Hi Infidelity

The album title is a play on the term "in high fidelity," which used to appear on album covers. The album art is an illustration of this pun where an act of sexual infidelity is apparently occurring while the man is putting an LP record to play on the hi-fi stereo.

Six songs from the album charted on the Billboard charts, including "Keep On Loving You" which was the band's first Number 1 hit, and "Take It on the Run", which reached No. 5 on the charts. The song "Tough Guys" uses an audio clip from the Our Gang short film Hearts Are Thumps (1937).{{cite magazine|title=REO Speedwagon's Big Breakout|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/reo-speedwagons-big-breakout-19810319|author=Henke, James|date=March 19, 1981|access-date=September 24, 2016}}

"Tough Guys" was one of two songs from the album that charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart despite not being released as singles. Music critic Robert Christgau called "Tough Guys" his favorite song from the album but suggested that the line "They think they're full of fire/She thinks they're full of shit" would prevent the song from reaching the pop Top 40.

Record World described "I Wish You Were There" as having a "novel gospel touch."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=December 13, 1980|page=1|accessdate=February 22, 2023|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/80/RW-1980-12-13.pdf}}

On October 25, 2004, the band recorded the songs of this album live from beginning to end for an XM Radio "Then Again Live" special.

On July 19, 2011, Sony Music re-released Hi Infidelity with bonus demo tracks for the album's 30th anniversary.{{cite web | url = http://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-music-entertainment/2011/reo-speedwagons-30-year-anniversary-of-multi-plati.html | title = REO Speedwagon's 30-Year Anniversary of Multi-Platinum #1 Breakthrough Hit Hi Infidelity | access-date = January 25, 2015 | work = Sony Corporation of America | publisher = Tom Cording | archive-date = July 9, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150709073857/http://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-music-entertainment/2011/reo-speedwagons-30-year-anniversary-of-multi-plati.html | url-status = dead }} Demo tracks were recorded Live at Crystal Studios, Hollywood, June through August 1980.

{{track listing

| headline = Side 1

| title1 = Don't Let Him Go

| writer1 = Kevin Cronin

| length1 = 3:47

| title2 = Keep On Loving You

| writer2 = Cronin

| length2 = 3:23

| title3 = Follow My Heart

| writer3 = Tom Kelly, Gary Richrath

| length3 = 3:50

| title4 = In Your Letter

| writer4 = Richrath

| length4 = 3:20

| title5 = Take It on the Run

| writer5 = Richrath{{efn|name=lyric|Although the song is officially credited solely to Richrath, the album's liner notes also list Kevin Cronin as providing "lyrical assistance".}}

| length5 = 4:01

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side 2

| title1 = Tough Guys

| writer1 = Cronin

| length1 = 3:51

| title2 = Out of Season

| writer2 = Cronin, Kelly

| length2 = 3:07

| title3 = Shakin' It Loose

| writer3 = Richrath{{efn|name=lyric}}

| length3 = 2:27

| title4 = Someone Tonight

| writer4 = Bruce Hall

| length4 = 2:41

| title5 = I Wish You Were There

| writer5 = Cronin

| length5 = 4:27

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 2: The Crystal Demos

| title1 = Someone Tonight

| writer1 = Hall

| length1 = 2:49

| title2 = Tough Guys

| writer2 = Cronin

| length2 = 3:35

| title3 = In Your Letter

| writer3 = Richrath

| length3 = 4:08

| title4 = Follow My Heart

| writer4 = Kelly, Richrath

| length4 = 3:57

| title5 = Take It on the Run

| writer5 = Richrath

| length5 = 4:01

| title6 = Don't Let Him Go

| writer6 = Cronin

| length6 = 4:20

| title7 = Keep On Loving You

| writer7 = Cronin

| length7 = 3:30

| title8 = Shakin' It Loose

| note8 = Instrumental

| writer8 = Richrath

| length8 = 2:32

| title9 = I Wish You Were There

| writer9 = Cronin

| length9 = 4:58

| total_length = 33:54

}}

REO Speedwagon

• Kevin Cronin – lead and backing vocals (except on "Someone Tonight"), acoustic and rhythm guitars, acoustic piano on "Keep on Loving You" and "I Wish You Were There"
• Gary Richrath – electric guitar
• Neal Doughty – keyboards
• Bruce Hall – bass, lead vocals on "Someone Tonight"
• Alan Gratzer – drums, tambourine on "I Wish You Were There"

Additional musicians

• Steve Forman – percussion on "Keep on Loving You"
• Tom Kelly – backing vocals
• Richard Page – backing vocals
• N Yolletta – backing vocals on "In Your Letter"
• Maggie Ryder – backing vocals on "Keep On Loving You"

Technical personnel

• Kevin Beamish – producer, engineer
• Kevin Cronin – producer, arrangements
• Gary Richrath – producer
• Alan Gratzer – co-producer
• Tom Cummings – assistant engineer
• Jeff Eccles – assistant engineer
• Kent Duncan – mastering at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, California).
• Aaron Rapoport – photography
• John Kosh – art direction, design
• Bobby Gordon – lighting design
• John Baruck – management
• Al Quaglieri – reissue producer
• Joseph M. Palmaccio – remastering
• Laura Grover – remastering supervisor

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Hi Infidelity}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|title=Hi Infidelity|artist=REO Speedwagon|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1980}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=Hi Infedility|artist=REO Speedwagon|award=Silver|relyear=1980|id=2868-1580-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|title=Hi Infidelity|artist=REO Speedwagon|award=Diamond|relyear=1980}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Billboard Year-End number one albums 1970–1989}}

{{REO Speedwagon}}

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Category:REO Speedwagon albums

Category:1980 albums

Category:Epic Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Kevin Beamish

Category:Albums produced by Gary Richrath

Category:Albums produced by Kevin Cronin