Chicago - Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1981)

A.K.A. Chicago XV

All but one of these songs have already appeared on the blog on another compilation, Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago. But since the goal of the blog is to listen to all the CDs on the shelves, this one is getting a Friday morning spin.

The lone exception? Track 9, Gone Long Gone doesn't appear on Only The Beginning. This compilation primarily samples material from Chicago VIII through 1978's Hot Streets, though it also stretches back to pick up overlooked hits from the era first covered by the first greatest hits album.

Billboard, November 11, 1981, p. 72

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #171
Peak on CashBox album chart: #158

Tracks:

Song	Album	Year	Hot 100
Baby What a Big Surprise	XI	1977	4
Dialogue (Part II)	V	1972	24
No Tell Lover	Hot Streets	1979	14
Alive Again	Hot Streets	1978	14
Old Days	VIII	1975	5
If You Leave Me Now	X	1976	1
Question 67 & 68	I	1969	71
		1971	24
Happy Man	VII	1974	-
Gone Long Gone	Hot Streets	1979	73
Take Me Back to Chicago	XI	1978	63

Missing Top 40 hit: Another Rainy Day in New York City (#32, 1976). Would I have preferred chronological sequencing and liner notes and credits? You betcha.

It's an understandably weaker album that the first greatest hits compilation, but Peter Cetera's soft rock contributions to the Chicago œuvre are squarely in my wheelhouse, particularly Baby What A Big Surprise, No Tell Lover, and If You Leave Me Now. Hearing part 2 of Dialogue without the first part doesn't seem right, even though I prefer the latter half of that conversation. However, I can easily listen through the whole CD without skipping any tunes.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm flashing back to the hot summer Old Days, being introduced to these tunes on the AM radio. I had a friend whose much older sister listened to Chicago, so in my pre-teen mind, this was music the cool high school kids enjoyed so if I liked it, it would make me cool, too. Right?

Previously revisited for the blog:
Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago (2002)
Greatest Hits 1982-1989 (1989)
Chicago 17 (1984)
Chicago 16 (1982)
Greatest Hits (1975)
Chicago Transit Authority (1969)