Twenty 1
Encyclopedia
Twenty 1 is the 21st album
by American
rock
band Chicago
and was released in 1991. As their first album of the 1990s, Twenty 1 was intended to extend Chicago's continuing success into another decade.
Retaining producer Ron Nevison
from Chicago 19
, the band sacked founding drummer Danny Seraphine
and replaced him with Tris Imboden
(though session player John Keane played the majority of tracks on Twenty 1) and added Dawayne Bailey
, their touring guitarist since 1986, as an extra guitarist for Twenty 1s 1990 sessions.
According to Nevison, work on the album was somewhat fragmented, with the band members rarely in the studio together, and work continuing with session musicians while the band was on tour. The fragmentation was furthered when Humberto Gatica
was assigned to mix the final version of the album without Nevison's input.
Unfortunately, while the music for Twenty 1 was familiar and commercial, the shifting of musical trends (Nirvana
and the grunge
movement were months away) lost Chicago valuable radio support and, consequently, Twenty 1 and its songs went mostly unheard upon their January 1991 release. Nevison maintains that if his original mixes had been used, the album would have been more successful: "It all would have worked if they’d left it alone. I promise you." Although "Chasin' The Wind" (#39) became a minor hit, Twenty 1 merely reached #66 before exiting the charts.
As a result, Chicago would take a different tack for its subsequent album, Stone of Sisyphus, hiring producer Peter Wolf to develop a more ambitious, experimental effort. That 1994 release would be scrapped, but was released over 14 years later on June 17, 2008. A demo from the Twenty 1 sessions was included on the Sisyphus release. Twenty 1 would be Chicago's last full-length album of original songs until Chicago XXX
in 2006.
Twenty 1 (Full Moon/Reprise 26391) reached #66 in the US during a chart stay of 11 weeks. It did not chart in the UK.
Additional personnel
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country 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...
and was released in 1991. As their first album of the 1990s, Twenty 1 was intended to extend Chicago's continuing success into another decade.
Retaining producer Ron Nevison
Ron Nevison
Multi-platinum record producer Ron Nevison, throughout his career, has operated much like a surgeon, brought in during a critical point in a band's career to bring them back to the top from the commercial brink...
from Chicago 19
Chicago 19
Chicago 19 is the 19th album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1988. After recording Chicago 18 with David Foster, the band decided to expand their sound with other producers and worked primarily with Ron Nevison and Chas Sandford for this album...
, the band sacked founding drummer Danny Seraphine
Danny Seraphine
Daniel 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...
and replaced him with Tris Imboden
Tris Imboden
Tris Imboden is the current drummer with Chicago. He replaced their original drummer Danny Seraphine following his dismissal in 1990. Prior to joining Chicago, as well as during his tenure with the band, Imboden has had a career as a studio session player...
(though session player John Keane played the majority of tracks on Twenty 1) and added Dawayne Bailey
Dawayne Bailey
Dawayne Bailey is an American guitarist who has toured and recorded with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band and Chicago.Bailey was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. While still attending Manhattan High School in Kansas, he founded the band Rathbone, which developed a strong regional fan base...
, their touring guitarist since 1986, as an extra guitarist for Twenty 1s 1990 sessions.
According to Nevison, work on the album was somewhat fragmented, with the band members rarely in the studio together, and work continuing with session musicians while the band was on tour. The fragmentation was furthered when Humberto Gatica
Humberto Gatica
Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American record producer, music mixer, audio engineer anda long-time collaborator with producer David Foster....
was assigned to mix the final version of the album without Nevison's input.
Unfortunately, while the music for Twenty 1 was familiar and commercial, the shifting of musical trends (Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and the grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
movement were months away) lost Chicago valuable radio support and, consequently, Twenty 1 and its songs went mostly unheard upon their January 1991 release. Nevison maintains that if his original mixes had been used, the album would have been more successful: "It all would have worked if they’d left it alone. I promise you." Although "Chasin' The Wind" (#39) became a minor hit, Twenty 1 merely reached #66 before exiting the charts.
As a result, Chicago would take a different tack for its subsequent album, Stone of Sisyphus, hiring producer Peter Wolf to develop a more ambitious, experimental effort. That 1994 release would be scrapped, but was released over 14 years later on June 17, 2008. A demo from the Twenty 1 sessions was included on the Sisyphus release. Twenty 1 would be Chicago's last full-length album of original songs until Chicago XXX
Chicago XXX
Chicago XXX is an album by the American band Chicago, released on March 21, 2006. Their 30th official album, it is Chicago's first studio release of new and original material since 1991's Twenty 1....
in 2006.
Track listing
- "Explain it to My Heart" (Diane WarrenDiane WarrenDiane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
) – 4:44 - "If It Were You" (Jason ScheffJason ScheffJason Randolph Scheff is an American bassist, singer and songwriter. Since 1985 he has been the bassist and singer for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago. He is the oldest son of well-known session bassist Jerry Scheff, who toured for several years with Elvis Presley...
/Darin Scheff/Tony Smith) – 4:43 - "You Come to My Senses" (Billy SteinbergBilly SteinbergWilliam Endfield "Billy" Steinberg is an American songwriter. He has achieved most of his success as part of a song writing team, most notably with Tom Kelly. He has also co-written several hit songs with Rick Nowels.-Biography:...
/Tom KellyTom Kelly (musician)Thomas F. Kelly is an American musician, best known for his songwriting partnership with Billy Steinberg. Steinberg and Kelly co-wrote numerous hit songs for popular music artists, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Top 100 chart in the 1980s....
) – 3:49 - "Somebody, Somewhere" (Bill ChamplinBill ChamplinWilliam Bradford "Bill" Champlin is an American singer, guitarist, keyboard player, arranger, producer, and songwriter. His performance work is principally associated with the bands Chicago and the Sons of Champlin...
/Dennis Matkosky/Kevin DukesKevin DukesKevin Dukes is an American guitarist, born in Brookhaven, Mississippi in 1956.A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Kevin attended The University of Southern Mississippi as a Music Theory and Composition major prior to moving to Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s...
) – 4:21 - "What Does It Take" (Jason ScheffJason ScheffJason Randolph Scheff is an American bassist, singer and songwriter. Since 1985 he has been the bassist and singer for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago. He is the oldest son of well-known session bassist Jerry Scheff, who toured for several years with Elvis Presley...
/Gerard McMahonGerard McMahonGerard McMahon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who specialises in creating music for films and TV...
) – 4:38 - "One from the Heart" (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...
/Gerard McMahon) – 4:43 - "Chasin' the Wind" (Diane Warren) – 4:18
- "God Save the Queen" (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:...
/Jason Scheff) – 4:19 - "Man to Woman" (Jason Scheff/Adam Mitchell) – 3:56
- "Only Time Can Heal the Wounded" (Robert Lamm/Gerard McMahon) – 4:43
- "Who Do You Love" (Bill Champlin/Dennis Matkosky) – 3:20
- "Holdin' On" (Bill Champlin/Tom Saviano) – 4:15
Twenty 1 (Full Moon/Reprise 26391) reached #66 in the US during a chart stay of 11 weeks. It did not chart in the UK.
Personnel
- Dawayne BaileyDawayne BaileyDawayne Bailey is an American guitarist who has toured and recorded with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band and Chicago.Bailey was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. While still attending Manhattan High School in Kansas, he founded the band Rathbone, which developed a strong regional fan base...
- 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...
s, background vocals - Bill ChamplinBill ChamplinWilliam Bradford "Bill" Champlin is an American singer, guitarist, keyboard player, arranger, producer, and songwriter. His performance work is principally associated with the bands Chicago and the Sons of Champlin...
- keyboardsKeyboard 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, background vocals - Tris ImbodenTris ImbodenTris Imboden is the current drummer with Chicago. He replaced their original drummer Danny Seraphine following his dismissal in 1990. Prior to joining Chicago, as well as during his tenure with the band, Imboden has had a career as a studio session player...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - 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...
- keyboards, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, background 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...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, background 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...
, background vocals - 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...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, background vocals - Jason ScheffJason ScheffJason Randolph Scheff is an American bassist, singer and songwriter. Since 1985 he has been the bassist and singer for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago. He is the oldest son of well-known session bassist Jerry Scheff, who toured for several years with Elvis Presley...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals, background vocals
Additional personnel
- John Keane - drums
- Robbie BuchananRobbie BuchananRobbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
- keyboards - Efrain ToroEfrain ToroEfrain Toro is a Puerto Rican percussionist and music educator. He has written numerous books on rhythm.His main argument is that the Western form of musical notation of rhythm is a misunderstanding of the nature of music; he believes that western music's use of fixed spaces between notes does not...
- keyboards - Tom Keane - keyboards
- Steve PorcaroSteve PorcaroSteven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto....
- keyboards programming - David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
- acoustic piano - Michael LandauMichael LandauMichael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...
- guitar - Stephen "Doc" Kupka - baritone saxophone