Gee...do I really want to spend $180 to hear what is mostly going to be the same songs performed eight different times? (Yeah, probably I do...)
Last week I listened to the Bob Lefsetz podcast with Steven Wilson.Steven spoke quite extensively about his work on the Chicago project.He said that he was quite frustrated that he couldn’t get any feedback from the band members but that band management encouraged him to finish it off.After it was finished and released he got the distinct impression that the band was unhappy with his work and would not use him again.Given how beyond great Steven is at remixing and how terrible people consider the remix of CTA to be-and I have never heard it- this speaks to how clueless the people running the band’s archive program must be. Not for the consumer but Rhino now always work on the principle of how much they can extort fans.Compare this release with the Yes 1972 Progeny set from a few years back where as well as the box containing all the shows there was a 2cd version.Just be grateful they didn’t add 3 vinyl lps in and increase the price by another $150.
I have neither the time nor patience for anyone who ranks Tim Jessup's abilities over Steven Wilson's.
As I always say...the greatest thing about loving music in the first place is that none of it is rational.
Lee Loughnane, one of thee original members of Chicago, supervises Chicago's reissue program and Tim Jessup, being his neighbor in Sedonna, AZ is much more affordable and so they keep him around. Sadly, Loughnane prioritizes convenience and affordability over sound quality. He even built a new recording studio in Arizona for Tim Jessup. Why the band prefers Tim Jessup's unlistenable CTA 50th anniversary remix over the brilliant Steven Wilson's "Chicago II" remix is beyond me.
I’m not sure money is the issue.During the same podcast Steven was asked about how he charged for these remix jobs.He said that when someone comes to him with a project to remix he asks what the budget is and then accepts that amount.He has never asked anyone to pay more.Similarly if he isn’t interested in the project he can’t be persuaded by money and has never taken on a job he really didn’t want to do. Given that the band couldn’t even be bothered to review Steven’s Chicago mix before release supervision and convenience hardly seem to be relevant.
Man, I got bored just reading the track listing. I don’t think I could listen to every CD in this set without getting tired of it.
I would absolutely buy this set if it didn't wear the equivalent to the mark of Cain - Tim Jessup - the murderer of Chicago's music.
I cleaned up the sound on and shared out a half decent audience tape from May 10 1974 in Dallas this weekend...Chicago on the tour for VII. I'd be brazen to say that B/B+ rated audience tape will still sound better than this upcoming Carnegie Hall boxset once Tim Jessup is done f--king with it...
So, who's going to be the canary in the coal mine and go in and test the air on this thing? If we don't hear from you, we'll know that you didn't make it out alive.
Since the original lp set was the king of multiple album set in the day, I want the 32 vinyl super deluxe edition!
When I read this thread I thought of Lester Bangs's review where he proposed a 7 album set with each member of the band being heard alone on one album.
There actually was a three-LP version of Progeny (one version of each song) that I got for something reasonable like $35. However it looks like Progeny is out of print and the prices for any version have gone through the roof.
Peter Mew must be breathing a sigh of relief that he has been overtaken as the most disliked mastering engineer at sh.tv!
I'm still staggered with the bizarre mixes from the Chicago Isle of Wight 1970 concert. The Chicago Transit Authority remix remains the worst sounding commercial CD I own. So why they chose the guy who produced these abominations I can't understand
The 3 LP Progeny Highlights is nice, and still affordable, I think. The full CD box was very reasonably priced back in 2015. Now? Forget it. And, not for nothing, but some of the discs were mislabeled on the earliest version, but corrected later on.
He does tell a great story. Highly recommended as a music related autobio. For completists this would be a must, especially if you happened to attend one of the shows. Imagine the fun in telling your friends during a listen, “Yeah, that’s me clapping right there!”.
Watched a YouTube clip and they were talking about 'fixing' at least one of the tracks so that is not good.
