The Hits (1988)
1. I Don't Want to Lose You
2. Here With Me
3. Roll With the Changes
4. Keep on Loving You
5. That Ain't Love
6. Take it on the Run
7. In My Dreams
8. Don't Let Him Go
9. Can't Fight This Feeling
10.Keep Pushin'
11.Time For Me to Fly
12.One Lonely Night
13.Back of the Road Again
14.Ridin' the Storm Out
By this point, the game was just about up. With the band entering what would soon become its "nostalgia circuit" era, The Hits arrived at just the right moment—effectively drawing the curtain on the group’s hit-making days with one final, concise package. There would still be tours, sure. There would still be new music, technically. But as far as relevance on the charts was concerned, this was the final bow. And for what it is, it’s a solid, single-disc retrospective.
Make no mistake: The Hits covers most of the obvious ground. It pulls generously from the band’s commercial peak, ensuring that none of the major singles from Hi Infidelity are overlooked. It’s clean, efficient, and digestible—traits that helped REO Speedwagon stay in the public's good graces even after the spotlight had dimmed.
What’s odd, though, is the total exclusion of anything from Good Trouble, particularly Keep the Fire Burnin', which, though maybe a touch derivative of Roll with the Changes, was still a Top Ten hit in its own right. Its absence doesn’t tank the album, but it’s conspicuous enough to raise an eyebrow. You start to wonder if someone somewhere in the band’s camp is pretending that record didn’t happen.
Two new songs are included here, presumably to sweeten the deal. Unfortunately, neither one does much to enhance the collection. They’re passable, but entirely unremarkable, and only underscore the notion that the band’s songwriting well had started to run dry.
Still, taken on its own terms, The Hits is about as efficient a collection as you’re likely to get from this band. For anyone looking to grab a single disc and be done with it, this is the one to have.
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