Chicago - Group Portrait (Disc 1) (1991)

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX SET WEEK (MARCH 8 - 14, 2020)*
*In which I've lost/misplaced/can't find/never had one or more CDs in a multi-disc set.

Disc 1 of a 4 disc box set which covers only the group's tenure with Columbia Records and does not include their 80's Warner Bros. hits. Liner notes here. I'm guessing the set was aimed at '70s Chicago fans who wanted to listen to the band on CD but didn't want to re-purchase all their albums on CD (especially Chicago 13).

Selections on this first disc are hits and album cuts taken from the groups first two albums, Chicago Transit Authority (1969), and Chicago (1970). In chronological order!

Detroit Free Press, October 27, 1991, p. 4Q

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

Song	Hot 100	AC
Introduction	-	-
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?	7	5
Beginnings	7	1
Questions 67 & 68	24	34
Listen	-
Poem 58	-	-
I'm a Man	49	-
Make Me Smile	9	-
So Much To Say, So Much To Give	-	-
Anxiety's Moment	-	-
West Virginia Fantasies	-	-
Colour My World	7	-
To Be Free	-	-
Now More Than Ever	-	-
Fancy Colours	-	-
25 Or 6 To 4	4	-
Where Do We Go From Here	-	-

I'm normally not much for prog rock, but there's some tasty playing on these tracks regardless if they're meandering jam songs, neo-classical suites, or pop/rock singles. I prefer the singles but that's simply because they've seemingly been blaring out of some nearby speaker my entire life. And now I'll most likely spin Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago at some point today.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  Track 3, Beginnings, reminds me of an ill-advised trip to the beach during the Lost Summer of Mark, 1988. Long story short: I listened to my cassette version of Chicago IX on said trip and was talking to another musician about the trombone solo in Beginnings. My erstwhile companion was incensed that I would dare talk to someone other than her, walked out of the room, and a fight ensued. Good times and very possibly my only fight over a trombone solo. Heckuva song though; maybe the best on this disc.

When I saw the band live in Ft. Worth in 1985, touring in support of Chicago 17, the classic single Colour My World (vocals then by Bill Champlin) surprisingly brought the show to a screeching halt. I guess the preteen girls who came to hear Stay The Night couldn't be bothered with their mom and dad's make-out music which included things such as romantic subtlety or flute solos, if only for 3 minutes.

And, if you are of a certain age, after you learned Chopsticks and Heart and Soul on your older sister's piano when you were 8, you might have gone on to learn the arpeggiated introduction of Colour My World.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago (2002)
The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II (1998)
Greatest Hits 1982-1989 (1989)
Chicago 17 (1984)
Chicago 16 (1982)
Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1981)
Greatest Hits (1975)
Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

Chicago - The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II (1998)

As the title suggests, this is a compilation CD from Chicago - there are many; this is the fifth Chicago compilation set to appear on this blog. It's pleasant enough as I usually enjoy Chicago tunes (although, admittedly, I gave up on them in the later half of the 1980's). I have all but two of these tracks on other CDs, those two mediocre tracks being recorded for this disc in a shameless attempt to have serious, completist fans to spend more money. And, to be honest, if "completist fan" described me, I would have bought this package in 1998 just for those two tracks, regardless of quality, because that's what we music junkies do.

Tracks appear to be selected and sequenced arbitrarily. You're better off with the Rhino 2 CD set, Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #154

Tracks:

Song	Album	Year	Hot 100	AC
Dialogue (Part I & II)	V	1972	24	-
Old Days	VIII	1975	5	3
All Roads Lead to You	-	1998	-	14
Love Me Tomorrow	16	1982	22	8
Baby, What a Big Surprise	XI	1977	4	8
You're Not Alone	19	1989	10	9
What Kind of Man Would I Be?	19	1989	5	2
No Tell Lover	Hot Streets	1979	14	5
Show Me a Sign	-	1998	-	28
(I've Been) Searchin' So Long	VII	1974	9	8
Call On Me	VII	1974	6	1
I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love	19	1988	3	5
Feelin' Stronger Every Day	VI	1973	10	-
Stay the Night	17	1984	16	-
I'm a Man	I	1969	49	-
25 or 6 to 4	II	1970	4	-

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, IIRC, it appeared here at blog headquarters a few years back as part of a large menagerie of CDs.

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, Vol. II (1981)
Greatest Hits (1975)
Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

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

Album chart Peaks

• US Billboard 200: #171
• CashBox: #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)

Chicago's Greatest Hits (1975)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

A.K.A. Chicago IX

All 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 Thursday morning spin.

Album Chart Peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1 (5 consecutive weeks, Dec 13, 1975 - Jan 10,1976)
• Billboard Pop CD: #27
• CashBox: #1 (7 consecutive weeks, Dec 13, 1975 - Jan 24, 1976)

Tracks:

Song	Album	Year	Hot 100
25 or 6 to 4	II	1970	4
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?	I	1970	7
Colour My World	II	1971	7
Just You 'N' Me	VI	1973	4
Saturday in the Park	V	1972	3
Feelin' Stronger Every Day	VI	1973	10
Make Me Smile	II	1970	9
Wishing You Were Here	VII	1974	11
Call On Me	VII	1974	6
(I've Been) Searchin' For So Long	VII	1974	9
Beginnings	I	1971	7

Missing Top 40 hits: Free (#20, 1971), Lowdown (#35, 1971), Questions 67 and 68 (#24, 1971), Dialogue (Part I & II) (#24, 1972), Harry Truman (#13, 1975) and Old Days (#5, 1975). Would I have preferred chronological sequencing? You betcha.

I enjoy most all of the above tunes and if Wishing You Were Here isn't the perfect song for a cool winter morning, I don't know what could possibly replace it. The only song I'll skip is Colour My World, which bores me to no end and I call shenanigans on using the British spelling of the word "colour" - you're from Chicago, ferchrissakes.

Billboard, November 22, 1975, p. 74

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  Beginnings reminds me of an ill-advised trip to the beach during the Lost Summer of Mark, 1988. Long story short: I listened to my cassette version of this album on said trip and was talking to another person about the trombone solo in Beginnings. The "B from D" got mad/jealous, walked out of the room, fight ensued. Good times and very possibly my only fight about a trombone solo. Helluva song though.

Speaking of trombones, how do you improve the aerodynamics of a trombonist's car? Take the Domino's Pizza sign off the roof. Hi-yoooo!

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)
Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2002 reissue.

So I've conditioned myself to pick up anything released by Rhino that I see in the used bins. So while I've got the hits from this CD on compilations, I couldn't resist this for $3:

Prog rock with horns, it's a good album, especially for a debut (it really takes some balls to put out a double LP debut). Still, like most double album sets, this would have made a spectacular single disc by getting rid of the "jam band" and vanity cuts:

Side One (approximately 22.5 minutes):

1. Introduction
2. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
3. Beginnings
4. Listen

Side Two (approximately 19.5 minutes):

1. Questions 67 And 68
2. South California Purples
3. I'm a Man

But nobody asked me, probably because I was two years old when this thing was released (although there might have been other reasons I wasn't consulted). Still, I'm glad I picked it up to find a few album cuts with which I was previously unfamiliar: Introduction, Listen, and the bluesy South California Purples. I'm not wild about Poem 58 and Free Form Guitar.

Released in April, this is definitely a summer album.

Billboard, May 19, 1969

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #17

Tracks: see above

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The song Beginnings reminds me of a couples trip to Matagorda Beach during the Lost Summer of Mark. I took along my cassette copy of Chicago IX; Beginnings and the Steve Winwood hit Roll With It led to some sort of disagreement/fight with my companion.  But I suppose that bad memory isn't really associated with this CD so nevermind.

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)

Chicago 17 (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD. For you audiophiles, my copy is a Target CD pressed in Japan.

A perfect AOR/west coast/yacht rock storm of David Foster, Peter Cetera, and Bill Champlin, with a little Lionel Richie, Richard Marx, and Donny Osmond thrown in for good measure. This one was huge, the group's best-selling album ever, with 4 of the album's tunes charting in the Top 40, 2 of those broke into the Top 10.

This is an album I hadn't heard in years when I bought the CD, but I must have listened to it all the time in 1984, because when I gave it a spin, I sang along with every song (which seemed to bother other people on the bus. Sourpusses.). I am partial to 16, but I'm glad I picked up this one.

Cetera left the band (or was run out of the band, depending on who is telling the story) after this album, but the band kept hitting with ballads, and while Champlin has a fine voice, they just weren't the same to me.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #4
• Billboard Pop CD: #13
• Billboard Rock: #6
• CashBox: #5
• CashBox CD: #3
• Rolling Stone: #6

Tracks:

U.S. Billboard charted singles:	Hot 100	AC	Rock
Stay The Night	16		7
Hard Habit To Break	3	3
Along Comes A Woman	14	25	10
You're The Inspiration	3	1

You know the above hits but don't overlook We Can Stop The Hurtin' or Only You. The only skippable track is Prima Donna.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The song Hard Habit To Break (co-written by Steve Kipner) reminds me of a beautiful young woman we'll call Susan because that was her name. I was 18, she was 17 and we tried to start an ill-fated long distance relationship in the summer of '84. In her daily letters, she would mention that Hard Habit To Break was "our song." Why she thought a break-up song was appropriate for us, I'll never know. Self-fulfilling prophecy, perhaps.

I saw the band on their 1985 tour where they were promoting this album. I traveled from my college town of Commerce to Ft. Worth with several friends from the dorm I lived in, plus a few members of the university's women's basketball team (long story). I think there were ten of us in all. It was the only concert I ever attended that had a comedian for an opening act (Alan Kaye, maybe?). During the encore, the band sang their current hit, Stay The Night, and I can still hear 10,000 teenage girls yelling, "STAAAAAAY THE NIGHT!" along with Peter Cetera while the band played. I've never been able to properly enjoy that song since.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago (2002)
Greatest Hits 1982-1989 (1989)
Chicago 16 (1982)

Chicago - Greatest Hits 1982-1989 (1989)

All these songs have already appeared on the blog on another compilation, Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago, even though this CD was purchased before that one. (Note: don't confuse the two previously mentioned albums with the other 10+ compilations from this group.) But since the goal of the blog is to listen to all the CDs on the shelves, this one is getting a Saturday morning spin.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #37
• Billboard Pop CD: #22

Tracks:

Song	Album	Year	Hot 100	AC
Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away	16	1982	1	1
Look Away	19	1988	1	1
Stay The Night	17	1984	16
Will You Still Love Me?	18	1986	3	2
Love Me Tomorrow	16	1982	22	8
What Kind of Man Would I Be?	19	1988	5	2
You're The Inspiration	17	1984	3	1
I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love	19	1988	3	5
Hard Habit To Break	17	1984	3	3
Along Comes A Woman	17	1984	14	25
If She Would Have Been Faithful	18	1986	17	9
We Can Last Forever	19	1988	55	12

Missing Top 40 hit: You're Not Alone (#10, 1989). Would I have preferred chronological sequencing? You betcha.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This CD (and the track What Kind Of Man Would I Be in particular) reminds me of numerous trips to Sutherlands during ill-fated DIY home improvement projects.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago (2002)
Chicago 16 (1982)

Chicago - Only The Beginning: The Very Best Of Chicago (2002)

The definitive compilation from the self-described "rock and roll band with horns." It covers the band's many stages: jazzy prog-rock to '70s soft pop to the David Foster years to the post-Cetera adult contemporary/power ballad phase. The songs are sequenced in an approximate chronological order, so you get to hear the band progress through these phases. Very comprehensive and a convenient alternative to buying individual albums. I'm a fan, not a completist.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #38

Tracks: If you're a middle-aged American, you probably know these songs. On these 2 CDs, there's 39 tracks, covering the years 1969-1995, clocking in at almost 2 hours, 40 minutes. That's a lot of Chicago. The band had 34 Top 40 hits, so there's not much filler here. I could list all the hits I like, but the list would be so long you wouldn't bother reading it. I pretty much gave up on the band after their disappointing 1986 release, 18, so I usually skip the last half of disc 2. I will confess to liking one track from Chicago 19: What Kind Of Man Would I Be?

Disc 1	Year	Hot 100	AC*
Make Me Smile	1970	9	-
25 Or 6 To 4	1970	4	-
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?	1970	7	5
Beginnings	1971	7	1
Questions 67 And 68	1971	24	34
I'm A Man	1971	49	-
Colour My World	1971	7	-
Free	1971	20	-
Lowdown	1971	35	-
Saturday In The Park	1972	3	8
Dialogue (Part I & II)	1972	24	-
Just You 'N' Me	1973	4	7
Feelin' Stronger Every Day	1973	10	-
(I've Been) Searchin' So Long	1974	9	8
Wishing You Were Here	1974	11	1
Call On Me	1974	6	1
Happy Man	1974	-	-
Another Rainy Day In New York City	1976	32	2
If You Leave Me Now	1976	1	1

Disc 2	Year	Hot 100	AC*
Old Days	1975	5	3
Baby, What A Big Surprise	1977	4	8
Take Me Back To Chicago	1977	63	39
Alive Again	1978	14	39
No Tell Lover	1978	14	5
Love Me Tomorrow	1982	22	8
Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away	1972	1	1
Stay The Night	1984	16	-
Hard Habit To Break	1984	3	3
You're The Inspiration	1984	3	1
Along Comes A Woman	1984	14	25
Will You Still Love Me?	1986	3	2
If She Would Have Been Faithful...	1986	17	9
Look Away	1988	1	1
What Kind Of Man Would I Be?	1989	5	2
I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love	1988	3	5
We Can Last Forever	1988	55	12
You're Not Alone	1989	10	9
Chasin' The Wind	1991	39	13
Sing, Sing, Sing	1995	-	-

*Before 4/7/79, the Adult Contemporary chart was known as the Easy Listening chart.

Missing Top 40 hit: Harry Truman (#13 in 1975)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember listening to this compilation on a trip from Bay City to Mo-Ranch in the summer of 2004 or 2005. James P. and I traveled together for some reason, and this CD brought about many childhood memories that we shared with each other.

The song Hard Habit To Break reminds me of a girlfriend named Susan. Alas, a long distance relationship just wasn't in the cards for us in 1984.

I saw the band on their 1985 tour where they were promoting their album, 17. I traveled from Commerce to Ft. Worth with several friends from the dorm I lived in, plus a few members of the university's women's basketball team (long story). I think there were ten of us in all. It was the only concert I ever attended that had a comedian for an opening act (Alan Kaye, maybe?). During the encore, the band sang their current hit, Stay The Night, and I can still hear 10,000 teenage girls yelling, "STAAAAAAY THE NIGHT!" along with Peter Cetera while the band played. I've never been able to enjoy that song since.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chicago 16 (1982)

Chicago - 16 (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

In the early '80s, Chicago was all but done. Then the band brought in producer/songwriter/keyboardist David Foster who completely turned the band around, musically and commercially. Foster focused on Peter Cetera and brought in songwriters and musicians from outside the band, most notably members of the group Toto. What did the band members think of all that? According to all accounts, not too much. The band made a fortune with their ballads in the '80s so they shouldn't complain too much. I've always liked Foster's work, which is always unabashed pure pop kitsch. I wish my CD had better liner notes; I should have waited until the Rhino reissue with a bonus track because I'm sure they had extensive notes.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★): "Chicago has fallen victim to its own diversified pretensions"
• Billboard: "filled with the distinctive hooks that made it the top American band throughout most of the '70s."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #9
• CashBox: #7
• Rolling Stone: #10

Tracks:

Song	Hot 100	AC
Hard To Say I'm Sorry	1	1
Love Me Tomorrow	22	8
What You're Missing	81

My favorite track, without question, is Love Me Tomorrow. However, since I've listened to this album hundreds of times, all the songs just go together as a group. No skipping allowed.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember slow dancing to Hard To Say I'm Sorry at high school dances. Singing softly along with Cetera into the ear of a girl is surprisingly effective, btw. Also, this music reminds me of working at Burger King in the spring and summer of 1983. Finally, my college marching band played a tepid arrangement of Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away in the fall of 1986. Ugh.