First new Chicago single in 8 years

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by souldeep69, May 20, 2022.

  1. souldeep69

    souldeep69 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
    "If This Is Goodbye" is the title. Here's the video:


    Chicago also announcing tour dates with Brian Wilson.
    (At this point, unfortunately, they're not coming to me, so I won't be going to them.)

    Whaddaya think? Is this a single worthy of the wait, not to mention the Chicago name?

    I'll hold off on my opinion for now...
     
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I usually like Chicago (and YES, that includes the David Foster produced years and a bit of the stuff that followed) and this one gets a huge EL STINKEROONIE from me!

    I'm not even sure if this cheese whiz will pass the usually easy Chicago "Soccer Moms" worthyness test?

    They haven't got a chance in hell of getting this one on the radio either. (Well, maybe in Canada?). You have to love them still "trying" to sound like Peter Cetera is still there!
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2022
  3. ironbutterfly

    ironbutterfly Listening to marky mark in mono

    Little heavy metalish sounds like early Alice In Chains with horns and auto tuned bg vocals
     
  4. Paul Gase

    Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

    Location:
    California
    Agree. What a bizarre tune and arrangement. It’s almost like a mashup of three or four different songs. El Yike-o!
     
  5. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    I listened to the new song, meh' I think it's pretty good, maybe the album will be better. Makes ya wonder what the new album will sound like if there is one.
     
  6. Bill Pafford

    Bill Pafford Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Surveyor, WV
    Love Chicago.
    Song sounds good to me. Hopefully a strong lp will follow.
     
  7. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    The lyrics make no sense, because it almost starts like a look back at life with the toasts (so KOOL & THE GANG silly, by the way) and then BAM, out of the blue for no real reason "If This Is Goodbye", I mean, WHAT??? A basic boring verse or two just to get to yet ANOTHER lame Chicago chorus with the Cetera effect! I don't even think David Foster would approve this one?
     
  8. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    Hey, leave Canada out of it! This is too bland even for here.
     
  9. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Believe me, dear forum friend, I meant that in the nicest way, because you are such kind hearted and easy going people!!!
     
  10. It sounds like Chicago since the 80s. The video may actually be too distracting.
     
  11. musictappy

    musictappy Forum Resident

    Location:
    El Paso, TX USA
    Who is singing lead? It didn’t sound like Lamm to me, but it has been quite a while since I saw them live or heard anything new.
     
  12. souldeep69

    souldeep69 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
  13. souldeep69

    souldeep69 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
    It's definitely not Bobby Lamm, but I am not familiar enough with the current lineup to identify who it is.
     
    MikaelaArsenault and musictappy like this.
  14. Keith todaro

    Keith todaro Forum Resident

    Location:
    Shreveport
    Surely not classic Chicago; but, it does sound like what recent experience would suggest.
    What I don’t like is: no discernible drums, bass, guitar … it’s almost all electronic?
    I’m living in the 70’s.
     
  15. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    The lead vocalist now is Neil Donell. The band has seen a lot of members come and go over the past few years. Only Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, and Jimmy Pankow remain from the original lineup. Everyone else is like the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or even 5th replacement.
     
    Comet01 likes this.
  16. Old Fart At Play

    Old Fart At Play He won't eat it, he hates everything

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I don't like these "career retrospective" type songs that a lot of senior artists are doing. If I was someone who actually cared about Chicago, I'd prefer just a regular song over some sappy, "This might be the end" tearjerker attempt.
     
    WMTC and limoges like this.
  17. Old Fart At Play

    Old Fart At Play He won't eat it, he hates everything

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    But why did they get Tom Waits to sing that one line at 2:47?
     
  18. idledreamer

    idledreamer Still idle

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Sounds like an unfinished mix. Like Rockapella with horns.
     
  19. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    I don't hate it.
     
    Jrr likes this.
  20. souldeep69

    souldeep69 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
    Gonna have to modify this — I'm quite short that's Lamm at 2:35. He gets two lines (or maybe one followed by perhaps Loughnane), and an ad lib to let us know for sure he's been there since the '60s.

    So now I'll give my opinion of the song: I like it very much! Sounds like the old Chicago with the horns playing significant parts as lead and transitional instruments, but also echoes the '80s ballad years, especially since, as has been rightfully pointed out, it sounds like Peter Cetera is still there. The structure and rhythm of the song sound like nothing they've ever done before, giving us something new and interesting, and contemporary enough to feel fresh.
    The words aren't my favorite — a little hokey, a little Hallmark. Could've been better.
    The lead singing is good, the harmonies are better. Sounds like several members got to take a shot at leads on this one, making it seem like a farewell tribute, which the title seems to imply as a possibility. If it is, well, even if it's not their best song, the end of this song about the end has a rewarding payoff, reminiscent of the Foster years and his occasional insanely abrupt weird key and tempo changes, which won him arrangement Grammys. It gets gracefully beautiful on the very last verse, doing several key shifts/modulations (or something) that make it sweet, sad, and, damn it, better than the whole rest of the song.
    But it's worth the wait.
     
    Jrr, MikaelaArsenault and soundboy like this.
  21. altaeria

    altaeria Forum Resident

    This kinda sounds like a Christmas song
    without Christmas-themed lyrics
     
    MikaelaArsenault and musicfan37 like this.
  22. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Sorry but this sounds like a tribute band trying too hard

    Pretty cheesy.

    I'm reminded of Jeff Lynne's Time is Our Life: second rate self aggrandizement.
     
  23. brinkeguthrie

    brinkeguthrie Forum Resident

    Location:
    SFO
    Let's see if I can give this a try: current in bold. Three new guys just since Jan or so.

    Bass: Cetera-Scheff-Coffey-Simons-Baines '22
    Guitar: Kath-Dacus-Pinnick-Bailey-Howland-Obhrota '22
    Drums: Seraphine-Imboden-Reyes
    1st Key: Lamm
    2nd Key added 1982: Champlin-Pardini-Gold '22 (who already has a sub, Rob Arthur.)
    Trumpet: Loughnane
    Trombone: Pankow
    Sax: Parazaider-Herrmann
    Percussion: DeOlivera-Reyes-Ysalas
    Tenor vox/no instrument added 2018: Donnell

    I think that's it.
     
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  24. Musician95616

    Musician95616 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Woodland, Ca
    For percussion, there was another guy before Reyes: Drew Hester.

    And going waaay back, before Laudir DeOlivera, there was Guille Garcia.
     
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  25. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    I have to admit upfront I don’t follow Chicago but I gave the new song a listen .

    I don’t think it’s a terrible song, but it sounds like whoever produced the song is still stuck in 1990 or 1995 or whenever.

    Besides the horn parts, which should be expected from Chicago, there’s those weird reverbed hits of something throughout the song that sounds really dated to me.

    The song kind of sounds like what Joe Thomas did with Brian Wilson years ago to me.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2022

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