Essential Songs Of Chicago
While I'm not a super fan of Chicago, I do love a good rock n roll show. Live music is a passion and I also like to share it with friends, and since I'm seeing Chicago with my aunt, I chose them as my featured band for the week. I'm also a sucker for those ballads of the 80's so I have held dearly a few songs from Chicago over the years.
10. "Look Away" (Chicago 19)
This is an 80's song that I completely forgot about, which is surprising given my love for bombastic 80's ballads. Apparently this was even ranked as the #1 song of 1989 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. I like the subject matter too.
9. "Stay The Night" (Chicago 17)
While a decent song, this song is solely ranked among this list for it's music video. This video is awesome, and it's filmed like a mini action movie reminiscent of the opening sequence to Beverly Hills Cop, when Eddie Murphy is hanging off the back of a speeding truck. Peter Cetera already looked like a creep with his steel blue eyes but now that "creep factor" is raised to the max when he hangs onto multiple vehicles in an attempt to track down a woman. That's certainly dedication, though.
From the moment Chicago was announced to be performing here in Peoria for a concert in May, my aunt and I had talked about going. She's mentioned seeing them in the past and they're among here favorites, however we differed with on view on the band. I prefer the 80's ballads yet she prefers the music of their heyday in the 70's. As I always do when I house-sit for her each Spring, I took it upon myself to sample CD's from her music collection. One year was Fleetwood Mac, last year was Sting, this time I dug deep and played the first album from Chicago. This song from their debut when they were called The Chicago Transit Authority echoes emotions I've had in the past- believing a romantic relationship is more than it actually is. I also like it for the intro, which reminds me a lot of the music of Dream Theater, with that "epic" feeling to it.
7. "Dialogue Part 1 & 2" (Chicago V)
Maybe my aunt is right, Chicago's music of the 70's is where it's at. This song has a pretty awesome beat and interplay between two vocalists, Peter Cetera and Terry Kath with not just their vocals, but their bass and guitar as well.
Yet again, more Chicago of the 1970's. I like the progression of the song as it starts as a ballad and seems to focus on the bass and horn section with vocals by Peter Cetera, when around the 2:00 mark the band decides to go full-tilt and completely rock it out.
5. "Make Me Smile" (Chicago)
This song features a great vocal performance from Terry Kath, but also great work on the drums as well. This song does make me smile because of those awesome vocals with not just his singing but his "whooping" and howling, "oooh HO!" Three minutes is just not enough time for this song.\
I like the sharing of lead vocals by Peter Cetera and Bill Champlain, but the real highlight, like most of these songs is the instrumental portion when the band cuts loose. Though its subdued compared to many other songs, I still want to pump my fist when the horns kick in against the synths. I think my love of Dream Theater also came into play on this song. Plus the cheesy video with Peter Cetera barely playing a note and using his bass as more of a prop is a hoot.
3. "Old Days" (Chicago VIII)
Another gem I uncovered while going through my aunt's music collection. It instantly shot to the top of Chicago's songs upon my first listen. I think that's a monster guitar riff, yet the song also has great sentimental lyrics that reflect back on simpler times. Though I don't have a connection to "Howdy Doody", I can fill in the blank with shows from my childhood that I have fond memories of such as G.I. Joe and Thundercats.
While "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" is an awesome song and great ballad from the decade of the ballad, the real gem is the closing moments of the song. It drifts into a quiet piano section, which sounds like the song will fade out, only for the drums to kick in. Then the rest of the band joins in and it's on! That final section is killer and I wish it was given it's own song.
While this is a Chicago song, the first time I heard this was on a Local H sampler. They had a Danzig cover song, which I was most interested in hearing, but was surprised by this song. I later discovered the original and liked it so much that I never went back. I don't even think I have that sampler anymore, which is almost a shame, until I remember I never any other Local H music anyway. Chicago it is!
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