Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus

Stone of Sisyphus
Studio album by Chicago
Released	June 17, 2008
Recorded	1993
Genre	Rock/Adult contemporary
Label	Rhino
Producer	Peter Wolf
Chicago chronology
The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition (2007) Stone of Sisyphus (2008) Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three (2011)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Stone of Sisyphus is a studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on June 17, 2008, after a nearly 15-year delay.^[2]

History

The album was set to be released as Chicago XXII in the United States on March 22, 1994. However, Warner Bros. Records, Chicago's record company at the time, was displeased with the album, and dismissed Stone of Sisyphus as being "unreleasable."^[3] This led to an acrimonious split with the band.^[4] The band's failure to issue an official press release regarding the album's mothballing and subsequent departure of guitarist Dawayne Bailey left fans to years of rampant debate and conjecture about the events surrounding Stone of Sisyphus.

Through its official website, as well as public discussion forums of past and present band members, the band actively worked to quell discussion and debate about Stone of Sisyphus, while sporadically releasing thematic albums. Recent information came to light regarding the actual reason for the album's shelving. The band's management was negotiating with the label regarding a licensing of the extensive Chicago back catalog and when those talks stalled, the label apparently retaliated by scrapping the project.^{[citation needed]}

Post-1994

Like The Beach Boys' Smile and Guns n' Roses' Chinese Democracy, Stone of Sisyphus built a legend of its own. Tracks from the unreleased album surfaced on bootleg recordings, including on the internet, while many of the songs appeared on legitimate compilation releases.

On July 9, 1993, the band included "The Pull" in a concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to give the audience a taste of the upcoming album. The title song and "Bigger Than Elvis" were first released in Canada on the 1995 double CD compilation Overtime (Astral Music). A single edit-version of "Let's Take A Lifetime" debuted in Europe on the 1996 Arcade Records compilation called The Very Best Of Chicago (a title which would be reused in North America in 2002).

Five of the 12 tracks were released in Japan between 1997-1998 on the very rare green and gold editions of The Heart of Chicago compilations: "All The Years" (debut), "Bigger Than Elvis", and "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed Again" (debut) all appear on the green-clad The Heart of Chicago 1967-1981, Volume II (Teichiku, 1997), with "The Pull" and "Here with Me (A Candle for the Dark)" appearing on the gold-clad The Heart of Chicago 1982-1998, Volume II (WEA Japan, 1998).

In 2003, the group finally allowed three tracks from Stone of Sisyphus -- "All the Years", the title song and "Bigger Than Elvis" -- to be officially released in the United States on The Box by Rhino Records.

Solo versions

Keyboard player Robert Lamm previously recorded a solo version of "All the Years" in the early 1990s for his 1993 solo album Life Is Good in My Neighborhood (initially released in Japan by Reprise Records in 1993, it was released in 1995 in the USA by Chicago's then label Chicago Records), and a version of "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed (Again)" for his 1999 album In My Head.

Keyboard player and guitarist Bill Champlin recorded "Proud of Our Blindness," which was a slightly different lyrical version of "Cry for the Lost," for his 1995 solo album Through It All, whose liner notes included his stinging criticism of the major record labels inspired by the row Chicago had with Warner Bros. over Stone of Sisyphus.

Bass player Jason Scheff recorded a solo version of "Mah-Jong" for his 1997 solo album Chauncy.

2008 release

In May 2008, Rhino Records announced that Stone of Sisyphus would be released with four bonus songs. Officially, number "XXXII" in the band's album count (following Chicago XXX and The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition). One of the original songs for the 1994 release of the album, entitled "Get on This" (written by Dawayne Bailey, Walter Parazaider's daughter Felicia, and James Pankow), did not make it on the 2008 release.^[2] An official reason for this omission from Chicago or Rhino Records was not given. Frequently bootlegged, the Chicago Sun-Times notes that "Get on This" is "commonly the most-praised track in online fan discussions."

Track listing

1. "Stone of Sisyphus" (Dawayne Bailey, Lee Loughnane) – 4:11
2. "Bigger Than Elvis" (Jason Scheff, Peter Wolf, Ina Wolf) – 4:31
3. "All the Years" (Robert Lamm, Bruce Gaitsch) – 4:16
4. "Mah-Jong" (Scheff, Brock Walsh, Aaron Zigman) – 4:42
5. "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed" (Lamm, John McCurry) – 4:45
6. "Let's Take a Lifetime" (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) – 4:56
7. "The Pull" (Lamm, Scheff, P. Wolf) – 4:17
8. "Here with Me (Candle for the Dark)" (James Pankow, Lamm, Greg O'Connor) – 4:11
9. "Plaid" (Bill Champlin, Lamm, Greg Mathieson) – 4:59
10. "Cry for the Lost" (Champlin, Dennis Matkowsky) – 5:18
11. "The Show Must Go On" (Champlin, Gaitsch) – 5:25

Bonus tracks

12. "Love Is Forever" (Demo) (Pankow, Lamm) – 4:14
13. "Mah-Jong" (Demo) (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) – 4:59
14. "Let's Take a Lifetime" (Demo) (Scheff, Walsh, Zigman) – 4:15
15. "Stone of Sisyphus" (No Rhythm Loop) (Bailey,Loughnane ) – 4:35

Personnel

Chicago

• Robert Lamm - keyboards, lead & backing vocals
• Walter Parazaider - woodwinds, backing vocals
• Lee Loughnane - trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals
• James Pankow - trombone, backing vocals, horn arrangements, horn co-arrangement on "Stone of Sisyphus"
• Bill Champlin - keyboards, rhythm guitars, lead & backing vocals
• Jason Scheff - bass, lead & backing vocals
• Dawayne Bailey - rhythm guitar, lead guitar ("Bigger Than Elvis", "Stone of Sisyphus", "Love Is Forever"), lead & backing vocals, horn co-arrangement on "Stone of Sisyphus"
• Tris Imboden - drums, percussion, harmonica

Additional musicians

• Bruce Gaitsch - guitar
• The Jordanaires - backing vocals on "Bigger Than Elvis"
• Sheldon Reynolds - guitar
• Jerry Scheff - bass on "Bigger Than Elvis"
• Joseph Williams - backing vocals on "Let's Take A Lifetime"
• Peter Wolf - arranger, keyboard bass, keyboards

Production

• Produced by Peter Wolf
• Engineered by Peter Wolf & Paul Ericksen
• Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge at Encore Studios, Burbank, California in 1993 and 1994

• Recorded at Embassy Studios in Simi Valley, California 1993
• The Jordanaires recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1993

Chart positions

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. The Billboard 200	122

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1391522
2. ^ ^{a b} Conner, Thomas (2008-06-20). "Mythic Chicago album finally a reality". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/1015036,WKP-News-chicago20North.article. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Payne, Ed (2008-06-17). "Chicago releases 'lost' album 15 years after recording it". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/17/chicago.album/. 
4. ^ Iwasaki, Scott (2008-07-04). "'Stone of Sisyphus' worth the wait". Deseret News. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700240245,00.html.