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**REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity**
★★★★☆

By 1980, REO Speedwagon had been grinding it out for over a decade, paying their dues in sweaty Midwest clubs and building a reputation as one of America's most relentless touring acts. Yet despite nine studio albums and countless miles on the odometer, mainstream success remained frustratingly elusive. That was about to change in spectacular fashion with *Hi Infidelity*, an album that would transform these journeyman rockers from regional favorites into arena-conquering superstars.

The band's chemistry had crystallized around the core trio of Kevin Cronin's earnest vocals, Gary Richrath's soaring guitar work, and Neal Doughty's keyboard flourishes. After briefly departing in the mid-70s, Cronin had returned to the fold with renewed purpose, bringing a batch of deeply personal songs that would form the backbone of their breakthrough. The album's title itself hinted at the marital difficulties plaguing the songwriter, lending an authentic ache to the proceedings that resonated far beyond the heartland.

Musically, *Hi Infidelity* sits at the crossroads where arena rock meets AOR polish, with just enough grit to avoid the antiseptic sheen that would plague many of their contemporaries. Producer Kevin Beamish captured the band's live energy while adding the radio-friendly gloss that major success demanded. The result is a collection that sounds massive yet intimate, anthemic yet vulnerable – a difficult balance that few bands manage to strike so effectively.

The album's towering achievement is "Can't Fight This Feeling," a power ballad of such shameless emotional manipulation that resistance proves futile. Cronin's confessional delivery transforms what could have been mawkish sentiment into genuine catharsis, while Richrath's guitar builds from tender fingerpicking to triumphant arena-sized crescendos. It's the kind of song that makes cynics weep and sends lighters skyward in darkened arenas across America.

Equally essential is "Keep On Loving You," the album's opening salvo and perhaps the most perfect distillation of early-80s heartland rock ever committed to tape. The song's deceptively simple structure – built around Doughty's hypnotic keyboard pattern and anchored by Alan Gratzer's steady backbeat – creates space for Cronin's tale of romantic determination to unfold with maximum impact. When Richrath unleashes his talk-box solo, it feels less like showing off than emotional release made audible.

The uptempo rockers prove equally compelling, particularly "Take It on the Run," which showcases the band's ability to craft hooks that burrow deep into the subconscious. The song's paranoid lyrics about relationship rumors feel genuinely lived-in, while the musical arrangement strikes the perfect balance between urgency and accessibility. "Don't Let Him Go" continues this theme with its tale of romantic competition, elevated by some of Richrath's most inventive guitar work.

Even the album's deeper cuts reward attention. "Follow My Heart" burns with slow-building intensity, while "I Wish You Were There" finds beauty in melancholy. The band's Midwest roots show most clearly on "Tough Guys," a blue-collar anthem that acknowledges the gap between romantic idealism and harsh reality with surprising sophistication.

*Hi Infidelity* spent 15 weeks at number one and eventually sold over 10 million copies, making it one of the decade's biggest commercial successes. More importantly, it established a template for heartland rock that countless bands would follow, from Journey's later period through to modern practitioners like The Killers. The album's influence extends beyond music into the realm of cultural touchstone – these songs became the soundtrack to Reagan-era America, capturing both the optimism and uncertainty of the times.

Four decades later, *Hi Infidelity* endures as a masterclass in emotional directness and musical craftsmanship. While fashion may have moved on, the album's core appeal – honest songs about real feelings, delivered with maximum impact – remains timeless. REO Speedwagon may have struggled to match this peak in subsequent releases, but they created something genuinely special here: an album that speaks to the romantic in all of us, even when we know better. In an era of increasing musical fragmentation, that kind of universal appeal feels almost revolutionary.