Chicago 6 Album
Allen Yerke
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, this was a double album. It was their first album 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.
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 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
With his new solo album, Dancing Together (out October 6, with a record release show the night before at Constellation), Atassi meshes his various styles into a melodic instrumental sound full of heart and rhythm. Aiding in that pursuit is his newly assembled group, the Cosmic Dance Band.
Diagnosis, Sen Morimoto
The Chicago artist and Sooper Records co-owner introduced some tracks from his third album, which touches on the ways marginalized musicians are expected to commodify their identities, at his Pitchfork set in July. Nov. 3
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. They have recorded 38 albums, sold over 100,000,000 records and are one of the longest-running and best-selling music groups of all time.
In this session, we talk to Loughnane and Lamm from the road about the new album, film and the stories behind some of their biggest hits. Speaking of hits, they've shared live performances of them too. Listen in the player above.
I am also a big fan of the original Terry Kath-era of Chicago, the version of the band playing on this album. In fact, the first rock concert I ever saw was Chicago (with The Beach Boys, at Madison Square Garden in 1975 or thereabouts).
Both versions have their merits, but if there is one overriding factor linking the two versions, that is a certain softness to all the instruments which may have something to do with how they were actually recorded as opposed to how the final album as mixed. It also might have to do with certain types of processors that might have been used back in the day.
Of course, I am listening to this on a CD which has its own inherent limitations, I recognize that. Still, all things considered it sounds quite good and one can guess that the high resolution version probably sounds pretty great too (more on that in a moment)
Firstly, do you really need yet another edition of Chicago II if you already have it on Blu-ray Disc and DVD Audio and LP already? I mean, those Quad mixes are a lot of fun and even the DVD A version has its charms (which I outlined in my review of the Quadio box set last year).
The DVD included in Live in Chicago is also a real treat. It features a live video recording, with excellent sound quality of the second night Hot Water Music played in Chicago. The video offers the listener a couple of songs not included on the live album, adding a little more incentive to sit down and watch. What I found most compelling was actually watching Hot Water Music perform. You get a sense of their technicality and precision listening to them, but actually seeing them play, fret notes, and sing gives a whole other perspective. I found myself walking away with a new sense of respect for Hot Water Music, admiring the complexity of their musical division of labor and just how necessary every member is to their sound.
I saw the new video and loved it. Today I wanted to touch base with you about your process since the pandemic, your move to Chicago, and your growth between the last album and your newest album.
So a lot of the album is not very cohesive sonically, because I recorded it wherever I could. But this new album was really dope because me and Sam of No BS! Brass came together with a bunch of concepts. I wanted to make an album that was recorded in the same place, whether it was a studio or a home. And knock it out with the same players instead of me recording in a bunch of different cities.
Your music is so thoughtful and you deal with a lot of difficult subjects. Do you feel any pressure on the commercial side? What is the line between keeping true to yourself and then trying to bridge over into the mainstream?
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