This review was published in the March 2019 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 260.
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Twelve years’ worth of melodic rock crammed into one box set, and then some.
You Can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish was the warmup for REO Speedwagon, and this re-release offers additional tracks Piano Interlude and 157 Riverside Avenue, the biggest hit from their 1971 debut record. Going through three lead vocalists before hitting their stride paid off by 1980, when Kevin Cronin returned for Hi Infidelity, the album from which mainstream success and four hit singles were drawn. A whole CD is dedicated to Fidelity bonus tracks, including unheard demos – such gems include Someone Tonight and a very special Keep On Loving You: the Reggae Edition – make of that what you will. Rest assured, 1987’s Life As We Know It hides no secret country renditions of Can’t Fight This Feeling, nor a thrash metal Gotta Feel More, though both short and long edits of the latter lurk among the last few numbers. The ninth instalment of this monster box set ties together the golden age of Speedwagon: an extended Live, 1980-1990, showcasing their greatest hits and reaffirming REO’s clout as a live act.
With every song in almost every variation, The Classic Years delivers all fans could possibly want, and more – and more on top of that.
8/10