Good Trouble is the tenth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1982 as a follow-up to Hi Infidelity. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard charts. The single "Keep the Fire Burnin'" gave the band a #7 hit on Billboard's Pop Singles Chart and a #2 hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their highest-charting hit on this chart.
| Good Trouble | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1982 | |||
| Recorded | February–May 1982 | |||
| Studio | Sound City Studios (Los Angeles, California) Kendun Recorders (Burbank, California). | |||
| Genre | AOR | |||
| Length | 37:57 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Kevin Cronin, Kevin Beamish, Alan Gratzer, Gary Richrath | |||
| REO Speedwagon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Good Trouble | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| Sounds | [6] |
In 2013, the album was released on CD by UK-based company Rock Candy Records, with expanded liner notes and photos.
Background and recording
editREO Speedwagon lead vocalist/guitarist Kevin Cronin recalled, "After the huge success with Hi Infidelity... everyone was putting pressure on us to get back in the studio as quickly as we could to ensure we made the most of the situation. As I was the main writer, I was the person who had to get the songs done. But I told them I didn’t have enough of a good enough standard ready. I should have really stuck by my guns and refused to be badgered into recording until I was prepared. But in the end I went with the flow, and that was a mistake."[7]
None of the songs from this album have been performed by the band in concert since 1983 except "Stillness of the Night" (which was performed in November, 1984 at LaCrosse, WI), "Every Now and Then" (only played twice on the original tour, but also performed at Clarkston MI in July 1985), "Good Trouble" (which was performed one time each in 1984, 1989, and 1993), and "Keep the Fire Burnin'", which was played as an acoustic version in their two shows at Valencia, Venezuela during the "Live As We Know It Tour '87," was played occasionally after that, and became a fixture in the set again in 2012. "The Key" was part of a five-song medley the band performed during their 2001 tour.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Keep the Fire Burnin'" | Kevin Cronin | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Sweet Time" | Cronin | 3:08 |
| 3. | "Girl with the Heart of Gold" | Bruce Hall | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Every Now and Then" | Gary Richrath | 4:00 |
| 5. | "I'll Follow You" | Richrath | 4:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "The Key" | Cronin | 3:26 |
| 7. | "Back in My Heart Again" | Richrath | 3:19 |
| 8. | "Let's Be-Bop" | Hall | 3:14 |
| 9. | "Stillness of the Night" | Richrath | 3:43 |
| 10. | "Good Trouble" | Cronin | 4:08 |
Personnel
editREO Speedwagon
- Kevin Cronin – lead and backing vocals (except on "Let's Be-Bop"), acoustic piano on "Keep the Fire Burnin'", acoustic and rhythm guitars
- Gary Richrath – electric guitar
- Neal Doughty – keyboards
- Bruce Hall – bass, lead vocals on "Girl with the Heart of Gold" and "Let's Be-Bop"
- Alan Gratzer – drums, tambourine
Additional personnel
- Steve Forman – chimes and crotales on "Sweet Time", shaker on "The Key"
- Tom Kelly – backing vocals
- Richard Page – backing vocals
Production
edit- Kevin Beamish – producer, engineer
- Kevin Cronin – producer, arrangements
- Alan Gratzer – producer
- Gary Richrath – producer
- Bruce Barris – assistant engineer
- Tom Cummings – assistant engineer
- Jeff Sanders – mastering
- John Kosh – art direction, design
- Ron Larson – art direction, design
- Aaron Rapoport – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[8] | 18 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] | 39 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] | 17 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] | 7 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 18 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[13] | 29 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 7 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[15] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Notes
edit- ^ "REO speedwagon singles".
- ^ "REO speedwagon singles".
- ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 685.
- ^ Stone, Doug. REO Speedwagon: Good Trouble at AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Roberts, David (3 July 1982). "Sunshine superman". Sounds. p. 32.
- ^ Cronin, Kevin (May 11, 2016). "The 10 Best REO Speedwagon Songs, by Kevin Cronin". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6504". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – REO Speedwagon – Good Trouble" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – REO Speedwagon – Good Trouble" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – REO Speedwagon – Good Trouble". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – REO Speedwagon – Good Trouble". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "American album certifications – REO Speedwagon – Good Trouble". Recording Industry Association of America.
