Chicago (album) explained

Chicago
Type:studio
Artist:Chicago
Cover:ChicagoAlbum.jpg
Released:January 26, 1970[1]
Recorded:August 1969
Studio:
Genre:
Length:66:08
Label:Columbia
Producer:James William Guercio
Prev Title:Chicago Transit Authority
Prev Year:1969
Next Title:Chicago III
Next Year:1971

Chicago (retroactively known as Chicago II) is the second studio album by the American rock band Chicago, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Like their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, it is a double album. It was their first album released under the name Chicago—the band's prior name, Chicago Transit Authority, was changed due to a threatened lawsuit from the actual mass-transit operator bearing the same name—and the first to use the now ubiquitous cursive Chicago logo on the cover.

Chicago was commercially successful. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April of the same year of its release, and certified platinum in 1991. It reached No. 4 on the album charts in the United States and No. 6 on the album charts in the UK, and produced three top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The album received three Grammy Award nominations: for Album of the Year, Contemporary Vocal Group, and Best Album Cover. It was voted best album of 1970 by readers of Cash Box magazine, and the 1971 best small-combo LP by readers of Playboy magazine.

History

The album was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from "The Chicago Transit Authority" following the release of their self-titled debut album the previous year, in order to avoid legal action being threatened by the actual mass-transit company. The official title of the album is Chicago, although it came to be known as Chicago II, keeping it in line with the succession of Roman numeral-titled albums that officially began with Chicago III in 1971.

Chicago Transit Authority was a success, yet Chicago is considered by many to be the group's breakthrough album, yielding three singles that made it into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, including "Make Me Smile" (number 9), "Colour My World" (number 7), and "25 or 6 to 4" (number 4).[2]

Chicago was released in January 1970 on Columbia Records and was an instant hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard 200 in the United States[3] and number 6 in the UK.[4] Columbia Records was very active in promoting its quadraphonic four-channel surround-sound format in the mid-1970s, and nine of Chicago's first ten albums were made available in quad. The quad mix features elements not heard in the standard stereo mix, including additional guitar work from virtuoso Terry Kath in "25 Or 6 To 4" and a different vocal take from Lamm in "Wake Up Sunshine," which reveals a different lyric in the song's last line.

In 2002, Chicago was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records with the single versions of "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4" as bonus tracks. Rhino released a DVD-Audio version of the album in 2003, featuring both Advanced Resolution Stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. In 2016, British producer and musician Steven Wilson remixed Chicago from the original multitrack tapes. This version was released on January 27, 2017, by Rhino Records.[5] A vinyl edition of the remix cut by Kevin Gray was released on August 11, 2017. Robert Lamm stated in an interview that the album has been nominated for the Grammy Hall of Fame more than once.[6]

Musical style, writing, composition

In a 2015 article, Classic Rock Review says the album saw Chicago's, "full immersion into mainstream success while still building on their fusion of rock, funk and jazz."[7]

In Danny Seraphine's book Street Player, he describes it this way: "In between the dates of our touring schedule, we somehow found the opportunity to jump into CBS Studios in Los Angeles and record a second album in August 1969. Whereas the first record was a compilation of raw energy, we took a more controlled approach to our new effort."[8]

The centerpiece of the album was the 13-minute song cycle "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" written by trombone player James Pankow, from which came the singles "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World". Guitarist Terry Kath also participated in an extended classically styled cycle of four pieces, three of which were co-written by arranger, composer, and pianist Peter Matz.[9] Politically outspoken keyboardist Robert Lamm expresses his qualms in "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Bassist Peter Cetera contributed his first song to Chicago with "Where Do We Go From Here?".

Recording, production

The album was produced by James William Guercio, who was Chicago's producer for its first eleven albums,[10] and was recorded in less than a month, during August 1969.

In 1970, James Pankow said about the album, "We . . . think it is better recorded and better played than the first. None of us feel, though, that we are really a recording group yet. We are all scared in the studio. We are really a live group."[11]

Artwork, packaging

The Chicago logo, which made its first appearance on the cover of this album, was designed by John Berg and fashioned by Nick Fasciano,[12] who were both nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Cover for their efforts.[13] [14] John Berg said the Coca-Cola logo was the inspiration for the Chicago logo.[12] The cover art work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[15] The band's official web site labels the cover design, "silver bar."[16]

The double-LP album's inner cover includes the playlist; the entire lyrics to "It Better End Soon"; a "Producer's Note" stating, "This endeavor should be experienced sequentially"; and a declaration written by Robert Lamm,[17] "With this album, we dedicate ourselves, our futures and our energies to the people of the revolution. And the revolution in all of its forms."[18]

Reception

Critical reception

Contemporary reviews for the album were mixed. In his review for the Chicago Sun Times, writer Al Rudis says Chicago's second album "confirms" that "Chicago is one of the most exciting, most original, and most accomplished jazz-rock groups in existence."[11] whereas in a review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave a review of Chicago as a "D+" and called it "sterile and stupid", writing that if "Duke Ellington never got away with an extended work for horns and meaningfulness, [what] makes James William Guercio and the self-designated revolutionaries who are his cohorts think they can?"[19]

There have been positive retrospective reviews. Lindsay Planer from AllMusic gave the album four-and-a-half out of five stars and said its songs "underscore the solid foundation of complex jazz changes with heavy electric rock & roll that the band so brazenly forged on the first set".[20] Jim Beviglia, writing for American Songwriter, said, "50 years after its release, Chicago II still stands as the one of the band’s signature achievements. ...Listening to Chicago II now, it is remarkable just how smoothly the various pieces blend together."[21]

Accolades

+Grammy AwardsYearCategoryWorkResult
1971Album of the YearChicago[22]
Contemporary Vocal GroupChicago
Best Album CoverChicago (John Berg & Nick Fasciano)

Other honors

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1 "Movin' In"4:06
2 "The Road" Kath 3:10
3 "Poem for the People" 4:25
4 "In the Country" Kath 6:34
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1 "Wake Up Sunshine" Lamm 2:29
2–8 "Ballet for a Girl
in Buchannon
"
"Make Me Smile" Pankow Kath 3:32
"So Much to Say, So Much to Give" Lamm 1:04
"Anxiety's Moment" 1:00
"West Virginia Fantasies" 1:34
"Colour My World" Kath 2:58
"To Be Free" 1:21
"Now More Than Ever" Kath 1:27
Side three
No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1 "Fancy Colours" Lamm Cetera 5:10
2 "25 or 6 to 4" 4:50
3–6 "Memories of Love"
"Prelude" 1:18
"A.M. Mourning" 2:05
"P.M. Mourning" 1:59
"Memories of Love" Kath Kath 4:01
Side four
No. Title Writers(s) Lead vocals Length
1–4 "It Better End Soon"
"1st Movement" Lamm Kath 2:30
"2nd Movement" 3:47
"3rd Movement" Kath 3:19
"4th Movement" Lamm 1:15
5 "Where Do We Go from Here?" Cetera Cetera 2:53

Personnel

Chicago

Production

2002 reissue

Charts

Chart (1970)Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[26] 5
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[27] 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 14

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 125 Years of Columbia Records. 360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story. Sony Music Entertainment. November 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171114143057/http://www.columbiarecords.com/timeline/#!date=1915-06-05_18:57:53!. November 14, 2017. dead.
  2. Chicago Chart History: Hot 100. Billboard. November 8, 2017. May 8, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180508160334/https://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/hot-100. live.
  3. Chicago Chart History: Billboard 200. Billboard. November 8, 2017. October 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171023201309/http://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/billboard-200. live.
  4. Web site: Chicago full Official Chart History Official Charts Company. Official Charts. November 9, 2017. November 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171110061700/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/chicago/. live.
  5. Web site: Chicago II Steven Wilson Remix . Planer . Lindsay . . February 17, 2017 . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222082331/https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/mr0004652426 . December 22, 2018 . live . mdy-all .
  6. News: Chicago's Robert Lamm on revisiting 'Chicago II' and the band's long and winding road. Clark. Jeff. October 31, 2017. Sun Herald. May 16, 2018. Gulfport, Mississippi, USA. en. January 18, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180118163231/http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/by-the-way/article181885271.html. live. mdy-all.
  7. Web site: Chicago II. July 3, 2015. Classic Rock Review. en-US. January 16, 2019. January 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013302/http://www.classicrockreview.com/tag/midwest-artists/page/2/. live. mdy-all.
  8. Book: Seraphine, Danny. Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc.. 2011. 9780470416839. 108.
  9. Chicago. 2002. CD booklet. Rhino Entertainment Company. R2 76172. Burbank, California, USA.
  10. Web site: A Chicago Story – Chicago. Chicagotheband.com. en-US. January 16, 2019. October 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181030061450/https://chicagotheband.com/a-chicago-story/. live.
  11. News: Chicago Is a Live Group. Rudis. Al. February 7, 1970. The Lincoln Journal Star. en-US. Newspapers.com. January 16, 2019. January 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013438/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27280217/lincoln_journal_star/. live.
  12. John. Berg. Paul Nini. American Institute of Graphic Arts. Across the Graphic Universe: an Interview with John Berg. October 30, 2007. November 9, 2017. October 24, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024102643/http://www.aiga.org/across-the-graphic-universe-an-interview-with-john-berg/. dead.
  13. Web site: Grammy Awards: Artist: John Berg. Recording Academy Grammy Awards. en. November 9, 2017. August 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210812045444/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/john-berg/1692. live.
  14. Web site: Grammy Awards: Artist: Nick Fasciano. Recording Academy Grammy Awards. en. November 9, 2017. August 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210812045510/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/nick-fasciano/12413. live.
  15. Web site: John Berg, Nick Fasciano. Cover for Chicago's second self-titled album. The Museum of Modern Art. en. November 9, 2017. November 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114706/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/189432. live.
  16. Web site: Albums: Chicago. Chicago - The Band. Chicago Touring. November 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171114162006/http://www.chicagotheband.com/albums/chicago2.html. November 14, 2017. dead.
  17. Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set). 1991. 4. November 12, 2017. William James. Ruhlmann. CD booklet archived online. Columbia Records. New York City, NY. October 24, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024112742/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_4.html. dead.
  18. Chicago (album). Chicago. 1970 . Vinyl LP cover liner notes . Columbia . KGP 24 CS 9962 XSM 151734 . U.S.A. .
  19. News: Christgau. Robert. Robert Christgau. April 23, 1970. Consumer Guide (9). The Village Voice. November 7, 2017. November 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191120214242/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg9.php. live.
  20. Web site: Chicago. Planer. Lindsay. AllMusic. February 17, 2017. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20170422072524/http://www.allmusic.com/album/chicago-ii-mw0000649971. April 22, 2017. live. mdy-all.
  21. Web site: Robert Lamm Looks Back On The 50th Anniversary Of 'Chicago II'. Beviglia. Jim. February 25, 2020. American Songwriter. en-US. February 26, 2020. February 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200226154526/https://americansongwriter.com/chicago-ii-50th-anniversary-robert-lamm/jim-beviglia/. live.
  22. Web site: Grammy Award Nominees and Winners – 1971. awardsandshows.com. 2017-10-21. 2011-12-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20111213120658/http://www.awardsandshows.com/features/grammy-awards-1971-220.html. live.
  23. December 26, 1970 . Best Albums of 1970 . XXXII. 27. Cash Box . USA . 46. May 10, 2019. Internet Archive .
  24. News: Chicago Coming to Hampton . May 29, 1973 . Daily Press . Newport News–Hampton, Virginia, USA . 10 . en-US . . May 10, 2019 . June 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607005738/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31444269/daily_press/ . live .
  25. February 1971 . Jazz & Pop '71 . Playboy . HMH Publishing Co., Inc. . available at, Bondi Data Viewer
  26. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 62.
  27. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. June 20, 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Chicago".
  28. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 . . Roppongi, Tokyo . 2006 . 4-87131-077-9 . ja.