When greedy record companies behind your once-favorite band try to rip off fans again and again, it's time to take a stand. I've been a lifelong REO Speedwagon fan, and REO's LIVE PLUS gets my poorest review, ever. Period. End of story.

First off, this is the third recording in a trilogy where the record label is trying to market the exact same concert that was recorded on June 9, 2000 at Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis. The first CD, called Arch Allies, was a combo 2 CD set with Styx, where two of America's great classic rock bands sunk into the abyss and made rock & roll history by trying to pawn off six copies of the same 2 songs. That's right-- you'll pay $25 bucks to hear 2 songs -- "Roll With the Changes" and "Blue Collar Man," recorded three times each on the same CD set. That would have been fine for a one-hit wonder band like Tesla, but not bands as prolific as Styx & REO. Glaring omissions: Golden Country, Like You Do, Only the Strong Survive, Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight -- and nothing from Good Trouble, one of the band's better selling albums. What either the bands or their label were thinking is a mystery, and it has cost them dearly in the credibility department with their fans. When people comment this CD was a "sell out," they're not talking about the crowds.

REO's second CD from this same concert was called Extended Live, and it's not "extended" at all. It's a collection of just 10 songs, and the only thing the label did was add an additional version of "157 Riverside Avenue" (yes, that's right -- 157 appears TWICE on this CD as well) as a poor quality multimedia track. Few people are feeding CD's into their computer and raving about the superior sound, so this CD is bascially a waste. No wonder it's only available in the bargain bins of local music stores and truckstop check out lanes.

After two major fiascos and multiple complaints from fans out of the starting gate on the St. Louis recording, REO decided the third time might be a charm. Wrong. LIVE PLUS is basically Arch Allies with 3 more songs, and a couple of kiddie trivia games on the DVD thrown in that are frankly beneath the intelligence of most people who aren't even fans.

But let's talk about the songs on this disasterous recording. They're almost exactly the same as REO's first album to strike Gold in 1978: LIVE: YOU GET WHAT YOU PLAY FOR. Unfortunately, LIVE PLUS doesn't begin to hold a candle to REO's first self-produced live recording. Gone is the superb lead guitar work of Gary Richrath, who's fire and showmanship added a kick to the band's live performances that hasn't been duplicated in REO's live show for a dozen years. Standing in for Richrath and imitating all his songs is Dave "Mr. Roboto" Amato, who earned the nickname for his emotionless and mechanical reproduction of Richrath's licks during the band's tour with Styx.

On LIVE PLUS, Kevin Cronin turns in one of his worst live performances ever, with a helium-induced high pitched squeal that butchers REO's classic tunes. In some parts, he struggles to hit the high note and many times he fails. With all sorts of special gadgets layered on Cronin's voice through a vocalizer, the reverb is annoying. It's just painful to listen to these great songs tortured 25 years after they were originally written by a guy who should have thrown in the towel a few years ago when he started forgetting lyrics to songs like "Tough Guys" and "That Ain't Love." At 50, the decades of chronic cocaine and drug abuse he revealed on VH-1's "Behind the Music" have obviously taken their toll on his voice. Cronin's hair, cropped and bleached to make a good impression on VH-1, makes the man virtually unrecognizable on the DVD version. He looks like an elderly Billy Idol who should be sneering out the words to "White Wedding" and lecturing the masses to "throw away the (wh)ores foreverrrrrrrrr" instead of telling us we "Can't Fight This Feeling."

The other members of the band -- keyboardist Neal Doughty and bassist Bruce Hall, along with drummer Bryan Hitt, are just going through the motions. Hitt's fingers were nearly severed in an unfortunate cattle roping accident a few years ago, and although he was probably a good drummer in his glory days with Wang Chung, his drum solo theatrics are long over. If you're looking for fantastic percussion on "Ridin' the Storm Out," you'll be sorely disappointed. Bruce Hall's histrionics on bass, while playing the same set of notes over and over again, is truly a lesson in rote repetition, as he huskily barks out "Back On the Road Again" for the 1,040,540th time before Cronin jumps in to keep him on pitch. The video is a documentary of Neal Doughty, the one original cast member of REO, taking 4 guys along for the ride and coasting into retirement on the REO gravy train of hits that were written decades ago. The band's most popular live concert tune and show closer, "157 Riverside Avenue," celebrates its' 31th birthday this year.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older