Customer Reviews

Chicago Transit Authority

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Considering the drek which passes as music these days, "CTA," if it were released today, would sound just as innovative and fresh as it did 31 years ago. If the "Chicago Transit Authority" were introduced today as a new recording artist with this disc as its first release, and if it were listened to by the hoards of people who probably don't even know that there was a group called "CTA" before they became Chicago, it would rock the music scene perhaps even more so than it did in the late 60's. Nothing in today's popular music even comes close to the genius of this work.

Aside from the three big-name tracks, "Beginnings," "Does anybody reall know..." and "Questions," this disc contains the best recording ever of "I'm a Man," which is much better than the Spencer Davis Groups' version.

CTA ("Chicago 1") has never received the due it so richly deserves from rock critics. This album is simply one of the best creative efforts of the late 60's, and introduced a sound that has never been duplicated. This album is in my top ten of all time, though there are tracks I really don't care for (that's how good the good stuff is).

To this day I feel the power and magic my friends and I experienced when we first heard "Introduction". I play this song for my two sons whenever I want them to hear how a truly great band plays together, yet allows the individual to showcase their great talent. "Introduction", worth the price of the album by itself, remains for me a powerful example of musicians who are at the top of their art.

"Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is", "Beginnings", "Questions 67&68", "Listen", and "I'm a Man" are all great tracks, as evidenced by the early hits from this album.

Fans of Chicago in the late 70's and 80's may have never known what a great bass player Peter Cetera was (knowing only his syrupy ballads of that later era). Robert Lamm on the keyboards and Terry Kath were undeniably the best at their craft in this moment in time. The brass "section"-Pankow, Parazaider, and Loughnane-characterized the energy of this album.

But the most overlooked drummer in rock and roll history, Daniel Seraphine, made the sound complete. Seraphine was the first drummer I ever heard that proved that the drums were a true musical instrument, and not just for keeping the beat. In all my years of following the "best of" lists, his name rarely if ever appears in the list of great drummers. But I can assure you that you will be mesmerized by his playing. He is the best that ever was.

"CTA" and "Chicago II" are the best 1-2 albums ever produced. Own them and listen for a lifetime.

Many long-term Chicago fans will tell you that the band was never better than on this, their first album. I definitely include it among my top two or three. Those who came to know Chicago only during (or after) the Peter-Cetera-ballads phase could very well be surprised with a listen. Because, above all else, the first album shows that once upon a time Chicago was a free-playing Rock Band - with horns thrown in.

The proof begins on the very first track, appropriately titled "Introduction". Launching with a bluesy horn riff over a rocking rhythm chart, the band proceeds to display its considerable versatility in the next six-and-a-half minutes. "If you've nothing to do, sit back and let it through and let us play for you" sings guitarist Terry Kath before the band moves through its paces. Styles change along with key and time signatures, leading to a central episode that is hard rock worthy of Hendrix. (This album should convince most observers that comparisons of Kath to Hendrix are not gratuitous.) But, lest the band be pigeonholed, "Introduction's" final chord is a dissonant seven voice jazz chord worthy of Kenton.

The album then moves to the well-known singles including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Beginnings". Admittedly these sound a bit shop worn after thirty years, but they yield overlooked surprises. For example, listen to Peter Cetera's bass-playing throughout. Much more than simply playing the chord roots, he was constantly inventing rhythmic counter-melodies. (He would achieve a peak with this style three years later on "Dialogue".) But the gems of the album are the songs that weren't singles: "Listen", which like "Introduction" is a song about the band's craft; and "Poem 58" and "South California Purples", hard rock tunes the likes of which would rarely be heard on future Chicago albums. My favorite track is "Someday", a tune about the '68 Democratic Convention with an extremely inventive harmonic structure.

The only real drawback is that the album is a bit long - it was the first of Chicago's double LP sets and is not as concise a statement as Chicago II, or even Chicago III. But this is also a benefit ("Free Form Guitar" excepted) in that it gives the rhythm section an opportunity to shine. Which, in the end, is the story of this album. Chicago would go on to bigger stardom, and even some (arguably) better albums, but they would never again approach the energetic, uninhibited rock of Chicago I.

The Chicago that produced the first two double albums is the Chicago that should have endured. Instead, that Chicago faded and a new, sappy Chicago took its place, content to sing silly songs that get put in heavy rotation on "adult contemporary" radio.

This album displays incredible musicianship, creativity, and yes, quite a bit of chance-taking. Chicago then completely lost its creative edge and was comfortable cranking out the schmaltz.

Oh well. At least you can still get this, and see what the band sounded like when it was REALLY GOOD.

I came to Chicago (as they were later known) in 1970, with the songs from their second album, in particular "Make Me Smile". In the following year, other songs I liked came out, "...What Time It Is", and "Beginnings", and I was surprised to learn that these were not on their new album at the time, Chicago III, but on their album which had been originally released way back in 1969. Intrigued, I picked up that double-disc set, and was soon blown away by the creativity and musical excellence of the group. Unfortunately, it was a creativity they unable to ever duplicate again, certainly not after the death of guitarist Terry Kath in 1978. The second album, "Chicago", come close, however.

But here we find a raw, uncomplicated sound, one that was quite revolutionary at the time. Here was a band using a horn section, but doing it in a way that really fit with rock 'n' roll, much better than Blood, Sweat and Tears was trying to do at the same time. I seriously think Chicago probably opened the door for other groups to successfully use this approach, notably Earth, Wind and Fire and Tower of Power later in the 70's.

Other reviewers here have listed the best tracks, and I'll list my faves: "Introduction", "Listen", "I'm a Man" (I agree, better than Spencer Davis Group's version), "Someday" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (an interesting philosophical ramble, especially to me, a college student at the time). There are some throw-away moments, to be sure (do we really need almost 7 minutes of "Free Form Guitar", an obvious Hendrix tribute, plus "Liberation" is overly long), but they were trying to fill a double album. Not a good excuse, I realize, but there is more than enough good stuff to go on one disc. Today in the CD era, that seems quite difficult to relate to, I suppose, because the whole 2-record set is on one CD. Still, it's a great price!

Chicago never scaled these creative heights again, a pity, really. But for a while (1971-75) they were America's most consistent hit-makers, going to number one with every album they released (and top ten with every single). "Chicago Transit Authority" shows us the birth of that staple Seventies radio sound.

This is Chicago's first album, among the five best studio albums they've made in their 30 or so years. This album is somewhat experimental, and occasionally is hit and miss. Terry Kath's Free Form Guitar is little more than an indulgence, and Liberation, at 14 minutes, is meandering and far longer than necessary. That being said, this album contains many outstanding moments. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is is simply superb, and contains a one minute long piano intro that you wouldn't hear on the Heart of Chicago version. Beginnings, Poem 58, and Listen are also good solid tracks with the fabled horn section in the spotlight. The album's best song, in my opinion, is Questions 67 & 68, featuring soaring Peter Cetera vocals, and a wonderful horn break. If you're a new fan, this should be one of the first albums you should buy.

Its so hard to believe that when these guys recorded this album they were virtually an almost unknown/misfit club band who once summed up their sound as "the Beatles with Horns" - - This album however in my opinion is one of the most significant albums in the history of Rock not only artistically but in terms of the groundbreaking influence it would have on American music for years to come. While "they'd only just begun" (pardon the pun), they succeeded in laying out their forumula, setting their identity, and making magic the first time around. Listen to music before this recording, listen to it after... and you realize just what this album was and meant. After this, I don't think don't think their albums necessarily got better - - they just got more polished. The energy maintained throughout this recording is amazing. The lyrics and messages are deep... the solos, interaction of the members and arrangements must have been a punch in the face to people who heard it the first time. Fans of "Chicago" the '80s pop band may not appreciate this album, but I'd sure a whole generation of even Jazz heads like me have never forgotten it and never will ! ! !

this is an amazing and diverse debut album , with jazz, hard rock, psychedelia, blues, etc and fine production and decent songwriting.. the only thing i would complain about is 'free form guitar'. everything else works on the album, even though some of the tracks have been played to death since. i agree with the reviewer who said the best stuff is the stuff not played on the radio. for me, chicago really went downhill after the 3rd album , ( which was a pretty shaky affair anyway- including some of their greatest and some of their most bombastic work.),perhaps recording 3 double albums and then a monstrous 4 lp live set depleted their creativity too much, the 5th album is only so -so. by about 1975 they really had absolutely nothing left to offer but saccharine mush. sometimes i wonder why, because these guys were all fine musicians and all 3 vocalists were certainly talented.then again,it often seems that just about every rock group had something good or redeeming about it in the late 60s early 70s except for maybe the bangor flying circus ... people who are more familiar with the likes of hard habit to break will be shocked by the awesome instrumentation of, in paticular, terry kath, danny seraphine and, yes, peter cetera . also interesting and rather shocking is that in these early years the band were very politically to the left. in these years no one was making fun of chicago, the band earned plaudits from the likes of jimi hendrix and family's roger chapman. this 1st album is easily their finest work, and definitely the one to get if you only want one, and that would include any best of recording out there. i would say that one of the 100 best albums ive ever heard..

The 1969 self-titled "Chicago Transit Authority" may well be the most ambitious debut album in the history of rock simply because it was a double-album. Groups with that much material usually pick the top half and parcel out the rest on subsequent albums, which explains why lots of bands come out with great first albums and never come close again. Instead, CTA shortened its name to Chicago (before that they were the Big Thing), kept putting out double-albums for a while, insisted on numbering all of them just to be different, and became the second most successful American rock band of all time in terms of albums and singles after the Beach Boys. CTA did some rock 'n' roll but usually it was mixed with a heavy dose of jazz and some classical touches. We were familiar with bands that had horn sections, such as Blood, Sweat & Tears, but CTA took it to the next level. Actually, if you look at the group's membership you can see there is a traditional rock band in there consisting of Terry Kath on lead guitar and vocals, Peter Cetera on vocals, Robert Lamm on keyboards, and Danny Seraphine on drums. Yet the group's distinctiveness clearly came from CTA's power brass trio of James Pankow on trombone, Walter Parazaider on reeds, and Lee Loughnane on trumpet.

What is surprising is how many singles this debut album turned out, which is not surprising given it is a double-album, but is unexpected since most of the songs are ambitious in style and length. Fours songs charted (one of them twice) between 1969 and 1971: "Questions 67 and 68" (#71), "Beginnings" (#7), "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (#7), a cover of "I'm a Man" (#49), and "Questions 67 and 68" (#24). As we came to expect from the best groups at this point in music history, the really interesting tracks on the ones you only got to hear on the album. Blues rock is represented by "South California Purple," their political sentiments are expressed on "Prologue, August 29, 1968"/"Someday," they stretch the boundaries of experimentation with "Free Form Guitar," and the affair ends with the whole band lets lose on the 14:38 "Liberation." It might be more from a quantitative standpoint that a qualitative that the band that would be remembered as Chicago became the definitive American jazz rock band, but it certainly deserves that reputation. We just should not have been surprised that buying a double-album from a new group was going to end up being such a serious commitment for so long a time. But they showed in "Chicago II" that there was, literally, plenty more where these songs came from.

What? You thought Chicago was a ballad band? A listen to their CTA album (the band's debut) will correct that misconception very quickly.

The only singles you might recognize are the full length versions are "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is", "Beginnings", and "Questions 67 and 68". The rest offers a collection of raw material which you may only find on heavy album rock stations.

"Introduction" is an excellent piece which provides a sampling of musical varieties the band has potential for. Its followed by the three aformentioned singles. Then the driving tune "Listen" and "Poem 58" on which Terry Kath develops a incomparable guitar introduction.

"Free Form Guitar" detracts from the quality of the album. It is Terry Kath free forming on a guitar without any musical inclination, something better reserved for live concerts than wasting air space in one's car or living room.

"South California Purples" provides a soothing,driving transition from the electrical onslaught of "Free Form Guitar". "I'm a Man" features a tight drum solo by Danny Seraphine.

The album winds down with a taste of the band's pro-peace posturing in "Someday". The number features an introduction utilizing a recording of the crowds at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. "Liberation" represents an instrumental which starts utilizing the entire band but ends up like a jam session minus the horns.

The album clearly shows the raw talent this group of men had in the late sixties. There's something for all tastes on it.