I never really looked at it that way, but you're probably right. Then again----comparing your girlfriend to Spam? Yuk.... There wasn't a better metaphor he could have reached for?
I love Cetera's melodic bass lines. You should listen to "Lowdown", "Beginnings", "Dialogue Part I", "Questions 67 And 68", "Poem For The People", "Just You 'N Me", "Old Days", "You Are On My Mind" to name a few.
I love the changing tempo on Kath's mini-suite "An Hour In The Shower". I think it is one of the highlights of the album. In the middle part of the suite, Seraphine was playing his snare drum like a military band with the sound of the brass counterpointing in conjunction with the main melody.
In the finished song he "has to take a pass and settle for some hash," which I took to mean he was ignoring groupie temptations and getting stoned instead. (Yeah, the whole entendre is pretty clumsy).
This is one of the best melodies ever put by Chicago on a vinyl record, the third movement of the multi-part instrumental suite called "Elegy"
Cetera is a very under-appreciated bass player. For all the heaps of praise lauded upon Terry Kath in recent years, maybe its time to re-evaluate some of the other members who didn't die young? The intro to "I'm A Man"? Not that impressive to me. But it is turned up and prominent and rocks a bit, I suppose? But it's just a very simple riff from a cover tune. Nothing you won't hear from a million bar bands. I'm much more impressed by the simplistic genius in something like the last riff that ends "Saturday In The Park".
He does. I just thought it odd that he sounds so much like Terry Kath on a Terry Kath song. I've always wondered why that choice was made instead of Terry singing it himself.
Makes me wonder if they ever considered Lee singing if more after Terry died, and how about lee singing color my world in concert? He is absent otherwise anyway
Peters bass playing is not only great but many of his bass moments became trademarks of the song it was serving, you almost have to include those bits if you were covering them
Peter will be one of those guys most associated with his 80s solo and Chicago stuff, but people will be bewildered to find out he was a monster bassman as well.
I did not know- I've been watching a lot of you tube clips of the band but never ran across him doing this,,, I'll check it out
OK...before the 700th person comments on how the bass on the opening of "I'm A Man" isn't that impressive and refers me to a different Chicago song that I know by heart... All I was trying to say is that I forgot how good it SOUNDS...maybe it isn't technically awesome, but it SOUNDS good to me, which then reminded me that I had never even considered Cetera as a great bass player. Yes, I am familiar with every Chicago song ever made. Just saying, it never occurred to me to think of him that way and now I will give it some thought. Sheesh.
First and foremost they had lots of strong material; all the instrumental innovation in the world wouldn't have done them any good if the songs weren't good to start with (I feel this is why BS &T fizzled so relatively quickly after the second album). So you take the songs and arrange them in a way that no one in commercial Pop/Rock had done before (i.e., the brass combined with electric guitar and keyboards) and add the all important fact of 3 main vocalists. Very powerful combination.
I'd like to make a note-related comment on the opening bass line...is there a wrong note being played or is it intentional? The song is clearly in a minor key but the bass run is major; it's all in the second note that makes the difference. To make it a minor run, that second note should be a half step higher. Anyone following me,..?
I bought the Steven Wilson mix of Chicago 2nd album cd just the other day.put it on.thought not much different to the 'rhino' cd.listened the next day.wow!I got it.really punchy.clearer.i would highly recommended it.x
Love byblos.terry's playing & singing always gets me on that song.& "everglades"his solo towards the end is up there with the best.in fact.I'd go as far as saying terry is my favourite guitarist bar none.god bless him.x
Interesting!! It "worked" the same way for me; on initial listen, I was actually pretty let down..but I think part of the problem lay in the fact that I was used to some of Wilson's other remixes which really added much more, sonically, to the originals. Here, the difference is more subtle but that said, it's definitely there. Like yourself, it took me additional listens to realize this. While I might have expected "more", this is definitely an improvement over the original album.
