Jun 21, 2023Liked by Mitch Blum, CJ Kaplan, Ken Warshaw
Mitch is clearly getting mixed up between REO Speedwagon and Loverboy - who are a Canadian band.
In honor of his post, I’m gonna throw my top 5 Canadian bands (not singers/solo artists) out there (in no particular order):
Rush
The Tragically Hip
The Band
The Guess Who
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Loverboy doesn’t make the cut. Neil Young may be Canadian but would not consider Crazy Horse to be, so he doesn’t make this list even though he is a legend. Same goes for Joni and Leonard. Not going there with Biebs, Alanis and Bryan (I prefer Ryan) Adams.
Honorable mention goes out to Arcade Fire and Steppenwolf but they don’t crack my top 5. Sorry, No love for Barenaked Ladies.
Jun 21, 2023Liked by Mitch Blum, CJ Kaplan, Ken Warshaw
I can't say with certainty that I was the "hot older sister" (though I was definitely an older sister), but I did for sure make out to a few of these songs. I still associate this album with Styx, Air Supply (sorry!), Foreigner and Meatloaf, because they all hung together in my "my first albums" record collection. Right along with Blondie and the B52s, Queen and um, the soundtrack to Grease.
Jun 21, 2023Liked by Mitch Blum, CJ Kaplan, Ken Warshaw
I've always been a fan of this album. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own hard-earned money. Actually I probably owned the cassette over the vinyl at that time. I saw REO perform last year in Phoenix along with Styx and Loverboy as a side note here. Hi Infidelity is pure 1980s arena Rock, and I say that only in the best way. There really isn't a bad song on this album. It's just depends on which ones you like better than the others. Since seeing REO last year, I've actually listened to this album start to finish several times.
I kinda have to agree with Ken. I don't know how this album was so big except that people in 1981 assumed they were buying an album full of "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Take It On The Run"s. They were wrong. And such is the case with every REO album. They are the epitome of a "hits" band.
I was 15 in 1981. I spent my entire high school career sitting at the back of classrooms discussing rock and roll bands with other dudes. REO Speedwagon never came up. I glanced at some of the big albums of 1981 and there are a few - X's Wild Gift, Gun Club's Fire of Love, Petty's Hard Promises - that became favourites later. At the time, however, I along with everyone I knew was wearing out The Door's Greatest Hits (red cover. remember?) cassette on this thing called a Walkman. I was 15 that year, embodying the zeitgeist! I speak the truth, the biggest band of 1981 was The Doors!
Growing up in West Michigan in the late 70s/early 80s you could count on REO, Styx, and Bob Seger all touring through the area at least once a year. In his prime Bob rocked the hardest (give Live Bullet a listen). By the time REO released Hi Fidelity they had traded their rock chops to become a pop band ( and probably more commercially viable).
There's a lot of great (and maybe easy?) picks to be made in 1981, but it would've been wild to see you take on Alabama's "Feels So Right" or Raydio's "A Woman Needs Love."
Also: TIL that REO Speedwagon was from Chicago. Who knew?
Mitch is clearly getting mixed up between REO Speedwagon and Loverboy - who are a Canadian band.
In honor of his post, I’m gonna throw my top 5 Canadian bands (not singers/solo artists) out there (in no particular order):
Rush
The Tragically Hip
The Band
The Guess Who
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Loverboy doesn’t make the cut. Neil Young may be Canadian but would not consider Crazy Horse to be, so he doesn’t make this list even though he is a legend. Same goes for Joni and Leonard. Not going there with Biebs, Alanis and Bryan (I prefer Ryan) Adams.
Honorable mention goes out to Arcade Fire and Steppenwolf but they don’t crack my top 5. Sorry, No love for Barenaked Ladies.
I can't say with certainty that I was the "hot older sister" (though I was definitely an older sister), but I did for sure make out to a few of these songs. I still associate this album with Styx, Air Supply (sorry!), Foreigner and Meatloaf, because they all hung together in my "my first albums" record collection. Right along with Blondie and the B52s, Queen and um, the soundtrack to Grease.
I've always been a fan of this album. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own hard-earned money. Actually I probably owned the cassette over the vinyl at that time. I saw REO perform last year in Phoenix along with Styx and Loverboy as a side note here. Hi Infidelity is pure 1980s arena Rock, and I say that only in the best way. There really isn't a bad song on this album. It's just depends on which ones you like better than the others. Since seeing REO last year, I've actually listened to this album start to finish several times.
I kinda have to agree with Ken. I don't know how this album was so big except that people in 1981 assumed they were buying an album full of "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Take It On The Run"s. They were wrong. And such is the case with every REO album. They are the epitome of a "hits" band.
I was 15 in 1981. I spent my entire high school career sitting at the back of classrooms discussing rock and roll bands with other dudes. REO Speedwagon never came up. I glanced at some of the big albums of 1981 and there are a few - X's Wild Gift, Gun Club's Fire of Love, Petty's Hard Promises - that became favourites later. At the time, however, I along with everyone I knew was wearing out The Door's Greatest Hits (red cover. remember?) cassette on this thing called a Walkman. I was 15 that year, embodying the zeitgeist! I speak the truth, the biggest band of 1981 was The Doors!
Growing up in West Michigan in the late 70s/early 80s you could count on REO, Styx, and Bob Seger all touring through the area at least once a year. In his prime Bob rocked the hardest (give Live Bullet a listen). By the time REO released Hi Fidelity they had traded their rock chops to become a pop band ( and probably more commercially viable).
There's a lot of great (and maybe easy?) picks to be made in 1981, but it would've been wild to see you take on Alabama's "Feels So Right" or Raydio's "A Woman Needs Love."
Also: TIL that REO Speedwagon was from Chicago. Who knew?