Live: You Get What You Play For (1977)



  1. Like You Do
  2. Lay Me Down
  3. Any Kind of Love
  4. Being Kind (Can Hurt Someone)
  5. Keep Pushin'
  6. (Only a) Summer Love
  7. Son of a Poor Man
  8. (I Believe) Out Time is Gonna Come
  9. Flying Turkey Trot
  10.157 Riverside Avenue
  11.Ridin' the Storm Out
  12.Music Man
  13.Golden Country


 

By 1977, the road REO Speedwagon had been traveling wasn’t exactly paved in gold. Six albums into their career, they’d cycled through three different lead singers (with Kevin Cronin serving two non-consecutive terms), and not a single hit to their name. Which begs the obvious question—why on earth would a band like this release a live album? At the time, live records were usually just glorified greatest hits packages with crowd noise. And these guys didn’t exactly have a deep well of hits to draw from.

But here’s the thing—REO Speedwagon had quietly become a pretty great live band. The studio albums may have come and gone with little fanfare, but out on the road, they were building something. And while it’s easy to be cynical about live records, especially when the band hasn’t “arrived” yet, this one actually makes a pretty compelling case for their legitimacy.

It helps, of course, that Kevin Cronin is back at the mic. He’d only been featured on two of the studio records up to this point, but here he sounds like he owns the band. Most of the material comes from his tenure anyway, and on the earlier songs that didn’t originally feature him, he takes over with ease. The prime example is Ridin’ the Storm Out, which is barely recognizable—in the best way—from its original studio version. From this point forward, the live version would become the definitive take, and rightly so. This song alone justifies the entire record.

While the whole album has its moments, it’s the second half that really puts it over the top. The extended workouts on 157 Riverside Avenue and Golden Country are where the band truly lets loose, and they make the studio versions sound like practice takes. Neal Doughty gets more room to stretch out on the keys, and Gary Richrath’s guitar is absolutely on fire throughout. They sound like a band that knows they haven’t made it yet—but they’re determined to prove they should.

If you can find the original vinyl version, it’s worth your while. Two tracks—Little Queenie (a Chuck Berry cover) and Gary’s Guitar Solo—were trimmed from the CD edition to save space, which is a shame. Those tracks help round out the “in the moment” feel that only a good live album can deliver.

In some ways, you kind of wish they’d waited just a couple more years before putting this out. Had it come after the commercial breakthrough of Hi Infidelity, it would’ve been massive. But then again, part of the charm here is hearing a band still hustling, still clawing for recognition—and delivering one of their best performances in the process. They wouldn’t put out another live record until 2000, and by then, it wasn’t the same band anymore. This one, though—this was REO in their prime. You just didn’t know it yet.





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