Nine Lives (REO Speedwagon album)

{{Infobox album

| name = Nine Lives

| type = studio

| artist = REO Speedwagon

| cover = REO Speedwagon - Nine Lives.jpg

| alt =

| released = July 20, 1979

| recorded = Spring 1979

| venue =

| studio = Sound City (Studio A) (Los Angeles)
Kendun Recorders (Studio D) (Burbank)

| genre = Hard rock

| length = 34:24

| label = Epic

| producer = Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, Kevin Beamish

| prev_title = You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish

| prev_year = 1978

| next_title = Hi Infidelity

| next_year = 1980

}}

Nine Lives is the eighth studio album by REO Speedwagon. It peaked at number #33 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1979.{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |title=Top Pop Albums |edition=Seventh |year=2011 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=978-0-89820-183-3}} The album went gold on December 5, 1979. The title Nine Lives was chosen because the album was the band's ninth, including their live album, and it also featured nine songs. It was the last REO album to prominently feature a more hard rock sound.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} The group would turn to more pop-oriented material with 1980's Hi Infidelity. In 2013, the album was released on CD by UK-based company Rock Candy Records, with expanded liner notes and photos.

The track "Only the Strong Survive" also later appeared on Gary Richrath's 1992 album Only the Strong Survive.

Critical reception

{{Album reviews

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{AllMusic | class=album | id=nine-lives-mw0000199617 | title=REO Speedwagon: Nine Lives | first=Doug | last=Stone | accessdate=April 25, 2020}}

|rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev2score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2011 |publisher=Omnibus Press}}

|rev3 = Melodic

|rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

|rev4 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide

|rev4score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1996 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=563}}

| rev5 = Record Mirror

| rev5score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Dome |first=Malcolm |title=REO Speedwagon: Nine Lives |date=5 January 1980 |magazine=Record Mirror |page=15}}

|rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

|rev6score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=586}}

}}

The Globe and Mail wrote that "Nine Lives doesn't offer anything that hasn't already been done to death on the other eight... A little boogie-woogie piano, a few guitar solos that never quite get off the ground, some screeched vocals—it all adds up to a half-hour of competence with very little originality."{{cite news |last1=Niester |first1=Alan |title=Nine Lives REO Speedwagon |work=The Globe and Mail |date=18 Aug 1979 |page=F4}}

Record World said of the single "Easy Money" that "the verse builds into a roaring chorus that's an AOR standard."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=September 8, 1979|accessdate=2023-02-11|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-09-08.pdf}} The magazine said of the single release of "Only the Strong Survive" that it "rips and roars with typical REO flash."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=November 24, 1979|accessdate=2023-02-11|title=Single Picks|page=16|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-11-24.pdf}}

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Heavy on Your Love

| writer1 = Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath

| length1 = 3:35

| title2 = Drop It (An Old Disguise)

| writer2 = Cronin

| length2 = 3:14

| title3 = Only the Strong Survive

| writer3 = Richrath

| length3 = 3:52

| title4 = Easy Money

| writer4 = Richrath

| length4 = 4:01

| title5 = Rock & Roll Music

| writer5 = Chuck Berry

| length5 = 2:55

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title6 = Take Me

| writer6 = Cronin

| length6 = 3:29

| title7 = I Need You Tonight

| writer7 = Cronin

| length7 = 3:35

| title8 = Meet Me on the Mountain

| writer8 = Richrath

| length8 = 4:04

| title9 = Back on the Road Again

| writer9 = Bruce Hall

| length9 = 5:39

}}

Personnel

REO Speedwagon{{cite book|title=REO Speedwagon — Nine Lives|year=2013|publisher=Rock Candy Records Ltd.|pages=16}}

Kevin Cronin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Gary Richrath – lead guitar
Neal Doughty – keyboards
Bruce Hall – bass, backing vocals {{small|(lead on track 9)}}
Alan Gratzer – drums, backing vocals

;Additional personnel

Bill Champlin – backing vocals
Steve Forman – percussion
Tom Kelly – backing vocals

;Production

Producers: Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, Kevin Beamish
Engineers: Kevin Beamish, Gary Lubow
Arranger: Kevin Cronin
Associate Producer: Alan Gratzer
Production Assistance: Gary Lubow
Assistant engineers: Steve Williams, D. C. Snyder
Direction: John Baruck, Alex Kochan, Tom Consolo, JoAnn D'Agostino, Lynne Kirkwood
Art direction: Tom Drennon
Design: Tom Drennon, Ginger Canzoneri
Cover photographer: John Bilecky
Center spread and portrait photography: Neal Preston
Back cover cat illustrations: Ginger Canzoneri
Models: Candy Moore, Lindy Thorp, Shyanne Rippee, Karen Bilecky

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! Chart (1979)

! Peak
position

{{Album chart|Canada|52|artist=REO Speedwagon|album=Nine Lives|chartid=6838b|rowheader=true|accessdate=July, 8 2023}}

{{Album chart|Billboard200|33|artist=REO Speedwagon|rowheader=true|accessdate=July, 8 2023}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=R.E.O. Speedwagon|title=Nine Lives|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|access-date=October 2, 2016}}

Release history

class="wikitable"
Region ! Date ! Label ! Format ! Catalog #
USA \| July 20, 1979 \| Epic Records \| Stereo Vinyl \| E-35988
USA \| 1979 \| Epic Records \| Tape \| PET-35988
USA \| 1979 \| Epic Records \| 8 TRK \| E35988
USA \| 1990 \| Epic Records \| CD \| EK35988
Japan \| 2011 \| Sony Music \| CD (DSD-Remaster) \| EICP 1489
UK \| 2013 \| Rock Candy Records \| CD-24 bit audio (Remastered & Reloaded) \| CANDY177

class="wikitable"

Region

! Date

! Label

! Format

! Catalog #

USA

| July 20, 1979

| Epic Records

| Stereo Vinyl

| E-35988

USA