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Chicago - 1970


HammondDave

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They were a lot more experimental and less obviously commercial than Chicago. Bill Champlin ironically ended up as the "new guy" in Chicago later and still plays with both bands AFAIK.

 

 

 

I think Champlin left Chicago last year and has been replaced.

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AIIIEEEEEE! Mommy make it stop!

 

Wash my ears out from the soft ballads! ;)

 

[video:youtube]

 

oh please, my ears hurt.

What about gay audience...

 

They are certainly entitled to hear great Chicago tuneage (like this "I'm a Man") as well. No worries.

 

;)

Steve Force,

Durham, North Carolina

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They are still a pretty good band and some members have been there for some time. Tris the drummer is a real solid player.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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...Chicago's I'm a Man ?

 

Screw it, it's just more guitar bullshit; about like their stupid "South California Purples".

 

Give me Steve Winwood's "I'm a Man" or Chicago originals like "Question 67 & 68", "Does Anybody Know What Time it is", or "Beginnings".

 

The insipid '80's Cetera muzak or Kath channelling Hendrix are neither what Chicago is about, as far as I'm concerned...

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Whether it is Chicago being turned over to David Foster or Aerosmith enlisting the help of Diane Warren, the end result is still the same...sold out concerts and huge checks on the strength of hit records can't stand. :D

 

To be fair, there are super-producers that can stick to the vision of the band rather than putting their own imprint on them. Unfortunately, Foster gave Chicago a heavy dose of DX7. :laugh::cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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You really can't blame them. The DX7 was "the" sound back then.

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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Chicago 5,6 and 7 were my favs. Great tunes, great horn writing, great production.

 

On a side note, I play a concert at the end of every school year with a fairly famous drummer. It's not a real gig - just an educational thing with some pro players and the famous guest artist playing along with the high school's percussion ensemble. We've had Greg Bisonette, John Robinson, Russ Miller, some guy named Zoro...

 

Next year's guest artist: Danny Seraphine!

 

 

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I like it all! Even the the later soft rock stuff... But my favorites are "Saturday in the Park", and "Beginnings", "Wishing You Were Here"... and of course "25 or 6 to 4"....

 

Love those Major 7th Chords...

 

[video:youtube]

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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...Chicago's I'm a Man ?

 

Screw it, it's just more guitar bullshit; about like their stupid "South California Purples".

 

Give me Steve Winwood's "I'm a Man" or Chicago originals like "Question 67 & 68", "Does Anybody Know What Time it is", or "Beginnings".

 

The insipid '80's Cetera muzak or Kath channelling Hendrix are neither what Chicago is about, as far as I'm concerned...

 

Lighten up my friend, I know I was just having fun. :wave:

 

Seriously, I was no fanboy of Kath as well, and IMO the only Chicago albums worth owning are 1 and 2. Which, I have had on vinyl since they were released waaaay back then. :thu:

Steve Force,

Durham, North Carolina

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Probably one of my ten favourite bands. And Peter Cetera is amongst the Top Five reasons I picked up the bass guitar as my main instrument.

 

Ides of March was another band that had a horn section and drew from different genres. They became Survivor, of all things -- though Jim Peterik also contributed to horn/fusion band Chase before the tragic air accident that took out most of that band (I was on the way to their concert with my band director and a few other students when we heard the news on the radio that the band had all perished).

 

I hadn't heard the story about Seraphine, and am a bit surprised. A couple of years ago I picked up an excellent Chicago-influenced album he did called LA Transit Authority or something like that, which also had a strong TOP influence (can't remember if anyone on the album had played in TOP though). I always thought the percussionist was brought in (around Chicago V or that time frame) to lend more of a latin feel during their jazzier era of Chicago V through VII (my favourites in the canon).

 

Robert Lamm always seemed like the bandleader to me, with Pankow as main arranger. I love Lamm's playing and singing, and he really brings some passion to the scene at their live concerts -- moreso ironically than Champlin, who for some reason doesn't seem to have conviction with that band or even seems to over-emote in an artificial way, even though he is well-known as a Man of Soul.

 

The current players are great, and the bassist is the son of one of Elvis Presley's main bassists. Those guys all joined the band because they love the back catalogue, more than to do the label-dictated new material. But of course Chicago still manages to put out an authentic album now and then with self-penned tunes and horns vs. synths.

 

As for BS&T, they've been even more inconsistent over the years, but my favourite player in that band has always been Fred Lispius, whom I met last October because he's currently doing the restaurant and jazz club circuit with my former bass/guitar instructor in the Boston area. Very humble guy; you'd never know he won Grammies! Friendly and funny as all get-out; he really excels in the small jazz combo setting, which is probably where his heart is. It's great to be older and to have paid the bills already. :-)

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Oh yeah, I was in a Chicago cover band in the mid-80's, as the bassist. We did most of the first five albums -- really busted my chops! I think my bass playing advanced more during that period than any period before or since!

 

I've never gotten around to practicing Chicago keyboard parts, but do have most of the sheet music (out of print AFAIK) from the cover band days.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Ides of March was another band that had a horn section and drew from different genres.

 

A funny thing about "Vehicle"... It has the same chord progression as B.S.&T's "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"... Coincidence?

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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... And Peter Cetera is amongst the Top Five reasons I picked up the bass guitar as my main instrument.

 

Great reason indeed! I cannot say he is a main reason I started playing bass, but I really dig his melodic, tasteful bass-lines, and his singing ability as well. The gals said he was cute. That I wouldn't know, since I had a major league bromance going for Jack Bruce and Mel Schacher (Flint, Michigan-based Grand Funk Railroad.) :thu:

Steve Force,

Durham, North Carolina

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A couple of years ago I picked up an excellent Chicago-influenced album he did called LA Transit Authority or something like that, which also had a strong TOP influence (can't remember if anyone on the album had played in TOP though).

 

Just TOP's lead singer Larry Bragg, I believe.

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I've never gotten around to practicing Chicago keyboard parts, but do have most of the sheet music (out of print AFAIK) from the cover band days.

 

I had to play a gig last year with my friend's Chicago cover band and found these scores:

 

http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=672367&menuid=394&subsiteid=2&

 

(Look for Vol 2 on the bottom of the page)

 

Really good - a few "bum" notes but pretty spot on.

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Wow, it has "Beginnings" with every part transcribed!

 

I probably should have sold them MY transcription years ago -- what a lot of work that was! One of the most intricate bass lines of all time...

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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A funny thing about "Vehicle"... It has the same chord progression as B.S.&T's "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"... Coincidence?

 

OMG I never noticed this before. Even the lick in the BST's tune is similiar to the main lick in Vehicle.

Steve

 

www.seagullphotodesign.com

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A funny thing about "Vehicle"... It has the same chord progression as B.S.&T's "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"... Coincidence?

 

OMG I never noticed this before. Even the lick in the BST's tune is similiar to the main lick in Vehicle.

 

Yeah... I noticed this several years ago when I covered the song in a local cover band. Its like "Let's take this great song and just speed it up... and leave out the bridge..."

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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  • 4 years later...

Resurrecting this thread to say that I finally found a digital version of that Little John album I queried. Looks like one of the main figures in the band, guitarist John Hart, is still leading a much-altered band of the same name. Anyway, on the link below you can download the album and check it out yourself. I particularly like the opener, 'Feelings of Delight'.

 

Little John

 

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The Ides of March seemed to have found their hit "Vehicle"...

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJFjO4Skgo

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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They were a lot more experimental and less obviously commercial than Chicago. Bill Champlin ironically ended up as the "new guy" in Chicago later and still plays with both bands AFAIK.

 

 

 

I think Champlin left Chicago last year and has been replaced.

 

Yes what he says is that he was asked to leave because he had a solo album put out. I will tell you that Lou Paradini (his replacement) is a monster vocalist and can cover the Champlin stuff no problem. Seraphine and Champlin are doing gigs in Danny's new band CTA.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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