The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken
| The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Original album artwork by Mark Ryden | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1990 | |||
| Recorded | September 3, 1989 – May 31, 1990 | |||
| Studio | Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California) One On One Studios (North Hollywood, California) Encore Studios (Burbank, California) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 46:26 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Kevin Cronin, Jesse Harms, Tom Lord-Alge, Jim Scott | |||
| REO Speedwagon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |   [2] |
| Select |   [3] |
The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken is the thirteenth studio album by REO Speedwagon, and was released in 1990.
It marked the end of their contract with Epic Records and is, to date, the last REO album to chart, peaking at No. 129 on the Billboard 200.[4] The song "Love Is a Rock" reached No. 65 on Billboard's Hot 100, and "Live It Up" reached No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. "Go For Broke" was written for the film Days of Thunder but ultimately not used.
The album's title was taken directly from the cover illustration by Mark Ryden, as bassist Bruce Hall explained:[5]
""We were looking for album covers and we had this artist who was drawing pictures... One of them he showed us was that one, and he simply called it 'The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken.' He was thinking that we would change it to something else, but we’ve always been interested in funny or different kind of album titles, like You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish — that kind of stuff. For some reason Kevin thought it was hilarious, and I’m going, 'I’m not too sure about that.' But he kind of won me over. It was kind of funny. So we put it out there."
Following the departure of two long-time members, guitarist and songwriter Gary Richrath and drummer Alan Gratzer, more than half of the songs on this album were written or co-written by keyboardist Jesse Harms. It is also the first album to include guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt who remain with the band as of 2023.
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Is a Rock" | Kevin Cronin | 5:36 |
| 2. | "The Heart Survives" | Cronin, Jesse Harms | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Live It Up" | Harms | 4:00 |
| 4. | "All Heaven Broke Loose" | Neal Doughty, Adrian Gurvitz, Harms | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Love in the Future" | Cronin, Tom Kelly | 4:32 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Half Way" | Cronin, Harms, Mark Spiro | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Love to Hate" | Harms | 4:09 |
| 8. | "You Won't See Me" | Cronin | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Can't Lie to My Heart" | Cronin, Diane Warren | 4:40 |
| 10. | "L.I.A.R." | Dave Amato, Cronin, Doughty, Bruce Hall, Bryan Hitt | 3:09 |
| 11. | "Go for Broke" | Amato, Cronin, Hall, Harms | 3:28 |
Personnel
[edit]REO Speedwagon[6]
- Kevin Cronin – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Dave Amato – lead guitars, backing vocals
- Neal Doughty – organ
- Bruce Hall – bass
- Bryan Hitt – drums, percussion
Additional performers
- Jesse Harms – keyboards, backing vocals
- Steve Forman – percussion
- Debra Dobkin – backing vocals
- Beth Hooker – backing vocals
- Darlene Koldenhoven – backing vocals
- Janis Liebhart – backing vocals
- Andrea Robinson – backing vocals
- Machan Taylor – backing vocals
- Terry Wood – backing vocals
Production
[edit]- Kevin Cronin – producer
- Jesse Harms – producer
- Tom Lord-Alge – producer, recording (3–11), mixing
- Jim Scott – producer (1, 2), recording (1, 2)
- Julie Last – assistant engineer (1, 2)
- Steve Gallagher – assistant engineer (3–11)
- Mike Tacci – assistant engineer (3–11)
- Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York).
- David Coleman – art direction, design
- Mark Ryden – illustration
- Dennis Keeley – photography
Charts
[edit]
Album[edit]
|
Singles[edit]
|
Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | August 1990 | Epic Records | Stereo Vinyl | E-45246 |
| USA | 1990 | Epic Records | Tape | ET-45246 |
| USA | 1990 | Epic Records | CD | EK45246 |
References
[edit]- ^ "The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 586.
- ^ Marlowe, Chris (October 1990). "REO Speedwagon: The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog & A Chicken". Select. No. 4. p. 113.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Albums (Seventh ed.). Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-183-3.
- ^ 25 Years Ago: REO Speedwagon Regroup With 'The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken
- ^ REO Speedwagon — The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken. Sony Music Entertainment. 1990. p. 3.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – REO Speedwagon – The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – REO Speedwagon". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ^ "Song artist 610 - REO Speedwagon". TsorT. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- ^ "Top Singles – Volume 52, No. 19, September 22, 1990". RPM. September 22, 1990. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
