Wheels are Turnin' (1984)



  1. I Do' Wanna Know
  2. One Lonely Night
  3. Thru the Window
  4. Rock 'n' Roll Star
  5. Live Every Moment
  6. Can't Fight This Feeling
  7. Gotta Feel More
  8. Break His Spell
  9. Wheels are Turnin'


 

Although Good Trouble managed to sell a respectable number of records, it couldn’t begin to touch the massive success of its predecessor Hi Infidelity. And since that last outing was pretty much a paint-by-numbers replica of the big one, it became clear to just about everyone involved that something needed to change. Not just musically, either. Frontman Kevin Cronin was going through something of a personal transformation—years of hard touring, excess, and the general rock-and-roll lifestyle were catching up with him. So, in his own words, he decided to get clean, get healthy, and hit the creative reset button.

Now, whenever a rock frontman talks about "life changes," you never quite know how it’s going to shake out artistically. Cronin even admitted that writer’s block nearly derailed the process, and the title of this record—and its underwhelming title track—seems to suggest that the band was just happy to be moving forward at all. Sometimes, progress is the miracle.

The first single, I Do' Wanna Know, unintentionally follows a pattern that started on the last album—sounding like a thinly veiled rewrite of earlier REO material. In this case, it's Keep Pushin' from 1976’s R.E.O., a great song that probably deserved more attention than it ever got. Unfortunately, this new version didn’t fare too well on the charts. In fact, it’s entirely possible the whole album would have slid quietly off the radar had it not been for Cronin's next single—the juggernaut Can't Fight This Feeling.

This was, arguably, the best known song REO Speedwagon ever recorded. Like Keep On Lovin’ You, it was a soft, slow, and sweeping ballad that had some long-time fans crying foul, but it cemented Cronin’s legacy as the band’s true hitmaker. Yes, it leans heavily into adult contemporary territory, but it connected in a big way and went straight to number one. You could practically hear the cash registers ringing.

This was followed by yet another mellow entry—One Lonely Night—written by Neal Doughty (seriously, when was the last time he had writing credit on anything?). It’s a decent enough follow-up, but it also helped shape a new identity for the band. Suddenly, the group was being seen more as soft rock crooners than arena rock stompers, and not everyone in the band was thrilled about the shift. Most notably, guitarist Gary Richrath seemed to be creatively drifting. He still has a few writing credits on this record, but there’s little fire in the fretwork—his tracks barely register and feel more like filler than the standout moments he used to deliver.

Bruce Hall is back with a song too—Thru the Window—but he hands over vocal duties this time, for reasons unknown. It’s not one of his stronger moments, but Cronin’s delivery gives it just enough life to stay afloat.

Sadly, once Can't Fight This Feeling wraps up, the album takes a steep dive into mediocrity. With only nine songs total, there’s not much room to make up for the lackluster back half. The closing title track, Wheels Are Turnin', is particularly disappointing. It clocks in at over six minutes and feels more like a songwriting exercise in rhyming than an actual composition. Cronin runs through every "-urnin’" word he can think of—burnin', churnin', returnin'—until the listener is more than ready to be done with it.

Still, you have to give these guys some credit. Many of their contemporaries were already fading into obscurity by the mid-’80s, while REO Speedwagon kept chugging along. Even when they missed the mark, they did so trying to move forward. And let’s be honest—some REO is always better than no REO.



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