Some of the "Essentials" in Sony's series are merely bad rehashes of already existing hits discs (Eddie Money, Cyndi Lauper), but others use this opportunity to provide the most complete best-ofs ever done on an artist (Heart, Cheap Trick). This falls clearly in the latter category, with almost no filler and almost nothing crucial left out. Some may miss "I Do' Wanna Know" and "Sweet Time," but "Live Every Moment" and "The Key" were probably better choices from the albums those came from. Timing at over 75 minutes per disc, there was literally no room to fit anything else.

The booklet includes well-written liner notes from Kevin Cronin, along with time listings and chart info for each track.

The essential Reo Speedwagon is the ultimate Reo hits collection,it covers their whole career from 1971 up to the newest studio tracks they have recorded back in the 90's.All of Reo's biggest hits are here,even the top 40 "Keep the Fire Burnin" which failed to make it onto 1988's The Hits.The Essential Reo Speedwagon is a great purchase for someone who is buying their first Reo CD, or for casual fans who own the Hits, but have a desire to hear more without buying every individual title.My only complaint is that "I don't wanna lose you" didn't make it onto the album,but that's allright.

REO Speedwagon have a large, loyal following in their homeland although, like other similar groups, they have only made a limited impact internationally. Still, they have some fans outside America and I'm one of them.

The pinnacle of their career came with the album Hi infidelity, an album full of rousing, up-tempo songs that topped the American album charts for several months and spawned several American hit singles - Don't let him go, Keep on loving you (a number one hit), Take it on the run and In your letter. In the UK, Keep on loving you made the top ten while Take it on the run made the top twenty.

Understandably, the group never came close to matching the phenomenal success of Hi infidelity again, but they had another American number one hit with Can't fight this feeling, which became their third and last UK hit, making the top twenty.

Elsewhere, there are many fine songs here. That ain't love, In my dreams and One lonely night are among the other highlights but I particularly like Time for me to fly, which Dolly Parton later covered in a bluegrass style for her album, White Limozeen - very different from the original, but both versions are brilliant in their different ways.

This compilation includes all the tracks available on the earlier compilation (The hits) except I don't want to lose you, which I can live without. This is the best hits package yet released of the group's music, although if you are new to their music, I recommend that you start with Hi infidelity. Great as their other music is, that album was something else again.

First off, the good aspects of this album: It was digitally remastered, for optimum sound quality. Liner notes are from Kevin Cronin, so you get an "inside account" summarizing the band's history. There is a generous amount of music covered by the two CDs, nicely fitting into the size of a single CD package. There seems to be an attempt to include material from all albums, chronologically.

Now the down side: Although the first disc contains decent rock songs, the second one decends into a sea of lame, syrupy pop songs (mostly ballads). Where the first one has some muscle and energy and rock, the second one sounds like music written for bunnies and koala bears in love. The fake, sugary delivery sounds completely unlike the same band that delivered the music on the first disc. It's hard to understand how a band can so easily sell out, and sell their soul to pop music. I realize that the second disc has some of their biggest songs, but their change in directions is overwhelming and hard to digest.

This a great REO comp that like most of the releases in the Essential series, is targeted at the fans like me that do not have all of the albums, and want a compilation of the best album tracks and hits. It's a great release for a car ride on a hot summer night, and if you are an REO fan, you will enjoy it! Like most of the Essential compilations, there is usually an odd track missing, and for me, that would be "I Don't Wanna Lose You", which was the other new track off the previous "The Hits" compilation. Still, even with that omission, this is still a good one to grab, and it's a good price too!