Chicago - The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning
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CD Details
Artist: ChicagoEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-07-02
Music Label: Rhino
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Make Me Smile
- 25 Or 6 To 4
- Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
- Beginnings
- Questions 67 And 68
- I'm A Man
- Colour Of My World
- Free
- Lowdown
- Saturday In The Park
- Dialogue (Part I & II)
- Just You 'N' Me
- Feelin' Stronger Every Day
- (I've Been) Searchin' For So Long
- Wishing You Were Here
- Call On Me
- Happy Man
- Another Rainy Day In New York City
- If You Leave Me Now
- Old Days
- Baby, What A Big Surprise
- Take Me Back To Chicago
- Alive Again
- No Tell Lover
- Love Me Tomorrow
- Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
- Stay The Night
- Hard Habit To Break
- You're The Inspiration
- Along Comes A Woman
- Will You Still Love Me?
- If She Would Have Been Faithful...
- Look Away
- What Kind Of Man Would I Be?
- I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love
- We Can Last Forever
- You're Not Alone
- Chasin' The Wind
- Sing, Sing, Sing (w/ The Gipsy Kings)
Music reviews of The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning
Music Review: You'll Hear the Evolution of a Band Over 2 CDs
Rating: 4 Stars
There are many bands that basically have spanned my entire lifetime and continue to produce music - but Chicago is one of those bands. At the writing of this review, Chicago has been a band for 37 years. With a few exceptions, the nucleus of the band has stayed in-tact (Robert Lamm, Lee Loughane, James Pankow, and Walter Parazider), but it is natural that band that has been around so long will go through personnel changes (Terry Kath's tragic death, Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine's departures from the band). During this period Chicago changed its musical style a great deal - they started out as one of the first bands of the rock era to incorporate a horns section as a regular part of the music. They then went through some transitions and wound up being a very successful Adult Contemporary band. Many will criticize the changes, but one way to think about it is that the band basically was successful within two genres of Rock. In addition, how many bands can claim to have a #1 song ("Look Away") on their 19th studio album? Better yet, how many bands make it to a 19th studio album? Yes, there are other Greatest Hits sets, but this "Chicago - Only the Beginning" will do a nice job at taking you through the history of the band as well as the changes the band underwent during their span.
To understand my review, I can break down Chicago's career in terms of four eras. These eras are closely tied to the producers that Chicago worked with. The first era is the 'James William Guercio Era'. This covers 1967 - 1977 (Albums "Chicago Transit Authority through "Chicago XI"). This is the classic era of Chicago in which the horn sound was very much at the forefront of most of the music. The second era is the 'Transition Era'. This covers 1978-1981 (Albums "Hot Streets" [Chicago 12] through "Greatest Hits Volume 2 [Chicago 15]". During this period the band did two albums with legendary producer Phil Ramone and one with Tom Dowd. It was during this period that the band picked up the pieces after the tragic death of Terry Kath and began to explore different avenues - such as incorporating a disco sound into their music. While the Guercio Era had commercial success, the Transition Era was more of a struggle both commercially and critically. Thus the third Era brought in producer David Foster for the 'David Foster Era'. This era covered 1982-1987 (Albums Chicago 16 through Chicago 18). It was here where the band began to move toward an Adult Contemporary Sound. Many criticized this change, but Foster got the band back on track commercially and still respected Chicago's brass horn roots. In the Fourth Era covering 1989 to the Present ("Chicago 19" to present), this the 'Modern Era'. Chicago worked with producers Chris Sandford, Ron Nevison, Bruce Fairbairn, and Roy Bittan. This was the era where Chicago completely transformed into an Adult Contemporary Band, moved away from its brass horn roots, and for the first time - had a dependence on third party songwriters. The most notable of these songwriters was Diane Warren. Many question why Chicago decided to do this, but they did get some commercial success.
For the most part, the collection goes in chronological order - there are a couple of exceptions and I'm not sure why this was done (you will see in the liner notes some of the songs are slightly out of sequence). While "Chicago - Only The Beginning" does a nice job at taking you through a history of the band through their music, it doesn't represent the four eras equally. The Guercio Era is represented very well. The whole first CD is devoted to this era and it does a nice job at including the songs. What I like is that the fan who is new to Chicago will be introduced to songs such as "Questions 67 and 68", "I'm a Man", and probably the best and most innovative Chicago song - "Dialogue (Part I and II)". There are some different edits of "Make Me Smile", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is", "I'm a Man", and "Beginnings". While "Dialogue" is included, it is a shortened version of Parts 1 and 2 (still pretty good). The first three songs of Disc 2 also are Guercio Era.
The Transition Era is only represented by two songs from "Hot Streets" ("Alive Again" and "Hot Streets"). There is nothing from "Chicago XIII" and "Chicago XIV" - and most notably missing is "Streetplayer". This is probably the finest song of that era and its disappointing it's not included. I think the David Foster Era is represented very well with 8 songs. The biggest disappointment is that there seems to be a slant toward the Modern Era with 5 songs from "Chicago 19". While "Look Away" was a #1 hit for Chicago, I don't consider Chicago 19 to be an album worthy of getting the most songs on a Chicago Collection. There is one song from the "Night and Day: Big Band" album called "Sing Sing Sing". This does bring the band back to their brass roots - but this is obvious since its a Big Band album.
The liner notes are solid with this collection. Although there are no lyrics, there is a good listing of each album and the production credits. Each song included on this collection is mapped back to its studio album and there also is a release date as well as how it ranked on the charts. You will also see songwriting credits listed. There is a terrific history of the band by Bill De Young included as well. The double CD is packaged in a single CD depth jewel case, so it will easily fit into your CD rack. If you are looking to build your Chicago collection, this CD will satisfy.
Description of The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning
Subtitled - Only The Beginning. Double disc with 39 hit singles spanning Chicago's complete 35-year history. Including the #1 singles 'If You Leave Me Now,' 'Hard To Say I'm Sorry' and 'Look Away'. Booklet features detailed liner notes by Bill DeYoung. Rhino Records. Slipcase. 2002.From the perspective of 15 subsequent platinum albums and 20 top-10 hits, it's hard to imagine that Chicago began their career as a bona fide prog-fusion act, an early FM radio favorite whose jazz-tinged, album-length suites found them a hip cult following even as they confounded label execs. Ironically, when the pioneering horn band (a contemporary of Blood, Sweat & Tears and inspiration for one-hit wonders like Lighthouse, Ides of March, and Ten Wheel Drive) relented and allowed their music to be edited down to single length, their success was explosive. Most of the "single edits" on disc 1 of this 39-track anthology provide ample evidence of that de facto formula: a catchy riff ("25 or 6 to 4," "Saturday in the Park," "Color My World") develops into a hook-filled, pop-savvy production rife with the band's trademark horn perfection. One could argue that that sensibility--and a midcareer tilt toward producer David Foster, songwriter Diane Warren, and the MOR ballads that became some of their biggest successes--degenerated into formula. Indeed, there's much on the second disc to support that notion. This set spans it all, showcasing newly refocused edits of some their biggest early hits and lesser-known tracks like their lively '95 cross-cultural collaboration with the Gipsy Kings on a cover of Louis Prima's swing classic "Sing, Sing, Sing." --Jerry McCulley
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