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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chicago Reclaim Their Greatness, June 18, 2008
Now THIS is more like it. THIS is the Chicago band that I like! However, let me say right at the top of my review that I do not claim to be a top authority on Chicago. I am merely a casual fan of the group. I believe that Chicago were a great band *up to a point*, say, up through the end of the 70's. Those early Chicago albums are indeed phenomenal, their early music is intelligent, daring, and truly sophisticated (and Terry Kath, brother, you are greatly missed). But then along came the 80's, and this once mighty jazz/rock band, sadly, devolved into doing syrupy power ballads and nothing but (and it may be easy to point the finger at Peter Cetera for this, but I don't think he was entirely to blame). However, like many other fans of the group, I had long heard about their unreleased 1993 album, "Stone Of Sisyphus," and all the inside buzz about how this was the best album Chicago had done in years, and how it was a crime that this amazing album was still being held prisoner in the vaults. Well, a big 15 years after Chicago recorded it, on June 17, 2008, "Stone Of Sisyphus" was finally set free into the world (albeit missing one song, "Get On This," presumably for some legal reason or other). So, how is it? My verdict: while "Sisyphus" is not the band's masterpiece---after all, it isn't a *complete* throwback to their jazz/rock glory days---one thing is perfectly clear: "Stone Of Sisyphus" is the first Chicago album that I have liked in a long, LONG time. The stories about this album are true: Chicago really were trying very, very hard with "Sisyphus" to break away from all those goopy love songs and make a daring, intelligent, sophisticated album just like they used to make 'em, only this time with a 90's polish. And overall, the band greatly succeeded. These songs are smart, catchy, and expertly played and sung with great feeling and power, and with *none* of the schlock-poppy, manufactured "Look Away"-type songs of later years. Clever lyrics, too! And Warner Bros. Records actually didn't like this album? What idiots. I love the up-tempo numbers like the memorable grooves of the title track, the funky "Mah-Jong" and "Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed," "The Pull" and "Plaid," and the softer tunes like "Bigger Than Elvis" and "Let's Take A Lifetime" are pretty without ever being cloying. Now, if only Chicago can make more albums like "Sisyphus"....who knows if they ever will? But, for this one album at least, they remembered the *quality* of the music that made them a great band in the first place. I'm thrilled that Chicago fans can finally get their hands on "Stone Of Sisyphus." It truly is one of Chicago's greatest acheivements. Buy it right now, recommend it to all your friends, and get the word out that "Stone Of Sisyphus," Chicago's lost gem-of-an-album, has finally been found at last. And a hearty congratulations to Chicago themselves for making it.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glad SoS Finally Rolled to the Top, June 17, 2008
It's easy to see why Warner Bros. Records pulled Stone of Sisyphus 15 years ago: the same reason that made Chicago a super group in the 1970s -- creativity. Like many, I'd heard the praise from owners of bootlegged discs that circulated, had heard the title track on the Canadian Overtime CD and slightly different versions of Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed and All the Years on Robert Lamm's solo discs, so I was pleased to learn that Rhino was releasing this now near legendary disc, all the original tunes save one.
This disc is a throwback to Chicago's early years, sans Terry Kath's influence, when they wrote and recorded uncensored by record executives. As on many of Chicago's early releases, the best tunes on SoS are those that break the rules of contemporary music, push the envelope, don't adhere to the formula that the suits require. Prior to SoS, Chicago had fallen into a rut of writing a string of top 40 hits that received plenty of airplay on adult contemporary radio stations but left the band creatively flat.
From the title track, a driving rocker with a nearly frantic rhythm section, to the funked up version of Mah-Jong, All the Years (reminiscent of some of the ever-social conscious Robert Lamm's best penned tunes) and Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed, a heavy hip-hop tune with that unmistakable Chicago influence (if not the best tune on the disc certainly the most creative), this disc definitely deserved to be heard and Kudos to Rhino Records for making it happen.
In addition to several bonus tracks of alternate takes, other notable cuts include The Pull, Here With Me (a Candle for the Dark), Cry for the Lost, Plaid and The Show Must Go On (the latter two with a distinct anti-corporate theme) -- all unmistakably Chicago but lacking the formula responsible for the sad state of today's music industry.
The horn charts are spectacular, forging ahead with hot, creative riffs that recall the sound that propelled this band to one of the best-selling bands of all time.
Guest artists include The Jordinaires and Jerry Scheff on Bigger than Elvis, Jason Scheff's tribute to his father, who once played for Elvis, and producer Peter Wolf.
Also included with the disc are copious liner notes with comments from band members.
Highly recommended.
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39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lives Up To The Hype, June 19, 2008
Well, by now, if you're a Chicago fan, you've read up on the back-story, so I'll save you the history lesson here and get to my thoughts on the music.
In short: this stuff lives up to the hype.
A few provisos. First, if you think Chicago died when Terry Kath shot himself, STONE OF SISYPHUS is not for you. Second, if you think Chicago died when Peter Cetera quit, STONE OF SISYPHUS is not for you. Third, if you don't like Jason Scheff and/or Bill Champlin, STONE OF SISYPHUS is not for you--they're all over this album. Finally, if the exclusion of "Get On This" (a great track, by the way) works you into a fit, this version of STONE OF SISYPHUS is not for you.
If you're like me, though, and can accept those things--and if you've always preferred "Listen" to "You're the Inspiration," or "Sonny Think Twice" to "Hard to Say I'm Sorry"--then this is the Chicago album you've been waiting for.
The band brings its A-Game here. Want some upbeat nostalgia? Check out "All the Years." Want straight-ahead rockers? Check out "The Pull" and the title track. Feeling funky? Cue up "Mah Jong," or rap along with the fellas on "Sleeping In the Middle of the Bed." Yeah, there's a ballad or three, but good ones: "Bigger Than Elvis," "Let's Take A Lifetime," and the very catchy "Here With Me (A Candle For the Dark)." And then, there are a few songs that just defy description. My own personal favorite--and (imo) one of the best songs Chicago has ever done--is "Plaid." EVERYTHING that's good about Chicago is in evidence here, from the dense rhythms to the wailing brass, from the meaningful lyrics to the vocal harmonies. And Bill Champlin just sings the spots off of it.
There are, of course, other cool tunes--"Cry For the Lost" and "The Show Must Go On" are both really good--and the production by Peter Wolf is spot-on. Kudos must go to then-guitarist Dawayne Bailey for his significant contributions, but everyone--especially Robert Lamm, Champlin, Scheff, and James Pankow--really steps up.
Kudos, too, to Rhino for the packaging. The liner notes are detailed and informative (though I'd like to see a few Bailey quotes), and the cover design is stellar. The bonus tracks are interesting. While "Love Is Forever" doesn't really catch my attention (but that's just me), the demo of "Mah Jong" is a funky delight, every bit as good as the album cut in its own way--and that's saying something. The alternate take of "Stone of Sisyphus" is interesting, too; without the extra reverb, the horns sound much cleaner.
Hey, since the late 70's, I've heard Chicago fans asking, "When are they going to cut loose again?" When I first (admittedly) obtained my bootleg copy of STONE in 2000, I would say, "They TRIED in 1993." Now I can say, "They HAVE. Check out THIS CD."
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