Chicago (album)

Chicago
Studio album by Chicago
Released	January 26, 1970
Recorded	August 1969, Columbia Recording Studios, New York and Hollywood
Genre	Jazz fusion Rock
Length	67:21
Label	Columbia
Producer	James William Guercio
Chicago chronology
The Chicago Transit Authority (1969) Chicago (1970) Chicago III (1971)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Chicago is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Chicago. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority after releasing their same-titled debut album the previous year.

Although the official title of the album is Chicago, it came to be retroactively known as Chicago II, keeping it in line with the succession of Roman numeral-titled albums that officially began with Chicago III in 1971.

While The Chicago Transit Authority was a success, Chicago is considered by many^[who?] to be Chicago's breakthrough album, yielding a number of Top 40 hits, including "Make Me Smile" (#9), "Colour My World" (#7), and "25 or 6 to 4" (#4). The centerpiece of the album was the thirteen-minute song cycle "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon". Guitarist Terry Kath also participated in an extended classically styled cycle of four pieces, three of which were co-written by the well-known, arranger, composer, and pianist Peter Matz. The politically outspoken Robert Lamm also tackles his qualms with "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Peter Cetera, later to play a crucial role in the band's music, contributed his first song to Chicago and this album, "Where Do We Go From Here".

Released in January 1970 on Columbia Records, Chicago was an instant hit, reaching #4 in the US and #6 in the UK.

Columbia Records was very active in promoting its quadraphonic four-channel surround sound format in the mid-1970s, and nine of Chicago's first ten albums were made available in quad. The quad mix features elements not heard in the standard stereo mix, including additional guitar work from Kath in "25 Or 6 To 4" and a different vocal take from Lamm in "Wake Up Sunshine", the latter of which reveals a different lyric in the song's last line.

In 2002, Chicago was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records with the single versions of "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4" as bonus tracks.

Rhino released a DVD-Audio version of the album in 2003, featuring both Advanced Resolution Stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Movin' In"	Pankow	Kath	4:06
2.	"The Road"	Kath	Cetera	3:10
3.	"Poem for the People"	Lamm	Lamm	5:31
4.	"In the Country"	Kath	Kath/Cetera	6:34
5.	"Wake Up Sunshine"	Lamm	Lamm/Cetera	2:29
6.	"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" "Make Me Smile" "So Much to Say, So Much to Give" "Anxiety's Moment" "West Virginia Fantasies" "Colour My World" "To Be Free" "Now More Than Ever"	Pankow	Kath/Lamm	12:55
7.	"Fancy Colours"	Lamm	Cetera	5:10
8.	"25 or 6 to 4"	Lamm	Cetera	4:50
9.	"Memories of Love" "Prelude" "A.M. Mourning" "P.M. Mourning" "Memories of Love"	Kath/Matz	Kath/Matz	9:12
10.	"It Better End Soon" "1st Movement" "2nd Movement" "3rd Movement" "4th Movement"	Lamm/Parazaider	Kath	10:24
11.	"Where Do We Go from Here"	Cetera	Cetera	2:49

Personnel

• Peter Cetera – bass, vocals
• Terry Kath – guitar, vocals
• Robert Lamm – keyboard, vocals
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet, vocals
• James Pankow – trombone
• Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, vocals
• Danny Seraphine – drums

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1970	Billboard Pop Albums	4

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1970	"25 or 6 to 4"	Billboard Pop Singles	4
1970	"Make Me Smile"	Billboard Pop Singles	9
1971	"Colour My World"	Billboard Pop Singles	7

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	April 13, 1970
RIAA – USA	Platinum	August 9, 1991

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r3844