Customer Reviews

II

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sorry, Blood, Sweat and Tears fans, this is the best jazz, rock album ever made and Chicago's best. Even though this style of music was to fade, Chicago almost single handedly carried this music for several years. Unfortunately, with the death of Terry Kath and later with Peter Cetera's resignation from the band, jazz rock died and Chicago ceased to be a creative musical force. But this album is absolutely breathtaking in scope; done in a kind of classical, rock opera style it still astounds me to this day with its' sophisticated arrangements and production. The song writing is highly structured and very melodic at times. The horns of course steer the trademark Chicago sound and they have never sounded better that they do here. Vocally, they were lucky enough to have three fine singers in Terry Kath, Peter Cetera and Robert Lamm and all three shine here. I don't feel this album gets the rewards it justly deserves when talking about some of the best albums of all time. It is one of those I never get tired of listening to, even 31 years after its' release. It is truly a marvelous piece of work.

This album, along with Chicago Transit Authority are two of my all time favorite albums.This album has it all. Great songs, great musicianship and great vocals.Terry Kath was definitely one of the most underrated Rock guitarist of all-time.The guy could do it all, both on the guitar and vocally."In the Country" is a good track to get a feel for what he was about.This Album also contains several of Chicago's biggest hits including "Make Me Smile", Colour My World" and "25 or 6 to 4". This album along with The first one are what I consider the "Real" Chicago. It's a shame that many people that have heard of Chicago associate them with that "Garbage" they put out in the "80's".This is a must have for all Chicago fans and anyone who appreciates Great musicianship, something that has been missing in "Popular" music for a long time.

I got this album on my 10th birthday and promptly wore it out. Whatever you think of the MOR machine that Chicago became after Terry Kath died and Peter Cetera took over, and the lack of originality they displayed in naming the vast majority of their albums with simple volume numbers, none of this is evident here. I eventually bought this album again on CD, and it sounds as great as ever. Incredibly accomplished guitar-playing, powerhouse drumming, and terrific orchestral arrangements (showing both their jazz and classical influences) are all displayed here on this, their best album.

This is the album that success nearly destroyed. To make singles out of some of this material, the cuts were butchered inexcusably. Hear "Colour My World" and "Make Me Smile" as they were meant to be heard, a parts of some great album writing. The horn players are still well-used here, with some nice solo work all around, and there are some absolutely exquisite instrumentals. Even thirty years later, much of this album sounds wonderfully fresh and non-formulaic; the range is likewise impressive, from rocking to sweet. And the cornball lyrics that often weakened Chicago's work manage to stay out of the way here. This is the must-have cd in the Chicago catelog.

I, too, wore this album out in my sophomore year of high school. As awesome as Chicago Transit Authority (the first album) was, nothing could have prepared me for the giant leap Chicago took on their second album in 1970. The first four tunes will blow you away with their vocal and horn arrangements. But there's more. Wake Up Sunshine and the Make Me Smile song suite are absolutely brilliant in their arrangements and composition. Add to that the classics Fancy Colours and 25 Or 6 To 4, plus the most beautiful vocals you'll ever hear from the late Terry Kath on Memories Of Love. The album ends with a plea for mankind to come together on Where Do We Go From Here. This monumental album has truly stood the test of time. Anyone who associates Chicago with the sappy singles band of the '80s should pick up this CD. (Would love to hear a Mobile Fidelity gold CD edition of this album...)

Chicago's perfect album. None are better

After "Chicago Transit Authority" announced to the world the existence of this wonderful rock group, the question was whether the follow-up album would be as good as their debut. The follow-up is not as good, it is better.

In some ways this album shows a dichotomy in musical styles. Portions of the album are constructed as progressive rock. Other portions are pop or rock and jazz combinations. Some are nearly classical. Some reviews of the album hint at this dichotomy by noting what the reviewers consider to be unlistenable portions of the album. It is interesting to note that depending on the style of music the reviewer prefers, the portions considered unlistenable by different reviewers may be exactly opposite from each other.

The CD pulls together the two albums that originally made Chicago II. Two groups of tracks make suites. Tracks 6 through 12 are part of "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon," and tracks 19 through 23 make up "It Better End Soon." There are five additional tracks leading up to the first suite, and six tracks between the two suites.

The five introductory tracks are blues-flavored rock. The fourth track, "In the Country," may remind some listeners of Three Dog Night. The other tracks in this group have the brass-flavored sound of "Chicago Transit Authority", but muted somewhat in comparison to the former album.

The first suite is a concept album, or side from the days of vinyl. Out of this suite came two singles, "Make Me Smile," which peaked at #9, and "Colour My World," for which I do not have a peak chart position. There is a lot of instrumental music in this group of tracks, and you can almost imagine these relatively short songs being one extended track, in the manner of progressive rock.

In the group of six songs between the two suites, several are noteworthy. "Fancy Colours" has a blues-jazz opening, but about a minute and a half into the song it transitions to a lighter, nearly pop sounding and faster song than the opening. The contrast is startling and makes you think the opening is a completely separate song from that after the transition. Robert Lamm wrote "25 or 6 to 4" when he was bleary-eyed and had stayed up too late. Knowing the origin of the song, the title nearly makes sense as you realize his brain wasn't working well when he tried to see what time it was. The next three instrumentals seem to form a mini-suite: "Prelude," "A.M. Mourning," and "P.M. Mourning." Given the style of the next song, "Memories of Love," you could possibly include that with the previous four selections. All four are mellow and heavily orchestral as opposed to typical rock.

The second suite begins with a fast rock beat. In the second movement a flute is prominent and though the bass and piano keep the beat moving, the instrumental has a strong jazz flavor. The third movement has a vocal part, with a strong blues flavor and a heavy beat. The fourth movement has a rock feel to it leading into the final song of the suite, "Where Do We Go from Here," which was released as a B-side single.

This album is amazing. The musical styles include jazz, blues, neo-classical, and rock. The combinations are broad enough and unusual enough to allow this music to be classified in a variety of genres. However, I choose to consider this album progressive rock because of the extended length of the suites and the unusual combination of styles. When considering the other groups considered progressive from this era, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, and Yes, it seems less of a stretch to consider this album progressive rock.

I have to address the one other issue brought up by some other reviewers regarding the sound of this CD. I was unaware that the masters had been destroyed at a fire. Regardless of what happened to the masters, this CD is an improvement over my vinyl album. I admit that perhaps in places the ranges, particularly the lower ranges, are not as well represented as they could or should have been. However, I would rather have this awesome work of art in its current form than not at all. Perhaps at some time in the future we will have the technology to take the recordings we do have and perform an even more advanced digital re-mastering. Until that time, I will enjoy this CD as it is.

Note that there is a later version of this CD available that contains the single versions of "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4." I always enjoy extra tracks, but you will need to judge whether there is a difference in price between that version and this one, and whether the difference is valuable to you. Enjoy!

Chicago II was the first album from the band that I bought, back in 1999. Needless to say, I was hooked. From "Movin' In" to "Where Do We Go From Here?" there is some solid material. For instance, "Colour My World" is by far the best love song that they ever made in the Terry Kath era. He does a great job belting out the song with his unique voice. The songwriting is excellent as well, with Kath, James Pankow, Robert Lamm, and for the first time, Peter Cetera contributing tunes. I'm convinced that the guitar work on this album, especially "25 or 6 to 4"(the FULL version, instead of the lame radio edit), "In the Country", and "It Better End Soon" is better than what anyone else did during the era, not named Plant, Page, Clapton, and Hendrix. It's a great album overall, so it's worth a listen or two!

I was 11 when Chicago II was released and of course only heard the hits. Now I own the CD and must say that if you like Chicago then you will love this LP; there is a broad spectrum of musical styles and many surprises. You are taken from jazz to, pop, to rock to what sounds like the score to a 70s TV show or movie. There is a song that will have you thinking you are listening to chamber music. It's an LP that you can sit and listen to in its entirety and enjoy every note while smiling or singing along.You will listen to the hits: Make Me Smile; 25 Or 6 To 4 or Colour My World with new appreciation when you see where they fit in on this LP that is well thought out and pieced together. I am addicted.There is nothing boring about Chicago II. It truly is a treasure. You get much more than your money's worth. This is really one of the best LPs I have heard.

After the awesome debut of "Chicago Transit Authority", Chicago released a followup that's possibly better than the first album. I do agree that they shouldn't have edited the "Ballet for a Girl from Buchannon" into separate singles. It is meant to be heard as a whole. It is a tour-de-force for songwriter James Pankow, who was never really given a chance to write an entire side again. Too bad.

Terry Kath also gets a chance to shine on this album, with his own side of material, a pretty instrumental medley that is quite uncharacteristic of him. It shows his incredible range.

Most people think that Chicago steers in the wrong direction after this album. I think they got even better when left to change and experiment and that's what made them a top band of the 70s. After the awesome achievement of "VII", they started to slump, although there are many fine moments in "VIII", and "X". Despite some flickers of greatness here and there, most of their post-10 works are dreck.

Fortunately, the early albums survive on CD.