REO Speedwagon leader says songs forced new album

After a long wait, REO Speedwagon recently released a new album, titled Find Your Own Way Home, and frontman Kevin Cronin says you can thank the songs for making it happen. The band spent several years working on the project, making sure everything was just right, but in the end, Cronin told us that everything began and ended with the songs: "Somebody comes in with a song, and if the song is -- gets across on an acoustic guitar, you know, that's really how it's supposed to be. That's one of the things that I'm the most excited about this new record, is that it really does come from the music. The only reason this record exists is because these songs demanded to be recorded."

Find Your Own Way Home is only available at Wal-Mart for now. It will go into wider commercial and online release starting next Tuesday (April 24th).

In addition to the standard CD, there's also a special three-disc package at Wal-Mart that includes a DVD with acoustic performances of new and classic material, as well as a CD with a live performance of their Hi Infidelity album.

REO Speedwagon's next show is Saturday (April 21st) in Ladson, South Carolina.