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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Chicago Struggles, April 4, 2005
Charging into the 1970's, Chicago took radio by storm with hits such as "Beginnings," "Make Me Smile," "Colour My World," and "Saturday in the Park."
Limping into the 1980's, hardly anybody noticed Chicago at all. The liner notes to this Rhino remastered re-release explain (in part) why.
CHICAGO XIV, the band's first set of the decade, is a real mixed bag. It features better tunes than the previous offerings--the dismal "Hot Streets" and "Chicago 13." It boasts the talented guitarist Chris Pinnick, who replaces the mercifully departed Donnie Dacus. But it also heralds the complete dominance of vocalist Pete Cetera and the indifferent production of Tom Dowd.
Dowd, who produced some classic Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, badly misfires with Chicago, muting the overall "big" sound the band had developed under James William Guercio. Too, he lets a series of awful Cetera ballads dominate the first half of the CD; drivel like "Song for You" and "Where Did the Loving Go" signal the eventual decline of Chicago into Cetera-spun sap (the same goes for the dreadful "Birthday Boy," a Daniel Seraphine/David Wolinski opus best left in the out-take bin). The liner notes indicate that Dowd was unable to control much of what went on during the sessions, and band profiles (such as "Chicago: VH1 Behind the Music") show that no one was able to control what went on OUTSIDE the sessions.
The band somewhat overcomes these disadvantages with solid rockers like Bobby Lamm's "Manipulation," Cetera's "Hold On," and Jimmy Pankow's "The American Dream."
The second half of the CD is aided as well by the great uptempo single "Thunder and Lightning" (why it didn't chart higher is still a mystery to me), and Lamm's excellent "I'd Rather Be Rich"--the CD's absolute standout, ranking among the best Chi's ever done (an early version of this great tune can be found on Rhino's remaster of Chicago X). Even Cetera's mid-tempo "Overnight Cafe" has a pleasing hook and a killer bridge.
The Rhino remaster features three bonus tracks, any one of which is preferable to "Song for You." Lamm's "Doin' Business" is uptempo and catchy, and his "Soldier of Fortune" is perhaps better than anything that wound up on on the original release. Cetera growls out the Pankow-penned "Live It Up," which, admittedly, is nothing special.
CHICAGO XIV sold poorly. Very soon after its release, Columbia dropped the band, sending it into limbo. This is sad, because XIV features some of the band's best work in years, mishandled though it may be.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The End of a Chapter for Chicago, August 6, 2006
Following Terry Kath's death after Chicago XI, the group band produced three albums without longtime producer James William Guercio: Hot Streets, 13, and XIV. These three albums tend to be referred to by fans as the "low point" in Chicago's career. Chicago XIV has received undo criticism of not being a great album; however, I would tend to disagree. Though it's not their strongest effort, it contained far better material than Chicago 13 and was much better than their eighth album.
Chicago XIV marked the end of a chapter for the band; this was the last studio album to have songs written solely by members of the band. Chicago 16 marked a drastic change by adding extra studio musicians (look at the liner notes and you'll see several members from Toto contributing their talents), as well as outside songwriters. This changed the overall sound of the band, which has been a contention amongst diehard fans that were used to the old sound. Because sales were so poor with Chicago XIV, Columbia dropped them, even though they released a greatest hits album the following year.
I've said this in other Chicago reviews, so I'll say it again here. What I've always admired about the band is the balance between singers and songwriters. This balance brings a great amount of variety and does not leave one hearing the same "sound" again and again. Robert Lamm's compositions tend towards the classical vein, which you hear those elements (mixed meter, especially) in his tune "Manipulation." Trombonist James Pankow's tunes lean towards driving rock and funk, which is quite present in the tunes "Thunder and Lightning" and "American Dream." He also adds a great solo at the end of the former tune. Peter Cetera, the frontman for the group, was better at writing pop, which is clearly demonstrated in "Song for You" and "Where Did the Lovin' Go."
This album contains great brass arrangements by Pankow and the remastered edition has three additional unreleased tunes: two by Robert Lamm and one by James Pankow. Of the three post-Kath albums, this one comes the closest to their older "classic rock" sound - very guitar-centered, which may partially explain why the sales were low; the advent of punk/new wave was most likely the real reason. Totally unrelated to the music is the album cover. The fingerprint is clearly the coolest Chicago cover to be produced, the next one being the chocolate bar of Chicago X.
If you're unsure of whether or not to pick this album up, I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed. This is one for the library.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Much maligned change of tune for a much maligned band, March 7, 2006
Why fans hate this album is beyond me. It rocks much like their early efforts though with a harder edge. If you want to hear the swan song of their rock days get this worst(?) selling album-soon to come were the syrup ballads of Pete and David Foster. Who cares if there is too much guitar (often heard complaint)or that some tunes are possessing goofy titles-creativity should be reconsidered. Tunes like "Thunder and Lightning", "Manipulation", and "The American Dream" are great. It is better than 13 and far more interesting than Hot Streets. Being the first album I bought of the band at age 14-it kicked!!!!!!! Chicago has survived by changing with the times. They would have bombed even worse trying to release something harkening back to the early 70's in that punk rock-Adam Ant era of 1980. So be kind and please rewind to a different sounding band. As I write this, once again we come to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame initiation with no Chicago-does Blondie really outrank them in success and popularity? Oh Great Spirit,help us!!!!
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