When "Keep on Loving You" reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980, some listeners could be forgiven for thinking that REO Speedwagon came out of nowhere.  Prior to that seminal power ballad, the Illinois-formed band had never attained a chart position higher than No. 56 ("Time for Me to Fly," 1978).  When the success of "Take It on the Run" (No. 5) quickly followed, it was clear that REO Speedwagon was here to stay.  But their success was hard-earned, and their catalogue already quite deep by the dawn of the new decade.  The original group formed in 1967; after conquering the local and regional scenes, the band signed with Epic Records in 1971.  Now, the first part of their Epic journey has been chronicled on a comprehensive new box set.  The Early Years 1971-1977, available now from Cherry Red's Hear No Evil imprint, has REO's first six studio albums and first live album remastered and expanded on 8 CDs.

R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) introduced the world to Terry Luttrell (lead vocals), Gary Richrath (guitar), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Gregg Philbin (bass/backing vocals), and Alan Gratzer (drums/backing vocals) for a set of straightforward, likeable boogie-rock.  The LP, co-produced by bubblegum king Paul Leka (The Lemon Pipers, Steam, The Peppermint Rainbow), touched upon all of the tropes of the day from hard rock ("Lay Me Down") to spacey, harmony-laden balladry ("Five Men Were Killed Today") and even prog (the epic jam "Dead at Last").  It's been expanded on HNE's set with three promotional mono single versions.  R.E.O. T.W.O. (1972) marked the first appearance of Kevin Cronin, who replaced Luttrell on vocals.  Cronin's distinctive tenor fundamentally changed the sound of the band, freeing REO from its blues-rock roots.  The band's songwriting was a bit more intricate for their sophomore outing, shifting away from the standard structures on their debut, too.  A cover of Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie," though, was ironically chosen as the LP's lone single.  (It welcomed the great Boots Randolph on saxophone.)  The promo mono version is included as a bonus.

But Cronin was out of the band as fast as he was in, as producer Bill Halverson reportedly felt his voice was too light.  He was replaced by Mike Murphy during the recording of album number three, 1973's Ridin' the Storm Out.  Murphy brought a soulful, grittier R&B sound to the band, as heard on such standouts as the driving title track (a concert favorite, even if it failed to chart).  REO's first album to hit the Billboard 200, the LP featured a pair of covers, from Stephen Stills ("Open Up") and Terry Reid ("Without Expression (Don't Be The Man)."  The post-James Gang, pre-Eagles Joe Walsh brought his searing slide guitar to three songs.  Before leaving the band, Cronin had recorded "Ridin' the Storm Out" and "Son of a Poor Man," and his original takes surfaced on later compilations.  They're reprised here among the bonus material, along with mono single versions of both songs featuring Murphy.

1974's Lost in a Dream saw the line-up remain stable.  Its sleek, lightly funky title track was co-written by Mike Murphy with Bruce Hall, who would later join the band.  There's an Eagles influence on "Lost in a Dream" and elsewhere on the LP, probably no surprise as REO had become a popular opening act for the California country-rockers.  Their onstage visibility helped Lost in a Dream crack the top half of the Billboard 200 at No. 98.  The mono single version of the hard boogie-ing "Throw the Chains Away" is the lone bonus on this disc.  For their next album, REO went directly to the source, and enlisted Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk to oversee the effort.  With Szymczyk as executive producer and Allan Blazek helming, This Time We Mean It (1975) featured a smoother commercial sheen while still acknowledging the band's roots.  It boasted a Don Henley/Glenn Frey co-written track as its lead single: the rollicking and brassy "Out of Control."  Though the LP made it to No. 74 in the U.S., the single once again disappointed.  The mono promo 45 versions of both "Out of Control" and "Reelin'" are featured as bonuses.

Personal and creative tensions once again reared their heads, however, and Mike Murphy was out of the band after three LPs.  1976's R.E.O. welcomed Kevin Cronin back into the fold, and it was as if he never left.  Produced by John Stronach, R.E.O. announced the singer's return with his self-penned high-powered opener, "Keep Pushin'," something the band certainly did throughout their early Epic tenure.   (The mono single version of "Keep Pushin'" is a bonus as well as an alternate live take of the same song.)  The Eagles influence was still present on tracks like the country-ish "Any Kind of Love," while edgier tunes like "Lightning" hinted towards REO's AOR future.  R.E.O., chiefly remembered today for its "cow" cover, also turned out to be the final studio album with original bassist Gregg Philbin.  It disappointingly only made it to No. 159 in the U.S., but paved the way for bigger and better things.

It was followed up in 1977 by a double live album inspired by the success of Frampton Comes Alive.  Live: You Get What You Play For (recorded with Philbin still in the line-up) gave Cronin the chance to reinterpret all of the REO songs he had missed and revisit those he had sung on in a high-energy live setting.  Recorded in Kansas City, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Atlanta, the album yielded the band's first Hot 100 single, a live version of "Ridin' the Storm Out."  The album itself got to No. 74, their best showing on the Billboard 200 to that point.  It's presented here on 2 CDs to include "Little Queenie" and "Gary's Guitar Solo," both of which were dropped on the original CD issue to squeeze the album onto one disc.  REO's very next album, You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish, inaugurated the next phase of the band's career and set the stage for their biggest successes.

The Early Years 1971-1977 is packaged in a clamshell case with every album in a mini-LP replica of the original album jacket.  There are no gatefolds.  (Only the eighth jacket, representing Disc Two of Live, disappoints as the artwork is plain rather than in the style of the original LP art.)   A 40-page color booklet has copious photos and memorabilia images plus new liner notes by Malcolm Dome going album-by-album with quotes from Neal Doughty, Alan Gratzer, and Kevin Cronin.  Credits are present, though discographical annotation is missing.  Tony Dixon has remastered all tracks at Masterpiece London.

Illuminating a comparatively unknown period of REO Speedwagon's long history, this set is virtual one-stop shopping for fans of the still-popular band, who recently wrapped up a co-headlining tour of the U.S. with Chicago.  The Early Years 1971-1977 is available now from Cherry Red and Hear No Evil at the links below!

REO Speedwagon, The Early Years 1971-1977 (Cherry Red/Hear No Evil HNEBOX110, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: R.E.O. Speedwagon (Epic LP 31089, 1971)

1. Gypsy Woman's Passion
2. 157 Riverside Avenue
3. Anti-Establishment Man
4. Lay Me Down
5. Sophisticated Lady
6. Five Men Were Killed Today
7. Prison Women
8. Dead at Last
9. 157 Riverside Avenue (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-10847, 1972)
10. Lay Me Down (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-10892, 1972)
11. Sophisticated Lady (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-10827, 1972)

CD 2: R.E.O. T.W.O. (Epic LP KE 31745, 1972)

1. Let Me Ride
2. How the Story Goes
3. Little Queenie
4. Being Kid (Can Hurt Someone Sometimes)
5. Music Man
6. Like You Do
7. Flash Tan Queen
8. Golden Country
9. Little Queenie (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-10975, 1973)

CD 3: Ridin' the Storm Out (Epic LP KE 32378, 1973)

1. Ridin' the Storm Out
2. Whiskey Night
3. Oh Woman
4. Find My Fortune
5. Open Up
6. Movin'
7. Son of a Poor Man
8. Start a New Life
9. It's Everywhere
10. Without Expression (Don't Be the Man)
11. Ridin' the Storm Out (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-11078, 1973)
12. Open Up (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 5-11132, 1974)
13. Ridin' the Storm Out (Kevin Cronin Version) (from Box Set Series, Epic/Legacy 888430180727, 2014)
14. Son of a Poor Man (Kevin Cronin Version) (from A Decade of Rock and Roll: 1970-1980, Epic KE2 36444, 1980)

CD 4: Lost in a Dream (Epic LP PE 32948, 1974)

1. Give Me a Ride (Roller Coaster)
2. Throw the Chains Away
3. Sky Blues
4. You Can Fly
5. Lost in a Dream
6. Down by the Dam
7. Do Your Best
8. Wild as the Western Wind
9. They're on the Road
10. I'm Feeling Good
11. Throw the Chains Away (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 8-50059, 1974)

CD 5: This Time We Mean It (Epic LP PE 33338, 1975)

1. Reelin'
2. Headed for a Fall
3. River of Life
4. Out of Control
5. You Better Realize
6. Gambler
7. Candalera
8. Lies
9. Dance
10. Dream Weaver
11. Reelin' (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 8-50180, 1975)
12. Out of Control (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 8-50120, 1975)

CD 6: R.E.O. (Epic LP PE 34143, 1976)

1. Keep Pushin'
2. Any Kind of Love
3. (Only A) Summer Love
4. (I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come
5. Breakaway
6. Flying Turkey Trot
7. Tonight
8. Lightning
9. Keep Pushin' (Mono Single Version) (Epic promo single 8-50288, 1976)
10. Keep Pushin' (Live Version) (Source TBD)

CD 7-8: You Get What You Play For (Epic LP PEG 34494, 1977)

1. Like You Do
2. Lay Me Down
3. Any Kind of Love
4. Being Kind (Can Hurt Someone Sometimes)
5. Keep Pushin'
6. (Only A) Summer Love
7. Son of a Poor Man
8. (I Believe) Our Time is Gonna Come

1. Flying Turkey Trot
2. Gary's Guitar Solo
3. 157 Riverside Ave.
4. Ridin' the Storm Out
5. Music Man
6. Little Queenie
7. Golden Country