Nine Lives (1979)



  1. Heavy on Your Love
  2. Drop It (An Old Disguise)
  3. Only the Strong Survive
  4. Easy Money
  5. Rock & Roll Music
  6. Take Me
  7. I Need You Tonight
  8. Meet Me on the Mountain
  9. Back on the Road Again


 

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more overlooked album in REO Speedwagon’s catalog than this one. Sandwiched right between the band finally finding its groove and the mainstream explosion that was just around the corner, Nine Lives tends to get left behind in the conversation. Part of the problem? There’s no obvious single here that made its way into classic rock rotation. Unlike some of their other pre-fame records that at least housed a future standard or two, this one feels like it somehow got skipped over when the world finally caught on.

That being said, anyone who’s given this record a proper spin knows there’s at least one gem. That would be Back on the Road Again, courtesy of bassist Bruce Hall. It marked his debut as both songwriter and lead vocalist, and somehow he nailed it out of the gate. Not only is it his personal best, it’s one of the best REO songs, period. Kevin Cronin was firmly entrenched as the band’s frontman by now, so hearing someone else take a turn at the mic was a surprise—but a welcome one. And as Hall would prove on later albums, his contributions were never filler.

So you’ve got one standout. But what about the rest? Well, to be blunt—it’s all pretty good. Actually, it’s more than that. Nine Lives might be the band’s hardest-edged album. The guitars are louder, the tempos quicker, and the polish just a little bit grittier. The band leans into a tougher rock sound without abandoning their roots, and the result is something that manages to sound both raw and familiar. The title? Probably a nod to the fact that this was their ninth album, or maybe a sly wink at how many lives the band had already gone through lineup-wise and creatively. Either way, it fits.

Gary Richrath’s Meet Me on the Mountain feels like the band’s latest attempt to capture the stormy magic of Ridin’ the Storm Out, and honestly, this time it works. Meanwhile, the band stretches a bit stylistically on Easy Money, which leans into a reggae groove of all things—but somehow it clicks. They were taking some chances here, and that makes it all the more interesting.

Now, it’s not perfect. The cover of Chuck Berry’s Rock & Roll Music feels like a throwaway. It’s not that it’s bad—it just doesn’t add anything new, and it sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise cohesive album. I Need You Tonight veers a little too far into melodrama and might be a bit of an acquired taste, though some fans hold it in pretty high regard. To each their own.

Clocking in at under 35 minutes, it's a brief listen, and in some ways that makes the missteps more noticeable. But here’s the thing: when it’s over, you find yourself wishing there was more. That’s always a good sign. Nine Lives might not have had the commercial firepower, but creatively, it was a band firing on all cylinders. In hindsight, it might just be the most underrated album they ever made.





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