Chicago • Chicago
Rhino Entertainment R1 76172
Two 33-RPM 180 g LPs
Although its title might suggest that it is an eponymously-titled debut album, Chicago is actually the group’s second album, hence it is sometimes referred to as Chicago II. It was originally released on Columbia Records in 1970 and consists of 23 tracks, including the singles Make Me Smile, Colour My World, and my personal favourite track on the album, 25 or 6 to 4.
The sound quality is surprisingly good: not an audiophile spectacular, but pretty good for a commercial recording of this vintage. As a side note, Columbia was very interested in quadraphonic records at the time, so Chicago was available in this format.
The style of music on this album is jazz fusion, a genre I’m still only beginning to appreciate. So apart from the aforementioned 25 or 6 to 4 and one or two other tracks, I find the music a little bit inaccessible (although given its RIAA Platinum certification, I may well be in the minority here!). But for most people what I think of the music doesn’t matter: you either like or you don’t. Recommended from a purely sonic point of view, this is one of the few records in my collection with which I have musical reservations...