CHICAGO IX - GREATEST HITS

At first sight, this may appear to be a classic case of bad timing. Had the record company been a little more patient, the song which transformed Chicago from an admired jazz rock band to a household name, "If you leave me now" could have been included in this collection. Such an inclusion would undoubtedly have boosted sales of this collection enormously.

The foregoing can though be seen as a double edged sword, as that single also became the turning point for the band, who thereafter went in search of commercial success at the expense of what many saw as their artistic integrity. This set can therefore also be seen as marking the end of one era and the start of a new one, and to that extent was well timed.

We should note that the title here is "Greatest hits", not "The best of", and that is significant, especially when looking at Chicago's early years. Chicago did secure success in the singles chart early in their career, with songs such as "25 or 6 to 4", "Does anybody really know what time it is" and "Saturday in the park" making for superb jazz rock songs.

If we were compiling a "Best of" though, then this album would include more of the band's lengthier progressive pieces and suites which were scattered across the early double LP sets. None of the tracks here really capture that side of the band. Other notable omissions are the superb "I'm a man" and the highly accessible "Listen".

As "Greatest hits" collections go, this is an excellent set. Do not however assume that it offers anything like an accurate summary of what Chicago were all about during the period which justifies their admission to this site. Even in the early days, the band had a talent for recording potential hits.

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