Group Portrait
schu...@hotmail.com
far is "Night And Day."
Our local Best Buy had Group Portrait I-IV for $30. What's you guys'
take on that anthology? What albums does it cover? What are its
strengths/weaknesses?
I saw CTA, II, III, VII, 14,16,&17. Heart of Chicago, Live in Japan,
some Greatest Hits. I'd like to eventually get everything the group
has produced, with the possible exception of the Greatest Hits CD [I
think "Greatest Hits" collections are for Top-40 types]. What would
you advise me to buy, and in which order? Just start with CTA and buy
them in order?
Thanks,
Steve
John Wiklund
> Our local Best Buy had Group Portrait I-IV for $30. What's you guys'
> take on that anthology? What albums does it cover? What are its
> strengths/weaknesses?
I think it's pretty good for a starter. They were the first Chicago
CD's I got, and then I expanded from there. It covers the first
15 albums of Chicago. Main weakness: No "South California Purples"!
> I saw CTA, II, III, VII, 14,16,&17. Heart of Chicago, Live in Japan,
> some Greatest Hits. I'd like to eventually get everything the group
> has produced, with the possible exception of the Greatest Hits CD [I
> think "Greatest Hits" collections are for Top-40 types]. What would
> you advise me to buy, and in which order? Just start with CTA and buy
> them in order?
Going in order isn't too bad of an approach (although I'd skip IV,
which is the Carnegie Hall album until later). That way, you get
their 5 best albums right away.
Shine on!
--
John Wiklund
"Strangers passing in the street,
by chance two separate glances meet,
and I am you and what I see is me."
Pink Floyd - "Echoes"
v1.2a n TW 0/0/ FD 3? 0 DSotM 5 6 <14mar98>
Mustang Man
>
> Our local Best Buy had Group Portrait I-IV for $30. What's you guys'
> take on that anthology? What albums does it cover? What are its
> strengths/weaknesses?
Steve,
If you have the bucks, and no other Chicago albums (except Night and
Day), I really don't think you can go wrong with Group Portrait.
It covers from CTA (their first) through Chicago XIV. It has ALL of
their singles from these albums, along with most of the FM favorites.
I'm very picky about compilation albums, and steer clear of most, but
this one they did a great job on.
It will give you most of the best of their wide variety of songs and
sounds. I would definately recommend it.
> What would you advise me to buy, and in which order? Just start with
> CTA and buy them in order?
As far as this question is concerned (which ones to buy after that),
I think that will depend upon which songs are your favorites
from Group Portrait. The styles of music change so much from album
to album, give Group Portrait time to sink in, and you can e-mail me
back if you wish with a list of your favorite songs from Group
Portrait, and I can tell you which albums they are on. I think this
would be the best way to go about it. Otherwise you might get
suggestions to buy an album that you may not like anything on it.
So, get the Group Portrait, then figure out which songs you like on it,
based upon the type of music (jazzy, hard rock, commercial-sounding,
experimental, etc.), then find out which albums they are on.
I really can't think of a better and safer way to do this. After
conducting surveys on their albums for the last few months, I have
seen peoples personal tastes vary widely over which albums they liked
and didn't, because the styles vary so much during their Columbia
years (CTA through XIV).
I hope that made sense.
Best wishes,
Ron (Mustang Man)