This band was one of the mainstays of the old album-oriented rock radio format right up through the 80s, when they managed to steal a march on progress by offering one of the first rock concert albums for home video -- an achievement that got them early and frequent play on the original MTV. You know, the one that used to play music videos.... OK, tired old joke deployed, onto the latter-day REO, whose sound hasn't changed much from their early 80s salad days, judging from their 2009 Christmas album. This collection follows a typical holiday blueprint for classic-rock-era bands, consisting mainly of old standby carols played with that 70s-era crunch, though cleaned up with a little 80s studio sheen. The only non-traditional song on the album is a version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," one that, unfortunately, is heavy on the drama and light on the rock. Not to be too negative, however, the album starts with a brief slice of "The First Noel" that segues quickly into a blues-boogie take on "Winter Wonderland," and "Deck the Halls" rocks things up nicely, though I could have done without the kids-on-Christmas-morning intro to that one. The semi-title song "Silent Night" gets a slow gospel treatment, and they go back to church for "Children Go Where I Send Thee" in a faster tempo. Considering this band had a hits compilation called The Ballads, fans of that approach will enjoy "The White Snows of Winter," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and, for that matter, a slower and more dramatic "Little Drummer Boy." They take the country approach to "Blue Christmas" and end on an up note with "Joy to the World." REO fans should be ecstatic, and classic rock fans will find much to like here. UPDATE: Reissued for 2010 with three additional songs, "Sleigh Ride," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "I Believe in Santa Claus." Amazon is offering both versions side by side for now, so if you want the additional songs you want the red cover, not the blue shown above. They even offer the new one with a Yule Log DVD, which appears to be the latest trend at Sony Music as I've seen a couple of other of their Christmas albums so packaged.
Not So Silent Night, REO Speedwagon (Sony Music)
This band was one of the mainstays of the old album-oriented rock radio format right up through the 80s, when they managed to steal a march on progress by offering one of the first rock concert albums for home video -- an achievement that got them early and frequent play on the original MTV. You know, the one that used to play music videos.... OK, tired old joke deployed, onto the latter-day REO, whose sound hasn't changed much from their early 80s salad days, judging from their 2009 Christmas album. This collection follows a typical holiday blueprint for classic-rock-era bands, consisting mainly of old standby carols played with that 70s-era crunch, though cleaned up with a little 80s studio sheen. The only non-traditional song on the album is a version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," one that, unfortunately, is heavy on the drama and light on the rock. Not to be too negative, however, the album starts with a brief slice of "The First Noel" that segues quickly into a blues-boogie take on "Winter Wonderland," and "Deck the Halls" rocks things up nicely, though I could have done without the kids-on-Christmas-morning intro to that one. The semi-title song "Silent Night" gets a slow gospel treatment, and they go back to church for "Children Go Where I Send Thee" in a faster tempo. Considering this band had a hits compilation called The Ballads, fans of that approach will enjoy "The White Snows of Winter," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and, for that matter, a slower and more dramatic "Little Drummer Boy." They take the country approach to "Blue Christmas" and end on an up note with "Joy to the World." REO fans should be ecstatic, and classic rock fans will find much to like here. UPDATE: Reissued for 2010 with three additional songs, "Sleigh Ride," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "I Believe in Santa Claus." Amazon is offering both versions side by side for now, so if you want the additional songs you want the red cover, not the blue shown above. They even offer the new one with a Yule Log DVD, which appears to be the latest trend at Sony Music as I've seen a couple of other of their Christmas albums so packaged.
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