Great Rock Albums of 1978: REO Speedwagon- You Can Tune a Piano But You Can’t Tuna Fish

Forget about the ballads form the 1980s because back in the 70’s REO Speedwagon were a true hard rock outfit. Their seventh album, “You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish” is a prime example of this. This album exudes rock all the way through with some great rocking tunes like “Roll With the Changes.” In this song, Gary Richrath shows exactly why I included him as one of the great guitarists of the 70s and his talents are still under appreciated today. I dare any true rocker to listen to this song and not say that they had a rocking vibe throughout.

In my last post, I stated that “How You Gonna See Me Now” was the first true power ballad. If that’s the case, then “Time for Me to Fly” would be the second. The problem was that I didn’t hear the song until 1980. Like your traditional ballad, it starts with the accoustic intro and builds up before exploding with heavy chords and reinforced by a killer solo from Richrath. Another triumph that makes this album so cool.

Track Listing:

1. Roll With the Changes

2. Time for Me to Fly

3. Runnin’ Blind

4. Blaze Your Own Trail, Again

5. Sing to Me

6. Lucky For You

7. Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight

8. The Unidentified Flying Tuna Trot

9. Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight

REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin- vocals, rhythm guitar

Gary Richrath- lead guitar

Bruce Hall- bass

Neil Doughty- keyboards

Alan Gratzer- drums

Before they found the billboard singles charts, REO Speedwagon was a true hard rocking band. This classic album proves this.

Next post: The Cars

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle

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