Post by mortsahlfan on Dec 10, 2022 20:18:52 GMT
Chicago is one of the first bands I knew about, mostly thanks to my next-door neighbor (they had all their records). At 11, me and him also started play in a band, and before the guitar player would come by, we'd always play "Colour My World" and it's always been an important song, reminds me of the "Old Days" - in a rock and roll band hoping to make it big. I've always wondered more about Terry and Peter's relationship. By all accounts, Robert was very encouraging. I'm still upset they broke their "blood oath" by firing Danny, the guy who also was sober, who found out about the millions of dollars skimmed.
About five years ago, I went through a lot of their songs, but a few months ago, I saw The Terry Kath Experience (btw, the Director's Cut is on vimeo - twice as long!), and then the Chicago documentary, and then listened to their albums from the beginning, and would recommend people do this with everyone. Chicago I and II are very good, III not as much, V lesser, VI gets a little better, VII and VIII are my favorites. X isn't a favorite, but it goes better with XI. I continued to listen even after Terry's death (I sometimes think he's a part of the reason I didn't seek out the music so much) and liked a few songs, especially, "Love Was New" (but the awesome bass is low) and a few other decent ones, buy by 1982, I just couldn't listen to that foster production. I tried. I've listened to songs individually randomly, even the new album, but it didn't move me.
I did read Danny's book, "Street Player", "The Unauthorized Biography of James Pankow" (lots of great quotes, and a lot of non-Pankow stuff), and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" which is the only one I had to get on hardcover. I like e-books nowadays because it doesn't hurt my neck or eyes to read on my big screen, and I also love to search for keywords. I also love googling quotes, and then finding the entire interview, and perhaps entire blogs with cool interviews.
I can't stop listening to Chicago these days! I usually like random, but after a while, I just think,"Go with it... until you get sick of it". My favorite part was finding favorite songs I never heard before, such as:
-Oh, Thank You Great Spirit (except the last 2 minutes, lol... TOO Hendrixy - and I know it's a tribute song)... Only played live twice, and one time, the PA or something was off, and you only hear the last bit of singing.
-Something In This City Changes People – I wish that piano intro was a bit longer. I love it.
-Searchin' – I'm sure I knew this song, but hadn't heard it in a long time. I'm always moved by the line, "Now I know my life has meaning"... Nice outro, too. There's a concert, Amsterdam 77 perhaps, but definitely 1977, where Peter sings "... I will understand" adding a "Yes I will..." and hearing Terry back up and sing, "Yes I wiiiiiill" and still have chills.
-Never Been In Love Before – I LOVE the ballads Cetera sings that were written by Lamm and Pankow
-Women Don't Wanna Love Me – funky as hell! Peter belts the hell out of this.
Cetera's voice used to annoy me; being kinda whiny. Reminds me a little of Henley. But if I had an epic song, I'd pick those guys to sing it, especially a song with oomph that needs power. His bass playing is remarkable. He's obviously influenced by Paul, and even a few songs sound like his. Walter thought "If You Leave Me Now" was a McCartney song. "Baby What A Big Surprise" is very Beatles-like, and the bridge especially.
I've been talking to music friends about Chicago, and most seem to hate "If You Leave Me Now". I don't love it, but I like it, especially the bridge. It's an eclectic band, and if that's what he writes and feels... but it sounded (in the doc) very secretive. I think Guercio did a good job producing, gave them their chance, but I don't trust that guy at all. Nothing he says. Besides the people I know, I'd check out YouTube comments. And the amount of disinformation is crazy. I'm an archive guy - I want the truth only. Anyway, some would say "Terry refused to play the song on stage and would quietly leave" - not true. I've heard and seen a handful, and Terry plays bass, but I think Guercio plays bass and one acoustic on the record.
I read all three Chicago books, and I looked up Danny's again, just to search keywords. At one point he said, "Terry and Lee were usually doing their own thing" and on an interview not too long ago, I read Lee say he and Terry were as "thick as thieves". One more thing about "Call On Me". The book (Feelin' Stronger Every Day) has both Peter and Lee's quotes. If anyone wants it, I'll go to my bookshelf and peruse for the exact quote, but Peter says how Lee showed the band the song, and was laughed out of the room. So later on (Carribou) Peter went up to Lee, and said he changed some words, and the melody, and voila. Lee says he didn't remember it quite that way, saying, how Peter changed it so he could sing and play bass at the same time, but acknowledged that they both helped to make it a hit.
There's the CNN documentary, which Cetera calls a "crockumentary" (and he did not participate)... Danny participated, but said they edited it to make him look bad a little too much (they do take Terry's quote out of context), and it was directed by Lou Pardini's nephew, who just released another Chicago documentary, "The Last Band" (about COVID, and recording their new album not together physically) which is pretty good, but I'd recommend this one the most. This Director's Cut has an extra 40 minutes or so. Even a non-fan would like this (and know a few)
vimeo.com/578047732
About five years ago, I went through a lot of their songs, but a few months ago, I saw The Terry Kath Experience (btw, the Director's Cut is on vimeo - twice as long!), and then the Chicago documentary, and then listened to their albums from the beginning, and would recommend people do this with everyone. Chicago I and II are very good, III not as much, V lesser, VI gets a little better, VII and VIII are my favorites. X isn't a favorite, but it goes better with XI. I continued to listen even after Terry's death (I sometimes think he's a part of the reason I didn't seek out the music so much) and liked a few songs, especially, "Love Was New" (but the awesome bass is low) and a few other decent ones, buy by 1982, I just couldn't listen to that foster production. I tried. I've listened to songs individually randomly, even the new album, but it didn't move me.
I did read Danny's book, "Street Player", "The Unauthorized Biography of James Pankow" (lots of great quotes, and a lot of non-Pankow stuff), and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" which is the only one I had to get on hardcover. I like e-books nowadays because it doesn't hurt my neck or eyes to read on my big screen, and I also love to search for keywords. I also love googling quotes, and then finding the entire interview, and perhaps entire blogs with cool interviews.
I can't stop listening to Chicago these days! I usually like random, but after a while, I just think,"Go with it... until you get sick of it". My favorite part was finding favorite songs I never heard before, such as:
-Oh, Thank You Great Spirit (except the last 2 minutes, lol... TOO Hendrixy - and I know it's a tribute song)... Only played live twice, and one time, the PA or something was off, and you only hear the last bit of singing.
-Something In This City Changes People – I wish that piano intro was a bit longer. I love it.
-Searchin' – I'm sure I knew this song, but hadn't heard it in a long time. I'm always moved by the line, "Now I know my life has meaning"... Nice outro, too. There's a concert, Amsterdam 77 perhaps, but definitely 1977, where Peter sings "... I will understand" adding a "Yes I will..." and hearing Terry back up and sing, "Yes I wiiiiiill" and still have chills.
-Never Been In Love Before – I LOVE the ballads Cetera sings that were written by Lamm and Pankow
-Women Don't Wanna Love Me – funky as hell! Peter belts the hell out of this.
Cetera's voice used to annoy me; being kinda whiny. Reminds me a little of Henley. But if I had an epic song, I'd pick those guys to sing it, especially a song with oomph that needs power. His bass playing is remarkable. He's obviously influenced by Paul, and even a few songs sound like his. Walter thought "If You Leave Me Now" was a McCartney song. "Baby What A Big Surprise" is very Beatles-like, and the bridge especially.
I've been talking to music friends about Chicago, and most seem to hate "If You Leave Me Now". I don't love it, but I like it, especially the bridge. It's an eclectic band, and if that's what he writes and feels... but it sounded (in the doc) very secretive. I think Guercio did a good job producing, gave them their chance, but I don't trust that guy at all. Nothing he says. Besides the people I know, I'd check out YouTube comments. And the amount of disinformation is crazy. I'm an archive guy - I want the truth only. Anyway, some would say "Terry refused to play the song on stage and would quietly leave" - not true. I've heard and seen a handful, and Terry plays bass, but I think Guercio plays bass and one acoustic on the record.
I read all three Chicago books, and I looked up Danny's again, just to search keywords. At one point he said, "Terry and Lee were usually doing their own thing" and on an interview not too long ago, I read Lee say he and Terry were as "thick as thieves". One more thing about "Call On Me". The book (Feelin' Stronger Every Day) has both Peter and Lee's quotes. If anyone wants it, I'll go to my bookshelf and peruse for the exact quote, but Peter says how Lee showed the band the song, and was laughed out of the room. So later on (Carribou) Peter went up to Lee, and said he changed some words, and the melody, and voila. Lee says he didn't remember it quite that way, saying, how Peter changed it so he could sing and play bass at the same time, but acknowledged that they both helped to make it a hit.
There's the CNN documentary, which Cetera calls a "crockumentary" (and he did not participate)... Danny participated, but said they edited it to make him look bad a little too much (they do take Terry's quote out of context), and it was directed by Lou Pardini's nephew, who just released another Chicago documentary, "The Last Band" (about COVID, and recording their new album not together physically) which is pretty good, but I'd recommend this one the most. This Director's Cut has an extra 40 minutes or so. Even a non-fan would like this (and know a few)
vimeo.com/578047732
