Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Chicago
Label: Columbia Records
Release: 1971
Running time: 71:29
Rating: 4/5
After two double studio albums and a grueling tour behind »Chicago« (1970), the members of American jazz-rock champions Chicago were completely wiped out, physically and mentally. But producer James William Guercio (also known for his work with Blood Sweat & Tears) was determined that they had to keep making new music right away, while the ‘iron was still hot’, and he showed no mercy. So at Guercio’s urging, »Chicago III« became the third double Chicago album in a row, all within a span of less than two years.
Over two years of intense gigging and their first commercial successes, the band members got a good look at the many detours of the music industry on the road, so most of the compositions on »Chicago III« have a noticeably less upbeat tone than was typical of the bulk of the material on the two previous albums. The band’s core songwriters, namely keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm, guitarist/vocalist Terry Kath and trombonist James Pankow, started tackling far more serious themes in their lyrics. It was also their first album to kick off Chicago’s long-running tradition of titling records with Roman numerals.
After the huge success of the previous album »Chicago« (1970), the pressure on the band was enormous, but they handled it pretty well, matured a bit more artistically and freshened up their trademark sound a little too. On »Chicago III« they lean a bit less on the brilliant Pankow/Lougnane/Parazaider horn section, otherwise their strongest weapon, and experiment a bit more with genres outside of jazz rock. You can hear plenty of funk elements, for instance, on the nine-minute opening energy catalyst »Sing Me a Mean Tune Kid«, where bassist Peter Cetera takes over the vocals, and on the hit single »Free« with Kath on lead vocals. The centerpieces of the album are »Travel Suite«, Lamm’s 22-minute suite split into five tracks, through which the keyboardist expresses his homesickness in all sorts of ways, and the no less ambitious suite »Elegy«, written by Pankow. The latter is a rare prog-rock experiment made up of six tracks, with a heavy emphasis on the horn section and improvisation. The central piece of that suite is undoubtedly the jazz fusion treat »The Approaching Storm«.
On »What Else Can I Say« and the acoustic-flavored »Flight 602«, Chicago even experiment with country, which really doesn’t suit them, and luckily they didn’t do it very often in their career. »Motorboat to Mars« is a short but intense drum solo courtesy of drummer Danny Seraphine. On tracks like »At The Sunrise« and the progressive-rock »Happy ‘Cause I’m Going Home«, their melodic arranging chops and honed knack for building dramatic vocal harmonies, courtesy of the Cetera/Lamm/Kath trio, bloom at full strength. The instrumental »Free Country«, which also came out as the B-side of the »Free« single, and the track »Progress« contain elements of fusion, avant-garde rock and musique concrete (including the sound of a side-street seashell, among other things), which wasn’t exactly common practice for Chicago, since these interesting experiments more or less recall the backing band of the great Frank Zappa.
On »Loneliness Is Just a Word«, shot through with brilliant organ and horn parts, Lamm touches on loneliness on the long road (in his case, a concert tour). »I Don’t Want Your Money« is a pretty fun blues-rock experiment with Lamm on lead vocals and a heap of Kath’s full-bodied guitar riffs. On »Mother«, where the excellent keyboardist takes the vocal baton again, it’s all nostalgia and homesickness, while the horn and organ arrangements fight each other for the upper hand. »Lowdown«, a minor hit single, is a melodic jazz rocker with Cetera’s tenor, fiery horn parts and Kath’s brilliant wah-wah soloing. Kath’s five-minute suite »An Hour In a Shower« is full of crafty acoustic guitar chords, while the guitarist’s baritone shines against hot-blooded horn arrangements.
The big strength of »Chicago III« was its eclectic nature, which marked most of Chicago’s albums from their early days anyway. The album’s two centerpieces, »Travel Suite« and »Elegy«, are reason enough for the record to still be interesting to jazz fusion and progressive rock fans today, while fans of Chicago’s lesser-known pop hits definitely shouldn’t miss »Free« and »Lowdown«. So there’s something interesting here for everyone, which says a lot about the versatile artistry of this legendary collective, who never rested on their laurels despite plenty of big successes. »Chicago III« got a nice commercial response, although unlike both of its predecessors it didn’t have any big hit singles and didn’t reach the wider masses in quite as intense a way.
Lineup
Peter Cetera – bass guitar and vocals
Terry Kath – guitar and vocals
Robert Lamm – keyboards and vocals
Lee Loughnane – trumpet
James Pankow – trombone
Walter Parazaider – saxophone, woodwinds
Danny Seraphine – drums
Production
James William Guercio
Track list
1. Sing A Mean Tune Kid (9:13)
2. Loneliness Is Just A Word (2:36)
3. What Else Can I Say (3:12)
4. I Don’t Want Your Money (4:47)
5. Travel Suite (22:30)
a. Flight 602
b. Motorboat To Mars
c. Free
d. Free Country
e. At The Sunrise
f. Happy ‘Cause I’m Going Home
6. Mother (4:30)
7. Lowdown (3:35)
8. An Hour In The Shower (5:30)
a. A Hard Risin’ Morning Without Breakfast
b. Off To Work
c. Fallin’ Out
d. Dreamin’ Home
e. Morning Blues Again
9. Elegy (15:27)
a. When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow
b. Canon
c. Once Upon A Time…
d. Progress?
e. The Approaching Storm
f. “Man vs. Man: The End”
