Find Your Own Way Home (2007)




  1. Smilin' in the End
  2. Find Your Own Way Home
  3. I Needed to Fall
  4. Dangerous Combination
  5. Lost of the Road of Love
  6. Another Lifetime
  7. Run Away Baby
  8. Everything You Feel
  9. Born to Love You
  10.Let My Love Find You


 

It had been a long, long time since anyone had seen a new studio album from REO Speedwagon. In fact, by the time Find Your Own Way Home hit the shelves in 2007, it had been more than ten years since their last record of new material, and only their second such release in the past twenty. And yet, the band had managed to survive just fine. Their massive success with Hi Infidelity back in 1980 gave them the kind of legacy most bands only dream about, and they rode that wave for decades as a dependable retro act, touring consistently and packing in the nostalgia crowds.

So when this new album arrived, you’d be forgiven for being skeptical. After all, this wasn’t exactly an era that was clamoring for new music from bands like this, and the music industry had changed dramatically—retailers like Wal-Mart (which had exclusive rights to this one) and Best Buy were the only places most fans could even find physical copies anymore. But in spite of all that, the band turned in a surprisingly respectable effort here.

No, Find Your Own Way Home isn’t a classic. But it’s a solid album with more positives than negatives, and it’s clear the guys didn’t just slap this one together. The current incarnation of the band, which had remained stable for over 15 years at this point, leans more toward the group’s mid-to-late '70s sound than the polished pop-rock of the early '80s, and that turns out to be a good thing. The production is clean, but not too glossy, and while Kevin Cronin is clearly steering the ship here, the rest of the band holds its own even if they don’t step into the spotlight too often.

The overall tone is light and pleasant. This isn’t a “rock” album in the traditional sense, but then again, REO Speedwagon never really was a full-throttle rock outfit to begin with. There are a few moments that pick up the tempo—Smilin’ in the End and Dangerous Combination inject a little more energy—but, as always, the band finds its biggest success in the ballads. The title track, Find Your Own Way Home, and especially I Needed to Fall, are two of the better softer moments the band has turned in since their commercial peak. If nothing else, they show Cronin hasn’t lost his knack for heartfelt songwriting.

As usual, Bruce Hall sneaks in one of the album’s standout tracks with Born to Love You, a nostalgic, surprisingly unique little tune that doesn’t sound much like anything else he’s contributed in the past—but that’s part of what makes it work so well. You almost wish they would’ve given him more space to contribute over the years.

The rest of the album is serviceable. Nothing here is likely to enter the permanent rotation or show up in many future setlists, but it’s all listenable. And while none of these songs are going to knock anyone off their feet, you don’t get the sense that the band phoned it in either. For a group that could have coasted purely on legacy, REO Speedwagon gave us a release that, while modest, proved they still had something left in the tank.

Just don’t expect to hear much of it ten years down the line.





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