Chicago XXX

There are many reasons why I love the group Chicago - but that's another blog entry for another day... Today, I want to review Chicago XXX, their first recording in some 10 years or so. and it has been a very long wait.

The current line up is: Robert Lamm (keyboards, vocals), James Pankow (trombone), Lee Loughnane (trumpet), Walter Parazaider (sax & reeds), Bill Champlin (keyboards, vocals), Jason Scheff (bass, vocals), Tris Imboden (drums), Keith Howland (guitar).

Lamm, Pankow, Loughnane and Parazaider are all from the original line up that recorded the first Chicago album - Chicago Transit Authority in 1969.

I am just thrilled to be listening to a band who is still cranking out music. This tempered though, with a bit of sadness, as the music is no longer the Chicago I remember.

The album was recorded in Nashville with horn sessions in Los Angeles over the summer of 2005. The producer is Jay DeMarcus of the country group Rascal Flatts. I was a bit nervous when I first heard that a country artist was producing the next Chicago CD. Well, with the exception of one song, it is NOT a country CD at all (thank god!!).

The CD can actually be in two halves - first half reminds me of the 80s Chicago, as there are many power ballads, whereas the second half is more uptempo and contains many of the highlights of the CD for me. Now I do like the ballads Chicago XXX but this is not the reason I became a Chicago fan back when. I became a fan of the early 70s group who was characterized as a "rock band with horns". They were distinctive and innovative. Groups evolve and change to stay popular and Chicago has done just that, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. So having said that there are some notable highlights...

Hands down, the two best songs on XXX are the two written by Robert Lamm and I would venture to say they are some of his best work since Saturday in the Park. They are good. The songs are Come to Me, Do and 90 degrees and Freezing. They sound like a classic Chicago to me, updated to 2006. I wished they would have dropped a few more of the ballads and added more of these kinds of songs... This is Chicago!!

The first single released - Feel is actually on the CD twice. One version has horns and the other does not. Feel without the horns has been released as the first single and it is a waste of time. The version with horns is a much stronger song. Sadly, this speaks volumes as to what the record company thinks Chicago needs to do to get back on the charts - that is, hide the horns. Sigh. I guess they think the general public won't want to hear an aging band with a strong horn section anymore. I disagree. Good music is good music. Chicago is a brass rock band with jazz influences. That's what made them special. Sigh.

The other highlight of the CD is a song, written by Bill Champlin, called Already Gone. It's not a ballad and it cooks. Some terrific horn charts and passion!!! It actually runs for nearly 7 minutes and I would love to see this live.

One horrible song is called Why Can't We. Yuck. It's a duet between Bill Champlin and some female country singer. Why is this even on a Chicago album? It should be on a Kenny Rogers CD. It'll probably hit the country charts and do well... and the group will have to carry this tune (and the female singer) on tour for years to come. It is actually not a bad song, it just doesn't belong here.

Among the ballads, King of Might Have Been stands out. This is primarily written and sung by Jason Scheff (this is the guy who replaced Peter Cetera in 1986). The other song that stands out, and perhaps the next single, is Caroline, although not sure if I would call it technically a ballad. It has a very catchy chorus.

The whole CD is well worth listening to, as all the cuts are good to very strong. I just wish they would have let Robert Lamm contribute more to this CD. Apparently, he had a total of 8 songs submitted to the project, but only two were accepted. Robert Lamm is the Chicago I remember.

Here is the track list (highlights are in bold)...
"Feel" (Hot Single Mix) (Danny Orton/Blair Daly) 4:01
"King of Might Have Been" (Greg Barnhill/Jason Scheff/Dennis Matkosky) 3:52
"Caroline" (Scheff/Chas Sandford) 3:39
"Why Can't We" (Bill Champlin/Jay DeMarcus/Scheff/Sandford) 4:07
"Love Will Come Back" (with Rascal Flatts) (Scheff/DeMarcus/Sandford) 3:48
"Long Lost Friend" (Scheff/DeMarcus/Brett James) 4:33
"90 Degrees and Freezing" (Robert Lamm/Scheff/DeMarcus/James) 3:52
"Where Were You" (Scheff/Champlin/DeMarcus) 4:17
"Already Gone" (Champlin/George Hawkins, Jr.) 6:51
"Come to Me, Do" (Lamm) 4:36
"Lovin' Chains" (DeMarcus/Marcus Hummon) 3:56
"Better" (Champlin/Sandford) 4:41
"Feel" (The Horn Section Mix) (Orton/Daly) 4:30

So I give it a 3 out of 5.

Some links:

Chicago BBS
Official Chicago Page

+++++++
BTW, what should have been the newest Chicago CD was actually released over a year ago as a solo CD by Robert Lamm called Subtlety & Passion. All of the members of Chicago appear on it and sounds more like Chicago than Chicago XXX. Makes sense as Lamm is the person who wrote 25 or 6 to 4, Does Anyone Know What Time It Is, Beginnings and Saturday in the Park..

S&P is one great CD - brass and all. Lamm's writing lately has been as good has it's ever been. He has seemed to have found his groove again. Among the highlights (although every cut is very strong) are Somewhere Girl, It's a Groove, this Life and You Never Know The Story. These three are quite special with the latter as a beautiful tribute to Miles Davis and Terry Kath (Chicago's original giutarist). S&P is an absolute pleasure to listen to, and shows once again how truely gifted Robert Lamm is.

I give it a 5 out of 5.

Links:

Listen to snippets of S&P
One review of S&P
Official Robert Lamm Page