Chicago II [Bonus Tracks] [Digipak] [Remaster]

Performer: Chicago
Engineer: Chris Hinshaw; Don Puluse; Brian Ross-Myring
Producer: James William Guercio
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Chicago: Terry Kath (vocals, guitar); Robert Lamm (vocals, keyboards); Peter Cetera (vocals, bass); Walter Parazaider (winds, background vocals); Lee Loughnane (trumpet, background vocals); James Pankow (trombone); Daniel Seraphine (drums). Recorded at Columbia Studios, New York, New York; Columbia Studios, Hollywood, California in August 1969. Originally released on Columbia (KGP-24). Includes liner notes by David Wild. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Terry Kath (vocals, guitar); Walter Parazaider (vocals, woodwinds); Lee Loughnane (vocals, trumpet); Robert Lamm (vocals, keyboards); Peter Cetera (vocals); James Pankow (trombone); Daniel Seraphine (drums). Audio Remasterer: David Donnelly. Liner Note Author: David Wild. Recording information: Columbia Recording Studios, New York, NY (08/1969). Photographers: Herbert Greene; Hugh Brown. CHICAGO II remains a classic album, encapsulating its time (1969) in all its tumult and glory. The Vietnam War (and the civil unrest it inspired) was still raging, the counterculture dream had not yet crashed and burned, and rock music could be taken seriously as an "art form" while still generating radio hits. Chicago, with their then-new fusion of jazz, rock, and pop, rose high on the charts, while taken seriously both in and beyond the rock-critic establishment. (Some jazz listeners respected and enjoyed Chicago as well.) Their approach had a freshness and vibrancy--"25 Or 6 To 4" was surging, dramatic, and slightly ominous; "Fancy Colours" and "Make Me Smile" were full of soulful optimism; a four-movement suite showed the band had ambition beyond the three- or four-minute pop song. To paraphrase one of Chicago's song titles, it was only the beginning. In some ways the first real Chicago album (1969's self-titled CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY had, in addition to the longer band name, a harder and somewhat more experimental sound), 1970's CHICAGO II is fairly progressive and jazzy, especially in comparison to the straight pop records the ensemble would be making in only a few short years. The album, originally a double-disc record on vinyl, is composed as four side-length suites of interconnected songs, a conceit that works better here than it often can, not least because CHICAGO II includes some of the group's best material. In particular, the hits "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4" (incidentally, author Robert Lamm finally cleared up the mystery of that title a couple of decades later--it's about someone looking at a clock and seeing that the time is around 3:35 a.m.) are here. So is the simply perfect ballad "Colour My World," the band's first masterpiece and still perhaps their finest song ever. Chicago Transit Authority recorded this double-barrel follow-up to their eponymously titled 1969 debut effort. The contents of Chicago II (1970) underscore the solid foundation of complex jazz changes with heavy electric rock & roll on the first set. The septet also continued their ability to blend the seemingly divergent musical styles into some of the best and most effective pop music of the era. One thing that had changed was the band's name, which was shortened to simply Chicago to avoid any potential litigious situations from the city of Chicago's transportation department -- who claimed the name as proprietary property. Musically, James Pankow (trombone) was about to further cross-pollinate the band's sound with the multi-faceted six-song "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon." The classically inspired suite also garnered two of their most beloved hits -- the upbeat pop opener "Make Me Smile" as well as the achingly poignant "Colour My World" -- both of which remained at the center of the group's live sets. Chicago had certainly not abandoned their active pursuit of blending high-octane electric rockers such as "25 or 6 to 4" to the progressive jazz inflections heard in the breezy syncopation of "The Road." Adding further depth of field is the darker "Poem for the People" as well as the politically charged five-song set subtitled "It Better End Soon." These selections feature the combo driving home their formidable musicality and uncanny ability to coalesce styles telepathically and at a moment's notice. The contributions of Terry Kath (guitar/vocals) stand out, as he unleashes some of his most pungent and sinuous leads, contrasting the tight brass and woodwind trio of Lee Loughnane (trumpet/vocals), Walter Parazaider (woodwinds/vocals), and the afore mentioned Pankow. Peter Cetera (bass/vocals) also marks his songwriting debut -- on the final cut of the suite as well as the album -- with "Where Do We Go From Here." It bookends both, with at the very least the anticipation and projection of a positive and optimistic future. Potential consumers should note the unsurpassed sound quality and deluxe packaging of the 2002 CD remaster as well as the single edits of the hits "Make Me Smile" -- extracted from the "Ballet..." -- as well as "25 or 6 to 4," which are not only notably different, but have previously been available only on compilations prior to this reissue. Also included is a miniaturized copy of the eight-panel fold-out poster of the band -- although the lyrics are not included on the reverse, as per the original. Regardless, it is a nice, reminiscent touch. ~ Lindsay Planer

Q (10/02, p.122) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Yeilds intermittent rewards, most notably on the baroque psychedelia of 'Fancy Colors' and 'AM Mourning'..." Mojo (Publisher) (10/02, p.112) - "...Crammed full of fine stuff..."

Chicago was the longest-running and most commercially successful of the hordes of jazz-rock bands with horn sections that sprang up in the late-1960s wake of Blood, Sweat & Tears. After myriad personnel changes (including the death of founding guitarist Terry Kath due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound), Chicago eventually mutated into a more conventional pop group that was able to score hit after hit well into the '80s, usually with romantic ballads. They remain among the best-selling American bands of all time. In the mid 1990s they briefly returned to their roots with an album of big band-era standards given the Chicago treatment.

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