Reviews (page 7 of 9)
Surprisingly cool
Need another pass. Way better than I expected though, legit good late 60’s rock
I don't know... 2.5/5
not bad
Yet another of those recordings made by skilled musicians, well crafted and produced, but so boring
Better then i expected. Not really my thing. I always want a band with a full horn section to do more.
Didn’t know they had this in them! Great psych feel on here.
There are plenty of things I like about this album: the multiple singer approach, the jazz and soul inflected rock, the guitar playing... They definitely have a very distinct, identifiable sound that I enjoy... but it's simply too long...far, far too long...
Clearly talented but overall a bit too jammy for me. My parents liked them, that's all I remember. I will say, "Free From Guitar" is completely out of left field and I can't imagine most people who like Chicago like it, but I dig the random noise track, very Hendrix. Can't believe it's over 6 mins long as well.
Déu n'hi dó amb el tour de force que suposa encaixar tot d'una l'estrena de Chicago (i com devia de ser per ells crear-la). I què diferent del que faria la banda quan Peter Cetera agafés les regnes. Aquí potents influències del jazz es barregen amb un rock majestàtic, amb elements també de r&b/soul. Complexe i difícil, i no sempre els experiments que intenten arriben a bon port, però al final, és un disc amb prou cos i temes com per ser tingut en compte
Fine album, some tracks go on far too long.
A cosy, pleasant enough listen with a nice big band sound, and I like the sax that pops up in most of the tracks. But as others have said before me, it's all just too much, the songs are almost all too long, and it is very self-indulgent. Just squeaks a 3, would've been edging close to a 4 if it was 20% shorter.
Could never quite work out what this album was meant to be, but was a decent listen
I liked some of the tracks a lot more than I thought I could with Chicago but there was a decent bit of sonic blues assault going on. The rest of the album not my thing but can appreciate it
It is quite an intriguing union of styles and sounds. The album has the heart of a rock album, which stands out on tracks like 'Listen', 'South California Purples' and 'Liberation', but there is a depth and a soulfulness there (i.e. 'Poem 58'), as well as an occasional pop-anthem vibe to some of the songs (i.e. 'Beginnings'), that make it feel a bit like a musical square peg. All told, the album is an enjoyable debut from a group of people that seem like they are really enjoying making music together, regardless of what genre people want to try and pack them into. Who would have thought at the time that these dudes would still be rocking and touring together half a century later!
I wanted to like this album, I really did. Parts of it are good. However, the album grinds to a fucking halt during the 10 minute long Free Form Guitar song, and it had already been a while since the album had any notable highlights. It's fine for albums to do experimental stuff, but that song does not fit in with the rest of what they're doing, and it is absolutely crucifying to listen to 3/5
This has a nice sunny sound that would have sounded fresh in 1969. The hits are great. The longer jams not so much. "Free Form Guitar" might sound better with Hallucinogenics – but I’d be worried about having a bad trip. “If You Leave Me Now” was in the distant future when they penned these songs.
A fun mixture of big band and rock instrumentation that provides an instant nostalgia shot. While the more anthemic nature of the LP means I don't see myself returning to all the tracks for easy listening, the album as a whole is a toe-tapping ride from start to finish.
way more brass band than I expected 3.5
4 star album if you cut the song lengths down by 2 minutes each and get rid of the guitar noise track
Free Form Guitar, oh yeah! South California Purples, cool. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, sounds familiar. It probably deserves a few more listens but for now it's a 3.
This album had some good parts but was uneven.
I have to say this got a bit tiresome towards the end, the 15 minute long song at the end could've done without. A mixed bag of enjoying some of the funky riffs and it becoming a bit samey
3.5
Ágætis byrjun hjá Chicago.
That horn-heavy Chicago sound. A fun listen but nothing really stood out...except was that where The Prodigy got that riff?
I didn't listen to all of it, jazzy stuff is not normally my thing, but I might try again sometime because I did like the rhythm of it
What an intro! Blue-sey, jazzy, full of horns, full of hope, full of keys and full of dreams. Do I know what time it is? Yeah, it's 25 or 6 to 4. This is a bnad that has really moved around the musical block. It's a good listen and I'd do it again.
Other than seeing its prog rock and other than most of the songs being really long because of this I know nothing… The album starts off with an introduction track, the song contains some brilliant “ horns”. The first part is much more lively then it goes into a slower “ jazzier” instrumental section ; only to briefly descend into madness then finally to go back to how it was before even bringing back the vocals. Does anybody really know what time it is is a shorter track for this album ( still 4 mins) it starts with a piano section then the horns come crashing in. It takes half the song for any vocals which is a shame but it’s still good when it gets there. Beginnings is nice it’s got a nice acoustic guitar in the mix which really brings the song together then it goes into madness with a great drumbeat and some good horns. The song is also probably the one with the most vocals in it which is good as well.The only problem is that the last minute is useless. Next up is questions 67 and 68 the instrumental kinda sounds like a grand intro to a game show. The song itself is really good I love the horns throughout alongside the crashing piano. A definite favourite so far. Happy to see on the wiki that this was released as a single ( although it didn’t seem to do well). Next is the song listen I liked the bass quite a bit especially at the start. It’s not a favourite, probably being the worst so far, but it’s just because of how good it’s been so far and shorter songs usually feel much worse on prog albums. After that swoops in poem 58 an 8 minute largely instrumental track, the guitars especially are really great on here it might only be me who feels this on here but something about the drums just feel a bit wrong and it does drag but of course it drags it’s a prog song! Free form guitar comes on with this really “droney” sound to it and drags for the whole hellish six minutes. I mean I like experimentation but not in this way if you know what i mean ( harder to listen to than revolution 9 by the Beatles). South California purples is a return to the normal sound but done in a slightly heavier fashion. The guitars are great, the horns are great but i’am kinda left wanting a different sound on those keyboards. My favourite part though has to be the build up on the chorus. The crashing symbols are cool and the stealing from the Beatles works nice. Closing off side 3 is i’am a man apparently it’s a cover so that’s cool it starts with a really good bass line where all the other instruments sorta circle around it making for one of the best build ups on here. My only issue is that the vocals could be a little louder in the mix. It does really drag at the 5 minute mark even if they build up on things again. Then starting off the last side is prologue, August 29 1968 it’s fine just an interlude that could’ve been merged as the intro to… Someday is a great song I like how it pulls out of the intro. It’s got the most poppier sounds and it is rather short but i’am happy for it’s existence as I was getting bored at this point. The album ends with liberation a 99% instrumental track. To be fair it’s not a great instrumental track at 14 minutes its way too long for its purpose and to be fair it only gets worse when it drops in what’s essentially a shorter repeat of free form guitar. It does go back to the main sound though and does add some limited vocals and the last minute or so is quite good. Man, after some time this got annoying! But what I liked I really liked so i’am in the middle here.
The last half of the album sounds like a random jam session
Solid
Chyba pierwszy raz spotykam sie z banda, jeszcze dziwniejsze. bo hamerykanska banda grajaca muzyke rokowo jazzowo popowa, zadziwiajaco zroznicowana jak na jeden krazek, ktory trwa jednak 76 minut, zespol podczas nagrywania albumu skladal sie z siedmiu czlonkow, wiec sporo instrumentow sie pojawia, jak to w jazzie talerzowanie, saksy, trumpety, do tego dochodzi trzech wokalistow, ktory rotacyjnie maja traki, ktore byly pisane glownie przez klawiszowca Lamma, ktory zadbal o popularne brzmienie zespolu, natomiast jego eksperymentalna strona lezy na barkach glownej gitary Terrego Katha, ktorego autorstwa jest introwy trak i free guitar form, ktory sam w sobie jest czyms unikalnym jak na lata 60 i album jazzowo rokowy, sama gitara podpieta pod ampa, ktora przez 6 minut jamuje tworzac jakies podwaliny pod noisowa muzyke, wiec dobry piczek, bo cos nowego czlowiek uslyszal, najbardziej zapadajacym w pamiec hajlajtem bedzie Kathowa solowka, a najbardziej popularnym traczkiem zostaje im a man, wiec oba utwory leca na plejke
Svänger. storbandigt.
poem 58 e a brincadeirinha com i am the walrus foram legais mas está longe de ser um dos lançamentos mais quentes daquele ano
I think largely because of Peter Cetera's 80s solo career, I assumed Chicago was some dull 1970s US soft rock band and had no need to investigate. Scratching at the surface with this album, it sounds like a lot of the 1960s rock music I like and wouldn't sound out of place in my record collection. I don't know if this is a typical Chicago album but there's some sweet guitar playing, and even some of the vocals sound Hendrix-like. Might need to listen to some more of this.
Not what I expected. Eclectic and yet still missed the mark for me. I must be more difficult to please than I thought.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: I’m a man
Chicago is another of those bands that I know very well by name, but couldn't have told you one of their songs. Looking through their catalog, I was surprised to find that actually "Saturday in the Park" was the only title I instantly recognized. But two minutes into "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" it suddenly became a song I knew! It seems Chicago is sometimes straight up jazz, sometimes a precursor to 80s easy listening, sometimes organ and electric guitar more fitting of the late 60s, sometimes a preview of 70s soul. Sometimes all at once, sometimes shifting in and out. And then... outta nowhere... the cacophonous experimental noise rock of "Free Form Guitar!?" What is going on here?? I don't think I would have guessed that this album was from 1969. I would have placed it in the late 70s or early 80s? Until "Someday," which is awesomely about the 1968 DNC protests. Overall, there is some really great surprising stuff on "Chicago Transit Authority." And also some stuff I really don't care for. This album leaves me with more questions than answers though. I still don't know what time it is, and I really want to know what questions 66 and 69 are, as well as poems 1-57. Or what genre this is.
How the hell is Introduction 6:30? That’s not an introduction. It’s like a drunk uncle that ambled, swerved, and fell up the stairs on the way to give a suuuuuuper awkward wedding reception speech about how the bride’s ex was more liked by the family. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? comes on and the cringe continues with the uncle adding that the ex is probably a better lay based on the vocals emanating from … and suddenly there are trumpets and the uncle loses his train of thought. Amazingly the uncle gathers himself and tells an entirely coherent story about how deep love made him feel long ago when he met hit late wife and how he can tell the bride feels that feeling and he admires the groom for making her feel that way. Applause ensues. “As I was walkin’ down the street one day…” that whole sound is fantastic! I love it. This album is the ultimate rollercoaster. I really like parts. Then there is shit like Free Form Guitar or the last minute of Beginnings … non-directional wastes of time. It’s frustrating. Im all for mixing jazz instrumentation with rock … the trumpet, bone, and sax with guitars and drums is great. Unfortunately it also came with jazz’s drunk uncle. This was a 4 sided, double LP. If this album were cut in half it could have been something truly amazing. Minus one star for each superfluous side.
Crazy to think that there was a time where you could have had such a band name as Chicago Transit Authority. Maybe this album simply isn’t truly indicative of their commercial success to date, but it’a hard to believe that this sound brought them success. Aside from an over abundance of horns and jamming, there are simply no real songs on this album. There seems to be a lack of a true concept or direction, with most of the fun being with the musicians rather than the listener. I would definitely have been sold on a live performance and the flawless production and musicianship truly saves it, but the jamming becomes irritating and the instrumental sections predictable. Sad to say that I wasn’t blown away as a whole.
Enjoyed this.
I liked most of it, I just got bored as a lot of the songs were too long with the instrumental solos.
One of the best albums of its era
Fängt fast zahm an, findet sich erst auch noch nicht so richtig, obwohl in Beginnings und Question schon gut die Richtung angedeutet wird. Wird dann noch bisschen anstrengend, aber dann, nach Free Form Guitar: wow, zwischenzeitlich schon crazy gut: Spielfreude und Freiheit, Polyrhythmen und MLK: Herr Ober, bringsiemir das gleiche wie dem Mann da! Gegen Ende wird dann der alte Zirkusgaul sogar für 14 Minuten zum Traben im Kreis durch die Manege geschickt. Danach ist er natürlich postorgasmisch lahm - aber auch glücklich, bis knapp an die 4!
Muchos guitarrazos por todos lados. Progresivo, denso, largo. A ratos me saturó aunque supongo no es problema de la banda sino del género. 3.5 estrellas que bajan a 3 porque no sé si lo quiero volver a escuchar.
I thought it was very interesting at points. Most of the time I was fan of the sounds dancing together. Other times, especially one of the guitar solos I thought was too much. Maybe I don't have the ear to listen and properly appreciate it. I thought it was just too much. Not for me.
Jai aime, un bon melange disntruments et ca sonne tres bien. 3.75
3.9 - Considering where Chicago ended up in the 80s, it was a surprise to hear where they began. 1968 finds Chicago fusing funk, jazz, rock and R&B, in a similar vein as Sly and the Family Stone and Funkadelic. It's a big and bold sound buttressed by horns and an expanded rhythm section. The studio mastery and high value production that characterizes Chicago's output is on full display. What distinguishes this record for me are the artistic risks, some successful, others not. The protest recordings on "Someday" are poignant and ground the album in its time and place. Conversely, there are some boring extended jams ("Liberation"). My biggest knock is with "Free Form Guitar" which sounds like it's trying to be the "Maggot Brain" of guitar feedback - just a silly, cacophonous jerkoff.
It was good, just couldn’t listen to it on repeat.
Didn't know what to expect from this, not knowing the band name offhand. Started off funky, OK, I like, then we got to "I'm a man" and it capped off a load of psych-funk/free-form that I wasn't expecting at all.
Nice horns. Cool mix of prog and easy listening. Production was good. I appreciated the Beatles reference.
Inventive, very much a product of its times (boogie bass), good horns, soulful vocals. A little tedious after a while.
not really for me. the music was cool. songs were so long
3/5
A bit of a mixed bag: On one hand, excellent tracks that are the very definition of classic rock (see I'm a Man); on the other, what seem to be live recording of wanking with guitars sessions (see Free Form Guitar).
Good.
Couple of great tracks, some seem indulgent
Some unexpectedly great guitar work. Little too long. Solid jazz rock. 6-7/10
Riktigt nice. Stökigt, jazzigt, rockigt. Lite steely dan-vibe.
Good music
Fun instrumentals. A fan
Pretty solid Jazz/Rock fusion album. However, I just wasn't really in the mood for it today. Worth revisiting another time when it might strike my fancy more, could easily see it being a 4.
Big Band Jazz meets Rock! It’s definitely a unique sound. Didn’t mind it, but probably just not my thing
Dit is heel anders dan de band Chicago. Dit is jazz ... maar niet mijn ding :-). Tenminste het begint allemaal heel jazzy. De rest van het album is ook erg soul en juist die stukken vind ik geweldig. Jammer dat een volgend nummer weer begint met piano-geneuzel zoals bij jazz. Of van die gitaarsolo's waar ik niet van houd. Gelukkig ook weer gewoon "middle of the road". Alles bij elkaar lekkere muziek met verschillende stijlen, voor ieder wat wils zou ik zeggen. Mijn favoriet is"Listen". ***
Esta muy bueno. Solo hay varias rolas de más de 6 minutos que debieron terminar en tres.
Who knew Chicago used to have a horn section!?!? Me, coz it keeps coming up this year. Still interesting to hear how much they changed from 60s to 80s and while I like the idea on paper it turned into a bit of a chore by the end of the album.
strong 3. Some great jazz rock, would get a 4 but the album is overly long and 'free form guitar' is pretty bad
Stanky Soft Rock. Some really cool tracks, and a few bland ones
Not bad, but don't think it's one I would listen to again
While I feel that this album was made by talented people, it really did nothing for me. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to put it on. I had moments where I really enjoyed the instrumentals and then the lead singer would pipe in, and I really was not a fan of his voice. This album kind of made me feel like I was listening to the Grateful Dead, like I needed to be zonked out and drunk to enjoy it. With peace and love of course.
Classic rock with jazzy/soul tones. It’s all very well written and performed, but this sort of thing doesn’t do much for me
Me encantó hasta que llegue a Free Form Guitar, se recupera en Someday. Mi muy favorita Beginnings
It starts off like a decent classic rock album, but ends like a mediocre one. 7.6/10
I had only heard the songs Chicago did in the 80s, song I just didn't like (too saccharine for me), and much later I heard a few of their earlier songs, which to me are notably better. I had not listened to this album before now, though. Definitely more rockin', soulful, political, and interesting as a listening experience than the song I heard on the radio in the 80s. Very much a reflection of late 60s rock/soul/pop and the cultural and political climate at that time, this helped me to view the band Chicago in a better light. A bit too dated for me now, and I don't have any personal memories associated with this music, so I doubt I'll listen to it again, but I can see why people would like it.
Not bad. Hacen un poquito de todo.
Als Hintergrundmusik 4 Sterne, zum aktiven Hinhören nur 2. Daher nur 3 Sterne. Erstaunlich seifig für 1969.
Ohh endlich mal 14-minütige Gitarrensongs zum Träumen. Liberation und Listen sind meine Favoriten auf dem Album, machen Laune! Konnte man alles entspannt durchhören. Manches allerdings für meinen Geschmack zu jazzig, einige Parts erinnert mich ein bisschen an Fahrstuhlmusik.
Ganz nett aber irgendwie etwas wirr von der Zusammensetzung.
false
3.5 some decent songs
Good
The debut Chicago album is a DOUBLE ALBUM?! And it's "only the beginning" (see what I did there?). Chicago is, without a doubt, very good at this kind of music. It's well-composed, well-performed, and well-paced. This is all undone by Side C's opener "Free Form Guitar" which rocks my socks. It totally breaks the flow of the album built up for the past 30-40 minutes by just experimenting with horrid guitar sounds and I love it. I wish more albums had a mid-point wake-up call. After that though it gets right back into it's normal groove and everything is alright again. I definitely feel that this is one of the better double albums, but it still ends up being too big for it's own good.
Ik vond het eigenlijk best wel tof, maar 5 kwartier was echt teveel van het goed. En dat nummer waar iemand 6,5 minuut met een verrote bladblazer bezig is? Wtf?
Is dit dezelfde Chicago als van 'Hard to say I'm sorry'? Jeetje, wat klinkt dit anders.
Strong start but loses me towards the second half of the album. Once the song part of Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? came on i really enjoyed it, but there was a lot of odd instrumentals throughout the album. Free Form Guitar was just jarring
too much brass for my tastes.....but i can see how this would have been super fresh in its day
I thought Chicago sounded like Journey... It's much better than than that, I liked the rock and the horns and the weird stuff
Zaczęło się spoko, ale nudy
Sometimes good, sometimes it drags on.
This could’ve been, and should’ve been two albums. There’s no reason for this to be an hour and fifteen
Some favorites, like the horn sections
Some sick riffs
best in small doses. more jamband than I was aware
More complexity in the music than I might have given it credit for. Not really my thing, and I think the lyrics are a little dull and trite.
1969. Horns! Jazzy. Fun.
High highs, but a couple too many free form tracks
Kinda corny of course, but love the horn section.
I've always liked Chicago, but I'd never heard their first album. It was a really interesting blend of everything that I've known of them, plus some throwbacks to the era which initially produced them. It wasn't a top tier album for me personally, but merited 3 stars.
Not Chicago’s best but an interesting no vocal sound
A couple of my favorite Chicago songs on here, and a surprising amount of heavy guitar wanking.
not bad
Love the innovation here even it gets weird at times
Tiring. 5.5/10 FT: Questions 67 and 68
could not get through it also did not find it cohesive
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.
I like Intro and Beginnings, will need to listen more. 2.7 Learned this is Chicago's debut album
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 - 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.
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
This shit sounds like my daughter's show choir competition.
Not for me. I didn’t like this.
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.
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.
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.
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
DNF too many prog/jazzy albums in a row it can't go on like this.
I know what time it is. Time to turn this crap off.
Bit too bonkers/John Robins for me.
Chicago is an example of a band that justifies Greatest Hits albums. 2 good songs cannot carry a full album. 2 stars or D+.
I did think I’d enjoy this album, but it deteriorated the more I listened, so just a 2
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
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
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.
I expected to enjoy this more. They could have shortened this down and achieved the same results.
It started as an excellent album, but then... it almost gave me migraines.
Meh
Meh
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.
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.
Free form guitar c’est quoi ce bordel ?
4/10
Meh
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
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.
Nah
Ok, aber nicht der große Knaller. 2/5
2.46
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.
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.
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]
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
could have easily trimmed 30 minutes of self-indulgent bullshit
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
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
Mostly OK although uncool until Free Form Guitar, which really stinks up the album. Even Nigel Tufnel wouldn't subject a Spinal Tap audience to a guitar solo this bad. The jazzed-up cover of I'm A Man is also much worse than the original. And the final track, the self-indulgent, solo-laden, masturbatory and ironically-titled Liberation, leaves me with a really bad taste in my ears. No thanks.
In snippets this is great. You’ll get a snatch of something genuinely great. Only to be absolutely ruined 10 seconds later.
i honestly can't think of a single song of theirs... but i feel like i know them? well clearly i don't actually know chicago cause this is not the sound i was expecting. i was probably confusing them for boston lol. this is bluesier than i was expecting. once again i am begging, BEGGING, musicians to understand the length of their songs. i don't actually care to listen to 7 minutes of free form guitar wailing. maybe that took significant skill? i don't know. and 14 minutes???? are you kidding me? i'd love to give points for the blues but this wasn't really the best of the blues either. 2/5
Not so sure about that. Upbeat album, but nothing stood out. More like 2.5
Not what I expected. Very jazzy rock, lots of instrumental segments and one of the mos annoying "songs" ever (Free Form Guitar). There are some parts that are enjoyable, but this listen-through was mostly me waitimg for it to be over...
The algorithm hates me. 9 albums in 5 have been jazz. Saw Chicargo thought might be alright. At least their is some singing. However still the tuneless playing. Song two Does Anybody Really Know starts with what sounds like a monkey playing the piano. Hold on we have an actual song. Praise the gods of music. Curates egg. Free Form Guitar is as bad as expected list of messing about and feed back. Why?
I was expecting something entirely different.
Clasico, pero no tan chido
eh
I only knew Chicago from their 80s hits which I never liked. I was hoping to like this version of the band much more, but I don't really
Not my thing.
This album is pretty listenable right up until the 7th track "Freeform Guitar" where it grinds to a halt. Who thought sticking a track that sounds like a car exhaust backfiring for 7 minutes in the middle of the album was a good idea?
2,2/5
I really do enjoy later Chicago but this was not enjoyable overall for me. Too much 60’s BS with organ solos and guitar tracks that really serve no purpose.
Bad suburban high school jazz band meets AOR meets absolute wank. If you have enough songs for your debut to be a double album, either get an editor or release two albums.
I liked some
Appreciate a song about time but not my jam overall.
Some good tunes here but a lot of self indulgence and filler.
Not a fan of these kinds of jazz blues rock with horns and this old style of singing. The highlight for me was actually the Free Form Guitar song.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is & Beginnings were pretty good. However, some tracks were just too long.
What an absolute mess of an album. At various points it offers some good blues rock, and as a historian I enjoyed the references to the 1968 Democratic convention on ‘Someday’. But basically every song is twice as long as it needs to be, and some really drag- Free Form Guitar is a genuinely offensive listen. A real mixed bag, even within songs.
Nope
Haven't heard this album before. For the first couple of songs I was actually quite hopeful. Then the random guitar feedback song started and the rest of the album after it was boring 2/5
Meh
What's with all the jazzy classics the past 2 days? I enjoyed yesterday's offering, but this did not compare. Some parts were OK, but mostly a bit too experimental for me.
y’a trop de choses qui se passent ça m’angoisse
Man, that was mostly boring. Kind of picked up in a few spots, but definitely would not choose to listen to this.
Another 16+ minute song. It was a fine listen but not a album I’ll go back to.
Didn't care for the buzzsaw solo in the middle.
Not for me. This is exactly the type of music I dislike, but the brass made it a tiny bit better. Sounds like lots of 70s US TV soundtracks.
I have always found Chicago to be kind of boring
First half of the album reminded me of a nice sunny day. The second half on the other hand was somehow draining and unpleasant. Unfortunately not an album for me.
Bit self indulgent. Enjoying smell of own farts too much. Quality musicianship. But too long for that reason. enjoyable at times. Same ballpark as Steely Dan. But Not as good Wont get a revisit
Not my cup of tea
I have a higher tolerance for fuzzed out psych garage guitar solos than most people, but this was tough even for me. A surprising debut from a band I associate more with super corny 70s radio rock, this album pairs fuzzy garage experiments with big brass riffs and soul/funk/jazz arrangements. Sometimes it works to create a kind of unique pop sound (heavy Abbey Road era Beatles with sax). The best bits are the countrified funk psych (I'm a man) but when they tighten up the sound gets really stressful and agitating but also bland (Someday). Sometimes they go full prog noodle experimental mode and while that was maybe interesting in 1969 (even then, not really) it really isn't in 2026. Favorite: South Carolina Purples, I'm a Man
Bit long winded but not bad
Evidently I thought I liked Chicago more than I do. This was a bit of a drag.
Jam bands just aren’t for me. I get that they’re all very talented but this is just way too much self indulgent noodling for my taste
I trust I’m not alone is imaging that Chicago was an epic soft rock in the style of Boston, Kansas, and Black Oak Arkansas. Maybe that’s what they are or become. The American geographical bands rarely make much impact outside America, so i don’t know. But I was pleasantly surprised by this odd mix of Blood, Swear, and Tears and King Crimson. Or the few moments of that across the record. In reality, The Rite of Spring style blasts at the end of Introduction should scupper the record long before we even get to Free Form Guitar, but, for the most part, the balance between syncopated groove and prog’s rhyming unisons - there must be a name for that - is well-maintained. If you like that sort of thing. It’s silly stuff, but well-realised silly stuff. Even the parping TV theme sections. 2.5 For the most part this sounds like a succession of themes for undoubtedly awful 1970s tv shows. Chicago can play, sure, but whatever life and inspiration is in the musicians and the songs is arranged and produced right out of them. M&S Collection Percussion Solo. M&S Luxury Guitar Solo. The horns sound pristine and plastic. In this context ‘Free Form Guitar’ can only sound like a puerile account of musical freedom; a sniggering waste of 7 minutes of the listener’s time, the point driven home by the actual sniggering at the outset of the track that follows. A day after listening to Are You Experienced this is all particularly galling. I hated every minute of this. Note: M&S actually have some very nice stuff, if I could afford to shop there I probably would. 1/5
It wasn't all terrible, but none of it was good
I like Chicago, they're really a great band. But they just hadn't really found their sound yet with CTA. It has some very interesting tracks, and it feels much more boundary-pushing than their later work, but it just isn't a great album. If it were shorter, cutting down some of the longer songs, I think this could be a solid album, but as it stands it's rather disappointing.
Boomer trash
Some noise
I can understand why some fans would think of this as the real Chicago, rather than the soft rock hits, and there are some good tunes here, even if they are stretched out to breaking point. However, I’d take the cheesy charm of If You Leave Me Now over the torturous Free Form Guitar or never-ending Liberation any day of the week.
I don’t have anything against it, but there wasn’t anytime I was glad I was listening either.
Jazz rock. Not a big fan. 2/5
etwas anstrengend das Album, die Länge hilft auch nicht. Vl ist es an einem anderen Tag besser, aber hat mich nicht abgeholt.
Hat erst ganz gut angefangen, war bei 4 Sternen, aber wurd dann immer unsäglicher. Dachte ich mir 3 Sterne sind okay, aber dann warens ja teilweise einfach nur gitarrenschwingen. Next
Favorite songs: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, Beginnings
Favourite song was track #11 and if i hadn't sworn I'd listen to every track on every album of this challenge, I would not have made it anywhere near track #11. Bloated and self important.
Not a Chicago fan.
The Chicago best hits album is one of my favorites, I was expecting to dig this…other than the songs I already knew I did not like any of this sadly.
There are certain bands that everyone knows from their big hits. They should stay that way.
This was far too jam-band-y for my taste. This felt very loosey goosey. I’m sure this would be pretty good live but not what I want from a studio album. 15 min track run time is crazy
Lengthy guitar solos.
Tried to get into this - I like AWB but felt just too jammy and unfocused for me to really enjoy it.
Weird
On paper I should love this, but it just falls flat for me. Stale, repetitive yet unpredictable. Bummer, I want to like this.
Very boring classic rock.
I knew the song "Does anybody know what time it is?" - good song. I didn't know the rest. It seems to go from jazzy/big-band to soul-filled and to some other styles. Some parts are piano-heavy and remind me of Ben Folds (I'm guessing he was a fan?). But some tracks are just too experimental and annoying (especially "Free Form Guitar" - that's hard to listen to). And some tracks are not quite that bad but still a little jammy for me.
God that went on for way too long
Probably there are some good aspects about that album but today every song is just noisy.
Maybe in a different mood I wood have enjoyed this album, but it just didn’t move me. The musicianship was incredible, and the songs well written (unlike KISS’s 1998 beg to be relevant album “Psycho Circus”) but didn’t ever grasp my attention. Maybe if I played it backwards for the Satanic messages…
Cool riffs..
I really hated this, but I had Brittney Spears yesterday so I’ll give them a bonus star for being an actual band.
Chicago is a band my husband has been trying to get me into for like 20 years... Still a pass
It my thing
My problem with Chicago is that despite the quality of musicianship, it often feels really soulless.
Parts were okay, but when I started to think that it would turn into jam session again and I'd get a bit annoyed again.
Too much noodling and not enough focused songwriting. Excellent technical performers but the album (and almost every song) overstays its welcome and becomes tedious and boring.
no idea what to expect here we gooo - ooh snazzy - brings you to another time, woo - everything was so cool and jazzy up until this point but i gotta admit not a fan of "Free Form Guitar" (so noisy and distorted- which i dont mind, but this sounds like a sound check gone wrong, first time i skipped a song halfway through in this challenge) all in all not really my vibe -
not bad, but not that good either. Something between jazz and pop
Only so much of this kitsch I could take.
There's a lot going on! Occasionally a bit too much. This must have sounded wild when it came out but now it feels like hot mess. If you take the guitar out it's the template for bland MOR. Probably sounded much, much better live and a bit looser. It's a shame Terry Kath didn't last long enough to find a band he fit with. All of Chicago's output seems very generously reviewed online
It's just ok
Too jazzy. Not my thing
one star for does anybody really know what time it is? and one star for i’m a man. experimental guitar too experimental
More type !! And fun shapes and key lines !! "Sit back and let us groove And let us work on you" - the groove-rock entered the ears, through the blood stream and manifested in some shimmy shimmy bopping while churning out the devil's agenda - rhymes with mud (no I'm not going to disrespect the word pub), ends with way. Some tracks quite experimental & not for me but I respect the mana. 'I'm a Man' makes me reflect that I've only heard one album by a woman so far, and this one is 10 men.
Музыка: 5/10 Разнообразие: 6/10 Тематика и вайб: 3/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 2/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 2/10 Итог: 3.6
It took me a moment to get over the complete surprise of this. I was expecting some soft rock, but got, erm, I’m not sure. Sounded like the band on a Saturday Night from the Royal Palladium Variety Show hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck. I was half expecting Michael bloody Buble to start singing. Oh God, we haven’t had Michael Buble yet on this list. Have I jinxed it by mentioning him? If he pops up it’s my fault. Sorry. Back to the album. It had some ok moments where they got a bit of a bluesy flow going. But it wasn’t for me. An extra star awarded because it wasn’t Michael Buble.
Hog butcher to the world. Extra star for Freeform Guitar, which is the perfect soundtrack for a sausage factory.
Dad music for dad people. If you took the Blood sweat and tears lp we heard already and made it blander and stretched it to a double debut LP (who does -that-?!?)*, this would be the result. *I know the Frankie Goes to Hollywood debut is also a 2xLp. Its also bloated.
Naming a band after a city? Dumb. What's next a band named Boston?
Just felt like boring white people jazz trying to be interesting
Smörigt, men cool låt ”Free form guitar”!
This is a bit of an odd one. There’s a solid album of pleasant enough jazzy soft rock here, but for some reason they decided to pad it out to a double by including some tracks recorded at and inspired by the infamous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago and an utterly bonkers improvised experimental guitar freak out that wouldn’t be out of place on a Hendrix album. File under “What were they thinking?”
# Playlist Track - Listen # Notes - The solo sessions in "Free Form Guitar" and "I'm a Man" are -2 stars. Easy. - The entire live thing is super boring, actually. - That's not to say that Chicago is a bad band, but boy, did they put out a bad album.
Good but not much thing
I liked "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Free Form Guitar"
This was everywhere in the 70’s. I always thought they were very overrated and this listen didn’t do anything to change that opinion. Most of the tracks play too long. I like some of the guitar jams on “I’m a Man” and “Poem 58”, but both play too long.
Rating: 1.8 This album started with so much potential, and then the Metal Machine Music song hit, and then the 14 minute “drag my balls across the guitar and see what comes out” song hit, and then I just started disassociating and wondering why I’m even doing this.
4/10
Ei muulloin kuin 60-luvulla olisi päästetty tuollaisia monen minuutin mittaisia sähkökitarantestailtu-interludeja levylle asti… annettakoon se siis anteeksi. Pitkin hampain. Koska on aivan liian pitkä levy. Ehkä kahessa ekassa biisissä jaksaa kuulijakin kiinnostua ideasta, sit homma leviää.
I thought I would like this more than I did. I like the hits of Chicago. This was long and kind of bland, with nothing that stuck out as catchy as any of their hits.
Started off feeling kind of chill and then just got annoying from the midpoint 🫠. Not my jam! Album rating: ⭐⭐
This album was another with undeniably talented musicians and sonically was good but it just dragged a bit for me. The brass was a bit fatiguing to listen to and tracks like “Free Form Guitar” “Liberation” just took up too much time. That being said the high points on this album were “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is”, “Questions 67 and 68” and “Someday”, and they were great songs. I’d give this one a 2.5 probably.
Until I read the Wikipedia entry I didn't connect this band to the band I know as Chicago. They sond very different and their later sound really shows how a band can evolve. There is nothing wrong with this album at all but it isn't something I would choose amongst other great music.
I was groovin at 1st, but the longer it went on, the more I grew to hate it. Free Form Guitar is the straw that broke the camels back with an explosion of fake, wannabe psychedelic guitar nonsense.
In between throwing everything including the kitchen sink at it, this wasn’t bad. Maybe one less extended posturing guitar solo
This was well done but so elaborate that it was hard to focus on. Who greenlit that awful guitar track??
I’m having trouble articulating exactly why, but this didn’t work for me. Maybe it’s the bloat, maybe the arrangements are too busy, maybe the melodies are underwhelming. I should probably give this album at least one more shot, but I simply do not want to.
I was liking this album until they started that awful screeching
Too much 'other stuff'
Lots of skill but I really didn’t enjoy it. The repetitive groove in Poem 58 made me want to chop my ears off. It’s followed by Free Form Guitar, which was even more painful. I guess I just don’t like this.
Just one big jam session with a couple of familiar songs sprinkled in.
Not a huge fan of this one, I was excited to listen to chicago as I remember seeing their logo everywhere when growing up. But I didn't find anything interesting to me in this album. I'll revisit it later and see if I wasn't paying attention
So before they were a soft-rock behemoth, Chicago was a tedious, meandering blues band. Got it.
Not really my thing but not entirely a wasted listen. Interesting in parts
I wrote a longer review earlier, but I restarted my computer and lost it and I don't care enough about this album to rewrite it. Blah blah boring blah blah free form guitar is weird and sucks blah blah 2 out of 5.
Not for me. Free Form Guitar is an apt track name and an utterly shite concept.
Felt like an hour and a half jam sesh. Free Form Guitar didn’t help. Highlights: Honestly, nothing really stood out. It was all very samey.
OK, there's a lot to hate here. That guitar track sounds like some corporate dudes listened to Pere Ubu once and cut this track in a single take and then went out to an expensive cafe to celebrate over Michelob Light and sandwiches. But no. My biggest complaint is with Does Anyone Really Know What Time it Is. I knew this song. I remember that particluar line from the chorus and the "I. WAS. WALK. ING. DOWN. THE. STREET. ONE. DAY" line and thought it was catchy enough. On a closer listen, this song sucks. First of all, much like the Fran Drescher film, "Beauty and the Beautician," it is pretty obvious that they came up with the title and then started writing the piece around it. The little narratives to get up to the chorus are super conttrived, and I don't know if I've heard a pair of lines as bloated as "A man came up to me and asked me / what the time was that was on my watch." Come on. That's like the moment in that terrible M. Night Shamalan movie about how the environment starts killing everyone and someone is on a train and asks "Is this the train to Princeton, New Jersey?" No human would ever ask that question that way. And the actual lyric in this song should be "A man came up and asked me what time it was." I had to restart the song to make sure that I heard how bad that line actually was. Then the chorus. OK, sure, I'll grant the double meaning here in the title question. Not mind blowing, but it's pop music, so I check my expectations a little, and this line works on its own. But the possible depth they find here is just annihilated by the backing singers blurting "I! DON'T! CARE! ABOUT! TIME!" in the background, like the song can't trust its own listeners with nuance. An interesting contemplation about time is to be found in "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" by Fairport Convention on this project. This song, however, is just some smug boomer thinking he's clever. Oh, and then it gets saccharine for no reason with that final line about "We all have time enough to CRY" or whatever. Yeah. true. Sometimes things are sad and time exists. And hold on to your hats, poets, but the final chorus changes CRY to DIE. Oh my god that's so deep. Also, this feels like it's now a mixed message. Time is elusive and I can transcend those other people who feel bound by its artificial constraints and... we're all going to die. Huh? I gave this album a second star because some of the extended instrumental parts were actually sort of fun. But this album managed to provide TWO of my least favorite single moments of this entire project so far, and I'm in the homestretch.
Unstrukturiertes Jazz und Bigband geklimpert ohne angenehme Passagen. Als Hotelbar Sound ok aber nicht wirklich gut.
Bien
Ugh! Hate this band. Hated them then, gave them a fresh listen and I totally dislike their sound now - right up there with BS&T and Herb Alpert.
I love Chicago, but not this album.
Fun but too much
My wife came into the room when Free Form Guitar was on and asked what this crap was.....
This has a lot of the elements of things I like, but it just doesn't come together into something that I enjoyed listening to. I think partly it's the horns, vocals, piano and guitar all fighting over the same couple of octaves and partly that the tracks are all a bit too long. I was very surprised to see this came out in 1969 though.
I like Chicago. They're super talented - but this is a bit self-indulgent for me. Any album that has a 7-minute long song title "Free Form Guitar" is going to get on my nerves a little bit.
Not really my cup of tea
Really didn’t like the bluesy stuff much at all, but I like Questions 67 and 68 a lot
I liked the music and songs, but I didn't really understand it as an album. It felt a bit long and not cohesive.
Im a huge fan of Peter Cetera sung power ballads but this version of Chicago is like the house band at locals’ favorite Italian restaurant in the suburbs.
A jazz rock album. It was okay. 2 out of 5.
I found it rather rudimentary for the most part and Free Form Guitar was a pointless addition. I particularly enjoyed Poem 58 and South California Purples, otherwise nothing really stood out. It’s not really what I associate with Chicago.
What a load of dreadful nonsense, in which sits one absolutely stonking song. Seriously, Questions 67 and 68 is like one of the best Wings-style songs you can imagine, and yet it sits next to the worst prog/jazz/rock fusion you could ever find. Someone should have put a stop to this.
The guitar solo song knocked this down to a 2 as it was the worst song out of all these albums combined. The rest of the album is nice and I liked the jazzy, big band feel for a rock album but the guitar solo really ruined it for me.
Today I decided to enter this Album with an open mind. Inspired from a reddit post I listened the first couple of songs trying to understand the essence of this music. And then this part happened. If you've listened to the album, you know what I mean. Noise, literal nonoise. No thanks.
you can’t be serious
My older siblings listened to this all the time. But feels so dated now
Not sure what to make of this one. Didn’t really grab me and think there was better music being made at that time.
Kudos to them for trying so many different genres. Shame that they failed at them all! There are parts of some songs that I liked, in particular the strong guitar work. The jazz stuff and the continued overuse of the horn section was cringey and when they seemed to be getting some good jam sessions going, it simply went on too long. I played this in the car with my wife and daughter and they both requested that we don’t listen to it on the way back! Hard to argue with that. Top track: I’m a man - a cover version, with no horns!
Thought I’d listened to this in the past, but clearly hadn’t as it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. My overriding thought was ‘ffs calm down a bit lads, and do you really need so much brass!?’. Fair play to them for being balls out experimental. However, the earlier jazzier stuff is dull and not my bag, the funk ones were OK in places, and while the more jam style numbers were theoretically up my street (with an obviously talented guitarist and bassist) the songs were so all over the place it never really hit a groove you felt they had well within their locker. All in all a bit disappointing really, with no song standing out at all (other than making me think the more recent excellent Ty Segall cover of ‘I’m a man’ may owe more to this version than the original). C-, could do better.
Som en inkarnert Chicago hater var jeg overrasket over, at denne ikke gjorde mig mere hidsig. Det var jam shit men lød egentligt ikke dårligt. Alt for lang, ikke særligt interessant, men inoffensive
Lyder rigtig meget som nogen af de live albums vi har haft fra den æra men uden at være live (negativt). Nogen gange groovy, alt alt for langt. Måske jeg bare ikke var i humør til det.
This felt very long. It grooved a lot at times, but then the freedom guitar jazz thing came and broke my ears..
12 songs 1 hour, 16 minutes. I've never listened to an album by Chicago. That's probably because I can't stand any song I've ever heard on the radio by Chicago. Chicago Transit Authority did little to change that. Most of this album comes across as pretentious and precious. I don't understand the popularity of this band at all. BUT. BUT there are at least 2 very, very noisy jam sessions that I dug a LOT! I'm talking noise like Eruption by Van Halen. Or Noise like Sonic Youth.- good stuff. I bet it was hated in 1968 2 stars for the noise and noise only
these guys would call the cops if you offered them a joint
Really enjoyed the first 3 songs and then it just dropped off a cliff for me. Sad
This was too jazzy and too long for my liking. When I think of Chicago, I think of them from the 80s. It was interesting listening to their older material.
The long instrumentals aren’t that interesting to me. It’s technically impressive (not that I know how difficult it is to perform), but does not capture my interest
Another goddamned double album! They're like catnip to these critics! The guitar solo is pretty good on Introduction, and I am a fan of horn sections in general, but this is like a cross between Santana and Al Stewart. There's too much horn on some of these songs. There was a chance for Chicago to rock, Poem 58 proves it. Free Form Guitar is terrible, but I bet Eddie Van Halen listened to it and thought, I can do this but good. They changed their name from Chicago Transit Authority to Chicago because they were afraid of getting sued. Nothing but losers on both sides of that threat, god forbid they besmirch the good name of a public transit authority. On the songs without the horns, I'd have a hard time not guessing this was Santana. The guitar style, the electric piano, the general vibe are all very much of that style. The 1968 Democratic Convention chanting is so dumb. As a kid, i thought political bands stood for something. Now it all just feels like a marketing gimmick. I could see the Beastie Boys being into this album. The first half of Liberation is good but it goes off the rails at about 10 minutes, just a lot of random instrument noise. Yes, you use a lot of instruments. No you do not need to make random noises with all of them for 90 seconds. Not a strong ending for not a strong album.
Честно сказать, всё мимо. Лучшая песня - Questions 67 and 68.
I liked Poem 58 and Liberation but most of the songs were not for me. The earlier tracks sounded like the outro music for 70s sit-coms and some of the later ones were a bit self-indulgent.
La puta canción de 7 minutos con la guitarra infernal me mató, lo siento.
2 stars for the horns
This might be good music, but it was also so freaking cheesy. The horns drove me crazy I did not want to listen to this album
I couldn't figure out what occasion this music fits with...even music I don't like, I can find a use for...for example, I noted earlier that Steely Dan was great music for buying a terrific pair of slacks. Some music is good for ignoring even...but I couldn't figure out what Chicago is for. I did think Poem 58 was a good jam.
Un band ultra surévalué selon moi. Tellement de bruit pour des compositions tellement peu inspirées. Les cuivres au début apportent de quoi d'intéressant, mais ça ne prend pas de temps que la durée inutilement longue des chansons, l'aspect répétitif d'une pièce à l'autre et les hurlements des instruments deviennent vraiment énervant. Il y a au moins 30 minutes de gras à couper sur cet album. 3/10
I'm a Man
Lots of horns and jam band vibes