Last night at what the tour shirt calls "Napa Valley" I saw the long running horn rock band Chicago. As I've written before, I was a big fan of Chicago in the 80s. Those Peter Cetera / David Foster ballads were works of art to me. During that decade I saw Chicago a total of 5 times (well, one was in 1990 so technically 4 times) and they often delivered a polished set of slow songs and mildly energetic rock. Not having seen them in twenty years I went into the show with modest expectations. These guys have been on the road just about every year for almost as long as I've been alive, figured they must be tired by now. I had a slight fear they might do what I saw on the Chicago 19 tour and lazily phone in their performance (they covered some horn parts with synthesizer that night!). But it was a show at a local intimate venue called the Uptown so it sounded like it might be an enjoyable night.
We had great seats in the third row. One thing about the Uptown, when it gets crowded it gets warm in there and I was pretty exhausted from the week to start with so I got a bit drowsy. Opening act Dave Sheil hit it off with the audience delivering a warm set of friendly James Taylor styled soft rock. I personally can't give an objective opinion of Sheil's talents since I cannot stand James Taylor's music. But I will say what he does, he seems to do well and won the crowd over with his earnest personality.
About a half hour later Chicago took the stage with a noticeable change in positioning the players from any other time I had seen the Chi-town pop rockers. Their normal set up throughout the 80s was bassist/vocalist center stage, horn section kinda off to the side, drums rear center flanked by keyboards on both sides. Here the horn section stood front and center at the opening and the bassist/vocalist was moved to the right. The audience was more excited than I had seen for any other Chicago concert I'd been to. I didn't pay close attention to the set list so the order of these songs were probably a little different than what I'm writing past the first few tunes. So what I remember went:
Ballet For A Girl From Buchanon (includes Make Me Smile and Colour My World) / Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? / Dialogue Pts 1 & 2 / Alive Again / Call On Me / Old Days / Along Comes A Woman / Wake Up Sunshine / If You Leave Me Now / I've Been Searchin So Long / Christmas Tree Song / Baby What A Big Surprise / Hard Habit To Break / You're The Inspiration / Beginning / I'm A Man / drum solo / Street Player / Just You N Me / Saturday In The Park / Hard To Say I'm Sorry - Get Away / last part of Feelin Stronger Every Day
encore: Free / 25 or 6 to 4
I've only heard the full "Ballet" live once, on the Chicago 17 tour, and I loved it. So I really liked that they played it with all the different sections. The switch to moving the horn section to the front instantly paid off as woodwind / sax man Walt Parazaider worked the crowd more than any of the band's front men ever had. Tag teaming with trumpeter Lee Loughnane (who took a surprisingly good lead vocal turn on "Colour My World") the horn section stepped ahead of the singers in firing up the audience with dynamic stage presence and constant directions to clap your hands.
I figured there would be more emphasis on 70s material than when I had seen them last, Chicago did not disappoint following up with "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?". Keyboardist / vocalist Robert Lamm has an unbelieveably healthy head of hair for his age, I was like "Damn!". His voice has held up surprisingly well too.
"Dialogue Pts 1 & 2" was next, there was one semester of college where I played this song a lot (around the time of the first Iraq War) so I dug it. Because he was included in the group photographs I thought trombonist James Pankow would be there but instead it was a guy I think he was named Antonio Velasco. Or maybe it was Alberto. Anyway, in addition to doing a fine job there was a noticeable change in the horn section dynamic. Velasco liked to clown around which fit in with Parazaider and Loughnane's get down and have fun approach.
Finally got to hear some late 70s Chicago live with "Alive Again", bassist/vocalist Jason Scheff finally getting a lead turn. During this and "Dialogue" his voice didn't come through that well and I thought maybe he had lost it (Scheff would sound better later in the show). Not that it mattered too much 'cause now the man has groupies, women bouncing and grinding begging for his attention. I had no idea Scheff had gained such a following. And I was surprised Scheff could see them, with a switch to a wireless headset his physical approach to singing seemed different. His eyes shut tight, Scheff would concentrate on his vocal while rocking back and forth like a man on a roller coaster.
Other songs I had not heard live before were the mid 70s hits "Call On Me" and "Old Days". Always liked "Call On Me" and the bongo attack gave more attention to the "pixie" like percussionist Drew Hester. Watching this guy in action was sort of like watching a mix of Glee and Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. To say he was fired up is an understatement. The newest member Lou Pardini got the lead vox nod and I gotta say he is a real good singer. Nails that rough soul voice perfectly. "Old Days" gave guitarist Keith Howland a shot at lead singing (like Journey, Chicago has become a big pass the mic kinda band).
After stating to the audience that you would hear a lot of music, the 80s made their first appearance with "Along Comes A Woman". It was hard not to miss Peter Cetera as this is such a Cetera kind of jam and I was surprised that the set list had only one post Cetera song (and that was a Christmas song). In fact, every original song from the Jason Scheff era was ignored including Top 10 hits "Will You Still Love Me", "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love", "You're Not Alone", "What Kind Of Man Would I Be" and the #1 hit of 1989 "Look Away".
The band went deep for an album cut, the pleasant "Wake Up Sunshine". It's funny, with all these hits it's this song that is stuck in my head afterwards.
Robert Lamm gave an explanatory monologue for the next part, seems you can go to Chicago's web site and bid in an auction to sing with Chicago. A lady who I had heard won with a $1500 bid walked up to sing "If You Leave Me Now". No need to criticize the lady, she was just "living her dream" and for laying out that kind of cash why not?
The band went into "(I've Been) Searchin So Long" and Jason Scheff hit his vocal stride here. He dug in deep to hit the gospelish ending with some authority, inspiring the groupies to grind and bounce away. Lamm plugged the band's upcoming Christmas CD (I think their second one) as Howland took lead vocal again on a rockabily tinged "Rockin Round The Christmas Tree".
It was a Cetera era big ballad trifecta starting with "Baby What A Big Surprise" next. Watching trumpeter Lee Loughnane blare his instrument around Scheff while he sang was pretty funny. Scheff and Pardini made a good combo on the power ballad classic "Hard Habit To Break" and guiarist Howland got to shine on an extended solo at the end of "You're The Inspiration".
Robert Lamm seemed to spend a lot of time in the background so it was noticeable when he took center stage for his warm fuzzy classic "Beginnings". Then the band got into serious jam mode as they motored through their cover of "I'm A Man" culminating in an awesome drum / percussion solo with Tris Imboden and Hester. The audience started to go nuts at this point...until Chicago pulled out their forgotten disco miss "Street Player". As a fan I got a kick out of hearing live the song that was said to cause the band such embarassment back in da day. But it stopped the audience dead in their tracks.
The sunny 70's continued with "Just You N Me" and "Saturday In The Park". In a long standing set list tradition (at least what I recall in the 80s) "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" closed the main concert part out with a lead in to the ramped up "Get Away". "Get Away" shifted into the last part of "Feelin Stronger Every Day" with Howland again getting lead singer nod on that part. The audience was psyched now leading to a brief break before encore time.
One of my favorite Chicago songs is "Free" so it was a pleasure to see the encore lead off with this jam, even if it was played a little slower. Then it was time to close the show down with "25 or 6 to 4" burning away.
The other five times I saw Chicago the closest they had to this type of intensity was on the Chicago 17 tour just as "Hard Habit To Break" was climbing the charts. But I had never seen them like this, the old guys threw down. As Parazaider did his one handed sax solo while high fiving the front row it was clear that Chicago tours like a never ending retirement party. If it wasn't for the absence of Cetera, it was the best Chicago concert I had ever seen. One last note, thank you for the pictures to my wonderful wife.
Recently I celebrated my 17th wedding anniversary with my wife so to celebrate I thought I would take a look back at one of my favorite albums - Chicago 17 (because, you know, the number 17 is involved and my wife suggested a while back I should post about past concerts). Except I've looked at Chicago 17 six ways til Sunday on this blog so instead I'm going to fondly recall the concert I saw at the Oakland Coliseum on April 26, 1985.
This was the third concert of Chicago's I'd been to and the second time I was catching them supporting 17. Chicago was the 3rd concert I'd been to (for Chicago 16) and I saw them again in 1984 at the Berkeley Greek Theatre. The Greek Theatre show was a blast, had pretty close up seats near the center aisle so we could see Peter Cetera emote with all his jut jawed expressiveness. The band played all decked out in these lily white jump suits and were riding the momentum of "Hard Habit To Break" climbing the charts.
Fast forward to April '85, both "Hard Habit To Break" and "You're The Inspiration" had hit the Top 10 and "Along Comes A Woman" was bounding it's way to the Top 40. Chicago was now one of my favorite bands thanks to the Fosters Freeze lush arrangements and hooky soft rock winsomeness they had mastered. I was so psyched I used Print Shop to make my own flyer for the upcoming concert to put in my new binder (back when the clear plastic sleeve on the front of the binder was a new thing) and advertise my dorkitude.
The Oakland Coliseum was the largest venue I would ever see Chicago in. This was before video screens were like a requirement for concerts so it was a noticeable difference between my close floor seating in Berkeley versus the distant vantage point in the larger arena. But it was a small price to pay to see Chicago back on top. Got a kick out of some guy in the concession line bemoaning to his pal that these young people didn't know the old stuff. My parents had Chicago Live At Carnegie Hall on cassette buddy! Yeah, "Fancy Colours" I know that one. Ha! 25 years later I've formulated a comeback for something that wasn't even said to me.
Encore: Gimmie Some Lovin / Got To Get You Into My Life / Get Away (reprise)
(It turns out there is a bootleg of this concert which is where I got the set list from. It's funny because I can't recall going to a Chicago concert that didn't have "25 or 6 to 4" but it wasn't listed so I guess it wasn't played. Links above are to online recordings from the actual concert I was at!)
What's not listed is I wanna say I remember part of "Bad Advice" being played at the intro before starting off with the Robert Lamm led "We Can Stop The Hurtin". Thanks to the magic of You Tube there is some of this bootleg is online sounds like there's some "Only You" in the intro music too. "Hurtin" was probably as close as 80s Chicago got to 70s Chicago with Lamm decrying the plight of the homeless and some snazzy horn section action going on.
The "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World" part was great because I'd never heard it as a single piece before (Ballet For A Girl From Buchannon) and being a prog rock fan enjoyed the extended sections. Last year I read an interview with Bill Champlin that he didn't enjoy singing "Colour My World" which was a surprise 'cause I felt he did the song justice every time I heard him sing it.
"Along Comes A Woman" allows his Ceteraness to make an early appearance and push the new single (which sounded so much better as a remixed 45 than the album original with that damn rubbery bass line). Listening to the live sound now I was inclined to slam how unharmonious the background vocals were then I remember that a lot of modern technology is used to blend voices with bands these days. That's how these bands can have two guys singing sound like six at the same time. Can't always sound like the record in real life folks.
"Saturday In The Park" or as my wife and I like to call it "Sabado en el Parque" with Lamm on lead was next. Did you know that "Saturday In The Park" comes from the record Chicago V, the band's first single disc release? Worthless trivia you say? YOU'RE WELCOME.
Cetera strikes back with his cool ballad ways on "Love Me Tomorrow" from Chicago 16. If I remember right, they had Chris Pinnick on guitar. Big burly dude that could play with a very crisp sound, probably my favorite of those who succedded the late Terry Kath (though I don't believe Pinnick was ever a full time member).
Bill Champlin got his R&B groove on next with "Please Hold On". I often wondered why Champlin's Bay Area connection (Sons Of Champlin) wasn't played up during Chicago shows over here. Don't know why.
Now for what was my favorite song of all time in back then, the super melodramatic ballad "Hard Habit To Break". Cetera. Champlin. Pure awesome.
Nothing says clout in a band like forcing your solo stuff on them and Cetera does just that with "Livin In The Limelight" from his first solo LP. I like "Livin" but face facts it wasn't that such big a hit that it needed to be included over, say, "Old Days" or "Wishin You Were Here". As soon as Cetera started talking second solo album following this tour, Chicago banished him to Solitude/Solitaire land never to return :(
Robert Lamm represents for old school Chicago with "Beginnings" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" back to back. Looks like Lamm had a piano solo in here, it used to be pretty interesting he'd have a baby grand type piano that he would lift the lid to and climb part ways inside to pluck the strings directly. The bootleg says drum solo too which is Danny Seraphine. Not on this show, but a few years later I saw the Chicago 19 tour and thought the drum solo was slow and off in terms of time. I guess the band thought it was getting bad too because Seraphine was replaced by next album. I read somewhere that Seraphine took the firing pretty hard, eventually forming his own band called CTA. Having listened to recent clips of CTA playing classic Chicago songs where he sounds dead on and fantastic, maybe he was just having an off show when I saw him last?
From this point on it essentially becomes the Peter Cetera show. The power ballad "You're The Inspiration" was a real flick-your-bic in the air moment. The tempo races up again and surprised me with "Prima Donna" from the Two Of A Kind soundtrack. The speedy rocker blew my mind back in the day and I was pumped to hear it live.
"Stay The Night" was next, loved loved loved that car chase music video. Can't see the video live though, Cetera entertained by hopping to the beat about the stage and allowing his bro Kenny Cetera to rock the background vocal mic.
To wrap up the primary part of the set, the power ballad "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" poured out nicely before ramping up to the big finish with the hard charging "Get Away".
Following a nice break the band returned with a cover of Spencer Davis Group's "Gimmie Some Lovin". It was high NRG greatness and I remember at one point Cetera literally running around the whole stage, around the back and everything. Another cover "Got To Get You Into My Life" arrived next before closing out with another "Get Away".
As I mentioned before, after this tour Cetera was booted ending an era for the band. Cetera would have solo hits, Chicago would have other hits, but it was never ever the same. I'm lucky to have gotten to see King Pete perform with his Chicago bros one last time, because that was 25 years ago and his replacement Jason Scheff has now been in the band longer than he was meaning that bridge was really burned back then. But for one shining moment, Cetera and the guys stood as one in shiny white suits left over from Buck Rogers and wayyy too much mousse in their hair.
I haven't posted much lately as I have been busy preparing for today, the big day, the day I join the ranks of the unemployed. This will be the first time I haven't had a job since 1993. I can't say I'm alone as I have co-workers that are being laid off today as well and anyone who has looked around cyberspace or seen the news knows I am not in a unique situation. Even with the economy beginning to turn around, there are plenty of people that have been or will be let go from their employment due to their company's financial desires or fortunes. But rather than dwell on what a major bummer this is for me, this post will be about what entertainment got me through the past few weeks. And thank you to my wife for all her support!
Music:
Didn't I just review Pearl Jam's Backspacer CD? Funnily enough, even though I rated the music a 7.5 out of 10 for being lyrically vague it's that generalness that made it resonate with me more in the past two weeks. Going to work knowing the end is coming was like crashing "Against The Waves", trying to put a fix on the situation of looming unemployment a la "The Fixer" and reminding myself to "Just Breathe" because fittingly, "The End" was coming. Pearl Jam's unquestionable energy and integrity helped drive me (literally, I played it a lot in the car) to get past these final days. Backspacer developed more for me due to the circumstances of the timing of when I heard it, I bought it the day I was given notice my job would be ending and it has been the soundtrack to this period of my life.
I also have been playing some Styx as I hadn't realized how much Tommy Shaw writes about unemployment until now. "Blue Collar Man" and "Too Much Time On My Hands"? You're singing my song, Mr. Shaw.
Television:
My wife and I took comfort in watching my DVD set of T.J. Hooker, the early 80's classic cop show starring the legendary William Shatner. The Shat kicks ass as the tough veteran blue suit who pontificates on the crime of the week with authority. He has so much authority that even his ex-wife calls him "Hooker" instead of T.J., or Thomas, or Tom or any other variation of (my wife pointed this out). All of the "maggots", "punks" and "scum" can't stand up to the power of the Shatner 2000. No criminal could outrun the girdled one as Shatner breaks every rule to bring the bad guys down. And whatever happened to Adrian Zmed?
Movies:
Last night I watched I Love You Man, a fun bromance comedy starring that guy from the Jennifer Aniston movie involving a baby I think and the dude that's not the star but co-star that's not Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother. It starts off a little slow but once the HIMYM guy shows up it picks up considerably. Gotta respect any film that gives Rush as much props as they get here. And Rashida Jones (Quincy Jones' daughter) plays the unassuming girlfriend to perfection, giving depth to a sketchy role.
One last song that keeps going through my head is Sinead O'Connor's "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance". Okay, okay, okay - I guess one sad song makes it through on this post. But as they say, this is also an opportunity for a new beginning. So I'll pile on Chicago's "Beginnings" on the flip side. Oh yeah!
After yesterdays post I came to the conclusion that there are some songs that scare me - scare me because I like them even though my brain tells me I really shouldn't. It's funny this should even happen to me because I generally like music that critics and snobs would label relentlessly cheesy (like Slaughter's "Up All Night"), but there are tunes that even I am ashamed to admit liking. And now, the day after Halloween, get ready for those things that go bump in the night...because I wouldn't want to be caught listening to them in the day time.
I've written about this song before, Chicago's forgotten cover of their own early '70's hit. Where the original was all about speed - speedy bass line, Peter Cetera's high whine, horns darting in and out while Terry Kath burns the hell out of his guitar, the remake was slow and clunky. The bass line moves at a crawl while an endlessly repeating drum pattern that sounds like it was done on trash cans churns on. Add a ridiculous 1984 inspired music clip that tries to disguise the band (because Peter Cetera had just been replaced by Jason Scheff) and you have a monumental piece of trash...that I love. Tonight I could only find the live version, it does not reduce it's greatness.
The pon farr, it boils the blood! And so does this, the half spoken half sung 80's tech rocker performed by British band T'Pau (named after the Vulcan leader in Star Trek) fittingly led by Carol Decker (fascinating...not Decker unit?). Beavis and Butthead nailed this one commenting something like "Dial 1-800-sex me. Huh Huh" over this vid clip. Yet at random I find this going through my head, the rhythm pattern is irresistible for me. Agh!
Rock and roll rebellion couched in soft rock fluffiness? Going to a Catholic High School in the 80's, it was funny to listen to the Principal (a Catholic Brother) go on and on about the evils of the song "Afternoon Delight". Most of the class had no clue what this song even was at that point. Thankfully, the song got a revival a few years back due to a Will Farrell movie called Anchorman. The pure empty headed bliss that goes into the singing of lyrics like "Rubbin sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite / And the thought of rubbin you is getting so exciting" is like the ultimate key party soundtrack from the 70's. Sky rockets in flight indeed.
I absolutely hated this song when it came out, it was as extremely wimpy as music got in that moment. Spandau Ballet, dressed up in suits like a bad 1920's nightclub act, singing how they know this much is...wait for it...TRUE! For decades I made fun of this song and would sing it with Shattnereque emphasis. Then the song went and snuck up on me, all that time singing it made me appreciate it. That "True" was barely remixed and made into the P.M. Dawn hit "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" helped me like it even more, now I have to say I like the song as a whole. This much is true.
Before being famous for her unfortunate private life, Rihanna hit it big serving up this slice of sleek James Bondish pop. A nice sense of mystery and of course that nagging hook "-ella-ella-ella-ella" that you can apply to the end of any sentence -tence -tence -tence makes it fun.
It seems like the theme to many of the songs I'm ashamed to like it that they're, well, wussy. Multiply the wuss factor times ten now, because this disco grooving girly whisper of a tune from a Leonardo Dicaprio movie is number 4 on this countdown. My wife made fun of me the other day for singing along with this, a sure sign of shame! I guess I could do a Dicaprio double play and include the Growing Painstheme in here. Or worse mash them up. Love me, Love me, show me that smile again. Speaking of mash up, here's ex-American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry and comedian Dane Cook jamming on Growing Pains together. Who'da thought of that?
Growing up in the Northern California Bay Area, I heard tons of hip hop and rap in the 80's and early 90's just hanging out with friends (it's the most popular style of music out here). So whether I liked it or not (I generally am not a rap fan), I would often hear hip hop / rap acts before they became national hits and NWA was one of them. There are many reasons for me not to like this, from the reprehensible name of the group (everyone knows the "N" in the name is not politically correct) to the fact that it gave birth to Gangsta rap changing the character of the entire genre from fun and lightness to misogyny and lethal violence. Plus more uses of the N word than anyone would have thought possible. And really, as a middle class kid who gained most of his street gang knowledge from an episode of Quincy M.E. (because no one is more down than Jack Klugman. No one!) there wasn't a lot I could directly relate to. But it's got a good beat and the energy of the trade offs between the different rappers comes across with palpable fury. No wonder the gang mentality seems so attractive to people. I don't own this song, but if I did I probably would look like Michael Bolton in the movie Office Space.
With songs often better suited for comic punchlines than actual listening pleasure, teen queen Britney Spears had one truly great jam before plunging into an abyss of over indulgent madness. Spear's "Toxic" with its wacky wavy fake strings synth lines and breathless vocals was a pop atom bomb obliterating the competition. Yet what guy could admit to anyone their love for this dance floor ditty? A co-worker once noticed this song on my IPOD and called me on it which left me mortified, as Gomer Pyle would say surprise, surprise,surprise!
The greatest singer / actor of any generation, Bill Shatner has brought his Shakespeare stylings to many a great tune over the years. Two stand out in particular, the first being his take on the Bob Dylan classic "Mr Tambourine Man" containing the famous sudden ending of Shatner screaming ""MR TAMBOURINE MAANNNNN!!!". Loved this song so much I played it for a college audio lab class I was TA for to demonstrate excellence in sound recording. Later I would find out about his version of Elton John's famous 70's hit, arguably the definitive version (at least I'll argue it). Because I'm a Rock-Et-Ma-N. You can throw in "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and those Priceline commercials while you're at it, any chance to hear the great one sing.
So if I'm around and one of these songs come on be afraid, be very afraid. Because I will enjoy them. Oh yes I will. Because as Shatner says in the above clip, everything I do I do it...for you.
The first concert T shirt I had was a grey jersey style shirt with this picture and the band's logo in 1982. A few years later I wore this shirt while playing tackle football, a tackler grabbed the collar of my shirt and ripped it halfway down my left arm. The torn collar left my left shoulder exposed with a grey sagging shirt causing people to yell "Hey Flashdance!" as I walked home from the game. Only in the 80's people.
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Although they've dropped off my regular listening habits, in high school I was a huge fan of Chicago. Their soft rock offerings packed with lush production and forthright vocals were like audio crack to me. Plus they were the 2nd band I saw in concert which made an impact on me as well. And my parents had Chicago tapes from the 70's (Chicago Live at Carnegie Hall and Chicago V) so I was already off to an easy start in hearing a body of work. Today I'm going to focus on the part of their career where I was a huge fan 1982 - 1991.
Chicago 16 (1982)
Going in to Chicago 16, it seemed like everything was against them. Music had changed leaving their jazz rock out of style, the death of guitarist Terry Kath and distancing from producer James William Guercio left them creatively adrift and they left long time record label Columbia in hopes of a new start. Two key factors set the band in the right direction, one was Producer David Foster who in turn brought in keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Bill Champlin.
At this stage in his career, Foster believed (and may still believe) that if his name goes on the project its his duty to deliver a first class product. With Chicago, it meant the start of his truly identifiable sound what I like to call "Foster's Freeze": glowing classical keyboard runs, sweeping strings, majestic rhythm breaks (the only way I know how to describe those parts that go Duuuhh,duhduhduh, Duhhhh with the bass), a little rock guitar and crystalline voices. He co-wrote much of the material and Fostered a writing partnership with their most commercially viable performer, Peter Cetera. The result? First class product.
The first single, the Cetera sung power ballad "Hard To Say I'm Sorry", was cross marketed with the movie Summer Lovers (the famed Darryl Hannah menage a trois' movie and I'm not going to check if I spelled that right) shot to #1. This immediately put Chicago back in business and I pressed play on my tape of radio songs often after rewinding to this cut. It is a perfect ballad and after buying the record found it ramped up to an upbeat horn driven rocker called "Get Away". A second single, the lurching thumping ballad "Love Me Tomorrow" got a lot of radio play. Two great ballads in a row with mushy lyrics and bombastic arrangements, how could I not be a fan?
The rest of the record had highlights like the Bill Champlin r&b influenced "Sonny Think Twice" but mostly focused on positioning Cetera as a romantic leading man. He was gonna "Rescue You" from those "Chains", save you from "Bad Advice" because he is "What You're Missing". The famous horn section (saxophonist Walt Parazaider, trumpeter Lee Loughnane and trombonist James Pankow) took a back seat to the keyboards except for "Get Away" and on the excellent pop rocker "Follow Me".
They were supporting this album when I saw them live for the first time, a day time show at the Concord Pavilion. Had a blast listening to songs like "25 or 6 to 4" and "Beginnings" for the first time live straight from the band (and my Dad was happy to point out the classical motifs of the music). Robert Lamm's piano solo was really memorable because he had a baby grand type and he opened the lid and climbed half way into it to pluck the strings inside. But my strongest memory of the show? Some fool yelling "Play 'Song For You!" over and over. Odder still, my strongest memory of the record isn't a song, but that kick ass record sleeve inside that had Chicago's logo printed in the middle of a computer circuit board design. High tech coolness at its max!
If You Leave Me Now (1982)
Knowing they had a long career (I mean, the album is called 16 for a reason) I grabbed a convenient comp of their 70's stuff. It was a good enough best of including "25 or 6 to 4", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "No Tell Lover" and the infamous "Song For You". Even though the musical style is very different between their 70's and 80's work, I had grown up hearing the softer songs on the radio (like "I've Been Searchin' So Long") which further entrenched their greatness in my mind.
Chicago 17 (1984)
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The turning point where I worshipped at the altar of Peter Cetera. The singles from their 17th effort is the ultimate Cetera fest. "Stay The Night" with it's clunky beat and CHiPs worthy car crash video went Top 20 (one of my all time favorite videos). Then came the uber ballad, "Hard Habit To Break" (why are things always so hard for Chicago to do anything? Can't say sorry, can't break habits, damn they're pathetic!) which was a Top 10 hit.
"Hard Habit To Break" was my favorite song in high school. It was so perfectly arranged that I really can't think of a song I like more on that scale. Having the high pitched Cetera play off the low soulful voice of Bill Champlin was pure genius. Comparing romantic love to drug addiction in a commercial soft rock ballad is genius ("I'm addicted to you!!!"). That break down section where the horns go off wonky and everything whittles down to a keyboard and Cetera's plaintive "Being without you takes a lot of getting used to..." is genius. David Foster, you are a genius. Dork that I was/am, I played this song endlessly on my walkman while on the school bus telling others about the greatness of "Habit".
Third single "You're The Inspiration" was another monster smash destined for weddings for decades to follow. Though it drove me nuts that the single version took out the three note guitar solo because I preferred that over the record version with it. It's like, if you know the song sounded better without that part then why have it there in the first place? My tape had the guitar solo on it dammit. One strike against you, Foster. Oh yeah, watching the video I forgot all about the Billy Idol lookalike making out with the Madonna lookalike. Classic!
Speaking of single remixes, the fourth single "Along Comes A Woman" came with a much better sound on 45. It was shorter and had sharper percussion, reining in that elastic bass line that is all over the place on record. Loved the horn section solo, one of the few they really got in the 80's on a hit song. And in the video King Cetera gets to portray two of my favorite cinema characters, Rick in Casablanca and Indiana Jones. Killer stuff and another Top 20 song.
On the rest of the record the other band members got to do a little more than on 16. Keyboardist / vocalist Robert Lamm found his social conscious for a second on the excellent ode to the homeless "We Can Stop The Hurtin". The rocker "Prima Donna" was featured on the soundtrack to the cinematic disaster known as Two Of A Kind, which I glumly sat thru in the movie theatre expecting more Greased Lightning and instead handed sub Fantasy Island garbage. But let's cut the crap, the winner of the album tracks is another Cetera ballad, the winsome "Remember The Feeling" that closes side one. My heart...(sob)...is on (cry)...my sleeve (all out bawling).
I saw Chicago live two more times on this tour, the first show at the Berkeley Greek Theatre I was in like the 10th row. They were decked out in these all white jump suits like Buck Rogers. It was another great show, got to see "Hard Habit To Break" performed live close up while it was in the middle of its chart run. And towards the end of the concert they played a fiery version of "I'm A Man". I saw them months later at the Oakland Coliseum, they were still tight and did a longer version of "Make Me Smile" that included some of the suite sections off Chicago II. Cetera was firmly ensconced in the front man role, hopping around during "Stay The Night" and running around the whole stage at one point. I found a live recording of "Along Comes A Woman" from that show, totally rad.
Chicago 17 became the band's best selling album. They had a song "Good For Nothing" included in the We Are The World charity record. Chicago seemed on top of the world.
Chicago 18 (1986)
Looks can be deceiving, the big happy family image they presented fell apart as King Cetera was given the heave ho in '85. Cetera wanted to be like Phil Collins or Steve Perry, do a solo album and then come back to the band. Chicago told Cetera to hit the pavement. It was sad to see them claim an American Music Award without Pete. After rumors floated around of offers being made to Mickey Thomas (Starship), Richard Page (Mr. Mister) and Bobby Kimball (Toto) came up empty, the band returned in '86 with Jason Scheff in the bass / tenor voice position.
I've done a big post on this classic album before so I'll just hit the highlights. With Cetera gone they wanted to go back to more of a "band" presentation while Foster went into overdrive bringing in outside writers to take up the slack. A bizarre (but nonetheless memorable) remake of "25 or 6 to 4" was the lead single and failed to go Top 40. That stupid repetitive drum pattern is permanently baked in my brain as I eagerly snapped up the 45 upon release and played it over and over. At this point it was obvious that ballads were their bread and butter, the oversensitive "Will You Still Love Me?" went Top 10 keeping their commercial prospects viable. Their sequel to "Hard Habit To Break" , the epic "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." was Top 20.
This song was another marvel of arrangement and production with Foster pulling out all the stops. Scheff and Champlin play off each other, there are electronic drums, a capella breaks and some of the most dumbfounded lyrics ever put in a straight up Adult Contemporary song. I think Steve Kipner was involved in writing both this and "Habit" so I'll give him props. Anyone who can come up with this convoluted a story line (Jason Scheff is telling his girlfriend that he's happy that his ex-girlfriend cheated on him because if she hadn't he wouldn't have ended up with her. Ah, romance). that has a bridge giving the definition of a paradox has real talent. As an added bonus, the picture sleeve to the 45 is one of my personal favorites using old tyme imagery on the cover.
"Niagra Falls" was the fourth single and not a bad tune at all. Robert Lamm continued his tradition of one decent song per album, this time with "Forever" and its extended trombone solo courtesy of James Pankow. Bill Champlin's token R&B song was one of his best, the bouncy "It's Alright". As much as I loved this album it only went Gold, a big drop from the Triple Platinum sales of the album prior. And I missed Cetera so I skipped seeing them live. Scheff was a good replacement, his voice came across as whinier than Cetera's but was still pleasant. Memories of this album is forever tied to my first months living away from home.
Chicago 19 (1988)
When Chicago returned, they had dropped (or been dropped I don't know which) David Foster. Hence (as Anna Faris says, "Yeah...Hence!") plainer production (no more Fosters Freeze) and a stronger presence from the horn section resulted. Most of the album was produced by Chas Sandford who effectively captured the sound of the band separate from Foster. Sandford seemed to add echo, sparkly synths and other effects to give the music a little more dimension. Pop rockers like "Heart In Pieces", "Come In From The Night" and "Runaround" played well. However, the singles were produced by Ron Nevison (Jefferson Starship, Survivor, Heart) minus the special effects and focused on Diane Warren's songs.
The singles also marked a key turning point for Chicago on the radio as focus shifted from the smooth voiced singer (Jason Scheff) to the soulful gruff of Bill Champlin as lead vocalist on ballads. This change was so unexpected that I remember Billboard magazine writing about Jason Scheff's "forceful" lead vocal on the first single "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" and hell, even I thought it was Scheff because I didn't expect Champlin. And with the switch Chicago was rewarded with a Top 10 hit. Even without using the rarely seen video, which had computer graphics on par with a Commodore 64 (come to think of it, the album cover is sorta like that too) that I can't find online anymore.
Champlin's roll continued with the second single, another Diane Warren ballad "Look Away". The tune blasted its way to #1 on the charts, eventually becoming the biggest hit of the year. This was the third time the band would hit the #1 spot, but the first without Cetera. It's placement as the song of the year was a surprise, I recall when the countdown came to a close on the radio I was with a friend giving another friend a ride home from the airport. For five minutes she ragged on "Look Away" from the back seat, of all the songs from the year how could that be the best one? Though I liked the song I was pretty stunned by its high placement too so I laughed at my friend's rantings.
A third single with Champlin's voice, the sturdy pop rocker "You're Not Alone" made Top 10 though it tends to be a forgotten hit. I freakin' love this song! A last single, the Scheff sung power ballad "We Can Last Forever" made a minor dent on the charts. "Forever" was somewhat like "Will You Still Love Me?" except it was much less successful.
Despite the lack of Foster and simplified arrangements, I really liked this album a lot. Have great memories of playing this album during the summer of '88. As I worked my first Summer at a local theme park, I cruised around town with friends playing this and Guns N Roses everywhere I went. Late in the Summer I went back to the tradition of seeing the band live, only to be disappointed by a lackluster performance. They seemed to phone everything in, even resorting to using synthesizers to replicate the horn parts of "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love". Drummer Danny Seraphine seemed off beat at some points (he seemed to drag a bit on "25 or 6 to 4" particularly that evening). This was the first show that I saw the band's new guitarist DeWayne Bailey, who seemed an odd fit with his hair metal band theatrics and shredding technique. I vividly recall him leaping into the air and landing before the front row tearing up the fretboard during his solo on "Stay The Night" to a bank of middle aged fans that seemed to applaud out of fear. Having seen better performances by the band online from this tour today maybe this was just an off show, at the time it gave me the impression this was a band that had lost direction and was going thru the motions. Or maybe they kicked it up a notch for video recordings.
Chicago's Greatest Hits 1982 - 1989 (1989)
After the Platinum selling Chicago 19 it was time to clean up so they packed up their smash ballads into one package. Added to the set was a single edit of the best song from 19, "What Kind Of Man Would I Be?". This winsome power ballad co-written and sung by Jason Scheff would be Chicago's final Top 10 hit - and what a hit it was. Not the biggest of their career, but going out with a tenor voiced power ballad sparked by a horn section solo put a nice bow on the end of the decade. A co-dependent's dream, this album is.
Twenty1 (1991)
To start the 90's, Chicago recorded and toured behind the single "Hearts in Trouble" from the Tom Cruise car racing movie Days of Thunder. It was a little strange to see a group use an unsuccesful single from a movie soundtrack for their reason to tour, but oh well. Besides, some people took the usage of "Hearts in Trouble" on the tour shirts as an attempt at trash talk against the rock group Heart (like maybe they were fighting over bad movie songs or something). That summer was the last time I saw Chicago live and it was a strong show. New drummer Tris Imboden fit in nicely (though he had less presence than Seraphine) as the group seemed revitalized. Their performance was on point, even including an older song I was really digging at the time called "Dialogue parts I & II". The only negative was Robert Lamm openly admitting they couldn't play any of their new material because they hadn't learned it yet. Otherwise, it was a fun concert on a comfortably warm Summer night in Concord.
The following year saw the release of Twenty1, this time produced almost entirely by Nevison. Twenty1 was the album where everything came together for the group and I felt it was their best since Chicago 17. They still had power ballads courtesy of outside songwriters, but also the bands creative juices seemed to be flowing a bit more as well. The horn section had their strongest impact since the 70's, appearing on many of the tracks instead of being relegated to a handful of songs. Momentum gained from the band's prior tour carried into the feel of the album, providing their most natural recorded performance in over a decade. Where 19 seemed anemic in song arrangement and performance, Twenty1 caught a group gelling into a solid unit again. The first single was another Dianne Warren written Bill Champlin sung love song, "Chasin' The Wind".
And "Chasin' The Wind" blew its way to #39 on the charts. A second single, the magnificent ballad "Explain It To My Heart" complete with David Foster's piano playing and Jason Scheff pratically shrieking the chorus, went nowhere. Which sucked because "Explain" came mighty close to recapturing the Foster magic. Twenty1 sold poorly, the pop music audience seemingly having enough of the erstwhile soft rockers.
It was really too bad, because as I said musically I thought this was great. Robert Lamm contributed not one,but two good songs this time including the outstanding "Only Time Can Heal The Wounded". Bill Champlin's Bob Segerish pop rocker "Somebody Somewhere" was a fave of mine. Jason Scheff came close to carbon copying his hit "What Kind Of Man Would I Be?" with "Man To Woman". Although they got a little Holiday Inn band on "If It Were You" or "Who Do You Love" they still came across as crisp and sharp.
Almost as an afterthought, the Jason Scheff tune "You Come To My Senses" made an impact on Adult Contemporary radio. Though it didn't reach the Pop charts, it's probably the best known song from this album.
Group Portrait (1991)
If it's one thing this band knows how to do, it's anthologize its own music. A four CD box set of the Columbia years with remastered sound, this was an great compilation of the band's classic 70's era. All of the songs of interest big and small were included, making me a fan of lesser known tracks like "You Are On My Mind", "Alma Mater" and "Thunder And Lightning". There is a distinct arc to the band's career as you can trace the ideas starting off strong on the first disc only to dwindle away by the fourth disc. One thing this box set accomplished is help me appreciate how talented Terry Kath was. This guy had a Ray Charles soul and was a stunning guitarist. What a sad loss.
Stone Of Sisyphus (1993 / 2008)
Now ignored on all radio formats, Chicago reconviened in the studio to work on new material. Their intention was to break free from their power ballad straight jacket. After all, they had nothing to lose after watching Twenty1 go down in flames. Thus began the Stone of Sisyphus or as my wife likes to call it, the Stone of Sissy Fists. I looked up what this Sisyphus is, it is a Greek myth about a king that is punished by the Gods for his trickery by having to roll a stone up a hill only to have it roll back down and start over again for all eternity. I guess we can see what frame of mind Chicago was in at the time.
Out of the box thinking became the focus for these aging musicians. Jazz was brought back into the picture, just not the bebop jazz influence of old. No, this was Kenny G style jazz where there is some instrumental trickiness and rhythm shifts layered into a feel mellow aesthetic. Snazzy bits like "Mah Jong" beefed up the percussion and swinging horns reminding me of Spyro Gyra. The title track opener had a slick AOR feel that won me over. And even while ditching power ballads, they found inventive ways to hit their soft rock groove as on "Let's Take A Lifetime" or "Here With Me". "The Pull" also gave a nice pop rock glory.
By opening up their sound and taking risks, Stone of Sisyphus is their liveliest disc of the modern age. That doesn't make it great though. A desperate attempt at rap crashes and burns on the ridiculous "Sleeping In the Middle Of The Bed". And Jason Scheff jumps his whiny wimpering shark on the Father worshipping epic ballad "Bigger Than Elvis". Sacrificing pop melodies for fancy dancy musicianly moves entertains of a certain level but this ain't Yes.
The record label rejected the Stone of Sissy Fits as being uncommercial, which for the most part it was. Failing to release the album ended Chicago's soft rock lovin' era as they would retreat into big band and Christmas Cds to keep the mortgage payments going. Until 2008 the full recording would not receive an official exposure to the public. So my fandom pretty much stopped after 1991 as I was unaware of this album until they released another box set ages later.
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Commercially they left the era as they came, audienceless except for the die hard faithful. In terms of their overall career, Chicago was in a better position by having two decades of chart hit songs to draw from in live performance. It was like The Hobbit, they went there and back again. With the exception of DeWayne Bailey, this version of Chicago would continue into the new millenium. With an interest in newer bands and less mellow music I left Chicago behind. Later I would play their music every once in a while, just not at the level I had in those peak ballad years. But from 1982 to 1991, I was all about these thunderously sappy love songs.
A last bit, this guy on You Tube called Chicagokid1969 recorded himself playing piano versions of the great 80's Chicago ballads. If you would like to, see if you can name them all!
It's almost the end of the year so it's time to join the pack and bust out the "Best of the Year" lists. It could have been Guitar Hero, could have been Rock Band or just plain nostalgia but 2008 was a watershed year for Classic Rock. A slew of artists who I spent my high school years jamming to decided to reunite or reconfigure in some way to create new music. I normally pick just Ten favorite songs but this year I have enough for Twenty (I even had more than Twenty)! Most years I struggle just to find four songs to list so this just goes to show what a banner year it was for aging rock stars. Even Chinese Democracy came out (not that I care about the actual disc). So on with the countdown!
A brief marching blast of hippie Peace and Love with the reach to call for a cultural shift in values and sell department store clothing at the same time.
Sometimes self reverence pays as the Lep go full on "Photograph" mode with the hooky excess of multitracked vocals and revved up guitars that made them great.
The theme song for a year that at its peak saw fuel prices skyrocket to the point people couldn't afford to drive to the next town while oil companies recorded record profits.
For anyone who at some point in their life wondered if there was another person out there for them, this song captures that feeling perfectly (fortunately I no longer have moments like these :)
There's no way for me to describe Van the Man's butter smooth soulfulness in a way that hasn't been done before. But I'll try anyway. Van Morrison's voice is as smooth as C3P0's bronze ass. How's that? Oh, and this is a great song about how soul comes from within you, not what's outside of you.
The New Wave revival has died off a bit though that hasn't stopped this duo from pushing this bit of IPOD worthy froth. The beat sticks in my head for days on end after I hear it.
The Fab Four of my generation (not really, I just like saying that) regrouped and recaptured some Pomp Rock glory. Steve Howe shines with his most aggressive playing in ages. Never Again did I think I would hear these four guys play together, but here they are kicking ass like it's 1985.
I'm not big on rap music and not really a fan of Snoop Dogg so it was a shock to me that I like a song of his now. This jam is reminiscent of those old Zapp songs with the mechanized voices. Is it too late for me to learn the Running Man? Yes, yes it is. But not too late for me to like this song.
Barrelling down the freeway at 100 mph, AC/DC cranks up their trademark rumble and screech into a frenzy of Hard Rock ecstasy. I don't know who Big Jack is, but like most AC/DC songs it makes me want to drink till I fall down and yell loudly in the face of the nearest person available. Yeah!
Technically a 2007 song though it was released as a single this year so I'm including it. A touch of Brian Wilson enhances the reverie of this melodic masterpiece. The feeling of being too young to settle down yet too old to run with the kids paints a sharp picture of middle age. And it has Springsteen doing one of his best Orbison style dark crooning.
The 80's Arena Rockers put their new frontman Arnel Pineda straight in the line of fire by opening up with this soaring anthem. Energized by the new blood, Journey takes flight again with the power and grace that made them Platinum selling rock stars.
A song so good that everyone and their mother are convinced they wrote it, Coldplay brings in a sweeping orchestral sound I haven't heard since the hey day of the Moody Blues. Cold hearted orb that rules the night, steals the Sun from our sight...oops, wrong song. It may have just as well been the lyrics to "Viva la Vida" because I don't know what Chris Martin is going on about, something regarding bells ringing and St Peter or ruling the world. None of the words really matter, it's all about the symphonic groove struck here.
Well, let's get the disclaimers out of the way first. Yes, their recordings are said to be faked and sped up. Yes, every song they write sounds exactly the same as the song before it. Yes, their claim to fame is being a difficult level on a video game. So why can't I get enough of this cheese fest? Because I love me some cheese, especially with a little ham. And Dragonforce has got all that, Viking vocals, shred on top of shred guitar and ridiculous drum beats. I played this song more than any other song this year, so it deserves being named my favorite song of 2008. On the few occasions where I exercise, I love working out to this.
That's my Top 20 songs of the year, feel free to share your favorite songs of this year if you like because I enjoy reading about other people's faves. Oh yeah, I later realized Flight of the Conchords came from 2007 but I'm too lazy to redo this. I probably would have ranked Matthew Sweet's "Feel Fear" if I knew that. Next up, my Top 10 Favorite Albums of '08.
I missed posting on Thanksgiving, had a delicious dinner at my parents place. So my Thanksgiving post is a day late, with Turkey's being the key symbol of this Holiday I thought it would be a good time to do a Top 10 Turkey Songs. These aren't songs about...haven't you heard? I said HAVEN'T YOU HEARD? About the Bird? Bird Bird Bird, Bird is a Word...
Anyway, these are the 10 most disappointingly bad songs I've heard. They feature a lot of my favorite artists because it's harder to be disappointed in a musical act you don't have much of an interest in anyway. So here it is, the Ten most disappointing songs I've heard...Ten Turkeys- songs that should have been left overs. Pulled from the refrigerator, unwrapped from its protective foil and thrown out in the street. Somebody get the gravy!
The Bay Area rockers were on a roll with Top 10 hits and Platinum albums by the mid 80's. What could be better? How about a movie soundtrack theme for the latest Michael J Fox movie, co written and Produced by the inimitable David Foster? This is a plan that can't go wrong. The power of Night Ranger, the super slick sonics of David Foster and the likability of Michael J Fox all rolled into one. A Perfect Storm of marketing synergy. Depressingly, that's exactly what it sounds like- a marketing plan brought to life. Foster's Chicagoisms of synth horns, mannered guitar work and busy instrumentation didn't mesh well with Night Ranger's free wheeling high speed rawk. Unsurprisingly, Night Ranger saw their commercial fortunes slide after this song.
By the late 80's / early 90's the Tricksters had been all over the map stylistically. When they got to "Woke Up With A Monster", the group seemed tired. It was like they were trying to work up some whimsy but only had enough juice to sound mean. Thankfully, shortly after Alternative Rock bands began citing Cheap Trick as an influence-buying them some much needed credibility.
Styx was near the end of their initial run and to cap it they released a double live album, Caught in the Act. The record came with one new studio track, "Music Time". I was so excited, I was getting a live record by one of my favorite groups plus a new song. Then I actually heard the record. "Music Time" took all of the annoying excesses that ringleader Dennis DeYoung could muster and slammed it into a four minute tune. All the dorky Broadway jazz hands crap that DeYoung had in him to a cheap synth riff unchecked by anything. Seee it. Liiikke it. Loooovve it. DoitDoitDoitDoit. Waannt it. Neeedd it. Can't get enough of it! All the wayyyy!
Can "The Voice" really do wrong? After hearing this track, the answer is Yes. The song is supposed to convey a sense of hard won maturity but instead it comes off as turgid and self indulgent. A torpid pace sinks any chance "I Am" has of winning me over, one of the few songs to be graced by Perry's voice that I just can't stand. It's like watching a bad episode of Dr Phil where a guy can't stop bleeding his heart out.
I like everything Boston, even this song I like in a so-bad-it-becomes-kinda-good way. Many an Arena Rock band has made the mistake of thinking a cheap, anxious synth line sounds good. Although this was recorded in the 21st Century, the overworked keyboards immediately dates the track as early 80's to the point that the rampaging guitars in the chorus isn't enough to ramp up interest. To top it off, Boston leader Tom Scholz stacks the deck with awful lyrics decrying the evils of large corporations. Look Out! Look Out!
When Jason Scheff replaced Peter Cetera in 1985, Scheff was recognizably different in his approach though many did not notice. Jason Scheff had a more winsome style that could get more than a little sentimental. But until the recently released Stone of Sisyphus disc I had no idea how sentimental. On "Elvis", Scheff writes a heartfelt ode to lovin' his Dad ( not that way, get your mind out of the gutter sicko). Scheff's father was the bass player for Elvis Presley, the song chronicles how Scheff loves his Pop to the point that his Father is "Bigger Than Elvis". A beautiful arrangement can't mask the saccharine, be careful when listening to this or you may go into a diabetic coma.
4. Asia - Countdown To Zero (1985)
During the Cold War, the Arms race and possibility of Nuclear War was on everyone's minds. It was on John Wetton's mind, resulting in one of the worst anti-war anthems you could imagine. "Countdown to Zero" has more corn than, well, a corn field as Wetton builds the anxiety about irreconcilable international tensions. What really caps it is the ending, where Wetton reels off a list of Countries names and then pleads for Peace. In a large, booming echoey voice, Wetton slowly intones "Don't Do It. Don't Press the Button. No. Don't Start. Don't Start the Countdown to Zero. We Want To Live. We Will Live. Don't Press the Button." and goes on like this for a while. It's hilariously bad, in College I had a running joke with a roommate who also liked Asia where we would talk just like this.
With Van Halen 3, Eddie Van Halen had finally gotten rid of all the lead singers that had stood in his way of total domination of the band. And now EVH could do what he really wanted to do...sing! With a weathered voice that made Roger Waters sound like Christina Aguilera, Eddie Van Halen ended Van Halen 3 with this piano based ballad containing an almost childlike circular melody. Raw ego never sounded so wrong.
Debuting with the outstanding "When The Heart Rules the Mind", GTR hit the scene as a team up of prog guitar legends Steve Howe (Yes, Asia) and Steve Hackett (Genesis). After taking in "Mind", I anxiously waited for the follow up single. What I got was this, the ridiculous "The Hunter". Musically, it's a very nice song featuring Howe and Hackett's fine acoustic guitars. What stops the fun is a sing songy melody with lyrics like "He's a fighter, he's a swan, he's the one I'm counting on. Steal the glory, take the prize - only the Hunter, only the Hunter...Survives!" El lamo.
1. Rod Stewart - Love Touch (1985)
For two decades this song has represented to me all that can be crappy in music. Taken from the soundtrack for the Robert Redford / Debra Winger rom com Legal Eagles, Stewart doesn't just go Pop but ingests it whole like a Sarlacc pit. It should be a slight, innocuous pop piece of fluff. But something in this song offends me on a deep deep level. Nothing here works for me, its not just the sound of someone selling out that gets me. It's the sound of a talented performer phoning in a performance to a song devoid any real feeling done in a style that's supposed to seem adventurous and fun. And then I had to watch this hunk of junk become a Top 10 hit. Oh the pain, the pain. I can't even bring myself to provide a link to this.
That wraps up my Top 10 musical turkeys, as I mentioned at the start these are some of my favorite groups so why carp on just one song versus the hundreds that I enjoy from these people? Simple, because it's fun. No one can be perfect all the time and these artists are no exception. Though that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun at their expense. And it's perfectly possible that other people may love these songs. So have you heard? Have you heard about the Bird? Bird Bird Bird, Bird is a Word...
He's Peter Cetera and you're not. The man was the perfect image of Baby Boomer lovelorn cool in the Reagan era.
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I've been on a bit of a Chicago kick lately so it seemed like a good time to cover another mid-80's classic. Peter Cetera, king of the clenched jaw crooners, released his second solo album in the summer of 1986. After nearly two decades with the band Chicago, the group's career had evolved from a jazz rock combo to soft rock lovin' balladeers led by Cetera's romantic love songs. After the band's most successful album, Chicago 17, went Triple Platinum 'ol Pete decided he wanted to make a solo album. In one of those classic "I was fired / I quit" scenarios Cetera found himself out of the band (the most common story I heard was Cetera was told if he wanted to make a solo album, he was out). While Cetera had released a solo album before, it was when Chicago was at its nadir. Fortunes had changed by 1985 and Peter Cetera was perfect as the former rocker turned romantic that was so popular in that decade. Feathered hair and stately readings cannot be denied! Now armed with a hot streak of smash hits co-written and sung by his Ceteraness leading up to this moment, he was ready to make another run at the brass ring.
Not the most optimistic song title to lead off a solo album. Petey was starting to feel the itch to be known for more than luv. Hence this slick piece of AOR with a big hammering beat and busy keyboards courtesy of Producer Michael Omartian. The third single from the album, Cetera warns the ladies of the dangers from pretty boys because, well, he's that kind of guy. All caring and stuff. What Cetera should have warned about was the 45 picture sleeve cover, it was a scary picture of him made up like a blond Richard Simmons. Yup, definitely a big mistake. Not as big a mistake as Chicago's remake of 25 or 6 to 4 though.
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2. They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To
An upbeat track caked in Omartian's big production. When the Karate Kid part 2 Producers approached Cetera for a song, he first pitched this track. The Producers weren't biting so Cetera handed over "Glory of Love". The rest is history. "Make 'Em" simply extols the virtues of American girls and gives some needed energy to the proceedings. A glossy trifle of pop rock fun but Cetera's high voice didn't carry as much weight on fast cuts so I kind of miss the Chicago horns. Focus power Peter-san!
3. Glory of Love (Love Theme for the Karate Kid part II)
Would Ralph Macchio and Tamilyn Tomita have found love without the help of Cetera? Probably, but it sounded better when backed by one of the greatest ballads of the decade. Released ahead of the album to fit in with the timing of the Karate Kid sequel, the song continued the Cetera / David Foster awesomeness that started with Chicago 16 and 17. It so closely resembled the other love songs they had done, most people weren't aware it wasn't Chicago. The whole "I am a man who will fight for your honor" bit was incredibly memorable. The classic video mixed movie scenes, rice paper walls and super close ups of Peter Cetera's hands. While watching the video you'll see a lot more of Cetera's chin juttin' singing, the result of a beat down he received at Dodger Stadium for being a rock and roll Cubs fan. The song shot to #1 on the charts, Cetera's first solo hit.
4. Queen of the Masquerade Ball
Lots of songs about being caught in situations on this album, the ladies in "Big Mistake" don't find out the bad news until the next morning. In "Queen of the Masquerade Ball" the woman is a coffee achiever who hides her loneliness because, uh, that's just what she does. I imagine Cetera himself probably felt a bit in flux having just been booted/leaving Chicago. As they say in Star Trek V, "Everyone has a secret pain." Or maybe a public pain since this was big music news back then. When Chicago 18 and Peter Cetera went head to head, Cetera came out on top with two #1 hits and a Platinum record. What was this song about again? And I never got the lyric about "Mohair shoes". It's the 80's dude, sing about loafers or what Bo Knows or something.
Oh, the magic of Three Men and a Baby. With fathers like Ted Danson, Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg involved how can anything go wrong? Cetera liked to write songs about his kids apparently because he did the same thing on the next album One More Story. It's one of the best songs on the album with its bubbly synths and bouyant melody. With a precious song like this, I bet he had some serious empty nest syndrome when his kid moved out which probably happened by now.
6. The Next Time I Fall
King Pete scored another #1 smash with this duet, the second single. Being out of Chicago meant he didn't have to whisper sweet nothings with another dude a 'la Hard Habit To Break and Christian pop singer Amy Grant was definitely better looking than Bill Champlin. A breakthru for Grant who was able to parlay the exposure to a successful Pop career. Cetera got into a special club having a number one single as a solo artist, with a group and now as a duet. This might be one of those duets where the two singers recorded in different studios without meeting. Grant once said when she met Cetera, she said something to the effect of thanking him for the years of hit songs which inadvertently pointed out their age difference. Careerwise, everybody's a winner here. Except those dancers in the video, what the hell is going on there?
After all these sad songs there had to be another upbeat moment so this slight ditty does the trick. This jam makes me want to hit that dance floor and do the Cetera dance as seen here. (It's all about the shoulder action). I like that this is one of those type of songs you hear in a tv movie where people dance like its the best thing ever when in reality no one would think of dancin' to this bland cut.
8. Solitude / Solitaire
Finally Cetera tackles his situation directly and nothing says "on your own" like this song title. Has a real "movie soundtrack" feel to this track like the song that plays for 20 seconds in the background of a scene yet shows up as a full cut on the soundtrack release. Then you think, "I don't remember this song in the movie" and yet there it is. Like Peter Cetera's No Explanations on the Pretty Woman soundtrack. I have no idea where that song plays in the movie but there it is uncut on the soundtrack. One of the catchier songs that has stuck in my mind, I think of this one sometimes when doing something on my own. A nice feeling of independence on this track.
Another broken heart for Pete, this guy gets sad when he's in chasing love and he's sad when he gets dumped. Just no pleasing him. After 8 songs of either being infatuated or being told to hit the bricks, Cetera just throws his giant sized hands in the air and says "Only Love Knows Why". A nice ballad and the fourth single from this fine record. On ballads, Cetera's voice has a certain nobleness to it that comes off well.
Peter Cetera went on to record more solo albums, the follow up One More Story (1988) was the best of the bunch as he took on some Steve Winwoodisms to deliver snazzy adult contemporary pop. David Foster and Cetera would work on occassion together as well but would not recapture the heights of "Glory of Love". Michael Omartian's slicked out synth and electric drum heavy style proved a good fit for Cetera. For me, the partnership of David Foster and Peter Cetera were one of my favorite songwriting pairings so here's a medley of Foster and Cetera.
