Chicago

[stingx]

Let's discuss...

Many of my favorite bands have often surprised my closest friends over the years. As much as I was into hard rock and metal in the 80s (who wasn't?), I was also a huge fan of bands like Chicago and Steely Dan. In fact, both are my all time favorite bands ever, right up there with the Stones, Beatles, and Zep,

Regarding Chicago, my favorite records by them are the original CTA, V, X, 16, 17, and 19. I also have a prized vinyl pressing of Chicago Live at Carnegie Hall. I love how the style changed up, and went back and forth, over the years. Amazing brass section, super-skilled tenors a la Cetera and Scheff, and killer guitar, piano and percussion.

This was my dad's favorite band and I was weened on tracks from early Chicago on frequent road trips and vacations. As I grew older I began to really listen and get into these recordings. My dad had one of those "quadraphonic" setups popular in the 70s to early 80s and I would just sit back kind of like that guy in the chair from the old Memorex commercials and just allow myself to become immersed in the sounds.

The first instrument I learned to play was trumpet and I played in the school bands, performing for plays and graduation ceremonies over the years. I thought it was so cool to have such great sounding/driving music with a fantastic brass section. I couldn't believe how high those trumpets could sound and I actually tried to mimic as best I could. Around high school, I made a half-assed effort to switch to piano but it was a combination of David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen that sealed my addiction to all things guitar.

Cheesy 80s videos aside, Chicago 17 was the best effort of the 80s by them and, sadly, Cetera's last contribution. Great, timeless tunes. Chicago 18 was just OK but the last record by them that affected me in any great way was 19. I thought Scheff delivered every bit as well as Cetera and the entire album was great beginning to end.

Sadly, nothing after or since by them has grabbed my attention. I realize only a couple of original members are left and they're cashing in on the AARP memberships now but this band truly rocked and made fantastic music for decades. I'm sure a great deal of you made out to most of their ballads or have had a good deal of their music played at various ceremonies throughout your lives.

So, out of curiosity, aside from me is there any love for Chicago by other members? Surely I can't be the only forumite who's keen on this band.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Shoot, I had a whole post done up, and something hiccuped and it is gone. Oh well. You might remember, Pete, that I was a fan of the earlier Chicago stuff as a kid. I had a bunch of their stuff from a Columbia records and tapes membership. I was into the earlier greatest hits album and had some of the original albums (still do I think).

25 or 6 to 4 was a middle school football psyche up song for me. I also really enjoyed "Does Anyone Know What Time it Is?" , "Saturdays (in the Park)" and songs like that as a middle schoolish kid. I did not enjoy as much the more syrupy stuff after Cetera changed the band.

But I still love that old stuff. I had pulled some old live vids from like '69, '72 and '73 of the songs I was listening to in like '74 - '77.

I was a piano player, my Dad was a sax player, and uncle played trumpet, and my cousins played various instruments. So I loved having all those "non-rock" instruments going off in a rock band.

I'll try to remember to dig the vids out again later.

 

[Robert]

I always liked Chicago. Especially their funkier tunes.

25 or 6 to 4 is killer!

 

[stingx]

Good to know others really like this band.

 

[Tig]

Chicago was always one of my favorite bands. I fed off of their first albums (Chicago Transit Authority-VII) like no other band as a kid. Their complex interplay with guitar, bass, and horns is still great to listen to.

I'm not much of a fan for their post Terry Kath music, as I feel that the band's heart and soul was primarily from his contributions. Terry is easily the most under rated guitar player I can think of, which is surprising considering Jimi Hendrix reportedly said to Walter Parazaider, "Your guitar player is better than me".

Get the Live In Japan album for the best live performance. The original vinyl goes for hundreds, so download it for a fraction.

Funky? Yep, they had it...

 

[Tig]

For some reason, the maximum number of videos is limited to 1, so here's the second funky Chicago song...

 

[guitartango]

Not sure if Chicago were big in the UK, except for "If you leave me know" which most people seem to know. I guess that Supertramp were the UK version of Chicago..... breakfast in America anyone ?

 

[guitartango]

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I used to like a little Crime of the Century, Even in the Quietest Moments and Breakfast in America, but I did not think Supertramp was all that similar to Chicago, other than the fact that Supertramp also featured piano. I did like the piano aspects of supertramp, but it was a different thing from Chicago's thing.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

 

[sunvalleylaw]

This song reminds me so much of hanging with my crazy cousins in Wright Park or Pt. Defiance Park in tacoma, with ice cream money in my pocket.

 

[R_of_G]

The early Chicago rocked hard and with horns, what's not to love? A lot of those songs from the early albums were staples of classic rock radio when I was growing up and another thing I remember my dad being into as well.

For the record, as they were mentioned in the initial post, I love Steely Dan. Talk about mixing funk and rock. Love those guys.

Good thread dude.

 

[Spudman]

I go in spurts with Chicago. Every time I listen to them I'm blown away and then I've had enough for a while, but when I come back I'm still amazed at how good they were. I guess I just don't like to over saturate myself with them so I can still hold a spot of reverence.

I had dinner with Pete's ex-wife one night. She definitely has had enough of musicians.

 

[Spudman]

Got back to the car after an amazing mountain bike ride around 1989 and the first song on the radio as we were driving down the highway on a perfect, sunny Saturday afternoon was this song. Perfect!


Coincidentally, we started band rehearsal last night with a smoking version of "I'm a Man."

 

[Tig]

I go in spurts with Chicago. Every time I listen to them I'm blown away and then I've had enough for a while, but when I come back I'm still amazed at how good they were. I guess I just don't like to over saturate myself with them so I can still hold a spot of reverence.

I had dinner with Pete's ex-wife one night. She definitely has had enough of musicians.

Understandable (both the Chicago spurts and his ex having enough of musicians!)

I was shocked to find out that Terry Kath's widow was married to Kiefer Sutherland from 1987 to 1990. I guess she has had enough of actors, too!

 

[Radioboy950]

I always found their funky earlier stuff to be my favorites. Tunes like "Make Me Smile" & "25 or 6 to 4" are some of the best songs ever written. And every time I hear "Feelin Stronger Every Day", I crank it!

 

[Spudman]

Understandable (both the Chicago spurts and his ex having enough of musicians!)

Sad thing was, at the time I met her I was in town for a bike race and was pretty successful in that field, but as soon as she found out that I played in a band the weather rolled in and it got pretty cold around the dinner table. Too bad for her. She could have had an athlete with musician skills.:socool

 

[Rockinghorse Winner]

Wow, I never thought of those later albums as anything more than 'retirement padding' by it's surviving members. You've made me reconsider my dismissal.

I agree with you about those early albums though. I also used to sneak into my brother's room and listen to them on the quad system! I wonder if those early systems being analog had anything to do with the immersive experience we all remember. Oh, well, that's another thread...

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I'm not much of a fan for their post Terry Kath music, as I feel that the band's heart and soul was primarily from his contributions. Terry is easily the most under rated guitar player I can think of, which is surprising considering Jimi Hendrix reportedly said to Walter Parazaider, "Your guitar player is better than me".

I agree that Terry was a huge part of it. But a LOT of what I liked came from Robert Lamm's performances and writing as well.

He wrote the three songs I posted. Here is another one of his writing efforts that I really like.

 

[Tig]

I agree that Terry was a huge part of it. But a LOT of what I liked came from Robert Lamm's performances and writing as well.

He wrote the three songs I posted. Here is another one of his writing efforts that I really like.

Yep, true as well. Without Robert, I can't imagine there would have been a long term prospect for Chicago. He has always been their best vocalist, too.

Terry was the band leader at many levels. I think he was a positive catalyst for the others' writing as well. Without him, it was up to Danny Seraphine to step up, but this caused a riff and he was eventually fired. I'd love to see him back, but he's gone on with his own group, CTA (California Transit Authority) that plays mostly old Chicago songs. Wow!

 

[stingx]

Robert Lamm is an amazing keyboard player and vocalist. There are many songs that illustrate dynamic interplay of vocals between him and Cetera and, later, Scheff. The music of a song like Hard Habit to Break is typical 80s keyboard music but the vocal swapping between Lamm and Cetera is just fantastic.

Yes, Kath was a fantastic guitarist and an integral part of the early Chicago sound but Chicago would never have been able to last into the following decades sticking solely to that sound. Lamm helped propel the band into the 80s.

 

[Tig]

Kath was likely to leave the band if he had lived, per Cetera. That could have been cool to hear him stretch his guitar legs, which were usually hidden in much of their music, especially the ballad direction they were headed at the time.