We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
It was the first #1 LP for the band from the Windy City who had made it their trademark to release double-albums the first four times around, full of long, jammy tracks. This one was more compact…a single record filled with pop-rock-jazz goodness in shorter forms. It was Chicago V.
The album starts with an interesting track called “A Hit By Varese”. Nominally a nod to French composer Edgar Varese, it takes the band in a different direction. As one critic wrote, “it seems to be inspired more by Emerson, Lake and Palmer or Yes, than by it’s namesake.” I can hear that.
Keyboardist Robert Lamm wrote most of the songs on this one although he shares vocal duties with Peter Cetera and Terry Kath.
The hits include the iconic ‘Saturday In The Park” and “Dialogue” (an imaginary conversation between a progressive and a naive student) filled with Kath’s jangly guitar and Cetera’s thumping bass.
The horns get a workout too…in James Pankow’s song “Now That You’re Gone” (Walter Parazaider has a nice sax solo) and Lamm’s “Goodbye” (with Lee Loughnane soloing on trumpet).
Kath delivers a smoking guitar workout on “While The City Sleeps” and Danny Seraphine is still delivering tasty drum fills all over the place.
This album spent nine weeks at #1 in the summer of 72. There’s lots to like.
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