Chicago (album)
Encyclopedia
Chicago is the second album by Chicago
-based rock
band Chicago
. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority after releasing their same-titled debut
album the previous year.
in 1971.
While The Chicago Transit Authority was a success, Chicago is considered by many to be Chicago's breakthrough album, yielding a number of Top 40 hits, including "Make Me Smile" (#9), "Colour My World" (#7), and "25 or 6 to 4
" (#4). The centerpiece of the album was the thirteen-minute song cycle
"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon
". Guitarist Terry Kath
also participated in an extended classically styled cycle of four pieces, three of which were co-written by the well-known, arranger, composer, and pianist Peter Matz
. The politically outspoken Robert Lamm
also tackles his qualms with "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Peter Cetera
, later to play a crucial role in the band's music, contributed his first song to Chicago and this album, "Where Do We Go From Here".
Released in January 1970 on Columbia Records
, Chicago was an instant hit, reaching #4 in the US and #6 in the UK.
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 Kath in "25 Or 6 To 4" and a different vocal take from Lamm in "Wake Up Sunshine", the latter of 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.
Single
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority after releasing their same-titled debut
The Chicago Transit Authority (album)
The Chicago Transit Authority is the eponymous debut album by the Chicago-based rock band The Chicago Transit Authority, who would later be known as Chicago. It was recorded and released in 1969.-History:...
album the previous year.
History
Although the official title of the album is Chicago, it came to be retroactively known as Chicago II, keeping it in line with the succession of Roman numeral-titled albums that officially began with Chicago IIIChicago III
-Personnel:*Peter Cetera - bass, vocals*Terry Kath - guitar, vocals*Robert Lamm - keyboard, vocals*Lee Loughnane - trumpet, vocals*James Pankow - trombone*Walter Parazaider - woodwinds, vocals*Danny Seraphine - drums...
in 1971.
While The Chicago Transit Authority was a success, Chicago is considered by many to be Chicago's breakthrough album, yielding a number of Top 40 hits, including "Make Me Smile" (#9), "Colour My World" (#7), and "25 or 6 to 4
25 or 6 to 4
"25 or 6 to 4" is a song written by American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. It was recorded for their second album, Chicago , with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The song was edited and released as a single in June of the year 2009, climbing to...
" (#4). The centerpiece of the album was the thirteen-minute song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon
Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon
"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" , a nearly thirteen-minute song cycle/suite from Chicago's 1970 album Chicago II, was the group's first attempt at a long-format multi-part work....
". Guitarist Terry Kath
Terry Kath
Terry Alan Kath , born in Chicago, Illinois, was the original guitarist and founding member of the rock band Chicago...
also participated in an extended classically styled cycle of four pieces, three of which were co-written by the well-known, arranger, composer, and pianist Peter Matz
Peter Matz
Peter Matz was an award winning American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent artists, including Marlene Dietrich, Noël Coward and Barbra Streisand...
. The politically outspoken Robert Lamm
Robert Lamm
Robert William Lamm is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter who came to fame as a founding member of the pop rock band Chicago...
also tackles his qualms with "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
, later to play a crucial role in the band's music, contributed his first song to Chicago and this album, "Where Do We Go From Here".
Released in January 1970 on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, Chicago was an instant hit, reaching #4 in the US and #6 in the UK.
Columbia Records was very active in promoting its quadraphonic
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
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 Kath in "25 Or 6 To 4" and a different vocal take from Lamm in "Wake Up Sunshine", the latter of which reveals a different lyric in the song's last line.
In 2002, Chicago was remastered and reissued on one CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
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
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
version of the album in 2003, featuring both Advanced Resolution Stereo and 5.1 surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
mixes.
Track listing
Personnel
- Peter CeteraPeter CeteraPeter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Terry KathTerry KathTerry Alan Kath , born in Chicago, Illinois, was the original guitarist and founding member of the rock band Chicago...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Robert LammRobert LammRobert William Lamm is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter who came to fame as a founding member of the pop rock band Chicago...
– keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Lee LoughnaneLee LoughnaneLee Loughnane , born 21 October 1946 in Elmwood Park, Illinois to Juanita Wall and Philip Louis Loughnane, is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago.- Biography :...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, vocals - James PankowJames PankowJames Carter "Jimmy" Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument arranger best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.-Early life:...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Walter ParazaiderWalter ParazaiderWalter Parazaider is best known for being a founding member and saxophone player for the rock band Chicago. He also plays the flute and other woodwind instruments in the band, including clarinet. On the hit "You're Not Alone," he played backing rhythm guitar.Parazaider began playing the clarinet...
– woodwinds, vocals - Danny SeraphineDanny SeraphineDaniel Peter "Danny" Seraphine is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer, best known for being the original drummer and founding member of the rock group Chicago, a tenure which lasted from February 1967 to May 1990.-Early life:Danny Seraphine was born in...
– drums
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
4 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "25 or 6 to 4" | Billboard Pop Singles | 4 |
| 1970 | "Make Me Smile" | Billboard Pop Singles | 9 |
| 1971 | "Colour My World" | Billboard Pop Singles | 7 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | April 13, 1970 |
| RIAA – USA | Platinum | August 9, 1991 |