Customer Reviews

VI

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The period during which Chicago released their first eleven albums, the Terry Kath era, is generally acknowledged to be their creative zenith. For comparison purposes, I will leave out three of these albums: IV (the live album of performances of previously released songs), IX (their first greatest hits album), and XI (with which I am less familiar.)

The remaining eight albums can be grouped thus:

The Sprawling Double Album Masterpieces: CTA, II, and VII.
The Very Good Albums: V, VI, and X.
The Inconsistent Efforts: III and VIII.

As brilliant as is Chicago's recording history, they never put out a perfect record. Each of CTA, II, and VII contains far too much landmark material to have been confined to a single LP, but none of the three is without its dry stretches (sides four on CTA and II, and side one on VII.) But each of these double LPs are without doubt Chicago's greatest achievements, next to which the other Chicago records suffer by comparison. Those are the discs on which Chicago dismissed the boundaries of popular music, packing every manner of harmonic and rhythmic experimentation successfully into structures that didn't easily condense for radio play.

The fifth and sixth albums are commonly described as the ones on which Chicago abandoned the upper reaches of their jazz-rock experimentation, pursuing more digestible, simpler pop tunes. While it's true that each of the fifth and sixth records is more concise and pop-crafted than are the double-album magnum opera, they are far deeper than this description credits.

Chicago VI opens in startling fashion, with Robert Lamm's gorgeous but bitter "Critic's Choice," consisting only of Lamm's voice and piano. This establishes the album's mood. It's tuneful, but far more introspective and haunting than much of Chicago's previous work, especially than their traditional up-tempo openers.

Throughout VI, Lamm pours his heart out, expressing loneliness and disappointment in his California experience (an sensitive contrast with the amused cynicism that Steely Dan expressed on the same subject.) The song that originally opened the second side, "Something in this City Changes People," is well reputed for its graceful three-part harmony, but for this listener, the musing, brooding opening, Lamm alone on the piano, is when it inhabits its deepest, most poignant place. Lamm is not, on this album, about being a hit-maker, but rather about venting a backlog of emotion.

James Pankow's contributions to VI include the two powerhouse hits, "Just You N' Me," and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (the latter a collaboration with Pete Cetera.) Great as these pieces are, for my money it's the lesser-known pieces that make VI one of Chicago's best records. Lamm and Pankow each contributed terrific up-tempo pieces in addition to the pieces cited above: Lamm's "Darlin' Dear" and Pankow's "What's This World Coming To." Each is irresistibly funky and good-humored.

If I had to pick a single Chicago cut to play for someone who had never heard the band, I would seriously consider "What's This World Comin' To." With a single Chicago cut, you usually have to choose between Terry Kath's vocals or Pete Cetera's. "This World" by contrast brings all of the band's great elements together. Kath, Cetera and Lamm all sing their lungs out, and the whole band stretches out together with a furious power. Your adrenaline will be pumping by the gallon by the end of the cut.

Chicago VI's first side is one of the best they ever laid down. The second side doesn't hold to the same standard, but it's a ridiculously high standard.

This edition of Chicago VI contains two bonus tracks. They are interesting, worthy additions, but not the seamless products that are many of the other cuts.

Chicago band members have reminisced about the difficulty of recording this album at high-altitude, with shortness of breath, and general disorientation. If that's true, they hid it well. The horns have rarely sounded better than they do here, and the same is true for the vocals.

Aficionados should listen to and study CTA, II, and VII before this disc. But for anyone who just wants a great single Chicago disc, this one should be strongly considered. I would buy it even before its biting, well-regarded predecessor, V. Chicago VI is one of their very best.

When I heard Rhino Records was planning to release the remastered Chicago catalogue, I was certainly pleased since the band itself seemed intent upon putting out only basic versions of their first 14 albums. So far, the Rhino collection (CTA, II, III, V) has been nothing short of excellent.

CHICAGO VI is no exception. I'll grant that the sound quality is not significantly improved over the Columbia originals--proof positive of Jim Guercio's very modern production techniques. But the liner notes and the bonus tracks here are worth the 12 bucks you'll pay and then some.

The gold is an added Terry Kath demo, a tune he was working on called BEYOND ALL OUR SORROWS. It's just piano and Kath vocals, and though it's not quite in finished form, it's an absolutely powerful and haunting performance ("He could've been a monster as a solo artist," Guercio has said). For Chicago fans, tracks like this are the equivilant of the Holy Grail.

Good, too, is a live version of Al Green's TIRED OF BEING ALONE featuring Al himself. The tight arrangement and the afterglow chit-chat hearken back to I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY on III.

VI itself, of course, features two classics: JUST YOU N' ME and FEELIN' STRONGER EVERY DAY. Strong, too, are Kath's JENNY and the Lamm tune SOMETHING IN THIS CITY CHANGES PEOPLE. The band has fun with loose rockers like DARLIN' DEAR and WHAT'S THIS WORLD COMIN' TO? In fact, only Cetera's IN TERMS OF TWO and Lamm's HOLLYWOOD ring the dud bell.

With these excellent reissues behind them, Chicago fans can only be happily anticipating what Rhino will do next.

I don't understand all of the carping about "VI". This is by far the finest single album Chicago ever released. It blends styles so perfectly and honestly. From the horn-free "Critic's Choice" to the explosive "Feeling Stronger Every Day", this is one of the few Chicago albums that hold up and sound as fresh as they did in 1973.

It is also one of the few Chicago albums in which I like each and every song and can actually listen to all the way through. This is a must for all Chicago fans.

Does anyone notice that James Pankow actually wrote most of the early hits? Too bad he wasn't able to contribute more hits to the catalog. His contributions began to get less and less with each album. In "VI", he contributes both major hits:Just You N'Me and "Feeling Stronger Every Day" (co-written with Peter Cetera).

At the time of Chicago VI's release Chicago was one of the most prolific rock groups in existence, churning out a number of double albums before releasing the single disk Chicago V and then this single disk album. The earlier albums were full of experimental jazz-blues-rock fusions mixed with a variety of rock and highly orchestrated instrumentals. While you might stand back and wonder whether Chicago was a group in search of itself, it was more likely that the incredible amount of talent in the group led to the eclectic variety of styles. Chicago V and Chicago VI marked a turn towards shorter compositions with less experimentation.

The opening song, "Critics' Choice," is about a favorite topic for a number of artists who sometimes feel they must pander to critics to have any musical success. I am a little surprised that Chicago would have felt this way given their highly creative and original first albums where they clearly were unconcerned by the critics. It may be that some criticisms started to sting about this time. This song is a piano solo accompanying a plaintive vocal; a mellow opening song that sets the tone for the rest of the album.

The second song, "Just You `N' Me," is an upbeat love song. The beat and hooks are somewhat pop, but the addition of horns gives this song a solid Chicago flavor. This song was released as a single with "Critics' Choice" and reached #4 in 1973. This song was also included in a couple of greatest hits collections for Chicago.

"Darlin' Dear" is a powerful rock love song with a touch of blues that stays in a lighter vein, even with the heavy music. This song is one of the more complex compositions on this album and features strong contributions from electric guitars, piano and horns. Once again Chicago proves their ability to create music in whatever style suited their needs.

The Terry Kath song "Jenny" is downbeat with blues vocals overlaying the instruments playing a rock beat. It is initially tempting to classify this song as pop, but while the flavor is there the song resists classification as pop and is closer to blues-rock.

The next song betrays its early 70s origins. "What's this World Comin' To" is a fast paced rock song with a soul flavor. Chicago's ever-present brass section is prominent throughout this James Pankow penned song. While the music is upbeat, the vocals are relatively downbeat, continuing to provide a darker tone to this album as compared to Chicago's earlier albums.

"Something in this City Changes People" is downbeat and slow. The poetic words describe the cynicism of city-dwellers and how they come to act differently from how they once were when they lived elsewhere. There are lines such as "...Everyone's my friend, they pretend..." lamenting how people will not say what they mean. Later there are lyrics that describe how people can become self-centered and egotistical, "...Egos magnified, quite unjustified..." I am assuming that this song relates some of Robert Lamm's experiences in Los Angeles, where it often seems that people create a persona that has little to do with their inner self and their true feelings. "Hollywood" is another Robert Lamm song that continues in the same vein as the previous song. The lyrics expand the theme of the previous song with lyrics such as:

Watch
What you say,
When you say it,
Someone you know,
Will betray it,
Will betray it.

"In Terms of Two" is a Peter Cetera love song. The song is typical of Peter Cetera's style, meaning pop, though the instruments used are a bit unusual. The vocals and music are competent, though generally unremarkable.

"Rediscovery" is a cleverly placed Robert Lamm song that talks about breaking out of a down mood. This funk-flavored song leads into the end of the original album, the upbeat power song "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," that is all the more powerful because of its placement at the end of a string of mellow songs. "Rediscovery" is about the search for personal meaning, relying on nature as the source. The last song continues the theme of picking up and moving on. This song is one of the best on the album and reached #9 in 1974, far less than it deserved, but competition was very stiff at that time.

This remastered album includes two bonus tracks. The first of these, "Beyond all Our Sorrows," is a Terry Kath demo that clocks in at seven minutes, easily the longest song on the CD. This raw track is mellow and strong, a haunting and emotional performance that, while in the theme of the original album, should have been placed ahead of "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" to keep the flavor of the end of the album as originally intended. In spite of its position, this song deserves to be heard and is a valuable addition.

The second track is "Tired of Being Alone," with Al Green. This track is another worthy addition to this album. The performance sounds live or informal, a soulful blues song that is in the same vein as the emotional performance of the previous song.

"Chicago VI" is emotionally downbeat. The group sounds tired and depressed, perhaps as a result of several years of intense creativity and moving to California and being overwhelmed by fame. There is a raw emotional edge to this album that hints at the group's feelings. There are some creative discontinuities, and yet, the album has some wonderful moments that provide an astute listener with a wonderful listening experience. This album may not be as polished as their earlier efforts, but has much less pop than the efforts to come.

Many artists seemed unusually inspired in 1973, doing some of their best-ever albums. This may not be the case with CHICAGO VI, but it does contain 2 of their biggest radio hits, "Just You 'N' Me" (a song that really pointed in the direction the band would increasingly follow) and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (an incredibly uplifting tune that builds in intensity from its beginning right to its EXPLOSIVE finale). I LOVED these songs when they first came out, and still do! In addition, we have the horn section playing behind wonderfully melodic ballads ("Critics Choice") love songs ("In Terms Of Two") and even a political protest song that sounds an awful like like a Temptations tribute, right down to singing in different octaves ("What's This World Comin' To"). Pretty good for a "pop" album!

I was 12 years old when I heard "Just You and Me" playing on the radio. I had never heard of Chicago, and visions of a Lawrence Welk style big band playing this song ran through my head(remember, I was 12). The next day I made a beeline to the local store to spend my allowance money on it, and couldn't believe that only seven guys made such a huge sound.

At the time I loved "Just You N Me," and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," the most. I can still listen to, and enjoy, both of these pop songs, which is often not the case with songs aimed at the charts. But I realize now that these aren't the gems on this album....and there are some real gems on this album.

Terry Kath's guitar once again is the strength of Chicago (even though the horn section received most of the attention). His guitar is really funky on "What's This World Comin' To." Actually the whole band really cranks it up on this one. It has everything, Funk, Jazz, Rock, Soul and Blues. Another great cut is the blues influenced "Rediscovery." Kath lays down one of the finest Wah Wah guitar performances ever recorded. And "Darlin' Dear" is another great blues influenced song featuring a great guitar solo from Kath. These three songs alone make this album a must buy.

Robert Lamm was the dominant writer for Chicago at this time and he puts out some great songs in "Critic's Choice," "Hollywood," and "Something In This City Changes People." "Critics Choice is actually a solo performance by Lamm. No horn section, no guitar, and no drums. Just Robert and his piano. The song's a response to the terrible critical reviews the band had been receiving over the years.

Overall I find myself returning to this Chicago album quite a bit. I find that to be the best gauge as to whether or not an album is good since great songs stand the test of time. This album certainly does.

I agree with those who say this is among Chicago's best, and therefore among the best albums of that era, but it's a lot simpler than they want to make it.

I bought this disc on vinyl when it was a new release, and I still play it that way (it's in nearly mint condition). First of all, it was a beautiful album, which is totally lost in the CD packaging. On top of the tan pasteboard cover was this raised blue ink, the design for which was done by the American Bank Note company, the people who designed those beautiful old stock certificates, postage stamps, war bonds, and the like. Very intricate, tactile ornamental detail, and fascinating to see and touch. We just don't know what album art is these days (now that it means a tiny jpg image for your mp3 player).

It's a little silly to look for deep existential meaning in the lyrics or anything else here. The guys were just writing almost stream-of-concsiousness about whatever was going on in their lives. They weren't concerned about being profound. The words were just sort of incidental to the music. The key to this album is the powerful performance and the incredible recording quality. These were musicians and engineers at the very top of their art. This rates as one of my all-time reference pop recordings for the quality of the mix and the mastering.

The final track ("Feeling Stronger Every Day"), the biggest hit on the album, was mastered differently, and doesn't sound as good as the rest. But that's like saying the world's second highest mountain isn't as tall as the highest. It's still a great-sounding track, but the cymbals are little harsh and the overall sound is a little less full and open.

But the thing is, all of us were going around to each other's rooms and taking this record with us, and just sitting there being blown away by the sound. I'll never forget the first time I heard this record on a system with really good speakers. It was the first record that made me realize I needed better equipment!

The remastered CD captures some of that original sound, but by the time they got around to doing it, there has obviously been some loss of signal intensity on the original tapes. I wish all of you could hear a good original vinyl copy on a good sound system, but second to that, this is the way to go. If you're not blown away by it, just realize that it's pretty hard to reconstruct all the things that contributed to make this a great album at the time. But even so, it's better than almost anything being made today!

I like to think of Chicago in terms of eras. Albums 1 -5 were the first: recorded in NYC, more free form, experimentative, raw and rather undisciplined. They were still learning their craft, but creatively were unstoppable.

With VI, they move to the higher altitudes of the Caribou Ranch for inspiration. It makes a difference. It has been said that they became more "pop" about now. But I would disagree slightly. All artists ultimately seek long term respectability for themselves, once they have attained the heights that Chicago had in the early 70s. If it comes out "pop" to some, so be it.

The thin air of the mountains worked. Out comes Chicago VI, more introspective and poetic than any of their prior offerings. They have become better at their craft, and know how to write songs with great hooks and riffs. Not more pop, really . . . more mature.

Chicago now has more depth and breadth spread out over a single disc. Terry Kath and Robert Lamm sing more softly now, about things more personal and painful. Peter Cetera asserts himself and explores the edges of folk-country. And to demonstrate their hit-making prowess, Feeling Stronger Every Day and Just You 'N' Me provide an optimistic and catchy jolt in a way no previous album could (including V).

It is Chicago's first conga-heavy album, another indicator that their second era has begun. Laudir de Oliveira will soon become the first alteration to the Original Seven. The next Chicago era will be more fun, playful, predictable (and that's not all bad), and professional than the first era.

This was the first Chicago album I had ever bought, as a 12-year old in 1973. For that reason it is a special album to me. I loved it then, and love it now.

Yet - as a whole this is not a 5-star, which is only reserved for albums like Chicago V and Sgt Pepper. You need not be a Chicago fan to enjoy this album. It is for everybody.

This is an album worth having...it really is...after you buy about 9 other Chicago albums (specifically: CTA, Chicago 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 16, 17, and 19...and hopefully 30. It's unreleased at the time of this review). Chicago 6 sort of bridges the gap between the tight, jazzy musicianship of Chicago 5 and the looser mid-1970s feel of Chicago 7. Chicago 6, to me, sounds like b-sides left over from Chicago 5 that were weeded out because they didn't fit with the jazz feel of Chicago 5. The songs are about 70% brilliant. There's some great line, riff, or solo in each of them. And the album boasts 2 of the big hits that redefined Chicago's sound as sort of a thinking man's pop band in the mid-70s (instead of the Woodstock-jazz-Hendrix album oriented band it had been up until that point). It's just that, even though the songs are 70% brilliant, they're still about 30% short on inspiration and craft. The lyrical ideas are less focused. This is more like messing around with extra studio time....or running out of ideas for a while. A good album, but not as great as the ones that preceded it or as great as Chicago 7.

Originally released in 1973, "VI" shows Chicago leaving behind the jazz influences that ran through their earlier studio efforts, while still exploring various styles of music in the disc's ten cuts. With this disc, the band settles into a pop rock flow with a hint of country and some blues influences weaved into the mix.
This album was another #1 for the great American group, thanks to the strength of the two single releases, "Just You n' Me" and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day". These tunes are, simply, two of Chicago's finest efforts into the top ten arena and can be considered popular music masterpieces. "Just You n' Me" has it all: superb melody; great vocal by Peter Cetera; the Chicago horns at their best, blowing through one of trombonist Jimmy Pankow's most inspired horn charts; and a mystical avante-garde interlude where Walt Parazaider creates some beautiful textures in his classic exploratory soprano sax solo. This song is unquestionably definitive Chicago.
"Feelin' Stronger Every Day" balanced the band's image nicely on the charts, showing Chicago with a true hard edge. Again, another incomparable melody and hook, great vocals, powerful horns and an exciting double time section where the band, especially drummer extraordinaire Danny Seraphine, shows off their musical chops.
After these two tremendous offerings, however, the rest of the disc is a mixed bag of compositions. Robert Lamm's "Critic's Choice" opens the record, oddly, with just vocal and piano in a lean, yet interesting, comment on the bad press Chicago had received from critics to that point. Of all of the tracks on "VI" , "Hollywood" best displays Chicago's signature sound with the horns carrying the snappy arrangement and Robert's warm vocal while Danny Seraphine again, fires away on his Slingerland drum kit. "In Terms of Two" finds Peter Cetera pulling his country influences into the spotlight with an infectiously melodic gem, rounded out nicely by steel guitar textures and harmonica.
"Darlin' Dear" although a vehicle for some interesting slide guitar exploration by Terry Kath, seems to just plod along. A revamping of the arrangement and another couple of studio takes would have made this a more palatable cut. "Jenny" is completely out of place on this disc as Terry Kath laments the loss of his dog in this less-than-tuneful piece of album filler.
Overall however, "Chicago VI" is a solid and timelessly classic outing by this great band and highly recommended, if not essential listening for anyone interested in Chicago.