hypersongs

Hi Infidelity

Number one on the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks.
REO Speedwagon, 1980

It stayed on the chart for 65 weeks, 32 of them in the top 10. Cronin sings lead and plays guitars and piano, Richrath electric guitar, Doughty keyboards, Hall bass and the lead vocal on "Someone Tonight", Gratzer drums, Steve Forman percussion, and Tom Kelly, Richard Page and Maggie Ryder sing backing vocals. The title is a pun on in high fidelity, and the cover shows a man committing infidelity while an LP plays on a hi-fi. "Tough Guys" contains a clip from the 1937 Our Gang short Hearts Are Thumps. Singles were "Keep On Loving You", "Take It on the Run" (5, March 1981), "Don't Let Him Go" and "In Your Letter". Cronin told Songwriter Universe in 2016 that they felt something special was going on, and that the band needed each other as brothers for mutual support. AllMusic gave 4.5 stars and Christgau a B-minus. A 2011 anniversary edition added demos recorded live at Crystal Studios in the summer of 1980.

Track listing

  1. Don't Let Him Go3:47
  2. Keep On Loving You3:23
  3. Follow My Heart3:50
  4. In Your Letter3:20
  5. Take It on the Run4:01
  6. Tough Guys3:51
  7. Out of Season3:07
  8. Shakin' It Loose2:27
  9. Someone Tonight2:41
  10. I Wish You Were There4:27

More from REO Speedwagon

R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971), R.E.O./T.W.O. (1972), Lost In A Dream (1974), R.E.O. (1976), You Get What You Play For (1977), You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish (1978), Nine Lives (1979), Good Trouble (1982), Wheels Are Turnin' (1984), Superstar Concert Series (1985), Life As We Know It (1987), The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog And A Chicken (1990), Building The Bridge (1996), Find Your Own Way Home (2007), Not So Silent Night: Christmas With REO Speedwagon (2009)

Sources

  1. Hi Infidelity, Wikipedia
  2. Kevin Cronin interview, Songwriter Universe (2016)