Chicago Transit Authority

While I like Chicago….i would never have any of their albums on this list. Not even the great (and deliciously cheesy) Peter Cetera era.

if someone tells me chicago is their favorite band, i'm gonna tell them that free form guitar is my favorite chicago song. not that chicago would be anyone's favorite band, but if they somehow were, then that's how i would respond.

I guess I never listened to Chicago before. Just thought they were another classic 70s/80s rock band that wasn't my taste. Still not my jam, but way more jazzy jams than I was expecting.

Love the big brass sound, but could probably use about 20% less extended jams with a bit more actual song.

I like Intro and Beginnings, will need to listen more. 2.7 Learned this is Chicago's debut album

This is just dull, I had alreay list all will to live by the end of the second song. The outros are tedious and my god ‘Poem 58’ not happy being a dull instrumental introduces boring vocals after 5 minutes of noodling. Not to worry ‘Free Form Guitar’ takes it to the next annoyingly step by doing what it says on the tin. And my god if the rest wasnt enough a 14 minute last song. Oh the humanity.

Anything remotely prog-rocky and / or jazzy is not my cup of tea at all, so I fully expected that I’d hate this. I was wrong. I found parts of it utterly irresistible: the horns, the entirety of “Introduction”, the backing vocal - especially on “Poem 58” - and the fact some of it sounded almost Doobie Brothers-esque. Others were just a bit too on the nose to be anything but complete wanky nonsense (see: “Free Form Guitar”). As with a lot of albums of this genre, it’s far too long, and I didn’t enjoy the second half at all as much as the first. It’s probably a (surprise) 3.5* for me, but with enough issues to make me go down rather than up.

Part of the first track really, really reminded me of the incidental music from Animal Crossing. And then it went all noodly proggy. Which was odd. At the opposite ends of the spectrum, I do like Does Anybody Know What Time It Is and I'm A Man (at least the bits that weren't extended jamming), but Free Form Guitar was absolutely pointless and completely awful to listen to. It was a bit like Bill and Ted's guitar playing had been randomly plonked in the middle of a very long album. I like enough of the funky keyboards and bass that this escapes the indignity of a 1⭐... but only just. Needed someone to sit then down and say "Now where can we trim the fat?". 2/5

"Chicago Transit Authority" is a mixed bag: some songs continue to connect with listeners, while others should never have left the recording studio. If the album was half as long, it might rank among the all-time greats; as it is, comprising a few popular singles and some (unnecessarily) long instrumental tracks, it has definitely dropped to second-tier status, maybe lower.

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY - Chicago (1969) - 7/1001 Are we deadass? This made the list, but Chocolate didn't? I love Chicago, but c'mon, man - this shouldn't be their entry on the list. It's gotta be 2 or Chocolate. CTA isn't a /bad/ album, but when compared to their later work? This is just vanilla ice cream.

A really great debut effort by Chicago, back when this was a self-titled album. There is a good level of consistency throughout the album, ties of the original rock and roll sound mixed in with jazz and progressive elements. All-together it makes for a great listen, though some songs don't appeal as much as others. The highs are pretty high, but the lows are also pretty low. Favorite Song: Questions 67 and 68 Score: 79/100

Great album. Fun listen

Good album som all favs . Glad this came up

Good album with several songs I recognized! Enjoyed the music throughout.

What the hell was that guitar song?

Massive contrast between some "songs" that are very unbearable and some very good ones, bluesy, funky and Hendrix's vibe as well

Better on second listen than the first. Might come back to it/put it on in the background to see if I can find the right mood for it.

Sounds like what a talk show band plays between commercial breaks

Takes too long to get going and I just didnt' really feel it.

This went on for too long and I couldn’t tell you what song was the best, but I did enjoy it. Solid pre funk rock, great horns, talented instrumentalists, and mostly filler free. I didn’t need the feedback solo or the live tracks at the end, and cutting that might’ve brought it close to a more digestible album. I think their later, more radio friendly stuff, is easier to get in to than this.

Good album - love the horns

A comically long album but when you play this good, how could you stop?? This was a fun listen and though it took a while, it didn’t take away from the experience.

Kinda great: they were a political band!?! With long electric guitar noise pieces!

Well I’ve finally snapped. Full disclosure my day has been a bit long and it’s not even noon. But between the excessive length and unnecessary guitar work I just cannot stand this album.

⭐⭐⭐⭐- Skickliga musiker men väldigt polerat. Kom in i det här albumet med att jag inte skulle tycka om det men några lyssningar senare så kan jag konstatera att jag nog gillar det. Hade önskat lite mer grit men kan bara konstatera att jag nog tycker det är helt ok nästan lite guilty pleasure. Velar mellan en stark 3a eller svag 4a men det blir en svag 4a för att jag succesivt gillar det mer och mer och att det är fett med blås. Bäst är Introduction, Question 67 and 68, Listen, South California purples, I'm a man

Decent stuff, a band I want and already wanted in the past to revisit for sure, but this lacks me the highlights so far, so if nothing super cool happens - it's another 3. Really weird - in theory I should love Chicago but they're just about alright to me

jazzy, funky, bluesy - nice; let down by track 7 "Free Form Guitar" which surely should only be part of a live show !

If soft rock was a genre they would be the leaders. This album has its musical moments but overall I’m not sure I really like much here. It’s either cheesy or unnecessary. That’s all.

I didn’t care for this album. It was far too jam band-y for me. Having said that I did enjoy Poem 58 and Free Form Guitar.

Take Parliament, remove most of the funk. Replace that funk with equal parts jazz and rock, and you get CTA. If you've heard Chicago before, you know kinda what you're getting, but this is before they got tight with the radio friendly soft rock sound. Spotify streams the remaster, which you can safely stop at "I'm A Man". Although, in order to get the full jazz feeling of the album, listen to "Liberation". "Free Form Guitar" was a choice. I enjoyed Einsturzende Neubaten more, at least it went somewhere. The whole thing felt a little too jazzy for me and way too noodly. My Rating: 2/5

I don’t know never dig these fellers

This shit sounds like my daughter's show choir competition.

This was not the sound I expected from Chicago, but it was surprisingly good. However, pretty much every song could do with being 2-3 minutes (or 4, in some cases) shorter as not only do the songs overstay their welcome, but the whole album starts to drag before too long.

CHICAGO MENTION... walked back and forth under the L tracks several times today with this album playing through my headphones. Felt very cool and meta about it. Had fun with the music itself as well, with a one-track glaring exception in the middle (you get one guess which it was) that means I can't possibly give it all five stars, even with the bonus points for the title

Brilliant. These kind of albums is just why I do 1001 albums!

Wow. The Windy City. My goodness.

Okay and chill

Not for me. I didn’t like this.

this one has a lot of power, some of the jams are excessive, but overall very cool

Their best album, IMO.

My poor brain can't quite decide what to make of this record. On the one hand, the progger in me enjoyed the more 'out there' elements (Poem 58), and the brass was fun to listen to, but it does at times feel like a soundtrack to a forgotten West End musical. I kept expecting them to burst into Jesus Christ, Superstar, and that's not a good thing. Something about the vocals just didn't sit well with me. And as others have said, Free Form Guitar simply doesn't belong on the record. In fact, it doesn't belong on any record. What were they thinking? It's an odd album, and ultimately, I like odd albums, so I'm glad I listened.

Horrible feeling I had Chicago mixed up with Boston before I started listening. Those expectations played havoc with my brain. No soft rock but some odd big band progish melange which I didn't enjoy at all. Perhaps I should revisit but it wasn't very interesting and life is short.

Introduction was surprisingly very good, love that - usually you get filler with that name. Does Anybody Really Know is iconic and the one I'd heard the most. Beginnings was jazzy and uplifting. Questions 67 and 68 jammy and fun. Poem 58 insane jam. I'm a Man crazy jam as well, nice collection of vibes across the album. Very good listen, amazing talent on guitar, drums, bass and vocals throughout

I don't even need to listen to this one again to write a detailed review on every track, but I'll never balk at the chance to listen to it again anyway. I grew up on this album and it heavily shaped a lot of my music taste I think. I remember absolutely blasting Poem 58 in my mom's car thinking it was the greatest music anyone had ever created. Introduction has been a longtime favorite of mine to drum along to. The drum solo in I'm A Man is pristine. Free Form Guitar was an always-skip for me for a while but I've developed an appreciation for it after getting into noise music, and I feel like that song might've played a part in that. Liberation is an all-time great ending track. Nearly 15 minutes with basically no vocals and just energetic instrumental music. That weird interlude where it's just noise but then we come back with more energy than ever and end on some of the sickest drum fills that still influence my soloing today. I'll stop now I think, but I would give this album 6 stars if I could.

Good album, lots of talented instrumentals. Too many songs were way too long to be 5 stars. Good listen, good rating, but will not be listening again most likely

Double-album debut, huh? That's fairly presumptuous. Let's see if they can deliver the goods. Nope. Everything about this album is overly long. There are some undeniably great moments on the singles, but even those tracks are in desperate need of some thoughtful radio editing. Beyond that, the blaring brass, the never-ending noodling, the free form guitar (or whatever the fuck that was) - this love child of two of my least favorite genres (jazz and progressive) really had no chance with me. *As an aside, and in light of how many acts have multiple, multiple entries on this list, I truly cannot overstate how absolutely asinine it is that THIS was the one and only one album chosen for Chicago. C'mon, Robert. A truffle-hunting hog could do better.

I know nothing about this band. Never gave them the time of day. i was thinking I would find this interesting enough to actually link some songs to them. Silly me. This was awful.

Oops all sounds by the end but I liked the beginning!

I'm a sucker for jazz, so the album started strong. It then quickly devolved into mostly instrumental blues-rock with stellar guitar play. The occasional singing was quite good too. And then... Oh boy. Imagine asking a half-broken Harley Davidson to play a "guitar" solo. My ears are fucking bleeding, please, for the love of all that is holy, bring your motorcycle to the garage and give me my music back, I implore you. I have made farts that were more harmonious than this crap. Thank God they start making actual music again after that. And they end on this phenomenal 14-minutes track, "Liberation". Pure unadulterated talent. It's hard to understand why they included the experimental "Free Form Guitar", it sounds so out of place, I don't get it. Well, it doesn't sour the whole album at least, but it tries very hard to do so.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together

funky, groovy, completely unnecessary solo guitar jam in the middle of the album.

Chicago is...good?

Pretty cool instrumentals and musicianship.

This was lively and some really interesting sounds. I enjoyed the listen. 3 side of a 3.5.

Surprisingly great. I had heard of Chicago but had no clue this is what they sounded like!

This wasn't inherently "bad" per se - the musicianship was really good, and there were interesting passages and composition choices that made this anything but cookie-cutter - but as a listen, I can't say I found it enjoyable. I recognize that these dudes are the OGs, but maybe I've just seen too many cover bands over the years trying to emulate Chicago and it broke me. Fairly or not, this was an absolute joyless slog to listen to.

Before they went and abandoned the horns and Peter Cetera started singing nothing but sappy ballads, you had the early years of Chicago. And early Chicago is amazing! They could get a little masturbatory from time to time (see "Free Form Guitar" or "Liberation", or hell, the fact their debut is a double and not a single album), but on the whole this album had a lot of great ideas, great songs, and a full sound with those horns, so you can forgive them for any misgivings. Even then, that free form guitar is actually pretty cool. Absolutely awesome album.

I was expecting this to be dadrock or jamrock, but liked the jazzy elements. I especially appreciated the nosier and more experimental bits. Liberation was a great closer that made me come back for another listen. Quite a few tracks were a bit forgettable but not horribly so. 3/5

This is #day756 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… what if we jammed some jazz rock verging on prog and blues tonight? A kind of combo I don't mind, particularly given the jazz rock part. My very first time listening to a Chicago album. "Free Form Guitar" is, of course, one hell of a tune to put on a debut record. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day757.

It’s just all a bit much, isn’t it? Good musicians, fine songs but the only people that need multiple songs over 6 minutes on one album are Slint and John Coltrane.

late 60s early 70s Southern rock sound

Classic 70’s rock

Inoffensive. 2.8

Better than I expected. I rather liked the jam band aspect

Jazz rock from 1969, great horns Does anyone really know what time it is Beginnings Questions #67 and #68

I respect the talent etc. but not for me

it was tasty 4.5

Bluesy, jazzy, horny, jammy and a little prog rocky. This thing is everywhere and its awesome with the exception of the guitar/amp feedback song. My buddy asked if I could turn it off/down on that song.

So Chicago’s debut album is a double album, huh? That seems pretty bold of them. I’d say that this album is fine but not great at all. It ok.

So I mostly know Chicago from their shitty adult contemporary ballads from the 80's, so I was shocked by how good this was. And like it's surprisingly experimental in parts, too! Like the same band that released schlock "If You Leave Me Now" and "You're The Inspiration" have like a 7 minute guitar noise piece in the middle of their debut double album? I've been sleeping on early Chicago.

Now how many bands would have the confidence to put a noisy and not very good 6 minute distorted guitar solo in the middle of their album eh? That aside it’s a good funky listen.

Ahhhh good ol Chicago. One of those "second-life" bands; the ones that lose a vital member of the band, but then pivot to a different style and become even more commercially successful. [Genesis, Pink Floyd, AC/DC are the others that come to mind...] I'm pretty familiar with their early phase, songs like "25 or 6 to 4," and enjoy them, but I've never listened to a full Chicago album before. I wasn't expecting the jazziness here. That jazziness is fine; its more of a spice than a main ingredient. The performances are excellent, and I enjoy Lamm's singing quite a bit. The diversity of sound here really goes a long way to making the extended run time palatable. Terry Kath on lead guitar is another standout, and not just on his features. Very tasty player. Musically. This is good rock music featuring horns. It's cool, I just don't love it. THREE STARS

Mixed bag, It’s certainly never boring but they lose me when they go into long instrumentals or blues-y stuff.

First listen, but maybe not first listen. Chicago is one of my parents’ favorites. This was a fun album. As much as I like horns, they can be a bit much, at times.

Such an interesting debut album, very bold and ballsy but so long

First listen

Never heard of this band before. Really enjoyed listening to this. Deducted one mark for it being too long!

I tried, but quit on track 4. I have a personal hatred of his group thanks to my ex-husband. Probably unfair in my rating, I'll give it a 2 instead of the 1 I really want to give it, but I can't stand Peter Cetera's voice and I am not finishing this album.

3.5

I respected the musicianship whilst not being blown away. Then I saw I was only halfway through. Get an editor lads.

Gear: Focalman Cleardara Artwork: 🛑🔠💤 Production (50th Anniversary Remix): 🎧🛠️🤔 Music: 🎺🍷🤨 Rating: 🚦(🚦)/5

Bog standard 70's rock (yeah, i saw it was released in 69, but you lnow what i mean). Some fun guitars and a decent opener but really nothing to see here

Decent album but the free form guitar was not my style. 3 stars for me. I like I'm a man I like someday

I listened to this album in my new car, it was the first album I listened to in it and I will say, the musicianship really stood out here. All the little intricacies were on display and really showing the talent of this band. I need to hunt this one down on vinyl now.

I like Chicago. I like this album. I still could have done with less noodling at the end. If this album was 20 minutes shorter it would have been a lot better. 6/10.

side one - the audacity of having a song called “introduction” and then the album goes “does anybody really know what time it is?" which has two intros?! three intros?! my gawd. side two - listen. side three - even more audacity with "free form guitar". giving almost seven minutes to guitar wankery. insane. side four - sounds from the democratic national convention. jazz rock is cool. horns are cool. stop pretending it isn't.

DNF too many prog/jazzy albums in a row it can't go on like this.

Right mixed bag some excellent tracks some noodles and some bits of madness. Not a bad album in average.

Good, not great. Free Form Guitar brings it down, unfortunately.

Sooo close to giving this a 4 but there are a few killers bringing it down

Trumpets and a jazzy vibe for rock. Unexpectedly good

Chicago is one of those bands I’ve known by name since childhood. One of my friend’s mom used to say she didn’t like country music, or most rock bands that leaned in that direction, but she always claimed Chicago was one of the few bands with a “country twang” she could tolerate. Because of that, I never really paid attention to Chicago growing up, since it made me assume they probably just sucked. Now, over 30 years later, listening to this album, I honestly have no idea what she was talking about, because there is absolutely no country twang here at all. This is their debut album from 1969, so I can’t speak on where they went stylistically after this, but this is a great early example of progressive jazz rock, especially before many bands were doing it on the scale Chicago was. There’s also a strong blues and funk element running through this album, which adds to how adventurous it feels. What I really appreciated is the improvisational, extended jam energy, but without the band losing focus. Even when the songs stretch out, they still feel like they have a destination in mind and stay structurally grounded.

Mmm not sure how I feel about this. I think my main problem with this is the length. I felt like halfway through I understood what they were going for with this album and then there is still another 40 minutes left. Freeform guitar being seven minutes didn’t help either. However, I did like a lot that was on here, especially the first half, but again, this was too long and it became boring and repetitive in the end.

Considering that their biggest hits are often radio-friendly classics like “If You Leave Me Now” Chicago albums are often a bit surprising with how much more they have got going on. Personally, this wouldn’t have been the one I’d have picked for this list, but it’s a pretty good showcase, albeit suffering the curse of double albums (there’s an even better single album sitting somewhere in this double). It’s got some self-indulgent stretches, but it’s still a good showcase for their rock and brass pomp.

Not the best but I enjoyed the jazzy side to it

way better than i anticipated some real jams on this one uplifting, upbeat and very layered for it's time i could see this being extremely inspirational for the late 60s, it's gonna be up there merits the classic label that crazy 6 min feedback guitar solo, though I think 9/10 is fair I'll round up and grant it a 5/5

Remember when Chicago use to be cool?(The band, not the city). Back before they turned into a sterile 80s pop band(save for Stay The Night and its crazy ass music video), they were an actually cool jazz rock band. Going in, I’d heard some Chicago before, and knew that the late 60s early 70s were when they were at their peak, but not much else. After listening to it, I thought it was decently good, though I don’t necessarily have a ton to say about it. I thought that the instrumentation was really what made the album unique, since Chicago’s combination of big band and rock instrumentals hadn’t really been attempted too often before. I also thought Terry Kath’s guitar playing was impressive throughout the album, and really gave it more of an edge. Peter Cetera’s vocals were also pretty good. I don’t really feel much of a connection to this album or have too many gripping opinions on it, but the music isn’t bad. My standouts would probably be Questions 67 and 68, I’m A Man, Prologue/Someday and Liberation. Overall, a good album, not my favorite, but it’s at least enjoyable music. Now, does anybody really know what my next album is?

I don’t know if I got it on the wrong day or it really is just a slog to get through. Objectively, it’s good (except for that one “song”). Also objectively, it pisses me off.

Nearly a 4 but some tracks really brought it down for me

Amazing. Almost a 5 for me but it gets kind of a slog near the end and some tracks just don't land. I really want to give it a 5 but I think 4 is more reasonable and fair here

shocked by how great this is

Ich würde den anderen Alben vom Anfang gerne 2 Sterne geben weil ich dem hier auch 3 Sterne gebe.

I know what time it is. Time to turn this crap off.

8/10

Bit too bonkers/John Robins for me.

An excellent debut from this group. A jazz rock band with 5 or 6 top songs that covered AM n FM radio for years. Great horn section one of rocks great guitarist in Terry Kath. Great lyrics and vocals.

Made me feel like I need a top hat and cane walking to Hey Big Spender At what point do horns become too much horns?

Chicago is an example of a band that justifies Greatest Hits albums. 2 good songs cannot carry a full album. 2 stars or D+.

Good

I did think I’d enjoy this album, but it deteriorated the more I listened, so just a 2

Interesting album, not what I expected as Chicago's debut album. A lot of jazz, blues, and funk mixed with distorted rock guitars, an excellent brass section, and great percussion. A bit lengthy at times, and towards the end it leans a bit too far into extended jam sessions. Still, fun to listen to.

384/1089 here we go… this is gonna be interesting. the intro was nice but then i wasn’t expecting vocals so when they showed up in the second song, and pretty nicely too, i was shocked a little a couple good tracks to start then a couple decent ones followed by a random nasty 7min guitar solo in the middle??? I’m a Man has some familiar moments for sure this was good for the most part, it was a nice listen faves: beginnings, does anybody… 61/100

Really liked some parts, felt a bit too long

Bit long, bit drawn out in parts but ultimately these guys can jam. 7 / 10 Best track/s: Beginnings, Listen, I'm a Man

Jazz rock and blues rock built from punchy horn arrangements, bluesy guitars, organ, and soulful vocals feels like walking through a bustling city where every street corner hosts another band—but after a while they all begin to blur together. The album is undeniably ambitious and well played, yet for me its lengthy jams and constant flow of similar ideas became monotonous rather than immersive. Despite the stylistic range on paper, I found surprisingly little that left a lasting impression.

Not a bad listen.

Going into this, my knowledge of Chicago mainly consisted of their big singles from the 80s, most of which I can't stand. Imagine my surprise when I ended up loving this album! Rather than dull balladry, this is a wildly creative collection of proggy jazz-rock. A lot of prog rock can turn me off with pointless noodling, and while there is a lot of noodling, there's always something interesting going on with it. The guitar solos from Terry Kath in particular are excellent, and I would put them up with some of the best of this era. I also loved the contrast between the bluesy hard-nosed guitar tones and the bright enthusiastic horn section. The band's approach to arrangements, where each song has a consistent rhythm section for the other instruments to improvise on top of, appealed to me a lot, as it gave the solos a real sense of structure even without a specific progression. This is an absolute masterclass in genre-bending and songwriting and I'm glad I got over my skepticism to appreciate it.

This is the sort of guitar wankery I like

Buena representación de algo versátil, me encantó los momentos instrumentales, las letras y el ritmo que lleva el album

Amazing blending of vocals and the best horns section of any rock band.

It was ok. 3/5

This was an enjoyable album that I think would have been served better if they cut the length to about 40 minutes but the obsession with long albums in this era was pretty standard. I actually quite like free form guitar, as it’s cool to see how far back that screeching sound traces back. But yeah an enjoyable album that does tend to drag on a touch too long for me. But interesting concept of crossing the jazz/blues/rock. Lyrically a bit stale and not the most exciting and vocals that don’t completely have a wow factor.

Just some happening hepcats and it blows so hard

achei mid, mas tenho memórias boas de escutar chicago quando criança, eh isso ai

paia nao ser o album que tem IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW po, eh legalzinho, rockzinho daquele jeito. tô de bom humor hoje, já resolvi perrengue de editora que eu nem trabalho mais. botei de fundo, funcionou bem e eh isso aí -1 por conta da música de 7 minutos do mano estrangulando a guitarra dele. não é legal, muito menos agradável.

Increíble disco

It’s okay in small doses - I would say, however, that it’s sometimes too all over the place. Plus, it’s too goddamn long - I really don’t like it when records overstay their welcome

Freeformguitartrack is an extended bit of guitar and fx noise. It is an island of clarity amongst a sea of self-indulgent diarrhoea.

Very listenable

Pound for pound, one of most underrated bands in the ‘musicality proficiency’ categories.

I think I knew one song so not really the Chicago I know but not bad

This album is fun. Love that instrumentals

sounded like allman brothers with horns

5/10 repetetive abit annoying free from guitar made me wanna do van gogh to both my ears and scratch my brains out im a man was the only good song

Early Chicago is weirder and rocks harder than I would have ever thought. Does that mean they are great? - not necessarily. The young band seems to be doing everything it can to stretch this 12 track (but really 10 song) record into a double album- seemingly operating under the mindset that the longer the album the more impressive and grand it is. Vamping bluesy instrumental sections, adding extra long piano intros to their poppiest songs, and even tacking on a completely skull-numbing nearly 7 minute solo guitar feedback freakout which is very funny coming from a band whose speciality is tastefully combining horns and rock instrumentation. Enjoyable effort but they need to chill.

Mid

Really digging this, surprised this is their debut album - sounds like a mature sound. Fun horns, percussion, extended grooves. Big jazz influence. “Free Form Guitar” is real bad, just noise

Chicago's confident debut is a window into a rock and roll sound that would dominate the next two decades, albeit with a full brass section. There's some filler here that probably translated better into the band's live shows, but Chicago Transit Authority contains some of the bands fan favorites. Kath, Cetera, and (mostly) Lamm share vocals seamlessly. This multi-singer approach is something the band would become famous for until Cetera slowly takes the reins over the next decade, but that's a story for a different review. While a solid listen, the record flags during the second half of listening. Chicago Transit Authority was released as a Double-LP and would gain a full point with some editing that steered it toward a single album.

Very funky and i liked it quite a bit. Strong jimi hendrix vibes on a lot of the songs. Overall very good but the back half was noticeably weaker than the front half

It's fine, just not really what I'm into Feels like a precursor to ska somehow Listen was good. I liked the vocals and the instrumentation was fun Overall, just felt really long with not too many standouts

Well played and all, but the songs are kind of weak.

pretty good. free form guitar was horrible, which is coming from a huge guitar fan

Hmm, a jazzy, big band-ish bluesy soul mix-up. With extended jams too. Not too bad. With strong brass hooks it even feels disco adjacent in places, before going back into the more free-form jazzy arrangements After the first track it feels more traditional big band with soul inflection, less interesting for me. Listen has some interesting chord choices, like a movie track (Shaft?) There is a lot going on here, so many genres and sounds. Poem 58 is straight out funk. Well it was, now it's a kind of rock! Best track - Introduction, Listen, Poem 58 Gets more rocky and bluesy later on, more guitar work. 3.5 stars. Plenty interesting here but it didn't resonate with me

It's like Jimi Hendrix meets Miles Davis meets The Beatles. Great album overall

I hated this.

некоторые приятные но закралась мысль что надо мной смеются. некоторые бонкерз. послушала самые известные более поздние - это что за антидеконструкция…

[3/5] jazzy bluesy rock. melodies feel like an advertisement. confusing guitar track in the middle. 2.5. track notes: 1. big jazzy intro 2. boing boing piano. sounds like flaunting wares on the shopping channel 3. again giving "big reveal". in the beninging 4. predicting brainrot 5. little bit of a change up. i'm listening but not sure if i want to 6. menacing switchup into sneaky sly beat 7. wtaf is this 8. bog standard dumping but bluesy 9. wolf in the back? 10. splitting the intro into a separate track is good, they knew it was gonna be skipped 11. big piano x vegas energy 12. guitar sounding like my hot wheels. cinematic closer

This is like the incidental music for either a blaxploitation police procedural, a 60s light entertainment set in a busy office and the main character is a kooky 20-year-old girl in the big city, or a soap opera set in a Malibu country club. So self-indulgent, massively over-long and, worst of all, uninteresting. I didn’t think anyone could love the smell of their own farts more than Deep Purple, but I had never heard Chicago before.

Please no more brass. Trumpets and trombones are murdering me. Please, 1001, give me some synthesizers or something to keep me alive? A little shot of post-punk before I wither on the vine? I'm absolutely dying here. God, it's over 70 minutes? Of trumpets? Please, no! Let's take a sound that's only tolerable in small doses and make a double album of 6-minute tracks! A debut double album? Who do you think you are? Wikipedia says this is "jazz rock". What is that? Why would anyone do that? Oh, it looks like Chicago are one of only a dozen defunct and washed-up bands who ever tried to chalk that cheese. I wonder why? Oh God just let it end! It won't end! Every honk kills me a little more. Even the song titles piss me off. There's a nearly 7-minute track ominously titled Free Form Guitar and it's somehow even worse than what it threatens on the tin. South California Purples is the only track where the infernal chimera of "rock and roll band with horns" really works. A real day-ruining 1001 roll. To whoever picked this: rotten work, you monster.

I bought the Chicago V album from the mid 70s when I saw it reduced in a bin and thought "will give this a chance". I think I played it once. So I was not anticipating a good listen with this one...and God was I correct! We do seem to have to suffer a lot playing this game!! I couldn't stomach this long album (another double) in one sitting. The tracks were far too long and tedious. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" has the first minute sounding like a drunk piano tuner in the studio whereas the whole of "Free Form Guitar" is more like a group of young teenagers messing with the instruments they found after breaking into the same studio. Certainly an effort to get through this one. At some point I need to investigate why there was a short quote from the Beatles "I Am the Walrus" within "South California Purple" though?? The only song I knew was "I'm a Man" but from the earlier (and better) original version by the Spenser Davis Group. That one was around 3 minutes long rather than being drawn out to nearer 8 mins here. I'm sure the band thoroughly enjoyed making this album and, although sounding as self-indulgent as you can get with jazz/jazz-rock stuff, this was clearly successful and found a receptive audience. I'm not one of them.

Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for this record but after the lengthy introduction I initially thought maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Unfortunately like most prog rock bands Chicago took whatever was interesting and bearable and overinflated it all with absolute guff. I cannot fathom the misplaced confidence they must have to put out these long crappy tracks with just guitar mess everywhere. Guys just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Why is this so long? Were they paid by the minute? If you’re already spending more than an hour playing boring jam music why also spend 6 minutes just messing with an amp? noodly rubbish.

Great album. Could’ve done without the nearly 7 minutes of Free Form Guitar. That really disrupted the flow of the album. Everything else grooved really nicely.

Great horn section. And for a first album, this is a strong, ballsy effort for the time. I can think of other Chicago albums that should have made this list before this one. Still, it's a strong effort by a really talented band.

This is big music. Each song has a lot going on and is really coherent across the entire album. 4.

The musicianship and creativity are admirable here, as the band blurs lines between jazz rock, prog, and pop - moments of straightforward, kinda cheesy sounding songs and shreddy syncopated instrumental breaks. They’re not quite blended seamlessly, almost every song has moments I like and moments I dislike. It’s sprawling and a fairly impressive display. I enjoyed giving my attention to it, but also don’t really expect to be coming back to it often…idk, I’m kinda right at a 3.5 here - think I’ll give it a 3 for now and we’ll see if it can go up if I give it a few more spins.

beautifully loud, i loved the layered vocals on some of the tracks

I expected to enjoy this more. They could have shortened this down and achieved the same results.

I actually really hated this. Bits I kinda liked but far too self indulgent too the point it made me hate the bits I initially liked.

Great album. Brings back memories. Can you imagine… music made by real musicians? No computers, AI, no auto tune. The Dark Ages of modern music. I miss it.

interesting album ngl, it's like.. a diary if that makes sense, in the form of an album. seems like i was intruding someone's auditory archives or something. some were okay, some were fun, some were questionable.

Don’t really have anything to comment. Fine album

Chicago is one of the most 'accessible' prog groups. The album is full of great tunes and easy to re listen to.

I liked bits of it, but I also skipped the song Free Form Guitar because it noodles too much.

Nowhere near as grating as I thought it would be! A rousing 2 stars!

This was pretty early in their career so it's hard to fault this record for being a little meandering and unfocused to me. It's either rock that wants to be jazz or vice versa.

#402/1001. This was a positive surprise. Very funky and groovy. Then it turned out to be too long. But I had a totally different aural image what Chicago sounds like.

I know Chicago and currently have 11 songs liked by them on Spotify. These are mostly their late 60s to mid 70s radio hits. I have 3 songs liked by them on this album - "Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", and "Questions 67 and 68" - which are the the ones I remember from the radio when I was a little kid. Hoping to discover some new to me stuff by doing a deeper dive. Thoughts while listening 3 times ... Oh wow - this is a double album. That's pretty ballsy for a first release. May not be the best idea since most double albums have too much filler - but let's see. "Introduction" actually seems like a less impressive introduction to them. It's cool that "Beginnings" was their 2nd single. This is a nearly 8 minute song! With lots of horns! The extended intro jam in "Poem 58" is cool - guitar, bass and drums all crush it, then the horns come in around 5 minutes. "Free Form Guitar" is not an enjoyable listen. Sorry - I like Terry Kath's contributions to the Chicago sound and I know he is considered a great guitarist - but this is just nearly 7 minutes of self-absorbed wankery. This is double album filler personified right here. "South California Purples" is pretty good. "I'm a Man" - oh yeah - I remember this one. Can't remember if this is the version I am remembering or the one by Spencer Davis Group - but it's cool either way. "Prologue" is an excellent example of double album filler. There is no good reason for this 1 minute of crowd chanting sounds to be committed to vinyl. "Liberation" - more wankery that has some good parts but is not worth hearing again due to the many bad parts. This is 14.5 minutes of this. Once again a double album with very good songs that would have been great if it was just a single album. If they had kept just the 6 songs I have liked - it would be right at 41 minutes and be a perfect album. At least I got to add 3 "new to me" songs - "Poem 58", "Southern California Purples" and "I'm a Man". Liked songs on Spotify: 6/12 Rating: 3/5

Blends jazz, rock and prog but in such a way as to suck out the feeling. There’s the odd decent tune but what there is gets undermined by extended navel-gazing. It might have scraped a second star if it didn’t drone on for 78 over-indulgent minutes.

It started as an excellent album, but then... it almost gave me migraines.

There's nothing I love more than a 10-minute guitar solo, said me never.

Amazing!

nice

I found myself really enjoying it - especially the first two sides, which were more “groovy”; the second side was kind of a let down, but still a pleasant surprise.

Meh

I thought I was pretty familiar with Chicago's music but this surprised me. Some great stuff here.

Probably the best classic rock band at blending horns with rock guitar. Good for a first album but their best work was still ahead of them

Meh

Buen disco, eso para empezar. Tiene TEMAZOS como Introduction, Beginnings o Question 67 and 68, pero de repente te plantan un tema de 7 minutos del notas aporreando la guitarra. Creo que peca de querer hacer muchas cosas y abarcar demasiado, lo que hace que si no te sientas a escuchar el disco activamente se pueda hacer largo. Repetitivo desde luego no me ha parecido, ninguna canción para tranquila en ningún momento. Resumiendo, buen primer disco, pero me hubiera gustado más algo más cohesionado.

Creo que escuchándolo en otras condiciones (venimos de 27 discos de la misma época y ayer no tenía mucha gana de escuchar un disco de hora y pico) me hubiese entrado un poco mejor. En general me parece correcto, alguna canción me ha gustado bastante, como Begginings, pero 7 minutos y pico??? Concluyendo, me gusta el rollo, pero a la mitad de las canciones siento que les sobra la mitad.

El tipo de albumes que descubrir que hace que esta vaina merezca la pena. Does anybody know what time it is es un temazo. Eso si, creo que este disco me hubiese gustado mas si fuese intrumental (excepto Free form guitar que sobra de cualquier manera). Creo que la voz (o voces) no estan a la altura del resto de la banda. Poem 58 era perfecta hasta que empiezan a cantar. Un poquillo largo eso si.

I think this is a very strong album, except for the one freestyle guitar track... It just sounded like cars?

Yeppers. Fantastic.

Уникальный альбом, кажется немного вычурным из-за духовых, музыка очень приятная и интересная, звучит немного устарело, но альбом хорош, вернусь к нему ещё не раз, гитары, вокал, перкуссия прекрасны, но главное что песни потрясающие

The blend of jazz, soul & rock influences on this album are super interesting and keeps you guessing as the album takes you down tangent after tangent. I especially love the soulful brass sections and also the incredible end of the album that boasts ripping guitars, groovy basslines and all the energy in the world. What the fuck is Free Form Guitar though? The less said about that the better.

I was surprised by how much I like this! A double album for a debut is kind of crazy, and I think this might be one of those double albums that didn't *really* need to be one... But I like the jazz rock vibes and I had fun listening to this. It might not enter my regular rotation but it's got some solid songs and there's nothing I actively *don't* like about it (except maybe that last track) so 4 it is! I even like the experimentation on "Free Form Guitar", and I love that they were brave enough to put that on a debut. Really respect a band that can do both commercial and experimental in one go.

An enjoyable enough of a listen with plenty of talent on display. I just don’t feel compelled to revisit often. A decent record that's easy to appreciate, even if it doesn't fully click with me.

So this album took me on a ride indeed. I began listening to it in the afternoon doing errands and… it was a 2. No way. Too big band with electric guitar and cow bell. And track titles like “Questions 67 and 68” and “Poem 58” made me think they were WAY more interesting than they actually were, like a terrible date switcheroo Roxanne style (Cyrano de Bergerac). But then I decided to start over, clean state, and try again in the morning. By the time I hit the b side I was feeling far more impressed. Prologue and Someday August 29, 1968 from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago at least felt, perhaps, like they belonged, though this era’s desire to tie themselves into the “protest” whether they belong there or not gets exhausting. But then Liberation. I’ll call it the deconstruction and reconstitution of a band. What a great final track. What a great way to cap the choices from the Chicago protest before. So… 4 Boolean: True

8/10 The first thing to say about this record, is that it’s kind of unbelievable that it was released all the way back in 1969. That’s obviously on the cusp of the 70s, but this sounds so reminiscent of the sound that a lot of bands were beginning to explore a few years later and frankly, I wasn’t really expecting that from Chicago. There are chunks of Tower of Power, Frank Zappa, Weather Report and Steely Dan in here, and it’s a far cry from the band that would deliver hits like If You Leave Me Now and Hard To Say I’m Sorry in later years. They do have moments when they start to show flickers of the yacht rock style that they would become more known for, but the bulk of this record is a cool blend of jazz fusion, funk and psychedelic rock. What’s particularly interesting about the songwriting here is that often the band treat the vocals as either just another instrument, letting them sit nestled in the mix with the rest of the instrumentation, or only provide brief moments of vocal work, happily blasting through long instrumental sections with not a care in the world. And they’re a great instrumental band too. There’s clearly a great deal of skill across the band and when they get stuck in the pocket, the grooves just kick and flow in a beautifully organic way, jumping from full, funky rhythms to driven blues rock beats. They also do their best to give each instrumental player their moment to shine, with some outrageous bass lines, guitar work and even a drum solo that I thought was an exceptionally engaging piece of work. A rarity for a drum solo. It’s nice that they share the lead vocal around a bit too, as it gives a depth of flavour to the work, especially with the slightly more sparing use of vocal lines. There’s a huge amount of development in a lot of these songs, so while they are often long, there’s so much going on that they completely justify the runtime. But the overwhelming sensation I had from listening to this record was of how much fun it seemed like they were having. This is the sound of a group of great musicians just having a fantastic time, throwing in fills and riffs to entertain one another, and just playing their hearts out with massive smiles, and it times no doubt horrendous stank face, spread across their chops. Yes, as my dad predicted when this record came up, I did think it was a touch long and a tiny bit self-indulgent in places, and I could probably have done without Free Form Guitar, but other than those minor quibbles, this was an absolute blast, and it’ll definitely be getting a few more spins from me. Introduction - What a great start. I was expecting soft-rock, but this is jazz fusion stuff. There’s a dip into soft-rock here and there, but as part of a wider exploration of ideas, it works really well. There’s a hell of a lot stuffed into this track, and it entirely justifies a six and a half minute runtime. There’s some cool messing around with tempo and meter and some really, really good instrumental work. Things get a touch widdly in places, but then a new riff or motif pops out and they run away with that until they’re ready to give someone else a go at taking the lead. Solid. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is - Again, they move their way through sections with different flow and emphasis really well and there’s a great amount of swagger and fun to the performances. The vocal is a touch loungy, but set against the rest of the track, it works pretty well. The strolling bass line in a lot of this track is engaging and pulls the groove around nicely. It’s a proper finger-clicker of a track. I’m not in love with the spoken word vocal parts, which dominate the mix too much and don’t really add much, and the lead vocal is a little far back in the mix, but it’s another decent track. Beginnings - You can hear hints of the yacht-rock direction they would go in here, but it’s more rhythmically forward than that and there’s some good punch from the horn section, so it falls on the more musically interesting side of that line. There’s some very good drumming on this, which really kicks against the more relaxed feel of much of the rest of the track. I like the fact that they dedicate so much time to instrumental sections, but aren’t afraid to chuck little vocal hooks in as almost part of that instrumental mix, rather than being completely front an centre all of the time. Questions 67 And 68 - There’s a very 70s blaxploitation movie vibe about this intro, and then we drop into something more pop-rock, at least from the vocals, but the horns give it a bit more punch and interest. It’s quite melodically cheesy, but it works pretty well. Something about this kind of struggles to remain completely connected throughout. The instrumental sections are excellent, and there’s a really cool tempo change about half way through, but the vocal sections don’t completely gel with the mood and quality of those instrumental sections. It’s still pretty good though. Listen - There are some nice riffs in this, and it’s got a solid groove to the rhythm section. The vocal has a bit more bite and drive to it on this one, so the sound feels a bit more coherent. There’s some fun guitar work in the solo and then they start to go a bit off-piste with some slightly discordant stuff, before rolling back into the more coherent original structure. It’s all pretty enjoyable though. Poem 58 - Now we’re more on the rock side of the ledger. There’s good drive to this and some cool guitar and drum work throughout, with the bass acting as a nice, groovy anchor. This is quite roaming and self-indulgent, but it’s good fun and manages to keep hold of a head-bobbing groove throughout, despite all of the band giving it six nought. They’re a really tight unit, but with enough freedom to self express that it’s musically endearing and engaging, especially when they flip out of solos and drop back into a groove like it’s been rolling along the whole time. Quality. Free Form Guitar - Now this is a weird one. I’ve been digging some of the guitar work across the record and, while I’m all for a bit of experimentation, this feels quite out of place. It’s kind of like Terry Kath is trying to make the sound of a Harley Davidson revving through a tunnel with only his guitar, for large parts. And then the sound of a weird mechanical computer. This sounds exactly like the music of a man whose last words were "Don't worry about it ... Look, the clip is not even in it. What do you think I'm gonna do? Blow my brains out?" (which is genuinely true). It’s quite cool, but it’s too long and doesn’t fit with the rest of the record at all. Pretty audacious to actually open the second record with this! Haha. South California Purples - This is more of a slow jam, although there’s quite a lot of intensity to it despite that slower pace. The main riff is cool and weighty, and it’s really nicely backed up with the horns here and there too. There’s some fantastic organ playing on this one, and it’s got a cool mix of gritty and clean tones that give the sound an excellent depth. Loads of swagger to all of the playing here, and the guitar solo work is properly good. Later on, there’s a section that calls to mind Iron Man by Black Sabbath, such is the heft of the production. But it’s all still got groove and feel in spades. Another cracker of a track. I'm A Man - The way this shuffling groove builds at the beginning is really cool. It just sounds so fun and organic. This is a cover, but they definitely make it their own, with dirty, gritty guitar work, a rhythm section that punches the tempo and kicks it along, and a solid, engaging vocal that does what it needs to without dominating. There’s a brilliant drum solo in this that’s so musical in nature, while always holding down a consistent and engaging beat. A rare achievement, but this is actually a drum solo that feels completely justified. There’s some great guitar, organ and bass work in here, but this is all about Danny Seraphine holding the sticks. That being said, the rest of this slaps too. Excellent. Prologue, August 29, 1968 - Quite an interesting intro to the next song, using chants from the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago. Someday (August 29, 1968) - They roll into this quite slowly, but when it gets going, it’s got a decent groove. It perhaps falls slightly towards the soft-rock edge of the band, and as a result, there’s a bit less virtuosity and instrumental focus for much of the track. It’s pretty good, despite not leaning into that slightly safer direction and the vocal is well delivered. The instrumental highlight here is probably the bass, which roams all over the place in quite a fun way. Not the greatest track on the album, but not bad either. Liberation - Here comes the slightly self-indulgent 15 minute closer. It’s pretty good fun though, and nice to hear the band letting loose for a bit. There’s some great playing on here, some really funky sections and some solid grooves. The band are obviously very skilled and it’s nice to hear them playing freely and having fun in a less focused way. I’m not entirely sold on jam type songs on studio records, but this is pretty enjoyable for what it is and it’s a decent enough way to close out a record.

Fun listen but some unlikable tracks bring it down

Free form guitar c’est quoi ce bordel ?

Étonné du craquage, il dessert complètement l'album qui a de très bonnes musiques jusqu'aux solos expérimentaux. La dernière partie de l'album avec l'aspect live ne m'a pas convaincu non plus

The audacity to debut with a double album. The sheer gall to make it this good. Unfortunately, it has “Free Form Guitar”, so I cannot give it a 5

it's a lot weirder than i thought it would be. when i think of the band chicago, i think first of their 80s slop that has biased me against their music. there's some interesting, even political, stuff happening on this debut album. terry kath is possibly the most underrated guitarist in rock history, and he pushes sonic limits throughout the record. the really interesting thing chicago did in their early days was mix brass instruments, and they really shine on this album. overall, it's not going to go into my rotation, but i appreciate what CTA is doing

Yeah this is fairly fun. Proggy and jazz-fusion at its best, a little bit yachty in others.

"Freeform guitar" is, to put it charitably, highly unnecessary, otherwise the big band stuff is great

What strikes me first about this recording is that it FEELS like the band really enjoys playing with each other. They’re having a blast (intended). And for the most part the songs are pretty fun and have great parts. The guitarist goes a little long in the tooth sometimes and I could have used about half of Free Form Guitar, but dude can shred. I was also surprised to find that I already knew several songs from this album which I had just never attributed to THAT Chicago. I feel like they may have actually released this album under the band name Chicago Transit Authority originally which adds to the confusion. Anyway…decent.

Well, this was an interesting listen. A bit much for me, but a few good songs here and there, punctuated by furious masturbation on guitar.

peppy album, was enjoying it until I got to the guitar part.

Grew up listening to this album. It was an instant classic and remains so over a half century later.

Ok, not really my thing but easy to listen to

3 - decent

Not a big fan but they do have a few tunes that I like. I have to ask again what is the exact criteria to make this list?

This album was thick! If music was critiqued by how many individual notes per bar, this would have to be a perfect 5. There has always been something that intrigued me about Chicago, they're super unique and fantastic musicians, but I actually think their music is missing something. Maybe it's because the focus is on the maximalist approach and I value subtlety, but I just find it doesn't quick hit as hard as I want it too. That said, this album is so jam packed and impressive I still have to give it a high rating.

I apparently had no idea who Chicago was up until now. I always thought they played generic classic stadium rock similar to Boston. Is that assumption purely based on the fact that they both have US cities as their name? Maybe? I honestly don’t know. Anyways, this isn’t anything like Boston. The horns were incredibly funky and jazzy and the guitar playing was great throughout. There were also a ton of little experimental bits including a pretty awesome free form guitar freakout right in the middle that wouldn’t have felt out of place on a Butthole Surfers album 20 years later. Based on the reviews that track seems to be controversial and divisive in a similar way as Revolution 9 on the White Album. Speaking of the Beatles, I also enjoyed the little nod to I Am the Walrus on South California Purple. My only complaints are that they definitely got a little bit self indulgent at times and it went on a bit long. Had they reined it in on a few tracks, this could have been a really solid album. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this album.

I can certainly see why this band took off like they did. The proggy instrumental portions catch the attention of the music people, the syrupy pop lyrics and melodies work a lot and they don't hesitate to experiment. Throw in some catchy radio-friendly hits and you have a recipe for success.

Het heeft heel de dag opgestaan, het is een van mijn favoriete muziekgenres en toch kan ik me er weinig van herinneren. Klinkt goed, maar blijkbaar allesbehalve memorabel.

its fine, ze proberen echt speciale nieuwe dingen te doen, maar op de een of andere manier blijven ze nog steeds vrij bland klinken

Alors, c'était long, mais on voit pas le temps passer. Je m'attendais à une sorte de vieux rock de la fin des années 60, ce à quoi je ne m'étais pas du tout attendu, c'était les grosses influences jazz tout du long. Bon, ça reste une base purement rock (rien que la batterie suffit clairement à savoir de quel côté on se situe), mais les cuivres hyper énergiques donnent une dimension supplémentaire à Chicago, ce qui en fait un album vachement prenant et étonnamment encore frais. Par rapport à de nombreux albums des années 60 (y compris parmi les meilleurs, ce n'est pas exactement un défaut), je trouve que celui-ci a vraiment très bien vieilli. Ce sera une bonne note, pour sûr !

belle découverte.

I like it, but it is not a genre I love listening to

like chicago

Bits were great, especially first few songs, but it was too long and free form guitar was pointless.

Bang av

Before even listening I thought it was a ballsy move to release a double album as your debut. Then I read they did that with their first three albums! I was aware of Chicago having two very different sounds, as I knew their singles from the 60's and early 70's as well as their MOR hits from the mid 70's forward. I never gave them much thought, other than they were fine till they got way too pop in the 80's. This is an album I'd never heard before, and I was intrigued to give it a listen. I thought it started out very strong, with a cool initial band statement in Introduction, and then longer versions of songs I'd heard many times before but not like this. If they'd stopped at the end of side 2 I'd probably give this a solid 4.5 rating. For me things got much messier on the second record. I loved South California Purples, and liked Someday, but the rest felt so bloated and unnecessary. By middle of Liberation I was so ready for the thing to just be done. I still enjoyed listening, but what a much better album this could have been...

Im gonna get the criticisms out of the way first... The length is ridiculous. Now as ive said before, if its long but there is a reason to be long and quality in that length.. fine But when I have to listen to 7 straight minutes of someone making their guitar sound like a car, thats just a complete waste of everyone's time. Be experimental if you wish but make it sound good, that shit is just unbearable Its a shame because the rest of it is great, although it does become quite baggy after the guitar mess and loses the tightness of what came before. God, its coming to the end and there is a 15 min song thats dragging like feck. I genuinely want to like this more than they want me to like it I dunno man feels like a record made my two different bands

flamboyant

never heard the album before but knew the hits forever. Like them better as Chicago. Mix of good and clunkers. The hits stand up. "I'm A Man - has a great percussion solo and jam worth the listen

4/10

Virtuoso y explosivo por de más, es una locura lo bien que toca la banda y la precisión con la que lo hacen, como un reloj suizo hecho banda, que tengan bronces le agrega más capas de textura a las canciones que son temon tras temon. Podría clasificarlo como obra maestra pero para mí faltaron unas buenas letras, aunque el ante último tema toca un tópico interesante, las demás canciones hablan sobre amor o sobre ellos como banda de manera un poco banal, y también es un álbum muuuy largo, es pesado de escuchar por el mismo virtuosismo dé la banda y por cómo extienden todas las canciones, pero fuero de eso es un álbum excelente.

free form guitar ruined this for me :/

Picture yourself at the train station, you ask a stranger "Excuse me, do you have the time?" He gazes at you as he pretentiously replies "Do any of us really know, what time it is? "Haha, yea cool thats so deep...anyway if I could just get the time so I can get out of here?" "Oh sure, just let me ...*8 minutes of pretentious shredding*" Was really excited when I heard horns but unfortunately just felt like a mash of instrumententation. Most self indulgent record ive ever heard. Instrumental music that doesn't fit the song mixed with weak lyrical ideas that shouldnt have made it out of a highschool textbook. As a lover of prog music, Im sure this made a great influence to the bands I love, but thank god this isnt where the genre stayed.

Puh so Feuerrrr

3.5

Growing up in Chicago this music was pretty ubiquitous. I tend to take it for granted and not pay it much attention. Glad to hear this today and remember why it's so damn special.

This wasn't bad!

A very interesting album and very different from the expected Chicago sound. A wide range of styles that seem to indicate the band did not know what they wanted to be. Saying that I found the Cetera song quite boring. Lamm writes better IMHO. Beginnings, Listen are good.i have no clue what Free Form Guitar is for

had to skip that Guitar nonsense, other than that pretty good

Lots of hits or songs I’d recognized but didn’t realize was Chicago. Feedback song was unexpected

EPIC!

It'll be 4

Meh

Much more experimental and jazzy than I expected. Great production to boot. Faves: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, Questions 67 and 68, I'm a Man

I generally like Chicago. This had some great classic Chicago tracks, but overall it was a bit of a slog to get through. The tracks were all generally too long, and the album was for sure too long. Plus Free Form Guitar was just horrible to listen to. 2/5

Wow, the free form guitar is something else. Was rather enjoying the album up to that point

It was ok. The weird twist was interesting for sure.

Some interesting stuff, some noise

Prior to this listen, I would have likened myself a fan of Chicago. From start to finish, this album was way to experimental for me. Less than 10 minutes in, I was ready for it to be over, the piano on "The Beginning" seemingly surrounding me, as the lyrics reminded me, "it's only the beginning." When "Free Form Guitar" came along, I wondered why I had been so critical of the experimental piano. Absolute torture. Songs I enjoyed previously must have been radio edits, as I struggled to get through even the very familiar "Does Anybody...." "Questions 67 and 68" was enjoyable, but only a five minute reprieve from 76 and a half minutes of songs I hope I never hear again.

Chicago had a very eclectic sound for its first album. I can’t believe. Does anybody really know what time is was on their first ever album that just amazes me there were some songs that I didn’t really mess with but solid first performance. Chicago is a great band. Look forward to hearing more from them. 1969 had some great albums. This is one of them. You can tell they took some inspiration from the Beatles Sergeant Pepper. This album gets a 5 out of five. Excited how this band grows throughout time hopefully they’re back on the list or I will do a deep dive once I complete this project

Rock. Good. Not boring

Really enjoyed it. Good rock music.

Awful. I couldn't make it past the guitar solo. Ridiculous, indulgent, and horribly un-cool.

I got a fevah and the only curah is more free form guitah!

Nah

Ok, aber nicht der große Knaller. 2/5

This could not have sounded more opposite the mid-80s Peter Cetera power ballads album I was expecting…in fact 3 songs in I had to go to Wikipedia because surely this was not the same band. Nope - this is them. I spent the first 30 minutes trying to figure out what this was. Big band? Jazz? Backing soundtrack music to an early 70s crime drama? It soars in places. It also feels disorganized mess in others. What I did enjoy was the layered variety, complexity, and lengthy free flowing atmosphere created by several songs. On one listen I would not normally give this more than a 3 but I am going to be generous to encourage a revisit later. 4/5

Вообще не в курсе был, что они начинали с джаз-рока, ну на контрасте с той попсой, которую они делали позже это круто

Что-то на богатом и утомительном.

интересно звучит, думал между 3.5 и 4, но склоняюсь по итогу все таки к 3.5, другого ждал от chicago

Chicago’s debut is pretty good- they arrived fully loaded, with their signature blend of jazzy rock and kind of soul/funk inspirations. However, someone along the production line should have taught them the meaning of restraint. There are so many songs that are 6-8 minutes long for no reason, including ones with gaps in the middle that pick up with a totally different sound. Just… split the track. Two 4 minute songs is much more palatable than multiple 8 ones back to back. That has to be earned, and in a debut album, they had zero goodwill. A lot of people complain also about “Free Form Guitar” which is in the middle of the album- an unstructured 7 minute duration noise song. I think it should be praised for being ann early example of intentional noise music, EXCEPT that Hendrix did it in Monterrey 2 years earlier. The beginning to wild thing, and then afterwards- the famous “guitar sacrifice” where he rubbed the guitar against the amp creating space laser sounds and dissonant, noisy screeches. They definitely ripped him off here. The album resumes with their funky jazz rock immediately after. This is a hard album to rate. I want to like it, but the runtimes wear me down. It’s up and down in energy, and while I don’t expect an entire album to be banger after banger, this one has some duds, and when your duds are 7 minutes long, it detracts from my enjoyment of the studs. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

some cool guitar parts, but very long

These guys could groove before they sold their souls to make tepid soft rock garbage.

I think it's entirely too long, and as much as I value diversity, I find it to be a bit messy, but the highlights are strong enough for me to give it the 4-star bump on the 1001 website. 3.5/5

Mostly acceptable funk jam stuff. Trumpets a bit overbearing. Better than the soft rock bilge I was bracing myself for.

Not sure i needed to hear 7 minutes of screeching guitar feedback in the middle of this but the rest of this album was quite good.

Не слушал ранее их. Альбом просто великолепный. Очередное открытие. Отличный прогрессив-рок. Надо изучить поглубже их творчество

guitar 🎸

I don't even know who I thought Chicago (Transit Authority) was but this is the greatest thing I've ever heard

2.46

Not really sure if Chicago is an essential band. They're more like a "if you have the time check them out" kind of band. That being said they are worth checking out. The experimental shit on this album is pretty weird though. Favorite track: Beginnings

I listened but have nothing to contribute. Pretty bluesy with some funk

My kind of music.

The start of Chicago. Both historically significant and great to hear. Love the horns.

This album took me by surprise. It was not what I was expecting as it sounds different than the Chicago that I am familiar with. The tracks were heavy on the instrumentals. They were fun for a little bit but the songs themselves were lengthy. Perhaps too long. It made it difficult to listen without finding the need to skip to the next song after 4 minutes. Fav song - Beginnings or Poem 58.

I didn't finish the album but I did enjoy it. Not something that would be in many regular rotation but I loved all the instruments

I think this was quite a mood specific listen and there are some duds in here (Free form guitar takes the piss maybe) but actually enjoyed a fair amount. At first I thought I was listening to a blues album before it progressed (har) into more proggyness. High quality guitar, decent band, but I think the vocals could be better.

This is clearly pushing the boundaries of Jazz and merging it with the later styles of the 60s but for me it doesn't work.  I really struggled to connect with it as it had a lazy 60s pop song vibe with an excess of formal loud brass.  The only thing I liked was the drums (And occasional guitar solo) as they seemed to hang the absurd together by a thread and made parts of it enjoyable. From one song to the next was like the homecoming of the king, down the red carpet in some kind of fairytale jazz / pop ballad (trumpets all lifted in a line). Everytime I started connecting with the music another excessive brass interlude kicked in.  I suspect this is a taste thing as there is definately alot in this.  Not my jam and one that maybe has significance of the time but a little indulgent for my liking. p.s. "Free Form Guitar" sounds like a formula 1 race re-made through the medium of electric guitar.  Interesting Everytime I started connecting with the music another excessive brass interlude kicked in.  I suspect this is a taste thing as there is definately alot in this.  Not my jam and one that maybe has significance of the time but a little indulgent for my liking.

I listened to this album with conflicting feelings. It's got a great blend of blues and rock and roll. Some jazz thrown in too. The vocals are great and sound like Hendrix. This is obviously accomplished and good music. So why did I find the whole thing quite annoying? For a start, the length doesn't help. I've said it before but if you are going significantly above an hour, it really needs to be all killer and no filler. I'm not convinced that this album achieved this... But there is something else, something about the smooth horns mixed in with the electric organ (the most annoying of all instruments) that made the whole thing feel a bit like lift music. Lift music or music from the Sims, albeit juxtaposed with killer blues riffs and a great vocal performance. Overall just a bit too polished and with a "music students showing off" vibe for me to fully engage with, although I appreciate it's certainly not bad.

I like Chicago, the huge horn centric rock sound, Terry Katy sick guitarist, but this album has way too much meandering bullshit. I fear that will be the case for a lot of Chicago full-listens. Might not be the best song writers, but sound great most of the time.

Last time i was in Chicago the uber driver who picked me up from the airport was playing 'Beginnings' from this Chicago album. It was very Chicago. Almost suspiciously Chicago. Liked this alot. Fun maximalism. Restraint is a skill these guys don't have or need. Can't be a 5 because of a few too many overlong throwaways (and their huge cast feels dangerously collective-esque at times). Still, I wonder why Chicago isn't usually talked about as an all time great band. They've got the hits and originality. Maybe the public's appetite for horns is less robust than I'm thinking

What an absolute beast of a debut. Some forever tracks in here: Does Anybody Really Know, Questions The deeper cuts were either really well orchestrated tracks (I personally loved Introduction) or fucking hard rock jams (Poem 58). A little outrageous sometimes (Free Form Guitar), but I appreciate any Beatles reference (I Am The Walrus) Not a perfect album, but im rounding it up. Im glad they dropped the TA from their name 😂

I've talked about how awesome my middle school band teacher was. My high school band teacher was the exact opposite. Sweaty, angry (but not in a cool Whiplash kind of way), ill-fitting dress clothes, elastic back brace often worn outside of his shirt, where he would stuff his 20 ozer of Mt. Dew that he would take sips of between songs. This guy would take his own solos at our concerts, did a whole half-time show rendition at a basketball game of him and some other band kids banging on trash cans, and was reportedly spotted alone at the strip club 30 min outside of town that allowed 18+ entry, and attracted some more daring high school seniors than I. I only lasted one year under his tutelage - but in that year, we played Saturday in the Park and 25 or 6 to 4. It's really hard for me to separate Chicago from those memories of this terrible high school jazz band. This album actually rocks, thought it sounded like Hendrix and times and see that Jimi had very high praise for Terry Kath. That spring of freshmen year I played in the pit for the school musical, also under his conduction, and realized the choir and theater directors had their shit together much more than this dude, and the kids on stage looked alot less miserable - so that's what I did for the other three years.

It is a very out there album. Very cool and experimental, with a lot of interesting moments throughout. As in the rest of their discography, it lacks having more memorable moments across the album, but gotta value the uniqueness. 7/10 [KEEP]

I heard this album when it first came out. In my high school there were Chicago people and Elton John people and many in between, like a Venn diagram. There’s five great songs on this album with way too much indulgent noodling on various brass instruments. It was difficult to play the vinyl record because it would have two or three great songs at first and then 20 minutes of blaring trumpets.

Ummm Free Form Guitar was definitely a choice. I think the whole album could have been shortened by half an hour - it dragged on quite a bit

A pretty decent jam album. it blows me away that this is to me their best album as a straight through listen but it doesn't have any of their top songs on any streaming platform. It doesn't have as many catchy singles but songs like "beginnings" or "does anyone really know what time it is?" have that potential, but this album's use of samples, it's weirder experimental moments like "Free Form Guitar" or even the 14 minute closer "Liberation" showcase that this band was, first and foremost, a performing powerhouse first. They had the catchy radio singles in them but this is almost like an easier to listen to mahavishnu orchestra to me. Definitely a must listen for jazz fusion fans. The lightest but still deserving of 5's to this group.

could have easily trimmed 30 minutes of self-indulgent bullshit

Stunning record, in a period where jazz and rock met more on the rock end of things, this is a creative powerhouse of a debut record from a band that would go on to help define the 70’s and 80’s with finishing returns. Young men with guitars and horns, singing soulfully, and in some cases writing some with massive hooks. The energy jumps off of the stylus. 4.5

Introduction - 3 Does anybody really know what time it is? - 2 Beginnings - 2 Questions 67 and 68 - 3 Listen - 3 Poem 58 - 3 Free form guitar - 1 South california purples - 3 I'm a man - 4 Prologue, august 29, 1968 - na Someday (august 29, 1968) - 2 Liberation - 2

Introduction: Decent bits: the horns, the whatever they’re doing with the instrumental. The vocals weren’t great but most of it ended up being instrumental anyway. Does anybody really know what time it is genuinely sounded like a Mario level. I actually liked the vocals in this one. Going into Beginnings the album settled into itself. The cowbells were, a touch. The beginning of questions 67 and 68 is exactly the same as Panic! At the Discos Hallelujah. That’s what I love about this list. I discover the influences for songs I listen to anyway. Listen was really cool!! Loved how all the instruments came together. Loved poem 58! I have had quite a few unpleasant experiences going through this list, but Free Form Guitar was definitely one of the worst. I saw the name and thought it was going to be 6 minutes of awesome guitar. It was not. South California Purples was alright. Same with I’m a Man. Someday was actually great!! Favourite track on the album. Liberation was an awful surprise at the end being 13 minutes long. It wasn’t bad, it was just long and unexpected. 3/5 ⭐️. There was some genuinely great stuff in here but it was overshadowed by a lot of bits I didn’t enjoy. 133/1089

Rv

I've got a bit of a soft spot for Chicago's mix of soul, funk and rock. Are they consistently great? Nope, but they can punch out some great tunes. As a debut this is a strong album - it's got all their signature sounds, soulful vocals, weird time changes, whiteboy funk/soul and some blistering solos. It's pretty ballsy to start your recording career with a double album, but it paid off for this lot. Just remind them that cleaning guns after being awake for days from a drugs and booze binge and then pointing the gun to your head and pulling the trigger to show that it's not loaded (when it actually is) is not a good idea. Best Tracks: Beginnings; Questions 67 & 68; I'm a Man

Didn't realize Chicago was a jam band. Really good. Some songs sound nearly like the Allman Brothers. Maybe a bit too much horn, and Free Form Guitar wasn't great.

Should relisten to this. Didn’t like it a lot on my first go but the ideas were interesting.

1. "Beginnings" 2. "Questions 67 and 68" 3. "Listen"

Cheese

This is a lot cooler than the cheesy 70s soft rock that I thought Chicago was known for. The opener, Beginnings, Poem 58, South California Purples all have some really exciting moments. Unfortunately, even the cool songs here drag on for far too long and the stuff that I don't like as much is all just a little too much.

612/1001 2026.05.12 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

I like the concept of this album: two parts separated by “Free from Guitar,” with a few really strong tracks. Overall, though, it’s perhaps a bit too noisy and experimental for my taste. 6/10

⭐⭐⭐.49

This is absolutely full of bangers. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is, Questions 67 and 68, I'm a Man, and Someday (August 29, 1968) are all basically all-timers. The rest of this is extremely good, with one exception. I honestly couldn't stand Free Form Guitar, which is ~7 minutes of trying to make a guitar sound like a race car. Is the technical work cool? Yeah. Is it annoying? Extremely. I ended up skipping that song after a couple of minutes. Rest is absolutely worth it.

Jazz guitaro

Not for me. 1/5

This is a great first album I missed entirely until it arrived in my album for the day. It rips all the way through and I like 80pct of it, including the masterful free form guitar scream. It needs a few times to be fully appreciated.

White adult contemporary, the blueprint. It's amazing how they sounded like this on their debut, not 5 or more albums in, which is more traditionally when bands reach their stadium rock status.

Somehow way less than the sum of its parts. I should love this album, but it isn't doing it for me

Chooo Chooo Chooosing probably not to listen to this again, although much respect for the horns (guitar solo, not so much).

This is an absolute banger of an album. Genuinely loved it. Will listen again. High 3s.

The fuck are we doing as a society??? When did we start segregating big band and rock groups?! No more I say This is giving Tom Jones meets Cream or Hendrix and it's honestly fucking great. Every toe-tapping track (barring FFG) brought something new to the table and I listened on repeat all day.

Started off good and funky but tailed off. I thought I would have liked this a lot more.