Having established that, the Hits, which came out a year after REO's last studio album of the 80's, 1987's Life As We Know It, encapsulated material from their R.E.O. 76 album up to Life As We Know It, with two new songs. The first one, the intense and yearning "I Don't Want To Lose You," was written by the team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg (Heart, Bangles) and the languid "Here With Me," which was a close cousin to "In My Dreams" released the previous year.

Life As We Know It was released when I first got into them and,"That Ain't Love" was quite a rocker by their standards, as I had the preconception that they were mellow rock like latter day Chicago, but no, this fiery affirmation that "say what you want to hear, do what you want to do" ain't love, told me otherwise.

However, the third single, co-penned by lead singer Kevin Cronin and ace songwriter Tom Kelly, "In My Dreams" sounded more what I expected to hear, soaring lead vocals, inoffensive harmonies, in other words, the mainstream rock ballad. The two singles represented the two kinds of songs mainly done by REO, love songs and leaving songs.

Now, for their two signature tunes, "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling" their two #1s from Hi Infidelity and Wheels Are Turning respectively. A fiery guitar on the first and the trademark 80's synths and lovey-dovey vocals on the second. There was a time when I couldn't tell them apart from Chicago, the harmonies and sound were so alike. That has been rectified.

Speaking of Hi Infidelity, one of my favourites by them, "Take It On The Run" with that "heard it from a friend" rumour-mongering that leads to a fed up "I don't want you around." This sports one of their best fiery guitar solos.

Of course, they got started on the road to big status with the boisterous "Roll With The Changes" from You Can Tune A Piano..., which was their first Top 40 hit. Yes, there is a piano in this song. Also on that album was "Time For Me To Fly," which set the standard for the #1 songs they eventually made. But the sound that places them in the 70's is best represented by "Keep Pushin'" from R.E.O., as does the hard-rocker "Back On The Road Again," which the most hard-driving track here.

A live version of the title track to their Ridin' The Storm Out album finishes this collection, which seems to overlap the First Decade and Second Decade compilations, but for someone who grew up in the 80's, the Hits will do just fine. While not innovative, at least REO comes through with a consistent and familiar sound, slightly altered with synths in the 80's, be it harder stuff or rock ballads.


Weighted in the Wrong Direction   April 7, 2003
Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA)
20 out of 28 found this review helpful

REO Speedwagon's "The Hits," makes the unfortunate mistake of emphasizing the band's latter history as vapid, power balladeers over their earlier, more energetic garage band days. So instead of a burning political song with feeling like 1973's Vietnam rant "Golden Country," you get claptrap like the awful late 80s "Here With Me," and "I Don't Want to Lose You." REO's big breakthrough was the 1980 album "Hi Infidelity," (represented decently by "Take it on the Run," "Don't Let Him Go," and "Keep On Loving You"). Unfortunately, that success caused them to virtually stop rocking as leader Kevin Cronin repeated himself writing syrupy slop straight into commericial oblivion.

Still, the album is partially redeemed by the presence of late 70s tunes "Time for Me to Fly," "Roll With the Changes," and the crackling live version of "Riding the Storm Out." Those three songs contain more vitality and energy than every single album the band recorded after "Hi Infidelity." In the end, "The Hits" ends up as a fascinating study of what happens when a rock band tries too hard to pander to its audience.

Overall, a half-good anthology that would have been redeemed with the inclusion of more older material.


"MISSING HITS" is more like it!   October 16, 2002
S. SMITH (COLONY 9, PLUTO)
9 out of 13 found this review helpful

Get a load of the HITS this cd doesn't have:

IN YOUR LETTER
KEEP THE FIRE BURNIN'
I DO'WANNA KNOW
LIVE EVERY MOMENT

Why weren't these songs inlcuded when the disc was remastered? There's certainly enough space. Save your money until they release a nice 2-disc anthology or 4-cd box set with all the hits.


Not the best compilation   June 23, 2006
R. St Pierre (Fairhaven MA)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

Given that the Essential compilation is 2 CDs and about 150 minutes of material (remastered), it's a better bet than this one (at under an hour). If you can get a copy of this, make sure it's remastered and dirt cheap. Otherwise, look for the Essential comp, it's commonly on Amazon for less than $13.


Power Ballads Galore   April 23, 2004
K. Fontenot (The Bayou State)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful

If you're a big fan of the power ballad, let me introduce you to the flagship band of that genre(with Journey as a close second). REO Speedwagon falls into that fateful category caught between hard rockers and pretty boy posers. But don't count that against them. These songs are good. They might get a little sugary at times, but, overall, this is a solid album of big hits for the 'Wagon.

"I Don't Want To Lose You" sets the stage on this album. It lets you know what's in store. What follows is a songlist of primarily power ballads with a few rockers thrown in for good measure. "Keep On Loving You," "In My Dreams," "Can't Fight This Feeling," and "Here With Me" are all included. The cautious tale "One Lonely Night" shows a darker side to love songs. The rockers here include a live version of the "last song, people" biggie "Ridin' The Storm Out," "Roll With The Changes," and "Keep Pushin'."

Other songs that I enjoyed on this album include "I Don't Want to Lose You" and "Time For Me To Fly."

These guys, along with bands like Styx, Foreigner, etc. often catch a lot of flack for sounding too slick to be considered real rock bands. Don't let that deter you from the fact that these bands knew how to make hit records. You may question their motives, but in the end every band is in it for the money, no matter what they say. So take this album for what it is. It's a good compilation of huge commercial hits for a good band. It's also a "sure thing" when you want to get that special someone in the right mood......