Nine Lives (REO Speedwagon album)
Encyclopedia
Nine Lives is the eighth studio album
by REO Speedwagon
. The title Nine Lives was chosen because the album was the band's ninth, including their live album, and it also featured nine songs. It was the last REO album to prominently feature a more hard rock sound. The group would turn to more pop-oriented material with 1980's Hi Infidelity
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
. The title Nine Lives was chosen because the album was the band's ninth, including their live album, and it also featured nine songs. It was the last REO album to prominently feature a more hard rock sound. The group would turn to more pop-oriented material with 1980's Hi Infidelity
Hi Infidelity
Hi Infidelity is the ninth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1980 . It went on to become the biggest selling rock LP of 1981, eventually selling over ten million copies. Six songs from this album hit Billboard charts, including "Keep on Loving You" which was the band's first Number 1 hit,...
.
Side one
- "Heavy on Your Love" (Kevin CroninKevin CroninKevin Cronin is the lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist/ occasional pianist for the American rock band, REO Speedwagon. REO Speedwagon had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 written by Cronin, "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling" .- Early life and career :Cronin was born in Evanston,...
, Gary RichrathGary RichrathGary Richrath is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989...
) – 3:35 - "Drop It (An Old Disguise)" (Cronin) – 3:14
- "Only the Strong Survive" (Richrath) – 3:52
- "Easy Money" (Richrath) – 4:01
- "Rock & Roll MusicRock and Roll Music"Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957 and has been covered by many artists....
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 2:55
Side two
- "Take Me" (Cronin) – 3:29
- "I Need You Tonight" (Cronin) – 3:35
- "Meet Me on the Mountain" (Richrath) – 4:04
- "Back on the Road Again" (Bruce HallBruce Hall (musician)Bruce Hall is the current bass guitarist for the rock and roll band REO Speedwagon. He joined the band in 1977, making an appearance on the album, You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish released the following year...
) – 5:39
Personnel
- Kevin CroninKevin CroninKevin Cronin is the lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist/ occasional pianist for the American rock band, REO Speedwagon. REO Speedwagon had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 written by Cronin, "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling" .- Early life and career :Cronin was born in Evanston,...
– lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, background vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
s - Gary RichrathGary RichrathGary Richrath is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
s, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
s, B-52 guitar - Neal DoughtyNeal DoughtyNeal Doughty is an American keyboardist and the sole remaining founding member of REO Speedwagon.Doughty wrote "Sky Blues" from 1973, "One Lonely Night" from 1984 and "Variety Tonight" from 1987...
– Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, tack piano - Bruce HallBruce Hall (musician)Bruce Hall is the current bass guitarist for the rock and roll band REO Speedwagon. He joined the band in 1977, making an appearance on the album, You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish released the following year...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, background vocals, lead vocal on "Back on the Road Again" - Alan Gratzer – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, background vocals
Additional personnel
- Steve Forman – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, sound effects, congas - Tom Kelly – vocals, background vocals, chorus
- Bill ChamplinBill ChamplinWilliam Bradford "Bill" Champlin is an American singer, guitarist, keyboard player, arranger, producer, and songwriter. His performance work is principally associated with the bands Chicago and the Sons of Champlin...
– background vocals
Production
- Producers: Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, Kevin Beamish
- Engineers: Kevin Beamish, Gary Lubow
- Arranger: Kevin Cronin
- Associate Producer: Alan Gratzer
- Production Assistance: Gary Lubow
- Assistant engineers: Steve Williams, D. C. Snyder
- Direction: John Baruck, Alex Kochan, Tom Consolo, JoAnn D'Agostino, Lynne Kirkwood
- Art direction: Tom Drennon
- Design: Tom Drennon, Ginger Canzoneri
- Cover photographer: John Bilecky
- Center spread & portrait photography: Neal Preston
- Back cover cat illustrations: Ginger Canzoneri
- Models: Candy Moore, Lindy Thorp, Shyanne Rippee, Karen Bilecky