The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog, and a Chicken

In 1990, REO Speedwagon had just gone through a major lineup change, with the departure of founding guitarist Gary Richrath and drummer Alan Gratzer, who were replaced with Dave Amato and Brian Hitt, respectively. Also joining the band was songwriter/producer/keyboardist Jesse Harms. With these changes, REO Speedwagon set out to make what would become their last major-label album: The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog, and A Chicken.

The first thing you notice about the album is the unusual title and cover art. This goes under the "what the heck were they thinking" file. Perhaps it was supposed to be a clever attention-grabber, similar to 1978's You Can Tune a Piano but you can't Tuna Fish. But this one just leaves you scratching your head.

Once you actually put the tape in though, there's a collection of surprisingly good songs inside. All the basic elements of the '80s REO sound are there-- the strong melodies, Kevin Cronin's signature vocal style, well-written lyrics, prominent backup vocals, etc. There's a good balance between energetic rock songs such as "Go For Broke" and (somewhat standardized) power ballads like "Can't Lie To My Heart", mid-tempo rockers such as the opening "Love is a Rock", and interesting tracks such as the almost-rap inspired "L.I.A.R." And in my opinion, Dave Amato is a perfectly good replacement for Gary Richrath, delivering some great guitar work on this album as well as the two more recent albums.

But the one thing that really stands out on this album is the production. There's just something about the production techniques of the early '90s that made for some fantastic recordings-- with just the right mixture of analog and digital technology, studios were able to create a fine-tuned rock sound that took advantage of everything that had been learned over the course of the '80s, without overdoing things. It was a pity that all of it was subsequently forgotten during the ultra-stripped-down grunge era, and the tuned-down pitch-corrected too-much-pro-tools era of today.

It's a shame this album failed to chart and didn't get the attention it deserved. For people who like catchy, well-produced rock songs, this album is definitely a hidden gem, if you can get past the album title. Best tracks on the album include: Love is A Rock, All Heaven Broke Loose, L.I.A.R. and Go For Broke. While the CD is out of print, you can get mp3s from Amazon.com. and probably Itunes as well.