ProfD Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 And while I understand the David Foster hatin', me, I dig a lot of his work. Foster is a hit-making machine. I appreciate his work too. Especially with Pop singers. I'd just want to leave him in that realm. Imagine if Foster had gotten his hands on Rush. Geddy would have gone solo with one washing machine behind him. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Benhamou Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Geddy would have gone solo with one washing machine behind him. First one of the day! Ian Benhamou Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals [url:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTheMusicalBox/]The Musical Box[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I have that double-bill with EW&F and it brought tears to my eyes, the playing was so good and the soul was so deep throughout. It's easy for these mega-band combinations to get out of hand, but they all stayed out of each other's way. Yep, Stone of Sisyphus is what I was alluding to, and even their most recent couple of albums go into more horn chart oriented material once you get past the crappy first two tracks which are designed to appeal to "modern" tastes. They also did a nice Big Band jazz album of 40's covers, augmented by additional horn players. And a similarly styled Xmas album, much improved in its re-released and extended version (the best material is the newly added material). A couple of weeks ago, I listened to the first few BS&T albums on tape in my car during my commute, and was again reminded of how different the two bands were. BS&T fizzled much earlier than Chicago, in terms of the passion (starting with "New Blood", which doesn't have David Clayton-Thomas). They were more Big Band jazz-oriented than Chicago overall, with tighter arrangements and less improvisation (until they went pure jazz later on). Chicago VII has long been one of my favourites due to the mostly jazz and latin instrumental disc, but I love the diversity of the pop material on the second disc as well, and how it showcased more of the band as writers than any other album. XI was the only one that I didn't buy when it first came out, so it has a weird effect on me as it was a back-fill purchase later on. It took awhile to grow on me because it is uneven and recorded at different times, as well as some weird decisions that got rectified on re-release later on when the missing tracks got re-added. They had already done "Mississippi..." earlier but it had gotten canned, yet still was done live. I like the fingerprint album produced by Tom Dowd as well, as it has some wild horn arrangements and chord progressions as well as a great variety of styles, but it also sort of points the way to the David Foster period (which does have some nice arrangements on his first outing, but they quickly became soulless -- especially after Cetera left). The irony is that I long blamed Jason Schef, Bill Champlin, and David Foster for the band's creative decline, but after that DVD with EW&F, I realise Champlin and Schef are dynamite (though I can't stand watching Champlin's mannerisms on stage) -- Foster is long gone. They joined for the back material and the live shows, which is where the band got their jollies for many years. Eugenio Upright, 60th P-Bass, Geddy Lee J-Bass, Hofner HCT-500/7, Yamaha BBP35, Viking Bari Select Strat, Select Tele, Am Pro JM, LP 57 Gold, G5422DC-12, T486, ES295, PM2, EXL1 XK1c, Voyager, Prophet XL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Early or late, to me, Chicago's soul always felt contrived. ____________________________________Rod victoria bc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogut Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Early or late, to me, Chicago's soul always felt contrived. Just as much soul as any other rock band out at the time. -Greg Motif XS8, MOXF8, Hammond XK1c, Vent Rhodes Mark II 88 suitcase, Yamaha P255 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinny Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Too soon, man. Chicago was REAL hot back on Oct 8, 1871 Stuff and things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I agree with Jeff. How many bands have insanely great stuff in their back catalog, as well as being as huge as they eventually got? And while I understand the David Foster hatin', me, I dig a lot of his work. Can't disagree with both of you on that. While my preference - if I could have my gig of choice these days - is more back to roots, americana, etc., there was a time when I had an 80's rack o' gear and played music with that big, processed sound. Still use some of those sounds/styles on occasion; still like it. I have a great deal of respect for David Foster's work. From the standpoint of harmony and arranging, some of his chord progressions, voicings, and basslines still intrigue me. Same goes for work by Toto and Gino Vanelli. Some pretty intense craft there. Toto would easily make my list of twenty favorite bands. That said, my preference - with regard to Chicago - is still for their earlier material. I can name at least a dozen of their earlier hits; but with the hits from 1980 on, I can remember perhaps two... Everyone's tastes here differ. That's one of the the things that keeps it interesting. 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Early or late, to me, Chicago's soul always felt contrived. Just as much soul as any other rock band out at the time. I was more of a Little Feat kinda guy. ____________________________________Rod victoria bc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 ......One of my favorite tracks is on VII, Call On Me. The changes are sublime, even though the song borders on disco (what's wrong with that). "Call On Me" was the first Chicago song written by their trumpet player Lee Loughnane. I once heard an interview where he described first bringing it to the group and got some ribbing about his songwriting before they helped him finish off some of the rough edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Early or late, to me, Chicago's soul always felt contrived. Even though I am a huge early Chicago fan, I can understand how you can feel that way. With their complex horn parts, many of their songs were heavily arranged. In recent years I have come to really appreciate the songs Terry Kath sang - "Make Me Smile" is an incredibly satisfying song both because of his believable lead vocal and unbelievable guitar solo - and I think Chicago could have done itself a favor by featuring his vocals even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Some more from that TV special. [video:youtube]gs_gJh-DQxc Check out Al Green at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3keys Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Here's a topic: I always thought that David Foster ruined Chicago. Discuss. Oops! You already have! My brain is not working too well this week. Too much to do and not enough time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 David SMOTHER you mean. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenhower Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I was a huge Chicago fan and thought much of what they did was inspired and magic. I felt two things changed the direction of the band (not for the better, IMHO). 1. The passing of Terry Kath. This is a cat that even Hendrix said could out play him! Donnie Dacus wasn't really fit to carry Terry's guitar cases. 2. The move to Cetera (who I think is a great bassist and vocalist) to main lead singer and the overall softening by Foster. As much as I like Foster's work on some groups, I never warmed up to the new "Chicago" and remain steadily committed to listening to the first 11 records. Yamaha C7 Grand, My Hammonds: '57 B3, '54 C2, '42 BC, '40 D, '05 XK3 Pro System, Kawai MP9000, Fender Rhodes Mk I 73, Yamaha CP33, Motif ES6, Nord Electro 2, Minimoog Voyager & Model D, Korg MS10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 We play a lot of their material it is not that easy. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartRun Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 ...despite their wussy later stuff, this band belongs in the R&R HOF... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT156 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I really like the old material when they had all the original members. They were "fresh" and got a lot of radio play. IIRC, the record label they were with back in the old days kept asking them for "formula songs" of "power ballads". That got old with them and most of us as well. Mike T. Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicale Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 First Two albums are historically incomparable. No charts, everybody sang. I guess it's just the stuff you grew up with. Glad I went through this time warp. That whole era in music, i.e, 1966 -1970 were the best in my upbringing. Played in a horn band or two as well. Being from Chicago sure helped, but the Frisco scene and then the Band etc. were all incredible and timeless as well. Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Flock, Chicago, BS&T, Buckinghams, Ides of March, Madura, and more. Thanks for the memory. Regards, Musicale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Discuss. [video:youtube] My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I just noticed last night that Chicago guested on Three Dog Night's debut album, which would have been right around the same time as their own freshman effort. Horns came back in a fashion a bit a few years ago, but primarily in the context of Ska bands. Eugenio Upright, 60th P-Bass, Geddy Lee J-Bass, Hofner HCT-500/7, Yamaha BBP35, Viking Bari Select Strat, Select Tele, Am Pro JM, LP 57 Gold, G5422DC-12, T486, ES295, PM2, EXL1 XK1c, Voyager, Prophet XL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 That whole era in music, i.e, 1966 -1970 were the best in my upbringing. Played in a horn band or two as well. Being from Chicago sure helped, but the Frisco scene and then the Band etc. were all incredible and timeless as well. Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Flock, Chicago, BS&T, Buckinghams, Ides of March, Madura, and more. I have a framed concert poster on my wall from when my band did a concert with Sons of Champlin in the early 70's. They were a powerful west coast horn band starring, you guessed it, Bill Champlin of later Chicago fame. The Sons rocked, we rocked, and then we had a fantastic jam to cap it off. Bill climbed behind the drum set and left the Hammond to me. What a killer night! Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longfuse Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Am I the only one who expected this thread to be about Bix Beiderbecke?? Yeah, they were a hot group and I listened to them a lot many moon ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 This is a clear reminder of how strong they were in their early days: http://www.amazon.com/Live-Japan-Chicago/dp/B0000021S9 I just picked it up and am loving it. Regards, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song80s Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 First Two albums are historically incomparable. No charts, everybody sang. I guess it's just the stuff you grew up with. Glad I went through this time warp. That whole era in music, i.e, 1966 -1970 were the best in my upbringing. Played in a horn band or two as well. Being from Chicago sure helped, but the Frisco scene and then the Band etc. were all incredible and timeless as well. Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Flock, Chicago, BS&T, Buckinghams, Ides of March, Madura, and more. Thanks for the memory. Regards, Musicale 100% agreed. Grew up in Chicago, NW side, played in bands in the '70's. Don't forget The Cryan Shames Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ? My Soundcloud with many originals: [70's Songwriter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Discuss. [video:youtube] I watched the youtube video. Is that really the band "Chicago"? I don't recognize a single player - of course, I stopped following Chicago somewhere around album XIII. To me, this video shows a well-done cover of a song which is pleasant but unremarkable, and not at all representative of the best music that Chicago offered, which was in their earlier years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 First Two albums are historically incomparable. ........ Don't forget Chicago V (the one with the wood-carved cover). I think this album tends to be overlooked because it was their first single-disk LP release, and because the less interesting (IMO) Chicago VI followed it pretty quickly. I never paid much attention to Chicago V until a friend in college said how great he thought it was, after which I gave it a fresh listen. I think V has all the quality of albums I and II, including interesting songwriting and strong horn arrangements and playing. "Now That You've Gone" is my favorite, with the great interplay between the horns and Kath's great bluesy vocal.... "Oh, I'm So Lonely!" at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLaw Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Is that really the band "Chicago"? I don't recognize a single player ... What, not even Chicago's famous bass player, Jason Sheff, and immortal guitarist, Dawayne Bailey? I think at this point in the band's progression the only original (CTA) members left were Bobby and the horn players. Larry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 And there weren't any shots of the horn players (for obvious reasons). Here's an interesting graph. I'd like to see this on more Wikipedia band pages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(band)#Membership "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Here is a video of a live performance of "Now That You've Gone" from 1972: http://www.rhino.com/article/video-chicago-now-youve-gone The sax solo at the end is longer than it should be, but what the heck, he's hamming it up to please the crowd (I do like the studio version on Chicago V is better, though). But this is an example of the interesting music Chicago produced in their first few albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Chicago sure isn't hot today. BBBBBUUUURRRRRR! I almost froze my hiney off. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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