attention if it adopted some conceptual pretensions or searched out a wonderfully slimy lead singer like Queen's Freddie Mercury.

That aside, You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish is probably one of REO's strongest efforts. Because of the band's melodic flair and creative theft, Speedwagon at times demonstrates that facelessness can be its ownreward. "Lucky for You" cleverly fuses Poco's bounciness, some Southern-style twin lead guitars and the Ramones' buzzsaw rock & roll, while "Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight?" is tasty, ersatz Fleetwood Mac. The LP derives additional power from the group's textured, crisp self-production. This is best illustrated by the electric and acoustic guitar work on "Blazin' Your Own Trail Again," a song that mates metallic thunder with country-rock buoyancy.

Without undue strain, rock & roll zealots could argue that REO Speedwagon makes everything sound too damned friendly, that the band's music lacks any genuine tension. But what helps free the group from such criticism is its vivacious professionalism and finely crafted songs, both of which are definitely in abundance here. (RS 268)

MITCHELL SCHNEIDER