REO Speedwagon reissues Christmas album with extra songs

REO Speedwagon will crank up the holiday spirit this year with the definitive version of its yuletide classic, Not So Silent Night: Christmas with REO Speedwagon. It features remastered sound, four bonus tracks and a newly recorded version of the group’s original Christmas song, “I Believe In Santa Claus.”

Not So Silent Night: Christmas with REO Speedwagon will be available on digital formats today (October 20), CD (November 3), and on LP (December 1).

The collection spotlights the group’s distinctive versions of Christmas favorites like “Silent Night,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Deck The Halls” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” It also features several songs that did not appear on the original 2009 release, including “We Three Kings,” which is now available on CD and digital versions.

The CD and digital versions also include three songs released as bonus tracks on the 2010 version of the album: “Sleigh Ride,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “I Believe In Santa Claus,” which was written by the band’s frontman Kevin Cronin and bassist Bruce Hall. The group recently returned to the studio to record a new version of “I Believe In Santa Claus.” This new 2017 version is available as part of the digital version of album, and is also available as a free download with the purchase of CD or LPs formats.

Cronin says: “Our goal with this new version of ‘the Santa song’ was to create a true REO Speedwagon track, which also happens to be a Christmas carol, and a holiday love letter to our families, and yours.”

Formed in 1967, signed in 1971, and fronted by Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon’s unrelenting drive, as well as non-stop touring and recording jump-started the burgeoning rock movement in the Midwest. Platinum albums and radio staples soon followed, setting the stage for the release of the band’s explosive Hi Infidelity in 1980, which contained the massive hit singles “Keep On Loving You,” and “Take It On the Run.” That landmark album spent 15 weeks in the No. 1 slot and has since earned the RIAA’s coveted 10X Diamond Award for surpassing sales of 10 million units in the United States. Today, REO Speedwagon has sold 40 million albums around the globe, and Cronin and bandmates Hall, Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (guitar), and Bryan Hitt (drums) are still electrifying audiences worldwide in concert.

CD Track Listing:
 
“The First Noel”
“Winter Wonderland”
“Silent Night”
“Deck The Halls”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“The White Snows Of Winter”
“Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)”
“Children Go Where I Send Thee”
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
“Blue Christmas”
“Joy To The World”
 
Bonus Tracks:
14. "Sleigh Ride"
15. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
16. "I Believe In Santa Claus"
17. "We Three Kings"

LP Track Listing:
Side One
“The First Noel”
“Winter Wonderland”
“Silent Night”
“Deck The Halls”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)”
Side Two
“Children Go Where I Send Thee”
“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
“Blue Christmas”
“Joy To The World”

Digital Track Listing
“I Believe In Santa Claus” – New 2017 Version
“The First Noel”
“Winter Wonderland”
“Silent Night”
“Deck The Halls”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“The White Snows Of Winter”
“Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)”
“Children Go Where I Send Thee”
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
“Blue Christmas”
“Joy To The World”
“Sleigh Ride”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
“We Three Kings”
“I Believe In Santa Claus” (Acoustic Version)