I saw that the digital version of this will come out and it’s half the price. Do you think it’s worth getting?
For the live Kath material yes. As for digital for half price it's worth having. It's up to the individual if its worth digital or physical. Me it will be the physical box. Definitely worth it for people who just want digital media especially the price. Eventually I'll find the physical box cheaper in time.
Where and when can you find a well-rounded rock and roll ensemble comprising of a monster axman with a Telecaster who could stand toe to toe with Hendrix; three young horn players whose playing is like a set of lungs; three lead vocalists each with a very distinctive voice and singing style; a jazz/rock drummer who once called the favorite young drummer by the legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich; two of the most prolific songwriters in the rock genre; a bona fide percussionist from the country where samba and Bossa nova originated? ANSWER: A band formed in Chicago and became one of the premier rock bands from 1969-1977. A band who had a rare distinction of having reigned as a 70's supergroup and yet remained a faceless band. Unlike most of their contemporaries, they never cared about publicity and they just let their music to speak for themselves ... Like the Beatles, the original classic lineup of Chicago had everything going for them. The right combination of talents at the right time. It was a rarity to have a group of musicians who had a perfect synergy of their talents, gifts and skills, combined with a once great mentor and pro ducer in Jimmy Guercio, to create a body of work that is worthy of discussion and admiration almost half a century later.
An very interesting read! CHICAGO is among the bands mentioned in this new book about the classic rock genre. Some of the band's original members were also mentioned. 'Rise and Fall of Classic Rock': A Must-Read - Best Classic Bands
I will say this about their sound on the early albums I had.... It sounded great, even on the "portable" record player (with speakers) that I owned in the early 70's as a High School student. I would have loved to have had my own receiver, turntable, cassette deck, and speakers while in High School, but all of that was just to expensive for what I earned. The money I did earn was spent on "car" speakers and a Realistic under-dash FM Cassette Player, and movie dates, and concert tickets. Listening to "25 or 6 to 4" was a sweet part about being a Sopohomre in HS in the 70's.
One of the rare pop hit singles with Latin groove. I also love what Laudir did to enhance the Chicago X track "You are On My Mind" utilizing the exotic percussion instrument called the "Cuica," a Brazillian friction drum producing a high-pitched squeaky timbre similar to the sound of a monkey.
I was in grade school (3rd grade) when "25 or 6 to 4" came out on radio but my awareness of the band Chicago started in 1972 after hearing "Saturday in the Park" on the radio.
I'm going to cross post this here as there's a section in the book about Chicago: 'Rise and Fall of Classic Rock': A Must-Read - Best Classic Bands
Chicago Live 1971 Track: Exclusive Premiere Chicago Live 1971 Track: Exclusive Premiere - Best Classic Bands Chicago VI Decades Live Track Listing Disc 1 (Isle of Wight Festival 8/28/70) Introduction South California Purples Beginnings In The Country Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (Free Form Intro) Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Mother Disc 2 (Isle of Wight Festival 8/28/70) It Better End Soon Ballet For a Girl in Buchannon 25 Or 6 To 4 I’m a Man Disc 3 Poem For The People (Paris, France 12/8/69) 25 Or 6 To 4 (Paris, France 12/8/69) Liberation (Paris, France 12/8/69) Goodbye (John F. Kennedy Center for the Perf. Arts, Washington, DC 9/16/71) Now That You’ve Gone (Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia 6/26/72) A Hit By Varese (Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL 8/13/73) If You Leave Me Now (Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA 12/1/77) Takin’ It On Uptown (Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA 12/1/77) Disc 4 Hot Streets (Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA 8/11/78) Little One (Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA 8/11/78) Forever (Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL 3/21/87) Medley: In the Midnight Hour, Knock on Wood, I’m a Man, Get Away (Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL 3/21/87) You’re Not Alone (Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas, TX 5/30/92) The Pull (Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, NV 3/20/94) In The Mood (Caesar’s Palace, Atlantic City, NJ 7/28/94) Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Caesar’s Palace, Atlantic City, NJ 7/28/94) Look Away (Acoustic) (A&E Network, Live by Request 9/5/02) America (WHYY, The Grand, Wilmington, DE 5/7/14) Disc 5 (DVD) (Rockpalast – Grugahalle, Essen, Germany 2/12/77) Anyway You Want Saturday in the Park Skin Tight Just You ‘N’ Me Hope For Love You Are On My Mind Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Ballet For a Girl in Buchannon Beginnings Scrapbook A Hit By Varese Call on Me Takin’ It On Uptown If You Leave Me Now Once or Twice (I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long 25 Or 6 To 4 Got to Get You Into My Life I’m a Man
Why Terry Kath Was Vital to the Band Chicago? Please click the link below the photos to see the complete article by Erik Mattox, one of the founders of 103.3 Asheville FM. Why Terry Kath Was Vital to the Band Chicago
What a great song. I recall being entranced, thrilled or enthralled by that song the first time I heard it in 1974. Our jr. high band director had us play a Chicago medley: Wake Up Sunshine, Make Me Smile & 25 or 6 to 4. He even let me borrow his copy of II to "record" via my portable recorder set-up in front of the old large TV-like record player's console speakers.
Great quote from Robert Lamm in a fairly recent interview: “Terry gave us the BALLS to be Chicago”. I think that says it all.
I like it too, but it is a preface to what would be on a T Kath solo album. Jenny, “Byblos,” “Till We Meet Again,” “Oh Thank You Great Spirit,” “Hope For Love,” “Your Love’s An Attitude” and “Uptown.” Terry’s later works without horns. He was obviously moving in a different direction.
I believe it was my Senior year in HS, in 1973, that the Symphonic Band performed a concert for the public, where our Band Director allowed extra instruments, ie. a Bass guitar, and perhaps a lead guitar, to play several Chicago songs. The first song was Color My World, featuring flute. The final song used the guitars. It was a lively song. I think it might have been 25 or 6 to 4. But really.... there was so much good rock music in the air in the early 70's, that mostly all you wanted to do was listen, and, thinking about performing the music was not at all a priority. It was all a rather a self-indulgent exercise in absorbing the music...
The way Lee sang the Chicago VII track "Evergreen," he sounded very much like Terry Kath. I thought at first it was really Terry singing his own song.
