"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...
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!
Agree. What a bizarre tune and arrangement. It’s almost like a mashup of three or four different songs. El Yike-o!
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.
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?
Believe me, dear forum friend, I meant that in the nicest way, because you are such kind hearted and easy going people!!!
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.
Here's more info on the song, the band and the tour Chicago Debuts "If This Is Goodbye" Ahead of Tour with Brian Wilson
It's definitely not Bobby Lamm, but I am not familiar enough with the current lineup to identify who it is.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For percussion, there was another guy before Reyes: Drew Hester. And going waaay back, before Laudir DeOlivera, there was Guille Garcia.
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.