Chicago - Chicago III
Columbia  (1971)
Soft Rock

In Verzameling
#7

0*
LP    23 tracks  (71:12) 
   01   Sing A Mean Tune Kid             09:15
   02   Loneliness Is Just A Word             02:37
   03   What Else Can I Say             03:14
   04   I Don't Want Your Money             04:46
   05   Travel Suite: Flight 602             02:44
   06   Travel Suite: Motorboat To Mars             01:30
   07   Travel Suite: Free             02:22
   08   Travel Suite: Free Country             05:39
   09   Travel Suite: At The Sunrise             02:47
   10   Travel Suite: Happy 'Cause I'm Coming Home             07:28
   11   Mother             04:30
   12   Lowdown             03:36
   13   An Hour In The Shower: A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast             01:57
   14   An Hour In The Shower: Off To Work             00:44
   15   An Hour In The Shower: Fallin' Out             00:49
   16   An Hour In The Shower: Dreamin' Home             00:55
   17   An Hour In The Shower: Morning Blues Again             01:04
   18   Elegy: When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow             01:02
   19   Elegy: Canon             01:05
   20   Elegy: Once Upon A Time....             02:32
   21   Elegy: Progress?             02:35
   22   Elegy: The Approaching Storm             06:26
   23   Man Vs. Man: The End             01:35
Persoonlijke Gegevens
Koppelingen Amazon UK
Details
UPC (streepjescode) 081227617325
Verpakking Jewel Case
SPARS DDD
Geluid Stereo
Medewerkers
Tekstschrijver Chicago
Opmerkingen
C2 30110 Chicago's third effort, much like the preceding two, was initially issued as a double LP, and is packed with a combination of extended jams as well as progressive and equally challenging pop songs. Their innovative sound was the result of augmenting the powerful rock & roll quartet with a three-piece brass section - the members of whom are all consummate soloists. Once again, the group couples that with material worthy of its formidable skills. In the wake of the band's earlier powerhouse successes, Chicago III has perhaps been unrightfully overshadowed. The bulk of the release consists of three multi-movement works: Robert Lamm's (keyboards/vocals) "Travel Suite," Terry Kath's (guitar/vocals) "An Hour in the Shower," and James Pankow's (trombone) ambitious and classically influenced "Elegy." While the long-player failed to produce any Top Ten hits, both Lamm's rocker "Free" - extracted from "Travel Suite" - as well as the infectious "Lowdown" respectively charted within the Top 40. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" opens the album with a nine-plus minute jam highlighting the impressive wah-wah-driven fretwork from Terry Kath (guitar/vocals) and some decidedly rousing syncopated punctuation from the horns. Lamm's highly underrated jazzy keyboard contributions are notable throughout the tune as he maneuvers Peter Cetera's (bass/vocals) bouncy basslines and the equally limber percussion of Danny Seraphine (drums). "What Else Can I Say" reveals much more of the band's fusion beyond that of strictly pop/rock. The supple and liberated waltz bops around the playful melody line and is further bolstered by one of the LP's most elegant brass arrangements as well as some equally opulent backing vocal harmonies. "I Don't Want Your Money" is a hard-hittin' Kath/Lamm rocker that packs a bluesy wallop lying somewhere between Canned Heat and the Electric Flag. Again, Kath's remarkably funkified and sweet-toned electric guitar work hammers the track home. Although "Travel Suite" is primarily a Lamm composition, both Seraphine's "Motorboat to Mars" drum solo and the acoustic experimental "Free Country" balance out the relatively straightforward movements. These include the aggressive "Free" and the decidedly more laid-back "At the Sunrise" and "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home." Kath's "An Hour in the Shower" reveals the guitarist's under-utilized melodic sense and craftsmanship. His husky lead vocals perfectly complement the engaging arrangements, which blend his formidable electric axe-wielding with some equally tasty acoustic rhythm licks. In much the same way that the Beatles did on the B-side medley from Abbey Road (1969), Chicago reveals its rare and inimitable vocal blend during the short "Dreaming Home" bridge. Chicago III concludes with Pankow's six-part magnum opus, "Elegy." Its beautiful complexity incorporates many of the same emotive elements as his "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" from their previous long-player. The ironically cacophonous and tongue-in-cheek "Progress" contains both comedic relief as well as an underlying social statement in the same vein as "Prologue, August 29, 1968" from Chicago Transit Authority (1969). The final two movements - "The Approaching Storm" and "Man vs. Man: The End" - are among the most involved, challenging, and definitive statements of jazz-rock fusion on the band's final double-disc studio effort. As pop music morphed into the mindless decadence that was the mid-'70s, Chicago abandoned its ambitiously arranged multifaceted epics, concentrating on more concise songcrafting. Originally issued as Columbia Records #C2-30110 in January 1971. Highest "Billboard" chart position: #2 Number of weeks in the "Billboard" charts: 63 weeks! Tracks 5-12: These are actually 8 movements for "Travel Suite" Tracks 13-17: These are actually 5 movements for "An Hour In The Shower" Tracks 18-23: These are actually 6 movements for "Elegy"