Customer Reviews

Chicago III

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

CHICAGO III was originally released in January 1971 as (appropriately) Chicago's third double album inside two years. The first two, THE CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY (April 1969) and CHICAGO (January 1970) were big smashes and blessed with (unintentional) hits - part of the reason they're still big favorites. CHICAGO III was created in the same album-oriented manner as the first two and, this time around, there wasn't a goldmine of singles to be found; no "25 Or 6 To 4" and no "Beginnings". And this is part of the reason CHICAGO III hasn't worn as well as its predecessors, but that is also part of its charm. Both "Free" and "Lowdown" were hits, albeit on a lesser scale. Another reason for the album's overlooked nature is perhaps the fact that it was another double album in a succession of three. Never mind - CHICAGO III is every bit as inventive and meaningful as the previous two albums and a concentrated listening will bear this out. The band's musical palette was far more versatile on this album utilizing funk ("Sing A Mean Tune Kid", "Free") and even the avant-garde ("Free Country", "Progress?"). There were, in addition, three suites to be found on the album, "Travel Suite", Terry Kath's "An Hour In The Shower" and James Pankow's "Elegy". Some of the passages in these extended pieces are brilliant and some of them drag a bit, which could also be a cause for the lower regard the third album. All in all, CHICAGO III is a great and very essential Chicago release. It may take a few listens to unlock its charms but it is a most rewarding album and stands as a great, if slightly flawed creation WITHOUT having any classic singles to boost it. This album originally peaked at # 2 in early 1971 and remained in Billboard for well over a year - a definite hit. This new Rhino-remastered edition is the best quality you can get; soundwise and packagewise. There is a (slightly short) essay to go with it and comments from various band members. CHICAGO III encapsulates a time when artistic freedom and experimation were greatly encouraged, while today it is largely shunned.

Chicago III was the band's third double album released in as many years. The result of their recording efforts is their most eclectic offering in their immense catalogue. The styles on the 23 tracks range from classical to jazz to Chicago in their hardest rock medium.
The disc starts out in that vein with "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" featuring Peter Cetera belting out a dissonant melody over funkish rhythm tracks. Great horn scoring by Jimmy Pankow again, as Chicago III finds the legendary section at their fattest-sounding, blowing hard and free. But hold onto your hats as the tune kicks into one of guitarist Terry Kath's finest moments on any Chicago recording. He blazes through an extended solo over the changes as drummer Danny Seraphine and Peter Cetera on bass lay down a tight and adventurous foundation.
The band does a "180" into the next track, "Loneliness is Just a Word", featuring Terry on a smooth vocal in a swing mode. This tune spotlights a rare organ solo by Robert Lamm and he does a fine job, highlighted by Danny's killer drum part, Peter's round walking basslines and Terry's great rhythm guitar track.
Peter Cetera has, over the years with Chicago and as a solo artist, exhibited a flair for a bit of country music style in his writing , and "What Else Can I Say" was his first composition in this mode. Another solid Cetera melody and silky-smooth vocal is highlighted by Terry Kath exploring country guitar textures. Very nice.
"I Don't Want Your Money" finds Chicago letting out all of the hard rock stops with the Chicago horns propelling a great growling Robert Lamm vocal. Terry Kath shines again with gut-wrenching soloing throughout the track. The finished product stands as one of Terry's definitive guitar performances.
The adventurous "Travel Suite" dips into three part harmony, in a folk-country style ("Flight 602), hard funk-rock (the classic,
"Free"), and the classical style "Free Country" featuring only piano and Walt Parazaider's flute. The Suite concludes with "Happy 'Cause I'm Goin' Home", with Robert and Peter's two- part harmony blending perfectly, Terry Kath breezing through some smooth acoustic jazz guitar stylings and Walt Parazaider really shining on an extended flute solo. Danny Seraphine, as always, shows why he is considered one of the greatest drummers ever to record as he effortlessly improvises is his truly unique style.
Jimmy Pankow creates a showcase for his own great improvisational abilities on trombone with "Mother". He double tracks two trombones soloing on each side of the mix and the result is one of the most interesting tracks that Chicago ever cut.
"The Approaching Storm" is an instrumental designed to feature all band members' soloing ability with the horns crisply playing through a dissonant head melody leading into each solo.
Just terrific.
While Chicago III does not exhibit the same production polish of it's predecessor, "Chicago", the group's musical ideas continued to flow very freely and expand with this recording.
Since this disc never spawned a true "hit single" (although the album was a big success in it's initial release), it may be overlooked by those delving into the Chicago catalogue now. This CD is not to be missed as it is one of the band's finest moments and unquestionably, Chicago's most diverse release.

Chicago is considered one of the greatest acts in rock music ever. Commemorating the group's 35 years of existence, the first three Chicago albums were remastered, plus a better package and liner notes. That's a bonus for fans and a good preamble for new listeners.

Chicago III is a compendium of varied sounds and genres going from rock to R&B and jazz. They created an excellent album achieved by experimentation and group cooperation. Terry Kath proved that he was one of the best guitar players in the world (we all know the anecdote with Hendrix when CTA was the opening act for his band). In the other hand, Robert Lamm is the brain of the band and he sets the example for the hole thematic on the album. Finally, James Pankow stands as a great composer, clearly shown at the end of this Chicago album.

I bought this reissue in order to see if there was an improvement in the sound quality of the original recording. The sound of this newly remastered edition of the classic "Chicago III" is great and pure, the channel division is excellent and, well, this album sounds superb if we consider that it was done in 1971.

Some persons may consider it subjective in comparison with Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II, but I recommend everyone to listen and analyze the album and then give their personal point of view.

This record is for connoisseurs; people who really appreciate music. Chicago III is a statement of excellent music and represents Chicago at their best form.

"Chicago III" was a more experimental outing by Chicago than their previous two albums. The styles range wider, with barely a nod to mainstream music of the late 60s and early 70s. It is likely that the ability to have such a large variety was made possible by the success of their previous two albums.

As originally released, this CD was a double album set. The CD clocks in at about 71 minutes. An amazing 71 minutes it is. There are three suites on the album that include 17 of the 23 tracks. The suites are organized as follows: the "Travel Suite" includes tracks 5 through 10; "An Hour in the Shower" includes tracks 13 through 17; and "Elegy" includes tracks 18 through 23. In effect, the album includes three conceptual sections and six separate tracks.

The six separate tracks illustrate the musical diversity of Chicago. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is 70s funk with Chicago's trademark horn section jazzing up the funk. "Loneliness is Just a Word" is styled as a jazz song, with a flavor of bebop. Continuing with the changeups, "What Else Can I Say" has a bit of a country flavor but the guitars sound right out of a Beatles song. Part of the harmony also has a bit of Beatles' flavor to it as well. "I Don't Want Your Money" takes us to another corner of musical style with the hardest rocking selection of the CD.

The other two separate tracks are "Mother" and "Lowdown", both appearing between "Travel Suite" and "An Hour in the Shower". "Mother" combines strong horn music with a solid rock tapestry. The vocals here presage 10cc's later 70s music that would frequently use a similar style, though without the brass. Brass will always set apart and define Chicago's early music. "Lowdown" contains a strong organ lead-in a one of the more pop-like tracks on this CD, containing funky musical elements and style that were typical of that era.

The separate tracks tell the listener that this group has an incredible musical breadth. However, it is in the three concept portions of the album where Chicago stretches their musical muscle and lets you know that this group was helping define one or more directions for music.

"Travel Suite" fits well with the late 60s and 70s when many young Americans became nomads, wandering about the country in flower-painted vans and Beetles, on the search for enlightenment. The musical flavor here starts out like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. However, the drum solo of "Motorboat to Mars", relatively rare in rock music, especially for a rock group, is more experimental and definitely unusual, leading into the rock with horns song, "Free", the defining word for the travelers of the time. "Free Country" has musical elements I associate with King Crimson, though they are classical in some respects as well. The suite continues through "At the Sunrise" to "Happy `Cause I'm Going Home", a fitting end to a suite about wanderlust.

"An Hour in the Shower" is a group of bluesy songs that covers in a very short period of musical time. The songs could all have been one song, but instead opens and closes with similar lyrics and style, and reflections on that style in the middle compositions. In some respects the style is similar to the technique The Moody Blues used to introduce and end smaller groupings of songs.

The final suite is "Elegy", a rather depressing grouping of songs, from the title, at least, that again would seem to fit well with the era of the late 60s. The songs seem to combine all the concern we had at the time regarding the war in Viet Nam, the side effects of technology, the state of the economy, the arms race, and whether we had the potential as a race to survive. The introduction to the suite is spoken poem, leading to two instrumentals with classical elements, almost seeming like a sound track to a movie. These two pieces lead to "Progress?", which uses, for the first and only time in my knowledge, the sound of a flushing toilet to end the composition. The instrumental with a combination of instruments and sound effects, asks the musical question whether the current state of our society is progress, or whether we are all in the toilet.

The next composition is "The Approaching Storm", another instrumental, with more rock elements. While the title would seem to indicate that it is an indication of travails for mankind, the music here is fast-paced guitars and strident horns, with little indication of the dark foreboding that the title would seem to indicate. The final selection, "Man vs. Man: The End", dovetails without pause with the previous selection. Finally some of the foreboding elements enter the music, and you come to sense that perhaps one of the ends for mankind is we against us, to the end.

"Chicago III" is a monumental work in that it combines so many musical styles and tries to do so many different things on one CD. There are few artists outside classical music that would attempt the scope of this CD. Furthermore, of those who would try something of this scope, few could pull it off. In some ways, "Chicago III" defined the peak of progressive Chicago, incredibly experimental and seemingly fearless for 71 minutes in 1971.

This is probably the best live album Chicago ever recorded.

Okay, technically, it's not "live." But of all the albums Chicago released, this one seems the 'rawest' to me (I find this is good and bad by turns). It's also short on significant overdubs, which is why I call it live. The recent Rhino re-release and remaster has given me a chance to listen again to this early 70s release, and there's a lot on here I really like; however, I think some creative editing could have made it great.

As always with early Chicago, keyboardist Robert Lamm contributes most of the songs. The opener, "Sing A Mean Tune, Kid," is his. Bassist Peter Cetera sings it in R&B style, but I feel the song--featuring an extended Terry Kath guitar solo--simply goes on too long before the fade-out. Lamm's follow-up, "Loneliness Is Just A Word," is much of what I think CHICAGO III as a whole is not: tight, compact, and melodic, with a jazzy Kath vocal and a snazzy Lamm organ solo. An early, hornless Peter Cetera tune ("What Else Can I Say?") proceeds the excellent Lamm/Kath "I Don't Want Your Money," a freewheeling barn-burner with Lamm sounding suspiciously like Sammy Davis Jr. on lead vocals.

The "Travel Suite" comes next; I find it to be a mixed bag of (mostly) Lamm tunes that features "Free" (outstanding--and those horns!), "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home" (quite catchy), "At the Sunrise" (really beautiful), "Filght 602" (not my favorite), "Free Country" (rambling flute and odd hapsichordish sounds; I'm not much on it), and the drum solo "Motorboat to Mars" (Danny Seraphine at his best). "Mother"--a great Lamm tune--follows, featuring dueling trombones courtesy of James Pankow and a tape recorder. This leads into the Cetera/Seraphine rocker "Lowdown," a really catchy effort with some great Cetera bass playing.

The next suite of songs, Kath's "Hour in the Shower," follows, and I'll commit Chicago blasphemy here by saying I've never really cared for it much as a whole (though I've always liked the upbeat "Off to Work"); your opinions, of course, will vary. Then, for me, the album grinds to a halt while Lamm reads a poem called, "When All the Laughter Dies in Sorrow," which I find to be about as pretentious a piece of writing as I've ever encountered (the follow-up, Pankow's "Canon," seems attached to the poem as an effort to give it a stately, church-like status).

Things pick up with Pankow's instrumental suite. "Once Upon A Time" has a beautiful melody handled by flute and trombone; "Progress?" is a dissonant mess ending in an actual toilet flush; "The Approaching Storm" has a jazzy hook and features great instrumental solos (especially Lee Loughnane on trumpet), and "Man vs. Man: The End" brings the set to a rousing close.

There aren't any bonus tracks here, because Chicago put everything they wrote for the album ON the album. For me, that's the biggest problem with the set. The excellent liner notes indicate that the band felt pressed for time, and had exhausted a lot of their musical ideas when they hit the studio for this one. CHICAGO III certainly features a lot of great material; I feel, though, that producer James William Guercio should have shortened and shaped a lot of it.

Still, it's great to hear the young bad, talented, vibrant, raw, unconcerned by convention, and (almost) live; as such, the Rhino remaster of CHICAGO III is very much welcome.

To me, I thought Chicago faced a similar fate to Genesis: they later found themselves sacrificing their credibility to pop chart success. Likewise, Phil Collins got the blame for ruining Genesis, Peter Cetera was often the one to blame for ruining Chicago. And both bands also had the same problem that the fans of their early stuff was not necessarily fans of their later stuff, and vice versa, and of course both bands received plenty of MTV exposure in their '80s pop heyday. But of course neither are hardly alike, Genesis was a pioneering prog rock band, and Chicago (just like Blood, Sweat & Tears) was a pioneering horn rock band.

For me, as for as both Genesis and Chicago are concerned, I prefer their early stuff, and in the case of Chicago, I really felt their third album, released at the beginning of 1971 shows the band at their high point. It's interesting that they released three double albums in a row (they won't see a single album until 1972 with Chicago V). It's also quite an eclectic album where the band explores jazz rock, country, Crosby, Stills & Nash-influenced folk-rock, funk, soul, Southern rock. Many of these explorations in these styles make it hard to believe this band really is Chicago, especially when the horns of Lee Loughnane, Walter Parazaider, and James Pankow are not present. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" shows a funkier side of the band that you handn't heard from them before. It also seems like the band got to hear Soft Machine's Third (1970) album around this time, because the instrumental passages of this song (as well as several other cuts on this album) remind me of that album. Robert Lamm's "Loneliness is Just a Word" shows a more jazzy side of the band, and he also gives us a nice organ solo to go with it. While Peter Cetera was often the pop hit making baladeer of this band, here he gives us "What Else Can I Say" which has an oddly country feel to it, complete with pedal steel guitar! Terry Kath's "I Don't Want Your Money" has a strong British blues feel to it, almost like early, This Was-era Jethro Tull (but no flute), even the vocals sound like early Ian Anderson. "Travel Suite" is a movement of several cuts, starting with the amazingly Crosby, Stills & Nash-like "Flight 602", with similar vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, and even Graham Nash-like vocals. Danny Seraphine gives us "Motorboat to Mars", which unsurprisingly is a drum solo (after all he was the drummer of the band). Then comes Robert Lamm's "Free", which I have heard on the radio before. Next is "Free Country" which is a more experimental piece dominated by Robert Lamm's piano and Walter Parazaider's flute. Lamm also gives us "At the Sunrise", but Peter Cetera is singing it, and a rather pop-orinted number. Then there's the jazzy, almost Soft Machine-like "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home", with an extended electric piano and flute solo. "Mother" once again shows a more jazzy side of the band, while Cetera's "Lowdown" is more pop-oriented (supposedly the album's biggest hit, although I don't recall hearing that one on the radio, unlike "Free"), but has some nice horn passages. Robert Lamm gave us "An Hour in the Shower", which is basically a several movement suite, surprisingly this ends up with a strong Southern Rock feel, something like the Allman Brothers, but the horns do surface. Then the album closes with the epic "Elegy", with spoken poetry, some medieval-sounding fanfare on the horns, a mellow instrumental passage that brings to mind the previous album's "Colour My World", an experimental passage with the sound of traffic, with the horns also imitating the sound of traffic, then comes an extended guitar solo that wouldn't be out of place on the Chicago Transit Authority album.

Certainly Chicago III didn't spawn any huge hits like their previous two, but don't let that scare you off. Any fan of early Chicago should own this album!

Chicago III has a formula that is similar to that of Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II. This album, however, has something different than the first two... a lack of megahits. Most fellow reviewers knock this album for its "lack of hits." I prefeer to defend such albums. Not every album needs tons of hits to make it worthwhile. Today's music business is based soley on hits. If an album doesn't have at least 3 hit singles, then people steer away from it. Some of the best music is featured on albums that do not include hits! What is also odd is that most are forgetting that Free, Mother and Lowdown were all minor hits. So the album is not totally abscent of a single. Chicago III keeps with the band's early formula but is mixed with several other types of music. On top of touching pop and classical mediums, Chicago III also takes on a little folk with songs like Flight 602. The length of the album is somewhat intimidating but is overlooked after a few listens. Also, the remastering is awesome. I am not sure why other reviewers are stuck on the old releases but the new remastering does make a difference. The sound is much crisper and clearer than the CD's made in the late 80's. And the packaging is nice for a reissue CD. There are lots of interesting facts and a few good picutres also.

Okay...I have a lot of convincing to do here. This is Chicago's best album. What?!!? There aren't any "greatest hits" here. Chicago's career can be sliced into eras. Their first three (double) albums are the first era. Out of those 3 albums, Chi III is the most ambitious and artistically successful. It has a 70s sound, but isn't dated. The playing is the best that Chicago ever offered. The songs are better than their first album, and they've survived the test of time better than most of the songs on their second album (the exception being 25 or 6 to 4, which still sounds great). This album has a touch of tasteful country, CSN-style folk, hard jazz, an actual drum solo, a spoken word poem (!!) and Chicago's best foray into funk and blues. It's aggressive and free. They do their best singing out of all 3 albums, too. Musicians will flip over these songs and solos. If you can stand "challenging" music or if you play an instrument, buy a greatest hits of theirs for their accessible poppy side and then come to this for the actual MEAT! (Buy Chicago 5, too).

I compared the new Rhino Chicago III CD to the original vinyl record. The CD is definitely an improvement over the record. It is substantially clearer and seems to have a somewhat extended range. This was a pleasant surprise to me because the Columbia CD versions of Chicago V and Chicago VI were actually duller that the records as though they were made from copies of copies the master tape. Rhino's Chicago III seems to have come from the original master to me. The music itself made a bit of a sensation when it was released with songs such as "Lowdown," "Sing a Mean Tune Kid," "Free," and some others. There are more Chicago classics here though. "What Else Can I Say," and "At the Sunrise," are two of the better compositions that received less attention in my opinion. I wasn't one of their best recordings technically, and it contains some unusual material, but it is a great record overall.

Want to know why I think this album, along with the previous two Chicago albums, aren't considered to be some of the best rock and roll of the early 70's? Because for nearly 20 years now people have been walking into banks and hearing "you're the inspiration" and "hard to say I'm sorry" played softly over the speakers, and they assume Chicago is just your ordinary soft rock band. Little do these people know back in the late 60's/early 70's Chicago was doing something MUCH different, and I believe they were responsible for some of the most satisfyingly creative music at the time. Even if you don't like their music, you have to at least admire what they were doing in the early days. You name a style of rock and it probably can be found on either Chicago's first, second or third album.

People more familiar with Chicago will tell you they had a bunch of hits, and that they frequently used brass instruments to give their music a distinct sound. With all due respect, I don't think many of these people are aware of the things Chicago was doing in the early days. When I listen to this third album, I hear influences of the Beatles, the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, the J. Geils Band, Sly and the Family Stone, the Who and even King Crimson, at certain times.

In addition to these influences, they were also able to write memorable hooks, so if you don't care for lengthy jams you can always look forward to the nicely written vocal melodies that are scattered all over the album. If you're more into rocking and jamming, to my surprise, and to many people's surprise, they have PLENTY of that. Some of these jams carry on for long periods of time. Their style of jamming is pretty fantastic and beautifully written too, and if that doesn't impress you, you should know that each of the jams found on Chicago III has its own feel, and therefore isn't like the one before. For example, one of the jams on here is raw, dirty, and funky, while another one is more colorful with flutes and acoustic guitar. It's awesome to hear a band experiment in such a way, especially when it's a band you didn't know could play rock and roll like this. None of this comes across as cheesy either, which is sure to please Crazy Horse or Grateful Dead fans. If you consider early 70's rock the best type of rock you can find you are SURE to enjoy most of this album, no doubt about it. Ignore the fact that the band permanently changed their sound by the mid 70's. The stuff here is ROCK, baby.

It's amazing this album only had a couple hits, and really, these days you don't even hear them anymore. "free" is one of those hits, and it's funky and memorable (though only a couple minutes long, unfortunately). It's not at all like what Chicago would soon turn into by the 80's- this is raw rock and roll, with touches of creativity all over the place. I don't know how someone would be able to say they can't hear all the experiments found on Chicago III, and to make it all better the band even brought in some keyboards on a a couple of the songs, and if you've ever read some of my other reviews you know keyboards are probably my favorite thing about rock music. It's the instrument I always look forward to, and some of the songs here use it.

As far as I'm concerned, Chicago's early period has been ignored for far too long and it's time for people to hear what they've been missing. What we have on the first three Chicago records is just about anything a rock and roll fan could want out of a band. I think their third album, despite many people who would disagree with me, is their finest hour. It's also a double album, though in this case, both albums were fortunately put on a single CD and what you have is around 70 minutes of music. I believe their previous two albums were also double records, so in a way it's like you have a total of 6 solid albums.

Let me mention some of the songs you will find on this underrated record. "sing a mean tune kid" is not only 9 minutes of total butt-kicking, but it's also proof that the band used to be entirely different in the early days. The first part of the song features jazzy horns and a nice bluesy vocal melody, and the second half is all about letting loose the funk and jamming on the guitar. The drums are even good on this track. I thought for sure after hearing all those soft rock radio hits that the drumming would be the ONE thing the band would have trouble with on the early albums, but even THAT's good! If it wasn't for the singers voice (Peter Cetera, I believe) people who only know 80's Chicago wouldn't even know this album is by the same band.

Now, even though this album is underrated and I find the entire thing good, there are a couple ballads that might rub people the wrong way. To be fair, the ballads here are closer to something like "lady jane" from the Rolling Stones or "sunrise" by the Who. COOL and respectable ballads. "at the sunrise" has EXCELLENT vocal work, but it's understandable if someone wouldn't like the other ballad "what else can I say?" That's the only moment on the entire album I can think where the band becomes more soft and mushy than many people would probably be able to handle. But it doesn't matter- this song is SHORT, and you have nearly 70 minutes or so of great rock music straight ahead.

More enjoyable vocal work is found on tracks like "mother", "lowdown" and the 5-song suite towards the end, featuring soulful singing from Terry Kath. When he sings in that manner, it's impossible to hate. The lyrics DO sound kind of funny, and I think they're supposed to. The "dreamin' home" part reminds me of the Who. "flight 602" is a song you can imagine Poco or the Eagles doing, and it wouldn't surprise me if either of these artists DID cover the song, maybe in concert. It's a melodic song with great lyrics, particularly the line "you are in a hotel, and in your room alone, lying there, but not knowing where you're supposed to be". "motorboat to mars" is just your typical short drum solo, similar to what Led Zeppelin, Cream, Black Sabbath, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer have done, and no doubt many more bands have done the same thing.

"free country" is maybe where some of the members of Chicago were listening to King Crimson at the time, as the song is a 5-minute unmelodic instrumental similar to the things King Crimson used to put on their records such as the noodling section on "moonchild". I'm not sure if the two bands are familiar with each other, though. It would be fascinating if they were.

Before I finish this review, I want to make it clear that I'm not bashing Chicago's softer, radio-friendly career. It was bound to happen anyway, even if Terry Kath hadn't died. I grew up with those 80's songs and I will always have a soft spot for them. It's just that I feel the early stuff like Chicago III give us something truly special and more people should know about early Chicago. Please, give it a try!