AP

by Wayne Parry

REO Speedwagon, "Not So Silent Night" (Sony Legacy) This is a solid Christmas album from the midwest rockers best known for their early '80s power ballads like "Take it On The Run" and "Keep On Lovin' You." Lead singer Kevin Cronin gives many of these holiday classics a surprisingly tender touch, from the short opener "The First Noel" to the delicately paced "Silent Night." They ramp things up on a frenetic version of "Deck The Halls," and lay down a fast-paced gospel vibe on "Children Go Where I Send Thee," which is probably the best track on the album. "Winter Wonderland" is set to a jaunty, strutting pace, and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" offers up the trademark Speedwagon sound nearly 40 years after this band first burst out of Illinois. • Wayne Parry, AP Writer

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by BEN RATLIFF

Big-gesture and easygoing, sweetened by Kevin Cronin's ever-enthusiastic voice, "Not So Silent Night" is pretty much the ideal pop Christmas album for early-1980s sentimentalists: double-guitar leads, a little bit of blues, a little bit of country, a lush ballad ("The White Snows of Winter"), a rock shuffle, ("Winter Wonderland"), and some moral high-ground (John Lennon’s "Happy Xmas"). It's a record trading on styles so old and codified, it's incredible that it was made in 2009, but man, is it efficient. (Sony Special Products, $6.98)

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by John Benson

Even though REO Speedwagon has played Northeast Ohio many times in its nearly 40-year career, singer Kevin Cronin has one vivid memory tied to Youngstown. Specifically, when it’s mentioned this article is for The Vindicator, the 58-year-old cringes. “I’m very familiar with The Vindicator,” said Cronin, calling from Agoura Hills, Calif. “I had a job in high school working in the mailroom of my dad’s office. He was in the newspaper representation business. He’d have to check to make sure print advertising ran. These gigantic mailbags would get delivered filled with these newspapers, and my job was I’d have to file them. And that Sunday Youngstown Vindicator would come in and, man, that was a bear. The Monday and Tuesday editions were my favorite, but that Sunday would come in and it was no fun.” Yet fun is something Cronin and his band mates found in the ’70s and ’80s with platinum albums (“Ridin’ the Storm Out,” “You Can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish” and “Wheels Are Turnin’”) and hit singles (“Keep On Loving You,” “Take it on the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling”). Now the group is venturing down a different road with the recent release of its debut holiday album, “Not So Silent Night ... Christmas with REO Speedwagon.” “Three of us in the band �" Bruce Hall, Bryan Hitt and myself �" all have little kids at home, and when we finished our last studio album, ‘Find Your Own Way Home,’ back in 2007, we were thinking what we might want to do next and what haven’t we done yet,” Cronin said. “And the idea came up to make a Christmas album. We thought it might be cute to do that in our spare time and make it into a side project type of thing, but when we started getting into it, the things that we started picking were songs that meant something to us when we were younger. “It turned out that it really wasn’t ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Frosty The Snowman.’ We were choosing songs with a little more meat on the bone like ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Happy Christmas [War is Over].’ I was amazed we were able to pull that off. Our thing was to pick Christmas songs that pretty much people knew and turn the arrangements inside out into REO Speedwagon songs. I’m really proud of this record. I think people will be surprised in a pleasant way when they hear it.” Cronin hinted the band may play a song from the Christmas album at its upcoming co-headlining show with Styx on Saturday at Covelli Centre in Youngstown. That’s not the only special thing fans can expect from these two arena-rock acts. Earlier this year, the bands teamed up to write and record the song “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” which is performed nightly when both groups join forces on stage during the finale. This brings up the pertinent question, why are REO Speedwagon and Styx still a major concert draw 20 years after their last commercial success? “I don’t really know what it is,” Cronin said. “There is some kind of magic that happens when REO and Styx tour together. It’s one of those lucky things. Kind of similar in a way to that Elton John and Billy Joel thing, where they found that synergy and the sum of the parts is bigger than the individuals. That’s kind of how it is with us and Styx. When we pool our resources, we can bring a much bigger production along with us, and that’s fun. And the music just resonates with people. So we just keep it going. We’re having fun and people are digging it. It’s all good.”

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by AOL Radio Blog

Rock veterans REO Speedwagon have released their new Christmas album 'Not So Silent Night,' which hit stores Nov. 3. The album features 13 holiday classics ranging from traditional carols to unique, obscure tunes. Some of the songs on their album repertoire include 'Little Drummer Boy,' 'Silent Night,' 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Happy Xmas (War is Over),' with the band donating all artist royalties from 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' to the John Lennon Foundation. Check out AOL Radio's Rock Holiday station to hear a selection of songs from the album.

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by General Jabbo

November 02, 2009 by General Jabbo It's been a busy few years for veteran rockers REO Speedwagon. From releasing their first album in more than a decade, one that had the band rediscovering its rock roots" 2007's Find Your Own Way Home" to nonstop touring with the likes of Styx, Journey, and Night Ranger, the band has worked at a harder pace than many bands half their age. Now, nearly 40 years after their debut, REO is releasing its first Christmas album. Not So Silent Night mixes traditional Christmas carols, obscure gems, and a cover of John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" with the classic REO sound" big, melodic choruses and guitars. The album begins sweetly with a short, melodic version of "The First Noel," before segueing into a bluesy "Winter Wonderland." 'Silent Night" and "Children Go Where I Send Thee" show the band in a surprisingly gospel vein and prove to be highlights of the disc with the former done as a ballad with choir and the latter as an up-tempo number. For a band most famous for its ballads, the fact the slower material works better here is not surprising. "The White Snows of Winter" in particular stands out and should prove to be a favorite of fans of the band's softer side. The Lennon cover is by the numbers and while not an improvement over the classic original is still a strong track. In keeping with the holiday spirit, all proceeds from this track go to the Foundation. The band's cover of "Blue Christmas" finds them veering off into country territory in surprisingly convincing fashion While the band rocks up their versions of "Deck The Halls" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman," these versions come off as forced and aren't to the same standard as the rest of the CD. Still the positives outweigh the negatives here. REO Speedwagon may not be the first band people think of when it comes to recording a Christmas album, but they make it work. Fans of the band and of should enjoy this release for years to come.

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