Customer Reviews

Xi

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

 

 

I know it sounds like a cliche, especially since 2 reviewers issued the same statement with different words. But face it- Chicago would never be the same again after Terry Kath accidentally took his life. Not only that, they fired control freak manager/producer James Guercio and would never record at Caribou studios afterwards.

Kath opens with "Mississippi Delta City Blues", which had been included in their live set as early as 1972. In this song, he mourns the end of a relationship but keeps a brave face for others. "Baby What a Big Surprise" isn't a bad song. I like Lee Loughnane's flugelhorn arrangement in it but Peter Cetera's lyrics are a bit cheezy. Jim Pankow's "Till the End of Time" is the most forgetable songs here- stick to your trombone chores, Jimmy! Things pick up with Robert Lamm's "Policeman", which shows our police force in a more favorable light than on "State of the Union". Danny Seraphine contributes the poignant "Take Me Back to Chicago", which was dedicated in memory of a drummer from Chicago (but soon rang too true to Kath)- "...and lay my soul to rest." Chaka Khan contributes some soulful harmonies. Next is Lamm's hilariously sarcastic "Vote for Me", where a politician makes promises impossible to keep like extending the railroad system "from Waikiki to Old Delaware" and "new cars that run on beer or anything except gasoline"! Kath pens and croons the grim blues number "Takin' It On Uptown", which sounds a little too prophetic. Loughnane sings the impressive "This Time". "The Inner Struggles of a Man" sounds a lot like the "AM/PM Mourning Suite" on Chicago II which segues into "Prelude/Little One." I suppose it sounds a little corny unless you have kids of your own but Kath's sensitive vocals on "Little One" make it sound all the more poignant. Terry, rest in peace, we miss you.

As others have noted, this is the last album that featured some great guitar work by Terry Kath, the polished production talents of James William Guercio and it was the last album the group recorded at Caribou Ranch. These points are significant when one considers that after this album, the group lost some of their appeal and musical flair.

This album is a mixed bag that highlights the best and worst of Chicago. Among the best tracks on this album are Terry Kath's "Mississippi Delta City Blues" and the Hendrix influenced "Takin' It Uptown." "Blues" features a punchy horn section and it's probably one of Kath's better bluesy vocals. "Uptown" kicks some serious ass and it shows what a guitar virtuoso Kath was.

Lee Loughnane's "This Time" is probably the best song on the album. Both the three-pronged guitar effect and the brass section are nothing less than solid and Loughnane's vocal is also polished.

Robert Lamm always delivers both as a singer and a songwriter. "Vote for Me" is an envigorating if not sardonically witty piece that rightly expresses the disgust and disillusionment with our elected officials. "Policeman" is an interesting, thoughtful piece where Lamm extends an olive branch to those law enforcement officials he previously railed against.

"Inner Struggles" is a heavy but agreeable orchestral arrangement that's worth listening to. "Take Me Back to Chicago" is pretty decent too. Lamm's vocal is solid and Chaka Khan gives it that soulful edge that takes you to the South Side.

"Little One" is too sappy for my tastes and it probably should've been left off the album. "Baby, What a Big Surprise" is another forgettable piece. I don't care if this was a Top-40 hit, the lyrics and musical arrangement flat out suck! However, the WORST offender is James Pankow's "'Til the End of Time." Pankow is a fine trombonist but he's a LOUSY singer and his piano playing is flat. Sorry Jimmy, but you should stick to doing brass arrangements and horn charts and leave the singing to Kath, Cetera and Lamm.

Despite these weak moments, I'd have to say Chicago XI is worthy of consideration. Fans of the group will want to add this album to their collection if for no other reason than to relish what was the group's swan song.

Chicago XI marked the closing of the volume on these integral elements:

It was the band's final effort with founding guitarist Terry Kath before his accidental suicide, their last with producer James William Guercio, and their last on Columbia Records.

The major criticism I have of XI is that it's somewhat subdued. Other than Kath's inspired reworking of MISSISSIPPI DELTA CITY BLUES (1st appearing on Live in Japan), laid back tracks abound, including the one true ballad by Pete Cetera, the ho-hum single BABY WHAT A BIG SURPRISE. Kicking back in the hammock with it are 4/5's of Side One, including Pankow's equally lazy TILL THE END OF TIME (with a rare vocal by the trombonist), and Bobby Lamm's POLICEMAN and TAKE ME BACK TO CHICAGO (groovy R&B chorus, tho).

Side Two kicks it a bit with Lamm's uptempo & funny VOTE FOR ME, and 3 extraordinary tracks: a welcome but eerie guitar cranker by Kath called TAKE IT ON UPTOWN (with cover lyrics that read like someone about to end his life), Lee Loughnane's wonderful THIS TIME, and Danny Seraphine/D. Wolinski's touching epic, LITTLE ONE, with truly poignant vocals by Kath. I remember listening to it after he died and being overwhelmed with sadness.

Ironically, Kath's performance is the only element that seems truly alive. Check out the funky strumming on the opener, and, good heavens, the rhythm part on UPTOWN, let alone the leads. His solo on THIS TIME is gold in it's simplicity, turning the guitar part BACKWARDS in the final 4 bars, perhaps in tribute to Hendrix, who reportedly IDOLIZED KATH. His performance on LITTLE ONE supposedly became the standard for hiring his eventual replacement. I mean, it's almost like great fiction.

It's interesting how Kath's guitar-heavy songs are in stunning contrast with the rest of the band on XI, like he was alienating himself from their direction. The fact that he succeeded 100-fold and nearly ended their musical career as a result makes XI more of an interesting, tragic portrait of a great guitarist than a great Chicago album.

For hard core early Chicago fans, this is the last great Chicago album. Chicago would never be the same after the death of lead singer and guitarist Terry Kath. The album is a hodge-podge but features some spectacular tracks, namely: Mississippi Delta City Blues, Baby What a Big Suprise, Takin it on Uptown, Inner Struggles of a Man-Little One. It also has some average/good songs like Policeman, Vote for Me, Take Me Back to Chicago, and This Time. The weakest track is Till the End of Time. Take Me Back to Chicago has an almost prophetic feel, predicting the depression that would soon overcome the band in the aftermath of Kath's death. Keyboardist Robert Lamm does a good Steely Dan imitation, and there are some great vocals by Chaka Khan. It won't be until the album "Night and Day (1995)" that Chicago will return to its old form with keyboardist Robert Lamm emerging from his seclusion as the leader of the band.

In my mind, this is one of the most perfect albums ever. Each song holds its own special meaning, ranging from blues to ballads to pure rock. This was Terry Kath's last album with Chicago before his tragic accindental death, which makes it all the more special to me. Chicago XI is a great album. Highly recommended!

Out of the 13 Chicago albums I have, this one is the best. Terry Kath is smoking on his two numbers "Missipppi Delta City Blues" and "Takin' It On Uptown". Lamm's songs are typical filler songs from him, and are politically oriented. Peter Cetera only has one ballad, the pleasent "Baby What A Big Surprise". The gem of the album, as indicated by some of the other reviews, is Lee Loughnane's "This Time". Terry's time with Chicago ends with the epic Moody Bluesish "Little One". If James Pankow wrote a few more Chicago albums, this would have been perfect. If you are a new Chicago fan, I would certainly recommend buying it.

No other rock band ever did a song like "Mississippi Delta City Blues", with its wild guitar and that HORN section dominating the second half. Sadly, this was NOT picked for a single-- instead we got "Baby What A Big Surprise". The middle "bridge" on that somehow always reminded me of ELO-- on closer inspection I see Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys!) contributing vocals. Similarly, Chaka Khan makes a guest-appearance on "Take Me Back To Chicago", another non-single that at least got a lot of play at concerts promoting the album. Unlike Paul Simon's "My Little Town" (a song with a similar theme of past reminiscence) the singer here has fond memories of where he came from. "Policeman" contains passages that would sound at home on a 70's cop show soundtrack, while "Vote For Me" offers a surprisingly humorous look at politics (for a change). "Takin' It On Uptown" is nothing less than Terry Kath "doing" Jimi Hendrix! How much cooler can it get? The album's other single, "Little One" closes things on an extremely mellow note-- accompanied with orchestrations by Dominic Frontiere, who in his time has done soundtracks for THE OUTER LIMITS and BRANNIGAN. Is that wild?

Chicago is one of my all time favorite bands and this is in my opinion the album that shows they were going down hill. A lot of people say Chicago went down hill becasue of Terry's death, I disagree. There is even signs of weakness in Chicago X. Chicago ran their course.

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 with Chicago's strong horns and a rock beat. 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 song 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 Chicago's breadth of ability. This song is enjoyable with its heavy beat and power instruments. 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," the final track on this 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.

There are at least three versions of this CD available. This version was released in 1995. There is also a 1990 release and a 2003 remaster that includes two bonus tracks. If you like Chicago's jazz influenced music you may prefer the version with the extra tracks. I think the extra tracks can be skipped unless you must have everything Chicago recorded. You may wish to survey the available versions to determine which version best meets your needs before buying.

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 marked the end of the group's first era with this album's release. This CD is a must have for fans of early Chicago music and for those who enjoy jazz-rock.

This album represents the last Chicago album to feature Terry Kath's musicianship as well as James Guercio's production techniques. Chicago's music since this album, while not neccessarily less worthy, is clearly different in terms of the group's production style as well as their changing membership. All of the songs are gems. The album shows that Lamm's sense of humor remains intact on the cynical but upbeat"Vote for Me". Terry Kath provides some tremendous performances on the rocking "Taking It On Uptown" and "Mississippi Delta City Blues". His soulful voice is prominent in the backing vocals on the reflective "Take Me Back To Chicago" as well as his lead vocal on "Little One". It is an album worth seeking out. P.S. Contrary to popular belief, this album was a commercial success. It rose to #6 on the Billboard chart where it quickly achieved a platinum certification. They all can't sell as much as "17".