Nine Lives

on "Rock & Roll Music" . . . . .

Buy this, if you are a life long fan or just getting to know REO, get this album, it's their last truly great album. Oh they had some good songs here and there but as a diehard REO fan I was disappointed with everything after Hi Infidelity and lost interest

I love this lp it is better than a lot of their more popular works, don't get me wrong i love the other lps also but this one was a great rock n' roll lp , and only one ballad and its a little corny and i like it, ;i need you tonight, great songs : Take me, Meet me on the mountain; Back on the road agian; Only the strong survive; drop it , I could go on .... but it needs to be remastered it is a clssic.

REO's heaviest album ever. They really had some great Rock songs on this album. The only song you can forget about is the song "Take Me". Everything else simply Rocks. There wee no real radio hits, but who cares. This was a great album!

If you only own one cd own this one. They rock out on Nine Lives. Not one bad song unlike today's cd's when you only have one good song!

I know I'm in the minority, but this and Good Trouble are my favorite REO albums. I love all their stuff until Wheels are Turning, but Good Trouble is the best with Nine Lives being a close second. Give them both a try.

I always liked REO Speedwagon, because they took the time to tour smaller venues, which gave us people out in the sticks a chance to see some good rock and roll. When the 9 Lives album came out I was in high school and had just gotten a first job and bought a power amp/equalizer and installed it in my toyota corolla. This is one of the albums that had heavy amounts of production and Gary Richrath was playing lead guitar in a way that was different from the "riding the storm out" style. It was the transition album into what later became the more top 40 version of REO with syrupy lyrics like "heard it from a friend, who.. heard it from a friend, who... There is some syrup in songs like "I Need You Tonight", "Rock & Roll Music" (remake), "Meet Me On the Mountain". "Take Me" sounds like it is Funk influenced, but my favorites are "Heavy On Your Love", "Back On the Road Again", "Drop It" (all 3 are worth the 99 cents each).

I love to put this cd in and grab a cold beer and kick back on the back patio to rock out to one of the best Reo Speedwagon releases. This is the rockin' Reo Speedwagon. Gary Richrath was given free reins to let loose on lead guitar on this one and he doesn't disappoint. Richrath fires away on Heavy On Your Love (just an all out guitar crunchin rocker), Drop It, and my favorite Meet Me On the Mountain (listen to the solo). These three songs alone make the release worthy of purchasing, I Need You Tonight is a midwestern (almost country) foot tapper that has a catchy sing a long chorus. Let's not forget the excellent single Only the Strong Survive a song that I loved in their live sets and the grand finale Back On the Road Again with its heavy bass line and vocals by bassist Bruce Hall. Lead vocalist Kevin Cronin not to be forgotten here, delivers on the whole Lp and is at his best on the fun rocker Easy Money.

I came here looking for "Riding the Storm Out" by R.E.O. but ran up on this and remembered just rockin' out in my bedroom to it in the months leading up to their 1975 tour date in my city. Then I went to the concert, and MAN! I had never seen a show like the one they put on!! Our whole band went together and came out of that show so inspired that we practiced 3 times as much afterward. Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath were the perfect combination with Cronin loud, active and always inciting the audience to rock, while Mr. Richrath prowled the stage quietly, laying down inspired rythyms until springing out in front to deliver blistering, melodic and well-shaped leads! His lead style never seemed like he was playing just to show off his chops, but everything he did was to support the song. That's the thing with these guys...the song was the thing, and they respected their compositions enough to just whip 'em out and let us have our way with them. I will forever remember these men as quintessential American Arena Rockers. Get this Album and hear why the golden age of Rock Concerts was as great as it was.

high school rock that'll put a smile on your face; urgent, a little too glam-ish, but timeless