You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1978 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1977–78 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Arena rock [2] | |||
Length | 33:47 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer | Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, Paul Grupp, John Boylan | |||
REO Speedwagon chronology | ||||
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Singles from You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) [5] |
You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish is the seventh studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1978. It was their first album to be co-produced by lead singer Kevin Cronin and lead guitarist Gary Richrath. The album was REO's first to make the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. [6] The album sold over 2 million copies in the US, which led it to being certified 2× Platinum.
This is the first album to feature Bruce Hall on bass, replacing Gregg Philbin. In 2013, the album was released on CD by UK-based company Rock Candy Records, with expanded liner notes and photos.
The hits "Time for Me to Fly" and "Roll with the Changes" have since become two of the band's best-known songs. "Time for Me to Fly" was later covered in a bluegrass arrangement by Dolly Parton on her 1989 album White Limozeen . In 2005, the album cover was featured on Pitchfork's list of "The Worst Record Covers of All Time", [7] and in 2014 its title was featured in NME's list of "The 50 Worst Album Titles in History". [8] In 2020, Netflix's Ozark TV series third season episode, "Kevin Cronin Was Here" featured "Time for Me to Fly", which resulted in the song making the top 40 on the Billboard Digital Songs Chart. [9] [10]
"Roll with the Changes" was featured in the 2011 movie The Cabin in the Woods . Cash Box said that it "opens with a flowing piano riff that quickly develops into a dynamic, well-structured tune propelled by electrifying guitar licks." [11] The song was also briefly featured in the 2013 movie Jobs .
The song "Time for Me to Fly" peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978; despite this relatively modest peak position, it has become one of the band's best-known songs, and has received airplay on FM radio over the years. According to singer Kevin Cronin, the song was inspired by his breakup with his high school girlfriend. [12] The song hit the top 40 in 2020 on Billboard's Digital Songs Chart after it was featured on Netflix's Ozark third-season episode, "Kevin Cronin was Here." [9] [10] It was also used in the films Vision Quest and Grown Ups .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Roll with the Changes" | Kevin Cronin | 5:37 |
2. | "Time for Me to Fly" | Cronin | 3:42 |
3. | "Runnin' Blind" | Debbie Mackron, Gary Richrath | 3:08 |
4. | "Blazin' Your Own Trail Again" | Cronin | 3:32 |
5. | "Sing to Me" | Richrath | 2:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Lucky for You" | Cronin, Richrath | 5:02 |
2. | "Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight?" | Richrath | 2:53 |
3. | "The Unidentified Flying Tuna Trot" | Richrath | 2:17 |
4. | "Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight" | Cronin, Richrath | 4:58 |
REO Speedwagon [13]
Additional personnel
Production
Album
| Singles
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [21] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
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United States | April 1978 | Epic | Stereo vinyl | E-35082 |
1978 | Cassette | PET-35082 | ||
8-track | E35082 | |||
United Kingdom | July 1978 | vinyl | ||
United States | 2000 | CD (Remaster) | EK-61613 | |
Japan | 2011 | Sony Music | CD (DSD-Remaster) | EICP 1488 |
United Kingdom | 2013 | Rock Candy | CD-24 bit audio (Remastered & Reloaded) | CANDY176 |
REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Their best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies.
Hi Infidelity is the ninth studio album by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released on November 21, 1980, by Epic Records. The album became a big hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200, spending 15 weeks at number one. It went on to become the biggest-selling album of 1981, eventually being certified 10 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Wheels Are Turnin' is the eleventh studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in November 1984. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200. The lead single was "I Do' Wanna Know," which stalled at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Can't Fight This Feeling," was REO's second and longest-running number one single. Other singles released were "One Lonely Night" and "Live Every Moment". These singles also reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #19 and #34, respectively. The singles from the album also had success on other Billboard charts: "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "I Do' Wanna Know" each reached #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart, with "One Lonely Night" reaching #17, and "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "One Lonely Night" reached #3 and #10, respectively on the Adult Contemporary chart.
"Can't Fight This Feeling" is a power ballad performed by the American rock band REO Speedwagon. The song first appeared on the 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and held the top spot for three consecutive weeks from March 9 to March 23, 1985. It was the group's second and last number-one hit on the U.S. charts and reached number sixteen in the UK. "Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.
"Keep On Loving You" is a ballad written by Kevin Cronin and performed by American rock band REO Speedwagon. It features the lead guitar work of Gary Richrath. The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity. It was the first REO Speedwagon single to break the top 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching the number-one spot for one week in March 1981. The single was certified platinum for U.S. sales of over one million copies. It peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
"Take It on the Run" is a song by American rock band REO Speedwagon off the band's ninth studio album Hi Infidelity (1980). The song was written by lead guitarist Gary Richrath. "Take It on the Run" was the follow-up single behind the group's number-one hit, "Keep on Loving You". The single went gold on April 17, 1989. "Take It on the Run" has appeared on dozens of "various artists" compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest-hits albums. The 2017 song "Messin' Around" by Pitbull featuring Enrique Iglesias interpolates "Take It on the Run".
Live: You Get What You Play For is a live album by rock band REO Speedwagon, released as a double-LP in 1977. It was recorded at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Kansas City, Kansas, the Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kiel Auditorium in Saint Louis, Missouri and Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. It peaked at number #72 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1977. The song "Ridin' the Storm Out" reached #94 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, but has since become a classic rock radio staple. The album went platinum on December 14, 1978.
Gary Dean Richrath was an American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a songwriter for the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989.
Kevin Patrick Cronin Jr. is an American musician who is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band REO Speedwagon. The band had several hits on the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including two chart-toppers written by Cronin: "Keep On Loving You" (1980) and "Can't Fight This Feeling" (1984).
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.
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.
R.E.O. is the sixth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1976. It peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1976. It marked the return of Kevin Cronin to the band after a four-year absence. Five of the songs were featured on the band's subsequent live album, Live: You Get What You Play For. Many fans refer to the album as C.O.W. due to the background of the cover art.
Life as We Know It is the twelfth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1987.
The Hits is a compilation album from REO Speedwagon. It contains hits such as "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep on Loving You", as well as new tracks "Here with Me" and "I Don't Want to Lose You". "Here with Me" cracked the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. and the top ten on the Adult Contemporary chart; however, it would be the last single to feature drummer Alan Gratzer and guitarist Gary Richrath, as they each left the band within the year following this album's release. The album has sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. which led it to go 4× Platinum.
"Keep the Fire Burnin'" is a song by REO Speedwagon from their 1982 album Good Trouble. This single was the only track from the Good Trouble album to make the top ten on the pop charts, cresting at number seven.
"Don't Let Him Go" is a song written by Kevin Cronin. It was originally released as the opening song for REO Speedwagon's #1 album Hi Infidelity. It was also released as a single, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Don't Let Him Go" has appeared on several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.
"In Your Letter" is a song written by Gary Richrath that was first released on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity. It was released as the fourth single from the album and just made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #20. It also reached #26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It also had some chart success in Canada, reaching #34.
"Time for Me to Fly" is a song by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released in 1978 as the second single from the album You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish. It was written by lead singer Kevin Cronin and took 10 years to write. The song originally reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, but later reached number 34 on the Digital Songs chart after being used in Netflix's Ozark. It also reached number 90 on the Canadian charts. The song has a BPM of 81 BPM and plays in 4/4 time signature. Cash Box praised the "melodic singing and acoustic guitar work...enveloping chorus and...catchy lyric." Record World said that it is "characteristic of the group's imaginative use of rock's common raw materials."
"One Lonely Night" is a song performed by the American band REO Speedwagon, written by keyboardist Neal Doughty. The song is the third single from the band's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the second best performing single from the album in the United States, although very far from the success of "Can't Fight This Feeling".
"I Do' Wanna Know" is a song written by Kevin Cronin that was the lead single from REO Speedwagon's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was more of a rocker reminiscent of the songs REO Speedwagon had released in the 1970s than the ballads the band had been successful with in the early 1980s. It had limited success on popular music charts, which was blamed for delaying sales of the album until the release of the follow-up single, the ballad "Can't Fight This Feeling." The video to the song was nominated for several awards.