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Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority Audio CD

A fair review of the Chicago "Chicago Transit Authority" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Chicago reviews here, or go back to the Chicago tabs.

Band: Chicago
Title: Chicago Transit Authority
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-07-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Introduction 2: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? 3: Beginnings 4: Questions 67 And 68 5: Listen 6: Poem 58 7: Free Form Guitar 8: South California Purples 9: I'm A Man 10: Prologue, August 29, 1968 11: Someday (August 29, 1968) 12: Liberation

Only the beginning...
Switching tempo and melody and with trumpet and guitar solos this song is a wonderful sampler of the then new awesom Chicago sound. Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago Transit Authority (5 stars)
Original Release: April 28, 1969

Songs:

Introduction (4 stars)
Chicago introduces themselves lyrically and musically with a stately groove.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (4 stars)
Starts with free form piano solo which turns with horns into a catchy swing time melody. Like "A Day In the Life" by The Beatles and "Lunch Break: Peak Hour" by The Moody Blues the lyrics question the values behind the struggles of everyday life but here with, perhaps, a stronger dose of 60s protest perspective. This pop tune is but one example of the many great pop tunes that Chicago would make with the sound captured previously by The Beatles "Got To Get You Into My Life".

Beginnings (5 stars)
Strumming guitar sets the pace and anticipation seems ever present until this song resolves into its long, glorious progressive jam. Horn solos, percussion gradually added, then the chorus:

It's only the beginning
Of what I want to feel forever

The song dissolves into a percussion after party. . . awesome! One of the best celebratory songs ever made. For me this song is symbolic of the development of progressive rock at the time out of the great changes that pop and rock were going through which are, in turn, symbolized to a great extent by The Beatles (whose song "In The End" from the same year compliments this Chicago tune in my mind even as it signals the end of their influence as a band on the same music scene).

Questions 67 and 68 (4 stars)
A fanfare openning with the guitar climbing up and around the horns. Another great stately groove with the piano marking time. A great horn section solo through the middle of this song. The whole song seems like a kind of prose poetry love song.

Listen (4 stars)
Long, long guitar note starts this one. Then the funky bass line, hard rocking guitar and more great horns.

Poem 58 (3 stars)
Oddly shaped song starts with a guitar strumming to set the pace. Then an extende guitar solo which is melodic enough to keep my interest. I find long improvisation jams to loose musical value to my ear over time, but this song narrowly escapes that. Also, this may be due to the fact that the song changes gears half way through into a sassy guitar with horns thing. A song that first seems like it will be a pure instrumental finds some vocals. Overall this is some kind of awkward but interesting guitar poem.

Free Form Guitar (2 stars)
Inventive guitar feedback, but not something I enjoy for 6+ minutes. This song would go down better for me if it were contained in a more musically pallatable context.

South California Purples (4 stars)
Super cool bluesy rock with a hard enough guitar riff to get me going. Commanding horns tell the story in no uncertain terms. Chicago sneaks in a brief Beatles melody followed by a riff that could have been heard in a Black Sabbath concert. Then they wrap up with this awesome song's great head-bopping melody.

I'm A Man (4 stars)
Percussion instruments come in first this time, us guys like to hit things together. I'm not too familiar with the original version of this song, but I definitely like this Chicago version of the ultimate "man song". Great drum solo in the middle and great guitar too.

Someday (4 stars)

Prologue, August 29, 1968
Recording of a crowd in protest

Someday (August 29, 1968)
Hopeful message in the midst of political turmoil; great sense of the activism of the day through horns that herald either war or peace. . . you decide.

Liberation (3 stars)
I love how this song starts out but it moves through most of its 14 minutes with a jam session that is more jam than melodic. Perhaps this kind of music is better appreciated on the live stage. After the chaos and war section there is a nice recovery of hopeful horns which builds momentum towards the climax. Almost there is a reprise and I think a full reprise would have helped me appreciate this song more. Still great musicians and a great band make this song interesting.

Album:
Whoa! At the dawn of the age of progressive rock we have a band that incorporated many of the instruments of the orchestra into its regular line up. I know of no other band like Chicago. Besides great songs, the variety of songwriters make this album a rich source of pop, rock and progressive music.

MP3 recommendation:

Essential (5 stars)
1. Beginnings (5 stars)

If you got one song off of this CD it should be this one. A beautiful tribute to love and hope and peace and/or whatever you want in your life.

Chicago Transit Authority 1. 5 (4. 13 stars)
1. Introduction (4 stars)
2. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (4 stars)
3. Beginnings (5 stars)
4. Questions 67 and 68 (4 stars)
5. Listen (4 stars)
6. South California Purples (4 stars)
7. I'm A Man (4 stars)
8. Prologue, August 29, 1968 (4 stars)
Someday (August 29, 1968)

You'll need something to relax you after listening to this much musical energy, but maybe you could get a good workout out of it as well. If you love this music as much as I do you should probably purchase the entire album. But here is my recommendation of the best that still runs the length of about 1-1/2 albums from that era.
.

The first Chicago album is still a masterpiece 40 years after its initial release

The group that would be known as Chicago Transit Authority started as The Missing Links then changed its name to The Music Foundation before changing to The Big Thing (either that or The Big Sounds as some night club owners outside of the Chicago, Illinois ares didn't like the double entendre the name also alluded to (The Big Thing could also be a slang for pen*s)) which included woodwind expert Walt Parazaider, singer/songwriter/guitarist Terry Kath (whom played in Dick Clark's Traveling Cavalcade of Stars in 1963 with Walt) plus trombonist Jimmy Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughaine, keyboard player/singer/songwriter Robert Lamm and drummer Danny Seraphaine. Chicago released its debut album (a double album I may add) as Chicago Transit Authority in April of 1969. The last member to join was singer/bass player/songwriter Peter Cetera. Then with producer/manager William James Guercio (who played bass in the Dick Clark band with Terry and Walt) changed the group name to Chicago Transit Authority and got the group signed to Columbia Records and recorded its classic debut.
We begin with "Introduction" which introduces CTA to the world. It's an almost biographical number written and sung by Kath telling all who Chicago is and what they're all about. The solos on this track are phenomenal with Pankow, Loughaine and Kath each soloing on trombone, trumpet and guitar like no tomorrow. Lamm's piano skills are featured in the intro to "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" which then turned into a great song to this day and one of Chicago's biggest hits. "Beginnings" ended the first side and was Lamm's tribute to folk artist Richie Havens (whom inspired Lamm to write this track) and a great song.
The album's second half started with "Questions 67 and 68" which saw Cetera's tenor as a perfect counterpoint to Lamm and Kath's baritone voices plus the horns are superb here. We follow with an excellent rocker from Kath called "Listen". What a song. The first LP ended with "Poem 58" which starts as a stellar guitar/bass/drums jam with Kath playing like he was a Roman candle about to explode before turning into a stellar vocal from Lamm which is a great love song.
The second LP started with "Free Form Guitar" which is six minutes of Kath, a guitar, an amp and noise. This solo proved the theory that Jimi Hendrix stated to Parazaider and Guercio that Terry was a much better guitarist than he. "South California Purples" is next and a killer straight-ahead bluesy rocker featuring Lamm's impressive skills on the Hammond organ and vocals and Kath playing like a man possessed. Chicago's cover of The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man" (with an impressive Seraphine drum solo) is jawdropping with Kath, Cetera and Lamm all trading lead vocals in different verses. What a cover and trumps the original IMHO.
The "Prologue" was recorded at the Democratic National Convention on August 29, 1968 at the riots that were recorded that night. "Someday" follows and was the band's political commentary on changing world in 1968/69 and inspired by the riots at that convention and also the Richard Nixon administration was starting at the time this album was recorded. We close this classic double album with "Liberation" which is a 14-minute based guitar jam. This track was recorded with no overdubs and a great closer.
Chicago Transit Authority reached #17 in 1969 and went Gold in its first year od release and eventually went Double Platinum on strength of the music despite no singles did well in its initial run. Chicago Transit Authority proved Chicago would be in for the long haul (especially this stellar remastered version Rhino issued in 2002).
Recommended!.

Chicago's Beginnings
" The critic was wrong---Chicago used to be *outstanding*! Their classic 1969 debut album, back when the band was called Chicago Transit Authority, is a prime example of how outstanding Chicago used to be (before the 80's pop-ballad schmaltz took over the group). I remember reading several years ago a review in some British music rag of a Chicago box set, and the critic began his review by saying, "It's hard to believe, but Chicago used to be pretty good.
This album still holds up magnificently well, presenting Chicago in all of their musical glory, as the band weaves jazz, rock, experimental prog-rock AND pop into a great, cooking confection, and it shows just how musically diverse Chicago were all those years ago. GREAT songs, including the classic hits "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" and the gorgeous "Beginnings," as well as other rock-band-with-horn-section gems like "Introduction," "Poem 58," "South California Purples," and "I'm A Man. " The band sound like a pumped-up, well-oiled machine, and their musicianship and vocal prowess is stunning. The only debit to the album, in my opinion, is "Free Form Guitar," in which the band's late great guitarist Terry Kath noodles on his electric guitar for nearly seven minutes, but without any real direction or purpose. Don't get me wrong, Terry Kath was a musical genius and I love virtually all of his marvelous contributions to Chicago, but "Free Form Guitar" just sounds like filler to me, and it didn't need to be on the album. Other than that though, this album is flawless. And the fact that this double-album is now available on a single disc---AND at a great price too---is an awesome deal that you simply should not pass up. "Chicago Transit Authority" is a classic, excellent debut disc. Definitely kick off your Chicago collection with this one! .

One of the best, by any body, at any time.
I devoured the record at that time but through the passage of years lost my vinyl and my intimate connection to early Chicago. I must admit a little bias: CTA was the very first album I plunked my hard earned cash down for in my young life when I was but a freshman in high school. Sure, I heard them on the radio through the years but it wasn't until recently, when I was gifted a "Best of" collection by Chicago that I rediscovered my earlier fascination with this incredible work of art. That collection prompted me to seek out the full CD of this phenominal first record by surely one of the most talented of American rock bands. Scorching guitar, crisp horns, masterful drumming, soulful lead singing and angelic harmonies embodying diverse music styles that reflect the best of American pop music of the 20th century: jazz, psychodelic, rock, swing, modern classical, blues and funk, sometimes in the same song. From piano interludes worthy of George Gershwin, to horn sections that could have been done by Doc Sevrenson, vocal passages that Brian Wilson would have been proud of, and out of this world guitar licks that would have made Jimmy Hendricks take notice. It's all there. Chicago has made some other beautiful music since this, their debut, but no other album they have done since compares to this one. Nor do many others in the history of rock. A few others come to mind: Pet Sounds, Revolver, Days of Future Past, not many others of this caliber. Get it now, listen to it forever.

First & Best
" CTA is the only album by Chicago to make the list. There is a book called "The 1000 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Need I say more? OK, I will. . . .

. . . if you are only going to own one album by Chicago, this is THE one. This is the ONLY album the incomparable Terry Kath was allowed to let his absolute guitar genius flow throughout. As early as the second album (alternately known as "Chicago" or "Chicago II"), the band was already starting to lose the brilliant, tough R&B/Jazz/Rock of the first album except for perhaps "25 or 6 to 4," and "It Better End Soon. "

You listen to this release and wonder why Terry wasn't allowed to dominate the group along with Lamm, but poppier/commercial pastures called (thanks Mr. Pankow, thanks Mr. Cetera - NOT!). It doesn't matter: we still have this one brilliant recording by a band once known as The Chicago Transit Authority, containing a world class rhythm section and a tight, in-your-face, almost (to its benefit) harshly recorded horn section. There aren't the 15 trombone overdubs obscuring the trumpet and sax in the horn section as would be the norm from about VI on.

Enjoy what once was a brilliant band at their height. Terry Kath's genius lives forever on this one awesome album. Buy it without hesitation today! You won't be sorry!.

You can see a complete list of all Chicago discography, or go back to the Chicago tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.