Disco de REO Speedwagon: “Lost in a Dream”

I had heard songs from the early albums before, but when I heard this one, I knew it was the best. Michael Murphy's voice is awesome, and the song they did with Sly Stone is amazing (YOU CAN FLY). Also, the title song is great.

Ya see, I always thought of REO's older material as the best. And when I say Old, I don't mean "Roll With The Changes", and "Take It On The Run", although that's fine too. But "Lost In A Dream" was The first record I had ever heard in my life. It will always be the best to me, no matter what critic trashes it for being too Doobie Brother like, and I mean, what's wrong with that anyway??? REO Speedwagon carries on today, but they aren't EVEN a shell of their former selves. In This 1974 LP, they were still finiding their groove, still crafting that sound that once was famous, but now is almost tiresome as Kevin Cronin Jams repackaged disk after repackaged disk down our already bloated earholes. They are currently in the studio now, finally giving the public a taste of something new, but without Richrath and Gratzer, [...] The Hits are great, and this album almost eclipses even those. I'm dying for it on CD. Just too high dollar. But...definitely worth it. A MUST have for the collection.

I didn't expect to be hearing Steely Dan here, but it sounds EXACTLY like a harder rocking Steely Dan. I do not want to listen to Steely Dan when I am trying to listen to REO Speedwagon. I want to hear REO with Kevin Cronin on lead vocals. This is not REO's finest cd, but it isn't horrible. If you want a GREAT REO album, get R.E.O. T.W.O., I cannot emphasize enough how great a cd it is. Buy this one for an alternative to Kevin's version of REO... Still the great piano playing and guitar work, without Kevin Cronin. Good job though for Mike Murphy to step in and rock out.

This album is overshadowed by the previous REO album, the much more powerful "Ridin the Storm Out." It is the second of three CD's with lead singer Mike Murphy (the third album, "This Time We Mean It" was never released on CD and is no longer available on vinyl or cassette). Murphy is a strong lead singer, but if you didn't like "Ridin'..." you won't like this either.

The tracks are not particularly memorable, except for the title track (also available on "Decade of Rock and Roll") and perhaps one or two others. I find when I listen to this CD that I gravitate toward track 2 "Throw the Chains Away", track 5 the title track, and track 10 "I'm feeling good."

The bottom line is this: of the 20 or so REO discs I own, this is the one that gets the least playing time. If you're an REO collector like me, you'd better get this one before it's completely out of print. If not, this is probably the last REO disc you'd want to buy.

Lost in a Dream is the second album with vocalist Mike Murphy. Lost in a Dream is probably one of their weakest albums. While REO is full of good musicians, they don't have very good songs on this one to show off their skills. This one's out of print for a reason, if you must have Lost in A Dream I'd try to find a cheap used LP or Cassette, because it's definitly not worth $40 or $50 dollars. This one if best forgotten.