REO Speedwagon: You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

No matter how catchy and feisty it may be, REO Speedwagon's eighth album unfortunately duplicates the problem that has prevented the band from becoming a blockbusting Seventies act: its facelessness. Though Speedwagon's cheery heavy metal/power pop builds momentum from rhythmic snappiness, reinforced chords and exuberantly ripe harmonies in a manner that mops the floor with such carnivores as Kiss or Angel, all the songs here are somewhat shackled by undistinguished, though likable, lead vocals and dull lyrics. Maybe this group could really command attention if it adopted some conceptual pretensions or searched out a wonderfully slimy lead singer like Queen's Freddie Mercury.

That aside, You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish is probably one of REO's strongest efforts. Because of the band's melodic flair and creative theft, Speedwagon at times demonstrates that facelessness can be its ownreward. "Lucky for You" cleverly fuses Poco's bounciness, some Southern-style twin lead guitars and the Ramones' buzzsaw rock & roll, while "Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight?" is tasty, ersatz Fleetwood Mac. The LP derives additional power from the group's textured, crisp self-production. This is best illustrated by the electric and acoustic guitar work on "Blazin' Your Own Trail Again," a song that mates metallic thunder with country-rock buoyancy.

Without undue strain, rock & roll zealots could argue that REO Speedwagon makes everything sound too damned friendly, that the band's music lacks any genuine tension. But what helps free the group from such criticism is its vivacious professionalism and finely crafted songs, both of which are definitely in abundance here.