Customer Reviews

Chicago XI

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

CHICAGO XI was issued in September 1977 and in hindsight has emerged as an era-closer. They dispensed with James William Guercio's production services (feeling he was dominating too much) and in January 1978, Terry Kath accidentally shot himself and died. Remarkably, his presence on CHICAGO XI is at its most intense since the third album in 1971, with him singing 4 out of the 11 songs. Peter Cetera wrote the only big hit on the album "Baby What A Big Surprise" and the album topped out at # 6 at home, a big hit, but clearly Chicago were beginning to lose ground on the charts by this time. Still there are many highlights here. "Mississippi Delta City Blues", an old Terry Kath number from the early days, gives the album a great beginning, full of his great playing and vocals as well as those trademark horns. Robert Lamm's sympathetic "Policeman" is a very affecting ballad, while "Take Me Back To Chicago" (which was NOT autobiographical, though it had personal relevance) proved that the band also had a talented songwriter in drummer Danny Seraphine. Lee Loughnane's "This Time" is also a mid-tempo pleaser, while the album ends on a poignant and high-spirited note with Danny's "Prelude (Little One)" and "Little One" itself, sung memorably by Terry Kath. You really feel the loss of Terry on these last two cuts - in fact, on the whole album. The band were devastated by his tragic passing, yet persevered and decided to carry on. Unfortunately, the widely-changed musical climate would be very difficult for Chicago to excel like they had the past 8 years. CHICAGO XI stands as the closing chapter on the band's first (and greatest) era.

From the opening bass chops of Peter Cetera and the haunting laugh of Terry Kath- this album is gripping. The final album of the original line-up of Chicago shows a return to some of the hard rock stylings of their 1969 debut album on songs such as Mississippi Delta City Blues and Takin' It On Uptown.

Mississippi Delta City Blues- Viewed by some fans as Terry's swan song. This song can be interpreted on multiple levels. Terry's laugh at the beginning of the song juxtaposed with the lyrics about masking his unhappiness is a very nice creative effect. Peter Cetera shines on the bass on this song. The guitar riff is catchy, the horns accent Terry and Peter's performance. Although this song had been around since Chicago's days playing the club circuit in the late sixties, the lyrics seem particularly pertinent to Terry's feelings at the time of its recording. His unhappiness is expressed throughout the song despite his somewhat jovial tone- it's almost eerie that this was recorded so close to Terry's death.

Baby What A Big Surprise- This is the rough in the diamonds, reinforcing the label of "ballad band" for Chicago. It might as well have been called If You Leave Me Now Part II- This Time We'll REALLY Give You Cavities.

Till the End of Time- James Pankow's second endeavour as lead vocalist. While somewhat slow, this song still contains a lot of the elements of earlier Chicago. The syrup doesn't run quite as thick as on Baby What a Big Surprise. The horns are still quite prominent, the vocals are well done by Pankow leaving some fans wondering why he only sang lead on two Chicago songs during his entire (and continued) tenure with the band. The harmony vocals at the end of the song are some of the best harmonies Chicago has ever done.

Policeman- Musically speaking it's not one of Robert Lamm's stronger songs. The lyrics however are written quite well in a story-telling style which is somewhat reminiscent of the songs of Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin. The horns are quite prominent, Terry's guitar playing accents and compliments the horns nicely. The harmony vocals compliment both Lamm's vocals and the horns. Unfortunately after this song Lamm's songwriting skills seemed to fall into a slump.

Take Me Back to Chicago- A touching song written by Danny Seraphine and "Hawk" Wolinski for Freddy Page, the late drummer of the Illinois Speed Press. However with Terry's untimely passing being so close to the release of this album this song is seemingly just as much written for Terry as it's written for Page. The preach by Chaka Kahn at the end of the song is a nice touch. This is easily one of the best Danny Seraphine penned songs and it shows his emergence as a songwriter.

Vote For Me- Typical Robert Lamm political commentary. This song is quite tongue-in-cheek, however, lyrically speaking it seems a bit weaker than Policeman. On the musical end of things this song has a stronger feel to it than some of Robert's other endeavours from the late seventies.

Takin' It On Uptown- In a word WOW! Terry Kath at his absolute best! Both vocally and on guitar- Terry Kath shines on this album. Some of Terry's best playing since his marathon solos on Live at Carnegie Hall. The lyrics are written by Fred Kagan, however they seem to carry a similar theme to the lyrics of Mississippi Delta City Blues. This song has a more upbeat theme to it although Terry sings it in an almost angry, fed-up tone. Moreso than any other song of Terry's- this seems to be a duet between Terry the singer and Terry the guitarist.

This Time- For a slower song, Terry really jams on this song as well. Lee Loughnane's lead vocals are very reminiscent of Terry's soulful style in fact at first listen one would almost assume that it is indeed Terry, not Lee, on lead vocals. One of Lee's finer attempts at being a songwriter and a singer.

The Inner Struggles of A Man- The orchestration on this piece provides a beautiful segue from the more upbeat This Time to the more somber Little One. It's a very beautiful piece and it sounds like it could be used for a film.

Prelude (Little One)- Picking up where The Inner Struggles of A Man crescendoes this is an excellent lead-in to Little One.

Little One- Written by Danny Seraphine for his daughters, Terry puts his stamp on this piece as well. This song can easily be interpretted as being just as much for Michelle Kath as it is for Danny's daughters. The string orchestration in the background really compliments the horns and Terry's voice.

This album was significantly different from Chicago's early albums. Gone was the progressive flavored rock and jazz fusion. Gone are the longer, highly experimental tracks. In its place is tautly written and performed music indicative of the skill of a group into their eleventh album, a group that would soon be losing one of its most creative members, Terry Kath.

The CD kicks off with "Mississippi Delta City Blues," a mixture of Terry Kath's bluesy voice style with Chicago's strong horns and a rock beat to create a powerful song. The funky flavor of this song is indicative of the mid-70s era in which it was written and performed, and yet the jazz and blues provide this song with a timeless quality that make it as enjoyable to listen to today as 1977. This song is so fast-paced and instrument-laden that it flirts with the hard rock category.

The transition from the powerful "Mississippi Delta City Blues" to "Baby, What a Big Surprise" is very dramatic. The former is instrument and beat powered. This song is a love ballad focused on Peter Cetera's vocals and harmonies. This beautiful pop song hit #4 and was a hint of Chicago's transition to a pop band in the 80s.

The transition from "Baby, What a Big Surprise" to "Till the End of Time" is less dramatic than the transition into the previous song as this song is also relatively slow and mellow, but Chicago's signature horns and blues flavor make this song a ballad in Chicago's style of that time rather than the much mellower Peter Cetera pop song. The thick vocal style and layered sound are but some of the characteristics of the unique Chicago sound of this era.

"Policeman" is lyrically significantly different from the two previous love songs. The song is jazz and blues influenced, with a touch of keyboard, typical for the 70s. The song is poignant in that it combines the worst scenarios in life for policemen in general. Seeing the worst in life, hoping to make a difference, and the stress being a policeman causes in your personal life. With so many songs that are down on the police, this blues song looks at their life from their side, a look that puts in perspective that police are people with a tough job.

The next song, "Take Me Back to Chicago," is a funky jazz celebration of Chicago, the city. The singer is apparently in Los Angeles, longing for Lake Michigan and Tastee Freeze and probably Lakeshore Drive. This song offers a mellow start with little keyboard flavors. The song breaks into stronger jazz sections that proclaim how enthusiastic the band is about Chicago. This song was released as a single with "Policeman," though it charted poorly. Unfortunate because it is a better song than many released in the late 70s.

The bouncy little ditty that follows, "Vote for Me," is pure fun. The song offers a rock style that has some similarity to Elton John's mid-70s music, and the lyrics are a parody of political promises made in every election year.

"Takin' It on Uptown" offers a Jimi Hendrix-style guitar driven rock song that bears little resemblance to any of the previous six songs. This powerful song is the fourth style offered in the first seven songs, and shows the breadth of ability of this phenomenal group. In spite of the heavy beat and the power instruments this song is enjoyable. While the next song, "This Time," offers horns, it too has a powerful guitar track that retains some of the flavor of the previous song. The latter song is a fun love song with all the hallmarks of classic Chicago music.

"The Inner Struggles of a Man" is a short instrumental that is somewhat reminiscent of the instrumentals on the first three Chicago albums. This track is shorter than most of those instrumentals, but the style is similar. The change in pace from the previous tracks is dramatic, with an orchestral sound including strings rather than jazz or rock instruments. This instrumental smoothly transitions to "Prelude (Little One)," a short (52 seconds) blues introduction to "Little One," which was the final track on the original release. The transition between "Prelude (Little One)" and "Little One" is not discernable. "Little One" features lead vocals by Terry Kath and his emotional vocals become in effect a poignant end to his recording career. Knowing that Terry Kath would soon be gone when this was recorded sends chills down my spine. "Little One" was released as a single with "Till the End of Time," achieving only modest success, rising to #44 on the hot 100 and #40 on the easy listening chart.

This version of "Chicago XI" features two bonus tracks, "Wish I Could Fly" and "Paris." "Wish I could Fly" is a rock instrumental that is a worthy addition to this CD. "Paris" is a bouncy rock tune with strong percussion. Both tracks are listed as being rehearsals. I think "Wish I Could Fly" is the better of the two bonus tracks. "Paris" is nice having and pushes the time for this CD to over 52 minutes, but is the weakest track on the entire CD.

Chicago started as a unique group. While this CD is less experimental than their earliest albums, the experimentation has given way to refinement. The result is a quality album that compares well to their most ambitious albums. Fans of Chicago's early, more progressive tracks will find this album lacks that type of music. This album stands as a testament to a group that marks the end of its first era with its release. This CD is a must have for fans of early Chicago music and for those who enjoy jazz-rock.

As a long time Chicago fan I was devestated when Terry Kath died shortly after the release of this album. It marks the end of one of America's great original rock bands. Although I have read where band members have claimed this was one of their weakest efforts, I find myself listening to it over and over again. The guitar on "Takin'It On Uptown" is about as "Hendrix" as you can get, with Kath even playing his guitar backwards. The album is more "Blues" flavored than usual for Chicago, with songs like "Mississippi Delta Blues," "Till The End Of Time," "Takin'It On Uptown," and "This Time."

"Policeman" is a smooth groove that's easy to get into even though the lyrics are somewhat sentimental (a Chicago trademark). "Vote for Me" is as politically relevant today as it was then, and harkens back to the band's early anti-establishment songs, poking fun at politicians who promise us the moon while asking for large donations.

"Take Me Back To Chicago," is probably the most recognizable title on the album since it was one of the two pop chart songs on the album. This song really rocks even though it borders on the sentimental side. It features great flute playing, great guitar, and Chaka Khan on backing vocals.

Overall there are ten really great cuts on this album.

Terry Kath, who's blazing guitar work and gruff, soulful vocals contributed greatly to Chicago, died after making this album. The loss coincided with the transition of Chicago from a innovative prog/jazz rock band to a top 40s oriented ballad group. Chicago XI is a weaker effort from the band, paling by comparison to the fantastic II and III, but still producing some choice cuts. "Policeman" and "Take me back to Chicago" show excellent arrangement and prodution values, while "This Time" is a pleasant song. "Baby what a big surprise" forshadows the oncoming Pete Cetera dominated ballad era. For Kath, his last hurrah is felt in the form of the guitar-dominated "Mississippi Delta City Blues" and "Takin' it on up town". IF you're just starting with Chicago, go straight to the beginning of their career and leave this one 'till later. Still, for the bigger fans, Chicago XI has its rewards.

CHICAGO XI has always meant a great deal to me. I remember getting it hot off the presses, spinning it, and thinking, "Well, it ain't as good as X." After a few weeks, though, I realized there wasn't a bad tune on the album. Then, Terry Kath shot himself and the set took on a whole new meaning as a swansong. The recently released Rhino remaster conjures uip all of these things.

It's eerie that Kath's last recorded tune has him singing about hopping train "number 86" ("Takin' It On Uptown"). It's also still hard to hear him croon, "...'cause I will always be there" on "Little One." For a longtime Chicago fan, it's difficult to separate his death from the music.

But the music is good. After years of experimenting, Kath finally cemented "Mississippi Delta City Blues" into a terrific hook with workable lyrics. As an opener, it gets the set off to a great start. Peter Cetera's "Baby, What a Big Surprise" was the hit, and, all in all, it's not unpleasant. Trombonist James Pankow writes and sings the interesting "Till the End of Time," which is followed by Robert Lamm's mellow but excellent "Policeman." "Take Me Back to Chicago," a minor hit penned by drummer Danny Seraphine and Rufus hitmaker Hawk Wolinski, culminates in a terrific, almost gospel 'preach' fronted by the visiting Chaka Khan. Lamm's "Vote for Me" has always been hilarious, and, as I get older, the lyrics make much more sense.

Kath contributes perhaps the single greatest tune he ever wrote (with lyrics by Fred Kagan) with "Takin' It On Uptown." The wailing lead and chunky rythm guitar work meshes perfectly with Kath's growled vocals (punctuated effectively by Cetera in the background). This could easily stand as Kath's memorial. Trumpeter Lee Loughnane writes and sings the follow-up, "This Time"--a pleasing tune with a great hook. "Little One" and the build-up (written by Seraphine and Hawk) closes the orginal set with style and substance.

This being a re-release. there are bonus tracks. The first, Pankow's "Wish I Could Fly" is so cool, I wish Chicago had finished it. The second, Lamm's "Paris," is pretty bad.

The packaging and the liner notes for this edition of CHICAGO XI are well done. The remaster doesn't much improve on the sound quality, however, since the original LP was of high quality. Hey, at Amazon prices, this CD is well worth it.

Chicago XI is my first "5 Star" since Chicago V. This is the album where they perfected their Caribou Ranch, Chicago-plus-congas sound. It has the elements of an excellent Chicago album: original (not warmed-over) brass voices on almost every track; a driving hard rock number with no horns, strong lead vocals by The Big Three Plus James Pankow and Lee Loughnane; and at least two wind solos. Lee Loughnane's solo on Little One is pure art.

Those that bemoan its departure from the sound of the first three albums seem to want near carbon copies of the same. Any new group has some signature, experimental style that got them noticed. They all tend toward some mainstream sound over time, partly because their novelty is no longer fresh, but partly based on what the fans seem to like.

Is it a soft, AC ballad? Is it a hard rocker? Funk? Rock band with horns? Others may debate the merits of each, but I hear Chicago - and I like it, whatever you want to call it.

XI closes the Terry Kath era, and I cannot add to the excellent comments along these lines. I do want to note two early signs of their future direction that have not been covered yet:

1) Danny Seraphine as song-writer. He will offer quality selections on each of the next five albums. You get a sense that he is a creative force in this middle period, giving them some directions and helping hold it together in the wake of Terry's death. This is just a guess on my part, but you cannot downplay his influence, beginning here. He is a big part of the bridge between the Kath/Guercio and Champlin/Foster era.

2) Lee and James' vocals herald the Champlin style. When I first heard Chicago 16 playing in a record store in 1982, I thought his voice must be either Lee or James on steroids. To me, they sound very similar. Here in the Kath era, you have these Champlin-like voices, and it turns out he was a very good fit for Chicago.

XI does not have a South California Purples, a Make Me Smile, an Approaching Storm.

But it is, clearly, Chicago. The music is accessible, but expertly and artistically done. Chicago's second era is the period when they perfect their record production chops. Listen to Chicago XI, and hear a musical team that knows how to make every variety of music. If the occasional pop song or ballad offends some underground FM enthusiast, well, tough.

I recommend this album to all music lovers.

Chicago XI, released in 1977, stands as another solid entry from Chicago in the '70's. As with their previous two studio releases, this disc displays Chicago's diversity of style in approaching both pop and rock while maintaining the signature sound that they had solidified by this point in their existence. No one could imagine upon initial release of this album that Terry Kath would soon no longer be part of their future. In early 1978, this amazingly unique rock guitarist died in a gun accident and the group would never be the same.
Thankfully, Chicago XI highlights Terry, both vocally and on guitar, to the greatest extent on any Chicago studio release since Chicago III.
The disc cuts open with Terry's "Mississippi Delta City Blues". No guitar solo, but terrific funky rhythym parts supporting the band and his growling R&B baritone. Danny Seraphine, as always, let's loose on this track, seemingly propelling the Chicago horns (in excellent form) across the song as they blow free and powerfully.
Peter Cetera's "Baby What a Big Surprise" although, probably the worst-titled Chicago song ever, is actually a very musical piece, which hints of baroque style as Lee Loughnane blows a beautiful background track on piccolo trumpet. Terry also provides some interesting and unique guitar parts on this tune.
"Take Me Back to Chicago" is simply terrific and displays Chicago at their best. Robert Lamm takes us back to the Windy City of his youth with his comforting vocal on this tune written by drummer Danny Seraphine. Great rhythym guitar underlay, powerful drum fills by Danny and the Chicago horns breezing across the music create a pastoral setting to bring the listener to the title city. Chaka Khan, one of the all-time great female R&B singers, guest stars on this tune and trades vocal improv with Terry at the end, while the entire band just explodes in an R&B/rock/funk jamfest.
Terry Kath really shines on his Hendrix-influenced, "Takin' It On Uptown". This is a definitve TerrY Kath guitar-focused tune, that shows Chicago at their hardest-edged.
Finally, and almost cryptically fitting, "Little One", showcasing Terry in an emotional and heartfelt vocal, closes the disc. This is another great tune written by Danny Seraphine (with the assistance of his friend and Rufus keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski) that is a perfect vehicle for Terry's soulful punch.
The band creates amazing textures with beautiful acoustic piano by Robert, wonderful rhythym guitar by Terry and great melodic drumming by Danny. all wrapped up in a warm and tasteful string arrangement.
This is certainly an important Chicago record for many reasons, the diversity of style evidenced throughout the disc, the great musicianship and songwriting by the band and, a classy farewell to the great Terry Kath.
A worthwhile purchase.

In this day and age it's really hard to look at music for any creative purposes.I admit it it's all getting better in many ways but the fact is the attitude that "it's not show art,it's show business" seems to have pretty much saturated everyone,from the industry to the record buyer for at least the last decade and a half. When Chicago recorded this album 32 years ago the the perception of music was quite different.Many had learned to understand the best way to sell records was to do something innovative and exciting,basically never to look down the nose of the record buyer and give them credit for their musical enjoyment abilities. The sad fact is this album will always represent an ending for Chicago;it was not only their final commercial triumph of the 70's but as we know founding member Terry Kath never lived to see the album become so successful.And that's interesting because this is an album only features one song by Peter Cetera and that of course is "Baby What A Big Surprise",an unusually orchestraded epic ballad that is pretty likely one of radio listeners main attractions to this album if they don't go directly for the best-of packages.Terry's "Mississippi Delta City Blues" really gives up the funk in a series way;he was always great with the whole blues functioning as funk (you really cannot have one without the other anyway) and get's the album started on a great note to boogie down to.The slightly jazzier "Till The End Of Time" is a milder funk tune with some great vocals from Pankow.Robert Lamm,in an apparent turn against public opinion of the day to law enforcement paints a lonley,poetic picture in "Policeman",another terrific breezy jazz-oriented tune.David Wolinski started out as a sideman for Chicago before he joined Rufus,a band that....in many ways shared many musical similarities with the funk/rock side of Chicago and that comes across all too strongly on "Take Me Back To Chicago";the fact that Chaka Khan does her thing on the song's closing breakdown really certifies the connection.Lamm again throws down another funny political satire in "Vote For Me",complete with this gospel beat and hallelujah chorus.Both Terry Kath and Lee Loughanne,who himself never sings too often on a Chicago tune get a turn at rockier songs on Terry's riff heavy "Takin' It On Uptown" and Lee's "This Time",although the latter naturally leaning towards the jazz side of things."The Inner Struggles Of A Man" is a very cinematic,movie score kind of orchestration from Dominic Frontiere that leads very well into a prelude that begins "Little One",a wonderfully touching epic written by Wolinski and Danny Seraphine,with the singing handled with soulful sincerity from Terry Kath. The album ends with rehearsals of future songs "Wish I Could Fly" and "Paris".The hornless versions of these tunes are interesting though don't add a whole lot to the finished versions. This album is not only a huge triumph (as well as epitaph) for Terry Kath in terms of his participation but also flaunts the many talents he had within the band and it's principle members.The collaborative nature of the musicians in this band that made every recording from earlier epics such asChicago Transit Authority and even the previous album Chicago X was still very much in attendance here. It would seem to split in a million different directions in the years to come but in terms of Chicago's classic hit making period that had begun only eight years earlier.And the fact Chicago had a presense on the charts and in the record stores for every single one of those years says an awful lot for one of the hardest working (and recording) bands of it's era.

Fresh Chicago, interesting. "Take me back to Chicago" was a great new track with a lot of feeling. Great brass as you would expect. Some of this disc reminds one of parts of the first album. A little uneven in spots, but mostly satiisfying, especially since Terry is no longer with us. Purist Chicago fans should be happy with this disc. Three and a half stars would be more accurate.....