Mean It) Richrath would only sing one song; however, on this album he shares lead vocal duties equally with Cronin. He would stop singing on albums and in most live performances by 1978. "Breakaway" is a duet sung by both Cronin and Richrath where Richrath sings the verses while Cronin sings the first chorus by himself and the remaining choruses are sung by both Cronin and Richrath.

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Keep Pushin'"Kevin Cronin4:06
2."Any Kind of Love"Gary Richrath3:39
3."(Only A) Summer Love"Richrath4:38
4."(I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come"Cronin5:04
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Breakaway"Cronin, Richrath4:15
6."Flying Turkey Trot" (Instrumental)Richrath2:36
7."Tonight"Richrath3:14
8."Lightning"Cronin, Richrath5:52

Personnel

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REO Speedwagon[4]

  • Kevin Cronin – lead vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8), rhythm guitar
  • Gary Richrath – lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7)
  • Neal Doughty – keyboards
  • Gregg Philbin – bass
  • Alan Gratzer – drums

Charts

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Chart (1976) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[5] 159

Release history

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Region Date Title Label Format Catalog #
USA June 1976 R.E.O. Epic Records Stereo Vinyl E-34143
USA 1976 R.E.O. Epic Records Cassette Tape PET-34143
USA 1976 R.E.O. Epic Records 8-Track Tape PEA-34143
USA 1991 R.E.O. Epic Records CD EK-34143
UK 2010 This Time We Mean It / R.E.O. BGO Records CD (Digitally re-mastered) BGOCD961
Japan 2011 R.E.O. Sony Music CD (DSD-Remaster) EICP 1485

References

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  1. ^ "R.E.O." Windows Media Guide. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  2. ^ REO Speedwagon: R.E.O. at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Albums (Seventh ed.). Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
  4. ^ R.E.O. Speedwagon — This Time We Mean It / R.E.O. BGO Records. 2010. p. 12.
  5. ^ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2023.