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
Holland-Dozier-Holland: The Complete 45s Collection: Invictus/Hot Wax/Music Merchant 1969-1977 (Harmless) The H-D-H compositions/production didn't stop after the trio left Motown; they in fact created several labels and did an awful lot of work for them, as evidenced by this massive eight-disc box set of their works for three labels through the late '60s and '70s. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) KISS,
Ramones, Ramones / Leave Home / Rocket to Russia / Road to Ruin (Rhino) 180-gram vinyl reissues of the first four Ramones records! The first 500 to buy them from Rhino directly (as seen in this post) get replica 45s with each album, too. (Official site) Andrew Wood, Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story (Hip-o Select/A&M) A late, underrated icon in the early days of grunge gets his due with this triple-disc set, featuring the acclaimed DVD documentary of his life and career (which gives the
Way back in July 2010, we reported on some rumblings of an expanded reissue of REO Speedwagon's 1980 Hi Infidelity. Better late than never! Thanks to the good people at MusicTAP for passing along the long-awaited news! The 30th Anniversary Edition of the nine-times-platinum album which spawned "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It on the Run" is finally set for release! Frontman Kevin Cronin has kept to his word, as he told Billboard last year that the band recently found old acoustic studio
Smokey Robinson, The Solo Albums Volume 4 (Motown/Hip-o Select) The Motown great's next two vintage studio albums (Love Breeze and Where There's Smoke) go back into print on one CD with a bonus B-side instrumental added on. (Hip-o Select) Teena Marie, ICON (Motown/UMe) The late, great Motown singer is canonized in Universal's budget compilation series. (Amazon) Phil Collins, No Jacket Required (Audio Fidelity) The Genesis frontman/drummer's biggest and best pop LP gets the 24K gold CD
A short note from a Billboard story: REO Speedwagon are looking to commemorate the 30th of Hi Infidelity with a deluxe reissue and tour. Released at the end of 1980 and one of the biggest sellers of 1981, Hi Infidelity was something of a renaissance for the band, taking them from lower Top 40 success to chart-topping dominance. Aided by a clutch of hits including the undying No. 1 ballad "Keep on Loving You" and the Top 5 follow-up "Take It on the Run," Hi Infidelity went nine times