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CHICAGO II
Chicago

DVD Audio Dolby Digital 5.1

Review by Mark Wiechman

As time goes on, I realize just what you mean to me
And now, now that you’re near
Promise your love that I’ve waited to share
And dreams of our moments together
Colour my world with hopes of loving you

Album ****

In 1968 Jimi Hendrix released the biggest album of the year, Are You Experienced? and changed music forever.  When he toured, he invited a band from the windy city to open for him on tour.  He told them that their horn section sounded like it had one set of lungs and that their guitarist was better than he was.  I doubt that seven young men who had moved recently to LA could have asked for a bigger compliment or endorsement.   They wanted to be the Beatles with horns, and in many ways they succeeded.  They were Chicago.  They had it all—the counterculture anger, rock credibility, and pop success.   Until the tragic death of Terry Kath in 1978, they were one of the biggest bands in history.  They continue performing and recording to this day, but the great compositions and commercial success of this album marked it as an early peak.  It is all the more amazing considering that they toured constantly in those early years.  The side-long protest to the Viet Nam conflict It Better End Soon showed where they stood on the revolutionary political spirit of the time, the Ballet for a Girl in Buchanan bared the happiness of a young man in love, Memories of Love is a mix of soul singing and classical ensemble which outdid the Moody Blues, and Colour My World was played at every prom of the decade.  All in one album! 

Horns have always been part of rock, but usually in minimal roles to add spice to the rest of the band, peaking with the Memphis Horns and other great players in soul bands.  The brass role was very limited and defined. But this band’s horns were a separate voice.  No simple eighth-note pops and bursts, but complex counterpoints that made the songs completely rock.  I have often thought that the reason why Peter Cetera succeeded as the best-known vocalist in the band is that his voice actually sounds brassy, just like a horn, and when they soared together, the sound was unlike any other band before or since, leaving bands like Blood, Sweat, & Tears in the dust and making other fine hornsmen like Chuck Mangione seem vanilla.  But maybe that is an unfair comparison, since he did not have guitar virtuoso in his band! 

The horns were only part of the appeal.  Three excellent singers, Robert Lamm (smooth), Terry Kath (soulful) and Peter Cetera (soaring) sometimes confused listeners who were used to just listening for a voice to identify the band.  Cetera was also an excellent bassist, and Kath was indeed as good as any guitarist in rock, though he was content to be part of a great ensemble instead of leading a small combo and this partly explains his lack of appropriate fame.  Trombonist James Pankow arranged the excellent horn lines and also wrote many early hits including the “Ballet for a Girl in Buchanan” from this album, a tour de force of brass bouquets, colored worlds, and 70’s smiles. 

While their innovative debut Chicago Transit Authority was only an underground success, their second album exploded behind the singles Make Me Smile, Colour My World, and 25 or 6 to 4.  This album showed the full spectrum of sounds they were capable of with their conservatory training and strong anti-establishment colors showing.  In fact, if you have not heard CTA and Chicago (II) all the way through, you really don’t know the band at all.  Unlike many other great bands, their masterpieces came very early.  They were able to make innovative records which were also hugely successful in commercial terms.  Only two albums outsold this one in 1970:  Bridge Over Troubled Waters and Led Zeppelin II.   It even outsold Abbey Road. 

The best Chicago songs usually meshed several talents into their unmistakable sound.  For example, Color My World was written by trombonist James Pankow, sung by guitarist Terry Kath, and features Walt Parazaider’s flute solo that is emulated by every young flautist on the planet.  25 or 6 to 4 was written by keyboardist Robert Lamm but is sung by bassist Peter Cetera and features a blistering guitar solo by the eternally underrated Terry Kath.  There is no keyboard on this tune nor any guitar on Color My World.  This unselfishly democratic way of constructing the tunes and letting the music lead the way instead of ego is unheard of in pop.  The best voices and instruments make the songs soar. 

SONG LIST:

1) Movin’ In   (2) The Road (3) Poem for the People (4) In the Country (5) Wake Up Sunshine (6) Make Me Smile (7) So Much to Say, So Much to Give (8) Anxiety’s Moment (9) West Virginia Fantasies (10) Colour My World (11) To Be Free (12) Now More than Ever (13) Fancy Colors (14) 25 or 6 to 4 (15) Prelude (16) A.M. Mourning (17) P.M. Mourning (18) Memories of Love (19-22) It Better End Soon (23) Where Do We Go From Here

Audio ****

The bass and guitars have a metallic “ribbony” quality that they usually only have when they are right in front of you.  The horns have an extra twang to them and drums have a “pop” to them which more accurately showcases Danny Seraphine’s driving style.  Bravo to trumpeter Lee Loughnane for his guidance.

And no band needs the 5.1 like Chicago since they are the rock Big Band.  This is close to what they sound like in concert—you can actually hear the all of the instruments separately and enjoy each one.  I never noticed the acoustic guitar at the beginning of Poem For the People despite the fact that I have heard the remastered CD version.  The vocals on this disc, as with many DVD audio discs, sound live, as if the singer is right in front of you in a nicely tuned echo chamber.  Each instrument cuts cleanly.

Extras: