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CHICAGO V
Chicago
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DVD Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 |
Review by Mark Wiechman
We
can make it happen
We can change the world now
We can save the children
We can make it better
We can make it happen
We can save the children
We can make it happen
Album ***1/2
The fifth album from the Big Band of Rock and their seventh
disc of new material in only three years was the last in what I call their
“New York Period.” It
could also be called the Robert Lamm tenure.
This was the last of their early albums recorded in New York and also the
last one which featured mostly Robert Lamm compositions.
It features his best tune “Saturday in the Park” and his funky call
to social action “Dialogue.” The
rest of the album is experimental and unusually disturbing, and also the last of
their albums that could be described as anything but commercial (with the
possible exception of VII).
The next several albums were recorded at Jimmy Guercio’s Colorado
Caribou Ranch studio and while keyboardist Lamm would write many more memorable
tunes, to this day he has not written another hit.
“Saturday”
was inspired by Robert Lamm’s home movie-making in Central Park.
Being a native New Yorker, Lamm was especially inspired by the simple
pleasures of people enjoying themselves and wrote a song which captured
everything that made Chicago great: soaring
horn lines, solid funky rhythms, and great vocals.
It is possibly the best of their early singles and to this day and
certainly has the funkiest piano part of the 1970’s. After playing it every night for decades, it still gets
people on their feet because it encapsulates everything that makes Chicago
great. To me, the measure of great
artists is the ability to do something that no one else could do better, and
certainly no Blood, Sweat, & Tears tune was close to this one.
For anyone who thinks Chicago couldn’t rock hard in their
earlier days or that they did not boldly go where no band had gone before,
listen to Cetera’s angry cry to tear the system down in “State
of the Union”. The
terrifyingly real “While the City
Sleeps” with its inner city
growls from the horn section could be the theme to a cop show even today.
But perhaps it is “Dialogue”
which makes the listener think the most. The
optimistic we-can-change-the-world attitude from the 1960’s lived on in the
early 1970’s, and as the “conscience” of the band, Lamm’s tune begins as
a duet between Cetera’s cynical tenor and Kath’s outraged baritone, just as
society’s more self-righteous factions war with those who know that problems
will always be with us. The second
half of the tune is the kicker, starting with one of the catchiest stomp-funk
beats of the decade before the horns raise the ante.
Then the vocal trio cries out for change, ending with chants of “we can
make it happen” before Kath scats over it like a black preacher at a revival,
pleading for us to change the world.
“A Hit by Varese”
is one of the few tunes on which each horn takes a solo, more like a jazz
ensemble. While none of the solos
are bad, they cannot hide the fact that they are rock players.
The 1970’s fusion excesses rarely emerged on Chicago’s albums and the
horn lines on “Saturday” and
“Dialogue” in particular
sound just as fresh now as then.
Terry Kath had an unusual songwriting talent to write
soulful pop songs that were original and organic, much like a good folk singer.
He never wrote a hit but he “kept it real” before that was even a
catchphrase. He also was able to articulate the band’s message as no one
else could. His soulful vocal on
his tune “Alma Mater”
signals the end of this era when the band must continue to “set brand new
goals” because “we were just meant to be.”
Complete songlist: 1)
A Hit by Varese 2) All is Well 3) Now that You’ve Gone 4) Dialogue: Part One
4) Dialogue: Part Two 5) While the City Sleeps 6) Saturday in the Park 8) State
of the Union 9) Goodbye 10) Alma Mater 11) Dialogue (Live)
Audio ****
Before the disc arrived I read an uncomplimentary review of
the sound, but there must be something wrong with that listener’s system
because it sounds great. Highlights
include the heavy bottom on “State of
the Union”, the clear and
crisp harmonies on “All is Well”,
both versions of “Dialogue”
(the live one is especially exciting in that you feel like you are really there)
and of course “Saturday in the
Park”, which always had a great stereo mix, is even better. The rhythm section can finally be studied and appreciated for
how funky white boys could be in the 1970’s.
Features ***
