Chicago Transit Authority

CTA is great but CII is even greater. I saw the current lineup play most of it live in pristine sound quality a few years ago. At some point I think James Pankow had to come on the microphone to assure the more casual fans in the audience that the hits would be coming later.  Then after the show I heard some lady say that she wished they hadn't played "all that new stuff." And I just turned to my dad and exchanged a look with him because that "new stuff" she was complaining about was most all of Chicago II. Still funny to me, she had no idea.

CTA was such a ground breaking album in 69'. Even though other existing horn bands had released albums earlier than Chicago...the CTA album brought a different kind of energy to the forefront in creative Rock Music. For example.."Introduction " was one of a kind. It was incredibly impressive to people who heard it and definitely not what they expected.

Horn bands like Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Blood, Sweat, & Tears with Al Kooper were very good but it's important to acknowledge that their style of writing differed from early Chicago and that the CTA album changed the way in which composers began writing for horn bands from that point on. ..generally speaking.

The middle section of Questions 67 And 68 consisted of a driving drum beat and a 3 part horn arrangement that was absolutely epic and memorable...intimidating and impressionable. So impressionable that virtually unknown musicians began forming their own horn bands in hopes of sounding like Chicago. Additionally Chicago having 3 members singing lead vocals interested a lot of people because of its outright diversity in sound. They were major competition for several bands.

Hi,

Don't need much more Chicago than this one. 

I love the first seven Chicago albums and really like Chicago VIII. After that it was pretty dreadful...

I read that this album made an enormous impression on Robert Wyatt and was part of the motivation for turning Soft Machine into a 7-piece (i.e. adding a horn section) - such a shame this was not sustained.  'Introduction' could be Soft Machine or vice verse (including the lyrics - which also reminded me of Hatfield's 'Big Jobs' introduction to their first album...)

Terry Kath played on the first nine Chicago albums before his untimely death 44 years ago next week. For me, he was Chicago, along with sidemen Loughnane, Pankow, and Parazaider. The band has steadily gone downhill ever since, starting with the regrettable Hot Streets (1978) with replacement Donnie Dacus. Sure, the first few albums are the ones that truly deliver, accompanied by Chicago at Carnegie Hall. Their next tour, I've been told, will include openers Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. It's tempting to go out and get tickets in the hopes that the band will perform the more important works from their early history.

Edited by Rednight - January 18 2022 at 15:02

Terry Kath was a driving force for sure.