''Building the Bridge'' is the fourteenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) 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. The ...

. It became the group's first non-charting album since 1972's '' R.E.O./T.W.O.''. This is the only studio album by the band not in the

ITunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

, though the title track is available on '' The Essential REO Speedwagon''. The album was re-released on May 27, 2022 on

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

's Mailboat Records on CD, LP and digital. The song "Building The Bridge" found its way to the White House, where President Clinton adopted it as the theme for his re-election campaign in 1996.

Track listing

Personnel

REO Speedwagon *

Kevin Cronin Kevin Patrick Cronin (born October 6, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and pianist for the rock band REO Speedwagon. The band had several hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 throughout the ...

– lead vocals (1-7, 9-11), backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, rhythm guitar *

Dave Amato David Paul Amato (born March 3, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band REO Speedwagon since May 1989. Early years He was born and raised near Framingham, Massachusetts. At age 11, his first band wa ...

– lead guitar, rhythm guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, backing vocals, harmony vocals *

Neal Doughty Neal Allan Doughty (born July 29, 1946, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band REO Speedwagon and the only member to have played on every album. He formed the band in fall 1967, with or ...

– keyboards * Bruce Hall – bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (8) *

Bryan Hitt Bryan Keith Hitt (born January 5, 1954, Center, Texas) is an American rock drummer who is currently drumming for the band REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Ill ...

– drums, percussion Additional musicians * Stephen Croes –

Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1 ...

, orchestrations, string arrangements * Mitch Zelezny –

sequencing In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which succ ...

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion *

Dan Higgins Dan Higgins (born January 28, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggin ...

– saxophones * Lew McCreary – trombone *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

– trumpet * Carmen Twillie – backing vocals * Julia Waters – backing vocals * Maxine Waters Willard – backing vocals

Production

* Kevin Cronin – producer, engineer, liner notes * Stephen Croes – producer * Greg Ladanyl – producer, engineer, mixing * Paris X – engineer * Brett Swain – engineer * Jeffrey Shannon – additional engineer, assistant engineer * Ron Lewter – mastering *

Gavin Lurssen Gavin Lurssen is an American mastering engineer. He owns Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

– mastering * Tim Wilson – technical advisor * Bobby Oberdorsten – guitar technician * Brian Ranks – guitar technician * Danny Shuss – drum technician, guitar technician * Terry Wieland – guitar technician * Omar Abderahman – production coordinator * Debbie Sommer – production coordinator * Martin Bambanian – art direction * George Abe – cover artwork * Breeze Munson – photography

References

REO Speedwagon albums 1996 albums Albums produced by Greg Ladanyi {{1990s-rock-album-stub