Customer Reviews

Live in Japan '72

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It doesn't get any better than this recording if you are a Chicago fan. The original lineup including Kath, Cetera, and Seraphine are all here, and the quality of the recording is superb. The material is mostly from Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago II, and Chicago V, and the band was in fine form throughout. If you are debating between buying this or the Carnegie Hall live album, by all means choose Live In Japan. The horns sound full and deep compared with the kazoo like sound of the Carnegie Hall recording. I think the last two songs on the CD, "I'm A Man" and "Free", showcase Chicago at their best. If you became a fan of Chicago in the 1980's because you liked the ballads, avoid this CD because the band sounds nothing like the David Foster era Chicago. This CD is flat-out jazz-rock from start to end.

For a group that's been around as long as Chicago (35 years and counting), there are not too many authorized live CDs available. There is, of course, the Carnegie Hall album, which I happen to like (despite the fact that many have panned it), and the numerous bootleg albums, which is taken from Chicago's performance at the Toronto Rock Festival. Then there's Chicago 26, which features their latest lineup.
Live in Japan, however, featues the original lineup (Kath, Cetera, Seraphine), and they sound great. The sound is much superior to the Carnegie Hall CD, and there is even a Japanese version of Question 67 & 68. If you like early Chicago, or if you like good rock and roll with great horns, then you'll love this CD. This proves that the original Chicago could rock with the best of them.

When this first hit the States in 1978, I thought it was a "new" recording. Then I discovered it dated back to 1972, when Chicago was touring to promote the CHICAGO V album. What a revelation! Clocking it at just over 100 minutes, this is to date the ONLY album to really capture the power & excitement of a Chicago Live concert. It's been my favorite for a long time. Partly for having the best sound quality, partly for the best choice of songs, and partly for the "oddities": "Lowdown" and "Questions 67 And 68" sung in Japanese, and the early debut of Terry Kath's "Mississippi Delta City Blues", which in the USA had appeared on the CHICAGO XI album only 5 months before this finally got here. Overlooked for years because it was an import, it's a terrific bargain, the CD selling for just about what the original LP did over 20 years ago.

Recorded during a tour of Japan in support of their fifth album, this double CD live recording contains most of the essentials from Chicago's first five albums.

The set opens with material mostly from Chicago V, including Dialogue, Parts I and II, a Hit By Varese, Saturday in the Park, and State of the Union, with guitarist Terry Kath sounding phenomenal on the latter. The band's first album, Chicago Transit Authority, is well represented, with strong renditions of Questions 67 and 68 (sung in Japanese), Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is and Beginnings, while Ballet For a Girl In Buchanan (the seven-song suite featuring Color My World and bracketed at the start and finish by the hit single Make Me Smile), from Chicago II, never sounded so good. A 10-minute version of 25 or 6 to 4 features another stellar Kath solo, and the CD's finale showcases Peter Cetera on bass and Danny Seraphine on drums on a medley of I'm a Man and Free.

The sound quality is rather poor in comparison to the Carnegie Hall album, but the band is tighter and sounds more confident. All in all, a great trip back to the 70s when this band, with its original lineup, knew how to rock and roll.

Recorded when Chicago was still a cohesive unit (not Peter Cetera's back-up band), this album is far tighter, and has far better sound than the Carnegie Hall album.

I bought this album in vinyl as a Japenese import in the late 70's. I never thought it would make it to CD. When it did, I scooped it up. If you like the sound of Chicago at their peak, then THIS is the album to buy.

Of the live Chicago albums available, this is clearly superior. In contrast to the various 1969 Live albums and Carnegie Hall, the sound on this package is clear. You can actually hear the horn and vocal arrangements consistently throughout the record. The band plays with a lot of energy. This album also captures the essence of their Chicago V tour. Some of the tunes from V such as Dialogue and Hit by Varese may even have more energy than their studio counterparts. A misty feeling came over me when the group introduces "Saturday in the Park" as a "new" song. There is also a fine smattering of tracks from Chicago I and II plus an early, slightly altered version of "Mississippi Delta City Blues" which later pops up on Chicago XI. Do yourself a favor and get this one.

I like to think of Chicago Live In Japan as The Greatest Hits, Vol.2, Part II. Both came out about the same time. It is a way to wrap up the 70s, and enjoy Terry Kath one more time, before Chicago's massive reinvention of itself in 1982.

It is hard to compare this CD to the Carnegie Hall album, especially since the Rhino reissue came out (with improvements to the sound and bonus tracks). I agree with one reviewer, that they do not sound quite as tired as they do on Carnegie Hall. There is more of a pop feel, and no extended guitar solos (which some people will like). The Ballet is treated with more respect (they don't do that goofy "yah yah yah" bit of West Virginia Fantasies), and Free/I'm A Man are way better than on Carnegie Hall. And I agree that the sound quality on the original release is better than Carnegie Hall. A Song For Richard And His Friends is better on CH.

But I like it, and any Chicago fan should have it, as well as CH. I also think that collectors of 70s live albums would love it.

At $70 a pop, only the most serious fans will be buying it. Here's hoping Rhino gets it reissued soon (and I'll bet they do!).

With the release of the re-mastered Carnegie Hall album just around the corner, I have to say this is still the ultimate
Chicago Live album. I remember seeing Chicago a couple of months before this album was recorded. I guess you will notice how Saturday in the Park was never introduced. They performed it that way the night I saw them and for weeks I told my friends that they played a new song that night that was awesome.
When they asked me what was the title...I said something like ..The 4th of July..Duhhh..

This is a great live record and as the set goes on the band starts to loosen up and jam a little more... a prime example is extending the instrumental break of 25 Or 6 to 4 by roughly 4 minutes.

This song is about being tired and edgy and Kath's guitar work conveys that restless uneasiness perfectly. He works the wah wah like mad and his soloing really catches fire. Sweet rendition, boys!

The other numbers toward the end of the set (I'm a Man, Free) also have a loose edgy feel which is excellent and exactly how live rock should be performed. Free is especially inpsired with fantastic drumming and horn solos. Again, great record!

One last note, Cetera's singing sounds a little rougher and hoarse than on the studio productions which is VERY refreshing. His overly smooth high voice on the sappy saccharine ballads they became known for later still makes my skin crawl. On this record he sounds more like a rock-n-roll singer... imagine that!

P.S. This record IS available through mp3's on this site obviously or like nearly the entire Chicago catalog on Rhapsody and I'm sure other subscription services so don't bother tracking down an expensive used copy. But track it down for sure!

...between CHICAGO AT CARNEGIE HALL and LIVE IN JAPAN, I'd have to pick the former; it covers more ground and is a more essential part of their catalog. I don't agree with the critics who say this album is much better than CARNEGIE; even the sound quality isn't really better (especially with CARNEGIE's recent remastering). Still, LIVE IN JAPAN will definitely be of interest to any fan of the original Chicago.

When I first got this album as a 2-LP Japanese import, I thought it was the most beautiful album package I had ever seen, right down to the physical LPs. (I had never before seen such lengthy LP sides -- all but Side 3 were over 26 minutes, with Side 1 running over 28 minutes -- and that just added to the overall sense that this was a quality-made product.) To say the CD package doesn't do justice is an understatement.

The original Chicago is a fun band to hear live. Every member gets their moment in the spotlight, which is especially cool with a band this size. (Contrast that with all the music videos, etc., where it's all about the lead singer and everyone else is almost anonymous.) It's fun to hear them have a great time onstage, cheering each other on and introducing each other to the audience.

LIVE IN JAPAN was an oddity in Chicago's catalog -- a Japan-only live album, not released in the U.S. until many years later. Was it meant to replace CARNEGIE in Japan or be a companion album? Hard to tell.

Anyway, as far as the music goes: There are a few songs from CHICAGO V, plus the then previously unreleased "Mississippi Delta City Blues" which would finally appear in its definitive version on CHICAGO XI. (Terry's vocal here is really sloppy, so I'm glad this didn't end up being the only released version of the song.) Everything else is a repeat from CARNEGIE, and some of the alternate live versions justify their existence better than others. This version of CARNEGIE's one new song, "A Song For Richard And His Friends" (with Lamm actually mentioning the CARNEGIE album in the intro), is unnecessary; it's missing the beginning of the song, yet still manages to be longer than the original. (And what was the point of the extended "free-form guitar" passages anyway??) "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and its "Free Form Intro" aren't needed alongside the CARNEGIE versions either (although the opening joke by Pankow(?) makes this worth it). There are two songs in Japanese, which makes for an interesting, but not really worthwhile, twist. (I wonder how the Japanese translators, who had co-credits on these songs on the original LP version, feel about their names being omitted from the CD version?) But the "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon" and "Beginnings" are better here than on CARNEGIE, and the 7-1/2 minute version (not counting audience noise) of "25 or 6 to 4" is killer. Most interesting is "I'm A Man"; for its first 3 minutes it's the song as we know it (with Chicago's incorrect reading of the original lyrics, as always!); then there's 3 minutes of a bass guitar-led jam (the ONLY bass solo in Chicago's entire catalog) which is my favorite part of the album; finally there's a 5-minute drum solo which is NOT the "I'm A Man" drum solo but actually an extended (and unlisted) "Motorboat To Mars", complete with segue into "Free".

To sum up: Not a replacement for (or improvement on) CARNEGIE, but definitely worth seeking out for the Chicago fan.