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Nine Lives
Studio album by REO Speedwagon
Released	July 20, 1979
Recorded	Spring 1979
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
REO Speedwagon chronology
You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) Nine Lives (1979) Hi Infidelity (1980)

Nine Lives is the eighth studio album by REO Speedwagon. It peaked at number #33 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1979. 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. 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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Melodic
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
Record Mirror
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

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."

Record World said of the single "Easy Money" that "the verse builds into a roaring chorus that's an AOR standard." The magazine said of the single release of "Only the Strong Survive" that it "rips and roars with typical REO flash."

Track listing

Personnel

REO Speedwagon

• Kevin Cronin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Gary Richrath – lead guitar
• Neal Doughty – keyboards
• Bruce Hall – bass, backing vocals (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

Certifications

Release history

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Albums (Seventh ed.). Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
2. Stone, Doug. REO Speedwagon: Nine Lives at AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
4. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 563.
5. Dome, Malcolm (5 January 1980). "REO Speedwagon: Nine Lives". Record Mirror. p. 15.
6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 586.
7. Niester, Alan (18 Aug 1979). "Nine Lives REO Speedwagon". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
8. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 8, 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
9. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. November 24, 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
10. REO Speedwagon — Nine Lives. Rock Candy Records Ltd. 2013. p. 16.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6838b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
12. "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
13. "American album certifications – R.E.O. Speedwagon – Nine Lives". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 2, 2016.

• REO Speedwagon albums
• 1979 albums
• Epic Records albums
• Albums produced by Kevin Beamish
• Albums produced by Gary Richrath
• Albums produced by Kevin Cronin