Live: You Get What You Play For
| Live: You Get What You Play For | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | March 1977[1] | |||
| Recorded | February 23–24, September 5, October 30–31, and November 1, 1976 | |||
| Venue |
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| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 77:47 (LP edition) 68:35 (CD edition) 80:34 (Two-CD edition) | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producers | John Stronach, Gary Richrath, John Henning | |||
| REO Speedwagon chronology | ||||
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Live: You Get What You Play For is a live album by rock band REO Speedwagon, released as a double-LP in 1977 (and years later as a single CD omitting "Gary's Guitar Solo" and "Little Queenie"). It was recorded from February to November 1976 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, the Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri and the Electric Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. It peaked at number #72 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1977.[2] The album went platinum on December 14, 1978.
This album's live version of the song "Ridin' the Storm Out" (an earlier studio version of this song appeared on the band's third album Ridin' the Storm Out) reached #94 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and has since become a classic rock radio staple. The song refers to the band being stuck in a harsh winter blizzard, after a show in Boulder, Colorado at a bar named Tulagi (now closed). The band had decided to prank its tour manager by intentionally getting lost, but then inadvertently became genuinely lost as a dangerous winter storm approached.[3]
Producer John Stronach was fired by the band after his mix of this album "sounded like a studio album". The band then did its own mix of this album, which became their first album to sell over a million records. Afterward, the band continued to mix its own albums, all of which reached either gold or platinum sales results.[4]
The Japanese CD reissue, released in 2011, restores the album and songs to its original full length by including both "Gary's Guitar Solo" and "Little Queenie", which were omitted in the original single CD release due to time constraints. Sony Music also released the unedited double LP Epic master on its Legacy Label for Compact Disc in 2011 as well.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gary Richrath, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Like You Do" | 6:43 | |
| 2. | "Lay Me Down" | Richrath, Neal Doughty, Alan Gratzer, Terry Luttrell, Gregg Philbin | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Any Kind of Love" | 3:33 | |
| 4. | "Being Kind" | Kevin Cronin | 6:27 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Keep Pushin'" | Cronin | 3:59 |
| 6. | "(Only A) Summer Love" | 6:06 | |
| 7. | "Son of a Poor Man" | 5:25 | |
| 8. | "(I Believe) Our Time Is Gonna Come" | Cronin |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Flying Turkey Trot" | 2:34 | |
| 10. | "Gary's Guitar Solo" (+) | 6:10 | |
| 11. | "157 Riverside Avenue" | Richrath, Doughty, Gratzer, Luttrell, Philbin | 7:35 |
| 12. | "Ridin' the Storm Out" | 5:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Music Man" | Cronin | 2:29 |
| 14. | "Little Queenie" (+) | Chuck Berry | 4:45 |
| 15. | "Golden Country" | 8:12 | |
| Total length: | 77:18 | ||
(+) Appeared on the original double-LP release of the album, but omitted from the original single CD release. They are included on the 2011 Japanese "remaster" two-CD release.
Personnel
REO Speedwagon
- Kevin Cronin – lead vocals (1–5, 7–15), rhythm guitar
- Gary Richrath – lead guitar, lead vocals (3, 6)
- Neal Doughty – keyboards
- Gregg Philbin – bass, backing vocals
- Alan Gratzer – drums, backing vocals
Technical
- Production – John Stronach, John Henning, Gary Richrath
- Engineering – John Stronach, John Henning, Bruce Hensal, Pete Carlson, Jack Crymes, Kelly Kotera, Rick Sanchez, Mike Klink
- Mixing – John Henning, Gary Richrath
- Illustration – Vartán Kurjian, Justin Carroll
- Design – Tom Steele
- Photography – Lorrie Sullivan
Charts
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[6] | 72 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | March 1977 | Epic Records | Stereo Vinyl | E-34494 |
| USA | 1977 | Epic Records | Tape | EGT-34494 |
| USA | 1977 | Epic Records | 8 Track | E34494 |
| UK | August 1977 | Epic Records | Stereo Vinyl | |
| USA | 1988 | Epic Records | CD | EK34494 |
| Japan | 2011 | Sony Music | 2-CD (DSD-Remaster) | EICP 1486-7 |
Notes
References
- ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 685.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Albums (Seventh ed.). Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
- ↑ "Ridin' The Storm Out by REO Speedwagon". SongFacts. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Henke, James (March 19, 1981). "REO Speedwagon's Big Breakout". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. REO Speedwagon: Live: You Get What You Play For at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ↑ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- ↑ "American album certifications – R.E.O. Speedwagon – You Get What You Play For". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 7, 2016.