vinylfanatics.com

**REO Speedwagon - Wheels Are Turnin' ★★★☆☆**

By 1984, REO Speedwagon had already scaled the absolute summit of arena rock glory with their monster hit "Hi Infidelity" three years prior, an album that spent 15 weeks at number one and sold over 10 million copies. Kevin Cronin's earnest vocals and Gary Richrath's soaring guitar work had become the soundtrack to heartbreak and hope for an entire generation of FM radio devotees. So when "Wheels Are Turnin'" rolled into record stores in November 1984, the pressure was immense – how do you follow up one of the biggest rock albums of the early '80s?

The answer, as it turns out, was to play it relatively safe while adding just enough polish to keep pace with the increasingly slick production values of mid-'80s rock radio. "Wheels Are Turnin'" finds REO Speedwagon doing what they do best: crafting earnest, hook-laden anthems about love, loss, and the blue-collar American experience, all wrapped in layers of synthesizers and that unmistakable big-hair-era sheen.

From the opening power chord assault of "I Do' Wanna Know," it's clear that REO hasn't abandoned their arena rock roots entirely. Richrath's guitar still cuts through the mix like a hot knife, while Cronin's vocals retain that slightly nasal sincerity that made songs like "Keep On Loving You" so devastatingly effective. But there's something different here – a calculated attempt to chase the MTV generation that occasionally feels forced rather than organic.

The album's undisputed crown jewel is "Can't Fight This Feeling," a power ballad so perfectly constructed it practically assembles itself. Starting with gentle piano and Cronin's vulnerable confession, the song builds to an absolutely massive chorus that seems designed to fill every nook and cranny of America's largest stadiums. It's REO's formula perfected – take one part vulnerability, add two parts soaring melody, and multiply by a thousand watts of Marshall stack power. The song would become their second number-one hit and remains their most recognizable anthem alongside "Keep On Loving You."

"One Lonely Night" continues the emotional heavy lifting, showcasing the band's ability to mine genuine pathos from relatively simple chord progressions. Cronin's lyrics might occasionally veer toward the overwrought, but his delivery is so committed that you can't help but believe every word. It's the kind of song that soundtracked countless late-night drives and relationship reckonings throughout the Reagan era.

The title track "Wheels Are Turnin'" attempts to recapture some of the band's earlier, grittier energy, and largely succeeds thanks to a driving rhythm section and some of Richrath's most inspired guitar work on the album. Meanwhile, "Thru the Window" and "Rock 'n Roll Star" feel like conscious attempts to prove REO could still rock hard when they wanted to, though neither quite reaches the heights of their classic material.

Where the album occasionally stumbles is in its more obvious concessions to mid-'80s production trends. The synthesizers, while tastefully applied, sometimes threaten to overwhelm the organic chemistry that made REO special in the first place. Songs like "Follow My Heart" feel slightly anonymous in a way that earlier REO material never did.

Still, "Wheels Are Turnin'" was a commercial success, reaching number seven on the Billboard 200 and spawning multiple hit singles. It proved that REO Speedwagon could adapt to changing musical landscapes while maintaining their core identity – no small feat in an era when many of their arena rock contemporaries were struggling to remain relevant.

Looking back nearly four decades later, "Wheels Are Turnin'" occupies an interesting space in REO's catalog. It's neither their creative peak nor their commercial zenith, but rather a solid, workmanlike effort that bridges their classic period with their later, more polished incarnation. The album represents REO Speedwagon as consummate professionals – a band that understood their strengths and wasn't afraid to refine their formula for maximum impact.

While subsequent albums would see diminishing returns as grunge and alternative rock reshaped the musical landscape, "Wheels Are Turnin'" stands as perhaps the last truly essential REO Speedwagon album. It's a testament to a band that, for one shining moment, managed to have both wheels firmly planted in the heartland and eyes fixed squarely