Customer Reviews

Chicago Story: Complete G.H. 1967-2002

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the European counterpart to the Rhino "Very Best Of" set, and it contains "You Come To My Senses" from Chicago Twenty 1, and an edited version of Street Player. Despite the fact that the 80s hits are covered with radio edits, the American collection does the same thing, and this was probably done to conserve space on the discs. This is still a good set, and it's all most casual fans will ever need.

CD: 1 LOVE SONGS & BALLADS.
CD: 2 UPTEMPO & POP.
ALTHOUGH "DOES ANYBODY..." IS THE SAME HORRIBLE EDIT THAT THEY INCLUDE IN EVERY GH, IT DESERVES 5 STAR STATUS, VERY COMPLETE ANTHOLOGY, GOOD REMASTER THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

Chicago is one of those rare bands that
overcame tragedy ( the death of guitarist Terry
Kath ) and commercial disfavor to reinvent
themselves. That is, to my mind,the unfortunate
part. Those of us who loved the radical politics
and ambitious,hard edged material of the
first seven albums are forgotten these days.
Everyone now thinks of Chicago as an easy
listening band; doing those wretched "soft
n' easy favorites ". Yuck ! Gag !
My beef with all Chicago reissues is simply

that the stuff after Chicago XI ( not coincidentally,
the last record Kath appeared on ) is just
lightweight dreck. OK, I own the first seven
anyway, so a greatest hits disc doesn't offer
me anything, anyway. I suppose I'm just shaking
my fist at the sky bemoaning that the band
that shook my world up with "South California
Purples" in 1970 "Mother" in 1971..and so many
others..now has a record out called "What's It
Gonna Be, Santa " Terry is rolling over in his

grave like he's on a barbeque spit. And spit
is about all this post "XI" junk is worth.

I went and saw Chicago in concert last Friday (6th Feb 2004) with the Beach Boys opening first. Wasn't really there to see Beach Boys, but when Chicago came on stage, they were fantastic!
I only bought The Chicago Story - Complete Greatest Hits a few months ago and is by far the best album to have with all the hits I know and listen to. I am only 27 so you can't say that I am in that generation.
So the concert was awesome, they played all my favourites and a couple I didn't know but all the older people around me did. My only wish for this CD is that they had the extended version of 'Your The Inspiration' which they played at the concert and sounded awesome, heaps better than listening to it on radio or CD.

It's NOT "all here". Chicago had a major hit called "Harry Truman" which made #13 in 1975. It came out right between "Wishing You Were Here" and "Old Days". "Harry Truman" is not on this collection, so it is not in any way complete.
But that's not the only Top 15 hit missing here. Remember "Alive Again", the first single released after Terry Kath's death? It's not here either!
Would you believe ANOTHER major hit is missing? The Top 20 song "Free", a concert staple for the group, is also missing from this collection. That's complete?
There couldn't POSSIBLY be another Top 20 song missing from this collection. After all, another reviewer told you "It's All Here". But golly gee, "If She Would Have Been Faithful," #17 in 1987, is amazingly absent.
Oddly enough, minor hits like "We Can Last Forever" are here, songs that weren't even singles like "Happy Man" (popular though it is with early fans) are here, and complete non-hits like "Sing Sing Sing With The Gypsy Kings" are here. But multiple major hits are omitted.
So I wouldn't believe a review that is titled "It's All Here" because the guy clearly doesn't know what he is talking about.
The only thing "complete" about this collection is its title - it's a complete lie.

This is a great compilation it differs from the very best of chicago only the beginning in several ways first and formost noticible difference is it is not in chronological order it also omits some song titles such as If She Would Have Been Faithfull and the seague from Hard To Say I'm Sorry into Get Away. The compilation does add some songs not on the very best of chicago such as Only You from Chicago 17 and the disco tinged Street Player. Inspite of that this is a really great compilation that any chicago fan will love listening to over and over again

I agree with Misha below who says this band's music went south (as in sour) after Terry Kath used a gun on himself. Within a few years of his death, their material, once innovative and revolutionary, became commercial, pretty and boring! They retained the horn sound, but it became less discernible amid the ever- more- prominent syrup and pabulum that dressed their recordings. Similar to what that same reviewer said, if Kath were still around to hear it today, I think he'd be vomiting in the rows (as he often did anyway but for much different reasons). Having said that, if you were to put together a collection of songs which accurately reveals the musical history of a band that, despite its revised approach and now almost unrecognizable personnel, has endured for almost 40 years, this would be the set. Indeed, the 3 rating is for the music, not for this particular edition of it. It's got all the hits you'd want, including the not-so-exciting ones. With such a bonanza, you can easily witness the transformation of this group as it went through its metamorphosis to match the whims of the top 40 pop market: the political lyrics and the gritty, intrepid music of the early years compared to the later lame, love-song efforts which would unfortunately become their trademark. Lamentable though that journey may have been, these discs do take you through almost all of it with an astounding number of selections. It's unquestionably the most complete and comprehensive assortment of songs by Chicago that you could have in one place, re-mastered and re-engineered as well for superior reproduction quality on a CD.

Honestly speaking, by the time I was old enough to comprehend music as something more than a bunch of babble as a mixture of sounds were playing, Chicago was long dead. Sure, the band was still there, but I have never heard anyone spoke of them.

Then one day, I was finally fed up with modern music, so I return to listening to radio. One day, my favorite station played "Baby, What A Big Suprise". I thought the song was great, but it wasn't much to go off of. Later on, I heard "You're The Inspiration". It was then that I became interested. I became curious as to who this Chicago band was. So what better way to become acquainted with a band than to get their greatest hits album?

That was what exactly I did and here I am. Today, I am a big fan of Chicago. Yes, that is how good this album is. I've only listen to a relatively small number of tracks, but I already couldn't get enough. This greatest hits collection epitomizes what I love about this band. Good music, good lyrics, good band!

If it could turn a former rap-lover like me into a fan, then I'm sure you would love it too! I highly recommend this album to all lovers of music!