What was Chicago's last great album?

[Garden Dreamer]

Nah - no surprise for me that the consensus for Chicago's best album on a primarily Prog messageboard would be VII

I don't know if people are calling it their best album - the thread title asked for the last great album. Maybe we need a poll to rank the Chicago albums and see what rises to the top.

[klothos]

I don't know if people are calling it their best album - the thread title asked for the last great album. Maybe we need a poll to rank the Chicago albums and see what rises to the top.

Fine....Its no surprise for me that the consensus for Chicago's last great album on a primarily Prog messageboard would be VII

[Trane]

For me it was V. I thought VI was lackluster and VII was an uneven effort with some great tunes. VII had the last great music on it, but wasn't great as a whole entity.

I'd tend to agree that most of the great stuff is on disc 1, and the OK stuff on disc2.... but they could've made their best ever (and one of the greatyest fusion album), by compacting their best stuff on a single disc affair,and release the rest in another album called 7.5

[Mr Class & Quality?]

Seven-of-Nine-seven-of-nine-10677650-1200-1500.jpg

[profusion]

I like all of the Kath-era stuff, but I'll agree with most that VII was their last *great* album. I like both discs almost equally.

[zravkapt]

I was never a huge Chicago fan but I never understood all the 'they were shit after Kath died' stuff. They were going in the direction they did even before he died; there was no major stylistic shift just after his death.

[trurl]

I was never a huge Chicago fan but I never understood all the 'they were shit after Kath died' stuff. They were going in the direction they did even before he died; there was no major stylistic shift just after his death.

Maybe so, but his voice and guitar style couldn't help but anchor them somewhat in the sound we like. When he went away all that really remained was the horn section to identify the band as having some vestige of jazz/rock roots and soon there wasn't even that.

[Tangram]

Maybe so, but his voice and guitar style couldn't help but anchor them somewhat in the sound we like. When he went away all that really remained was the horn section to identify the band as having some vestige of jazz/rock roots and soon there wasn't even that.

Just like Yes and Floyd, things were starting to go south for all of these bands before major changes in personnel and style. From there it is definitely downhill, but all three still produced some good music but to a different style. Some fans jumped off the bandwagon, but many new fans jumped on. YMMV

[Wisdomview]

Maybe so, but his voice and guitar style couldn't help but anchor them somewhat in the sound we like. When he went away all that really remained was the horn section to identify the band as having some vestige of jazz/rock roots and soon there wasn't even that.

[Yodelgoat]

Man. I am suprised how many have said 7 - but I absolutely agree. Loved many of the Kath era albums, and it just didnt seem like Chicago after him. How many of the original members are still with them? I havent thoroughly checked them out in years. What I hear on the side is mostly junk. The remake of 25 or 6 to 4 was a frackin joke. Dont do a song over unless you really have a better version. It was awful.

[Adrian]

Man. I am suprised how many have said 7 - but I absolutely agree. Loved many of the Kath era albums, and it just didnt seem like Chicago after him. How many of the original members are still with them? I havent thoroughly checked them out in years. What I hear on the side is mostly junk. The remake of 25 or 6 to 4 was a frackin joke. Dont do a song over unless you really have a better version. It was awful.

Robert Lamm and the horn section are all still there. Funny enough, from what I've seen on setlist.fm, their shows are heavy on the early material. They obviously know that's what the fans want to hear.

[klothos]

the last great album from Chicago is "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis

[JIF]

the last great album from Chicago is "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis

Wow, another insightful post from you.

[klothos]

Wow, another insightful post from you.

There's an "Ignore" feature on this forum - feel free to use it

[JIF]

There's an "Ignore" feature on this forum - feel free to use it

Hey, Terry Kath blew his brains out too. Wanna make jokes about that? Yes, I know about the "ignore" feature. Why not just spare everyone from your dumb comments for a while, and put yourself on a timeout?

[Sunlight Caller]

It sounds fine to my ears, but I'm far from an audiophile. The biggest downside of the box is the absence of everything from the original inner sleeves. No pictures, no lyrics, no liner notes -- just cardboard slipcases with the original cover art. I think it's well worth the money, though. It's a great way to get up to speed with what I think is their most vital music. I had a mish-mash of Chicago albums on LP, cassette, and CD, so for me the box set was just a nice way to have everything in one tidy package.

Thanks Adrian, order duly placed, a little treat for my birthday! I can find the lyrics etc on-line and will enjoy the discovery as most of this will be completely new to me, but i really love Chicago Transit Authority, so have a good entry point.

[Big Ears]

The record companies could help by releasing a strong compilation, but despite the plethora of greatest hits and best ofs, there doesn't seem to be one that contains all the interesting singles (I'm a Man with drum solo, Harry Truman).

[Vic2012]

I was never a huge Chicago fan but I never understood all the 'they were shit after Kath died' stuff. They were going in the direction they did even before he died; there was no major stylistic shift just after his death.

I agree with this. Kath was always my favorite band member of Chicago, but I jumped ship after album VIII. For me they just lost the plot. Yeah, Terry plays out of his mind on "Thank You Great Spirit" but that album was all over the place, and I remember that it was heavy on cheese and schlock in spots. It was like they completely abandoned what made them such a great band to begin with. All hints of jazz/rock were gone pretty much. I remember having the same reaction to album 6. So when we all heard disk 1 of album VII we thought "okay they're back to doing jazz/rock." But it was like a flame that burned out quickly. I never cared anymore after the eighth album. It seemed that the radio hits were all Cetera, shmaltzy, crooner shit. I guess it must've been 1973-74 when I stopped giving a shit about Chicago, then I heard the news about Terry's death in 1978. I was shocked and saddened.

[klothos]

Hey, Terry Kath blew his brains out too. Wanna make jokes about that? Yes, I know about the "ignore" feature. Why not just spare everyone from your dumb comments for a while, and put yourself on a timeout?

Better yet: Welcome to my ignore list

[trurl]

I really like some of the 80s David Foster stuff. I just choose to think of it as a completely different band . It's part of the Tototubesicago conglomerate.

[profusion]

I was never a huge Chicago fan but I never understood all the 'they were shit after Kath died' stuff. They were going in the direction they did even before he died; there was no major stylistic shift just after his death.

Kath was the soul of the band. They were including more pop songs on their albums as early as Chicago V, but the albums all had a lot of diversity and depth as long as Kath was around. You have to look beyond the pop singles from those albums. They were never the same after he passed away. It also didn't help that the music industry turned away from their direction in the late 1970s.

I agree that the '80s version of Chicago was essentially a different band. I don't mind a few of those songs, but it's nothing special like the early music was.

[Mythos]

still waiting....

[Tangram]

I agree that the '80s version of Chicago was essentially a different band. I don't mind a few of those songs, but it's nothing special like the early music was.

I'm pretty sure I like more than most of the post Kath stuff, but quality was slipping before he left. I remember an interview with Peter Cetera where he said that Kath was going to be the first one to leave.

[profusion]

I remember an interview with Peter Cetera where he said that Kath was going to be the first one to leave.

I've always suspected that was Cetera justifying his own exit from the band by saying that.

Kath was about to begin work on a solo album when he died, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was going to leave the band. Robert Lamm had already put out a solo album by then. That said, if the other members of the band had brought forward crap like the songs on XIII and XIV, then perhaps he would have left at some point in the late '70s.

[Classic Progressive]

They don't give a damn about those trumpet playin bands, It ain't what they call Rock & Roll