Customer Reviews

Chicago - Live by Request

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First of all, I want to tell all those "I wish Peter Cetera was still in Chicago" fans out there, to let it go. I was a HUGE PC fan (still am) and this DVD made me realize that it was pointless to hold up hope that he would ever rejoin the band or tour with them. Let's face it, Jason Scheff has been with the band for 19 years! Which means that's how long PC has been gone. Time to move on.

Which brings me to this DVD. Up until now, I have purposely avoided listening to any post-Cetera Chicago live performances for fear of how I would react to Scheff's taking over for the leads on great signature tunes such as "You're The Inspiration", "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "If You Leave Me Now". In my mind, I just could not imagine anyone else singing these songs other than Cetera. Well today, I decided to bite the bullet. I popped the DVD in and hoped for the best. And boy was I pleasantly surprised. Robert Lamm as always, delivers the goods. Is this guy one of the most underrated singer/writers in the history of rock? His voice is like a rock. So steady, never wavering. Take one listen to "Colour My World" and you'll swear you've been transplated to the 70s. The horns sound great here. It's a shame that Chicago is so famous yet no one can really recognize the faces other than hardcore fans. Pankow, Parazaider and Loughnane are crisp and clear and do all the horn arrangements exactly as you expect them. "Get Away" is simply awesome.

And then there's Scheff. For many Chicago fans, this man will forever be compared to Cetera. Well folks, I'm happy to say, the comparisons are over. He is his own singer with a unique, more edgier Cetera-esque voice (hope that makes sense). Sure he's no Cetera, but who is? There's no point belly aching about that. His vocals on "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" were spot on. The only problem I had was with "Inspiration". Not because it wasn't as good as Cetera's, but because it just wasn't that great overall. Very pitchy and he seemed to have issues hitting the high notes. He might want to work on that one a bit more. But as soon as you hear him sing "Questions 67 and 68", you'll be saying "Peter who?". It was that good; and the horns arrangement on the bridge was brilliant! It's a shame that no one requested any of Scheff's A-material such as "Will You Still Love Me" or "What Kind Of Man Would I Be". Those songs are totally his and cement his position within the band.

Perhaps the biggest suprise was guitarist/vocalist Keith Howland. His rendition of "If You Leave Me Now" was absolutely amazing. They also let him run with "Just You and Me" and I loved it. If you ask me, this guy deserves to be in the band credits and not just one of the "additional musicians" section. I would love to hear him take on "Inspiration". Chicago's gone through a lot of guitarists (ie DaWayne Bailey and Bruce Gaitsch), here's hoping that Howland stays with them for the long run. His voice is very soothing and a great fit for those slow ballads.

Finally I've read a lot of gripes about Bill Champlin's performance. I love Champlin and think he is an integral part of Chicago. I also don't see him as Kath's replacement... just a new fresh sound that was added in Chicago 16. However in this concert, he was a bit of a disappointment. I don't know if it's his age, or maybe he had some kind of sore throat, but he just wasn't hitting all the notes, especially in the upper register. At any rate, one less than stellar performance, does not a career destroy. Just try to imagine "Hard Habit to Break" without Champlin.

Overall, I loved the DVD. I'm giving it 5 stars because to me, a band after 35+ years is bound to sound a little weathered and tired. Well not these boys! Do yourselves a favor and buy it! Especially now from amazon since it's 50% off and only 10 bucks! Can't wait to hear what they have in store for Chicago 27!

For us Australians who up until February 2004 had been deprived of seeing Chicago live for 25 years this dvd is a ripper.Not as good sound wise as the Soundstage concert but hey it does have 'Old Days on it and that has to be a plus.

Oh and by the way Bill Champlin is just a breath of fresh air every song he sings he adds a new nuance too. I defy anyone to say his versions of "Make Me Smile' and Free' are inferior to what has gone before.How about listening without prejudice for a change people.I also love the way all the guys seem to be having a great time and after what 37 odd years still give the fans what they want.Buy this and the 'Soundstage concert'DVD and as 'Letterman' would say 'That's all you need right there'

Chicago stands out as a true classic band.
This DVD starts out a little off but then as good as chicago
is they get right into the groove.
Listining to this DVD makes you feel like they are playing
just for you, it's like having your own personal live concert.
I would say watch it on a big screen tv and SRS system and your
right there at the concert.
If you like Chicago, then you'll love this DVD remember this is a live dvd there are no over-dubs or cover ups so you'll truly
see what makes them such a good band.
Keith (guitar player) is very good, and much under-rated you
can see he plays a good part in Chicago with his vocals and guitar playing.

I SAW THIS PROGRAM ON A&E AND I WAS HOPING THAT IT WOULD ONE DAY MAKE IT'S WAY TO DVD!!
THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN MAKING GREAT MUSIC FOR MANY YEARS NOW AND THIS DVD WILL BE A CHANCE FOR THE FANS TO ENJOY A CHICAGO PERFORMANCE FROM THEIR OWN LIVING ROOMS!!!

The musicianship is fantastic. Robert Lamm still sounds great, but the lack of Peter Cetera and Terry Kath drag these songs down. It's nobody's fault that it is what it is (Terry Kath has been dead for 26 years and Cetera seems to be happy with his solo music). One of the main reasons why this band sounded the way they did was the sound of Lamm, Kath, and Cetera's alternating lead vocals, with 2/3 of that missing, they sound like a really great cover band. When they've done newer stuff like the Christmas album it's great because they don't have to compete with their past. The ghost of the original Chicago lineup is too much for even them to live up to.

This is a wonderful DVD which features the performance they did on the A & E Cable network. During this show the audience could call in and request a song for Chicago to perform. It was a fantastic performance, one which any fan would love to have in their DVD collection. Over the years Chicago has, and continues to be, one of the tightest live bands around. They put out an amazing amount of sound. Of course, live performances sound different than the studio recordings because there is not the benefit of tracking. I have seen them perform three times over the past two years and have enjoyed every concert. This is a terrific DVD in which the band gives another outstanding performance, I have never heard the horns sound better and the vocals of Lamm, Scheff, Howland and Champlin were solid. Contrary to other postings in this area, Bill Champlin was great. He has been with the band for more than 20 years, and brings with him his own unique style. This was vintage Bill Champlin and it was fantastic. Most bands, when they do a concert, work from a preset song list. That wasn't the case on this night. They were taking requests, having to decide at the last minute how to set up for that particular song, these are veteran performers who still enjoy the music. Regrettably, there was a flat note hit in the opening bars of the opening song. Being that this was the very first selection I question whether the soundboard was properly set up for the artist to monitor his vocal track. But that is what live music is all about, and Chicago is one of the all time great live bands.

It is just so amazing to know that when so many performers come on stage in the music industry, they always seem to fake it. Nevertheless, when it comes to some performers, they don't fake it at all, and Chicago is truly one of them. For over 35 years, they've made so many songs that absolutely spoke the minds of all kinds of people. It is just amazing to see them on stage, that you have to taste it, and see it for yourself. You can see anywhere they perform, or on video.

Chicago: Live By Request, was a live performance the band showcased on stage in 2002, a few days before the first anniversary of 9/11. The band celebrated the triumph of Chicago's Only The Beginning. No matter what the promotion, the band still continued to make it happen. Ironically, Live By Request was the A&E performance show that Chicago performed on. In fact, they were the most requested performers for the show. They performed so many unbelieveable hit songs like Free, You're The Inspiration, and Old Days. The mood was absolutely unbelieveable that night. Ironically, A&E had technical problems when it came up, they actually had to put an extra set of songs after the telecast, to make-up the loss. Although they don't highlight any of the three new tracks from The Box, they highlight a lot of great songs like Beginnings, Saturday In The Park, and Look Away.

I just can't believe that they still've made it happen after all these years. Still, people don't seem to give the the actual credit they deserve. I just hope the band can keep the music coming for many more years to come. Especially, for the first 35 years, they seem to have plenty more energy like that to go. I suggest you get this DVD.

Someone downgraded this performance in another review. Having watched this band from the start, meeting them and having other videos they did, this is a darn good performance. I am a drummer of 45 yrs so I am well qualified to say this concert on A&E is as good as anything else they have done. I totally disagree with the person who gave them a bad review. Buy it if you like the group!

Chicago is a band that desperately needs a good performance mixed in 5.1 sound by a professional sound engineer. With 3 horns, 3 lead vocals and a million things going on at once, this is a band that would benefit heavily from the new sound medium.

The problem is that neither this DVD nor the previous (horrific) RAW DVD capture and properly mix Chicago in 5.1 sound. RAW was so horrible that the instruments over-powered the vocals. This DVD is marginally better - but still sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. Hardly befitting of a group with Chicago's talents.

I didn't find this to be the band's strongest performance either, but the casual Chicago fan who hasn't listened to a lot of Chicago performances will probably think it's terrific.

That said, it did fill my fix for a Chicago DVD, even if I am a bit underwhelmed.

It's a shame that a band as great as Chicago has had limited exposure on retail video and this "professional" production of a recent performance falls short due to no fault of the musicians. This is Chicago's first live concert DVD release, following VHS and laserdisc releases of in-concert performances in the early 90's. Those videos ("And the Band Played On" and "Live From the Greek") were worthy documents of this true American supergroup, both from a performance, as well as, a technical production perspective.
After waiting eagerly for a cutting-edge live performance on DVD, this "Live by Request" video is good, but could certainly have been better. As a musician and having seen Chicago live in concert dozens of times, and, as recently as last month, I have to say this is not their best-executed performance, although it is good one. The real problem, however, lies with the mixing and mastering of the sound.
Whoever mixed this recording (there's no credits on the packaging) failed Midrange 101 in Recording School. There seems to be an abundance of high end and low end sound in the mix leaving the high hat cymbal the loudest instrument in the band, often drowning out the horns. Hello! This is "Chicago". Horns. Remember these, Mr. sound engineer and Mr. video producer?
The list of technical faults goes on and on.
Overall, this is still a good DVD, worthy of purchase as Chicago is one of the great musical acts of the 20th (and now 21st) century, with timeless music and top-notch musicianship.
A much better DVD of Chicago in concert has also just become available based on their recently-aired "Soundstage" concert on PBS. Production and performance on this is is several notches above this "Live By Request" release and should be procured by all Chicago fans via the PBS website. The aforementioned concert videos should also be sought out, especially "Live from the Greek" which is an amazing live document of this legendary band, also recorded for PBS television in 1993. The people involved in the production of that video actually knew what they they doing and took the time and care into creating a video worthy of one of the greatest bands of our time.