The Vinyl Project - Chicago Transit Authority by Chicago (1969)
A Trip Thru Your Grooves - Episode 13
Release Date: 28-April-1969
Genre: Rock/Jazz-Rock/Progressive
Producer: James William Guercio
Label: Columbia/CBS
Time: 1h 17m 43s
Review Date: 01-December-2018
Format: LP
Side One
Release Date: 28-April-1969
Genre: Rock/Jazz-Rock/Progressive
Producer: James William Guercio
Label: Columbia/CBS
Time: 1h 17m 43s
Review Date: 01-December-2018
Format: LP
Side One
- Introduction
- Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
- Beginnings
Side Two
- Questions 67 and 68
- Listen
- Poem 58
Side Three
- Free Form Guitar
- South California Purples
- I'm a Man
Side Four
- Prologue, August 29, 1968
- Someday (August 29, 1968)
- Liberation
Review: There was nothing in rock and roll like Chicago before this album was released. If you are not familiar with Chicago, and you are at least familiar with the movie Mr. Holland's Opus, think of Chicago as Mr. Holland's John F. Kennedy High School Band in late 1960's Portland, but with Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Michael Shrieve of Santana on drums and percussion. So when the band kicks off this double album with the song Introduction, that's a pretty apt description. And lest you think the generic song title portends to some generic, filler music, you better listen closely. Producer James William Guerico and his mini rock orchestra from the suburbs of Chicago (hence the name), nailed it. Discovering Chicago in 1969 must have felt like being born-again.
What? Their debut LP is two records? Indeed it is. And CBS wasn't very keen on releasing a four-sided long player of uber-progressive, jazz-infused rock & roll, as the band had no track record to speak of. The label executives only agreed to the concept if the group would agree to take a royalty cut.
As Chicago would grow in the early-to-mid seventies, the band would take on three separate forms; there is the jazz-rock hit machine identifiable through all of side one that is the signature of keyboardist Robert Lamm; the politically-leaning, guitar-driven rock composed by guitarist Terry Kath; and in later albums, the light, yacht-rock balladry of Peter Cetera. However, this debut from the seven-piece band was released without any compositions by Cetera.
Let me audible here for a second. The song Beginnings is so timelessly wonderful. It feels fresh every time I hear it, and it's nearly fifty years old already. If only we could age as beautifully, am I right? And the percussion on the fade out? Stunning. If I had to pick my top percussive moments in rock history, it would be Soul Sensation by Shrieve and Santana at Woodstock and the bridge/coda by J. Geils band on the song Give it to Me. But Beginnings definitely makes the team photo.
Can I audible again? "Your guitar player is better than me." That's what Jimi Hendrix said to Chicago saxophonist Walt Parazaider backstage, while sharing a bill. Mr. James Marshall Hendrix gave some serious props to the entire band, too. Hendrix suggested that live, the band was stronger than what he could create in the studio.
Just one more audible, please and thank you. While the band was touring, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the city's mass transportation operator, sent CBS Records a cease and desist letter claiming trademark infringement, so the band shortened its name to Chicago. Had the CTA known the band would go on to sell over 100 million records, they may have been inclined to simply take a cut of the profits in exchange for sharing the name. Oops. Anyway, back to the album.
The first of the two discs is enough to whet any listener's appetite, and on its own, it merits discussion as one of the greatest debut spins of all time. Sides three and four are a lot more progressive, kicking off with Free Form Guitar, a song that can only be truly appreciated by guitar players.
According to the album's original liner notes, the solo performance by Kath on Free Form Guitar was created without the use of any pedals. Kath delivers an homage to the expressionism of Hendrix with this guitar solo. Though the Maestro most notably used wah and fuzz pedals, Kath instead plugged directly into his studio amplifier and improvised the entire track in one take for the purpose of pure tone. The track is cited as an influence of noise rock.
I am of firm belief that side three is what drove CBS to demand a bigger percentage of royalties, as they must have thought the second LP was throwaway material after hearing Kath basically tune his guitar for nearly seven minutes on the lead track. But don't quit on the album here. California Purples is a great rock song that pays tribute to the Beatles' I Am the Walrus, and the band's cover of I'm a Man, originally performed and written by the Spencer Davis Group, should be played very, very loudly. It's positively scorching.
Side four is basically Kath's poignant look at the '68 riots in Chicago. "The whole world is watching" was a chant by antiwar demonstrators outside the Hilton Hotel the evening of August 28th during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Demonstrators took up the chant as police were beating and pulling many of them into police vans, "each with a superfluous whack of a nightstick," after the demonstrators, having been barricaded in Grant Park by the police, began to stream onto Michigan Avenue in front of the hotel.
The prescient and spontaneous chant (possibly a live recording from that night) segues into Someday (August 29, 1968) but fades away after a few seconds, only to return again in the middle of the song backed by a haunting piano beat and a ride cymbal courtesy of Lamm and percussionist Danny Seraphine.
Best Songs: Introduction, Beginnings, I'm a Man, Questions 67 and 68, Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?
A Deep Cut You'll Love: California Purples
An interesting note about Chicago: The band was formed in 1966 and honed its eclectic blend of jazz, classical, and straight-ahead rock & roll in and around the Windy City. A little over a year and a half later, Columbia Records staff producer James Guercio became a key supporter of the group, which he rechristened Chicago Transit Authority. In fairly short order the band relocated to the West Coast and began woodshedding the material that would comprise this title. By 1971, Chicago became the first rock and roll band to headline Carnegie Hall, selling out shows for a week straight.
An interesting note about this album: Released in April 1969, Chicago Transit Authority was an immediate hit, reaching #17 in album sales in the US and #9 in the UK. While critical reaction was also strong, the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as more of an album-oriented collective. In 1970 and 1971, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (#7), Beginnings (#7) and Questions 67 and 68 (#71/#24 re-release) would all prove to be belated chart hits. Thanks to the success of their later albums, the album stayed on the charts for a then-record 171 weeks, and is now a double-platinum-plus seller.
What? Their debut LP is two records? Indeed it is. And CBS wasn't very keen on releasing a four-sided long player of uber-progressive, jazz-infused rock & roll, as the band had no track record to speak of. The label executives only agreed to the concept if the group would agree to take a royalty cut.
As Chicago would grow in the early-to-mid seventies, the band would take on three separate forms; there is the jazz-rock hit machine identifiable through all of side one that is the signature of keyboardist Robert Lamm; the politically-leaning, guitar-driven rock composed by guitarist Terry Kath; and in later albums, the light, yacht-rock balladry of Peter Cetera. However, this debut from the seven-piece band was released without any compositions by Cetera.
Let me audible here for a second. The song Beginnings is so timelessly wonderful. It feels fresh every time I hear it, and it's nearly fifty years old already. If only we could age as beautifully, am I right? And the percussion on the fade out? Stunning. If I had to pick my top percussive moments in rock history, it would be Soul Sensation by Shrieve and Santana at Woodstock and the bridge/coda by J. Geils band on the song Give it to Me. But Beginnings definitely makes the team photo.
Can I audible again? "Your guitar player is better than me." That's what Jimi Hendrix said to Chicago saxophonist Walt Parazaider backstage, while sharing a bill. Mr. James Marshall Hendrix gave some serious props to the entire band, too. Hendrix suggested that live, the band was stronger than what he could create in the studio.
Just one more audible, please and thank you. While the band was touring, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the city's mass transportation operator, sent CBS Records a cease and desist letter claiming trademark infringement, so the band shortened its name to Chicago. Had the CTA known the band would go on to sell over 100 million records, they may have been inclined to simply take a cut of the profits in exchange for sharing the name. Oops. Anyway, back to the album.
The first of the two discs is enough to whet any listener's appetite, and on its own, it merits discussion as one of the greatest debut spins of all time. Sides three and four are a lot more progressive, kicking off with Free Form Guitar, a song that can only be truly appreciated by guitar players.
According to the album's original liner notes, the solo performance by Kath on Free Form Guitar was created without the use of any pedals. Kath delivers an homage to the expressionism of Hendrix with this guitar solo. Though the Maestro most notably used wah and fuzz pedals, Kath instead plugged directly into his studio amplifier and improvised the entire track in one take for the purpose of pure tone. The track is cited as an influence of noise rock.
I am of firm belief that side three is what drove CBS to demand a bigger percentage of royalties, as they must have thought the second LP was throwaway material after hearing Kath basically tune his guitar for nearly seven minutes on the lead track. But don't quit on the album here. California Purples is a great rock song that pays tribute to the Beatles' I Am the Walrus, and the band's cover of I'm a Man, originally performed and written by the Spencer Davis Group, should be played very, very loudly. It's positively scorching.
Side four is basically Kath's poignant look at the '68 riots in Chicago. "The whole world is watching" was a chant by antiwar demonstrators outside the Hilton Hotel the evening of August 28th during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Demonstrators took up the chant as police were beating and pulling many of them into police vans, "each with a superfluous whack of a nightstick," after the demonstrators, having been barricaded in Grant Park by the police, began to stream onto Michigan Avenue in front of the hotel.
The prescient and spontaneous chant (possibly a live recording from that night) segues into Someday (August 29, 1968) but fades away after a few seconds, only to return again in the middle of the song backed by a haunting piano beat and a ride cymbal courtesy of Lamm and percussionist Danny Seraphine.
Best Songs: Introduction, Beginnings, I'm a Man, Questions 67 and 68, Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?
A Deep Cut You'll Love: California Purples
An interesting note about Chicago: The band was formed in 1966 and honed its eclectic blend of jazz, classical, and straight-ahead rock & roll in and around the Windy City. A little over a year and a half later, Columbia Records staff producer James Guercio became a key supporter of the group, which he rechristened Chicago Transit Authority. In fairly short order the band relocated to the West Coast and began woodshedding the material that would comprise this title. By 1971, Chicago became the first rock and roll band to headline Carnegie Hall, selling out shows for a week straight.
An interesting note about this album: Released in April 1969, Chicago Transit Authority was an immediate hit, reaching #17 in album sales in the US and #9 in the UK. While critical reaction was also strong, the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as more of an album-oriented collective. In 1970 and 1971, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (#7), Beginnings (#7) and Questions 67 and 68 (#71/#24 re-release) would all prove to be belated chart hits. Thanks to the success of their later albums, the album stayed on the charts for a then-record 171 weeks, and is now a double-platinum-plus seller.
- Previous Review: 461 Ocean Blvd. by Eric Clapton (1974)
- Up Next: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. by The Monkees (1967)
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