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DiscountDelight - Chicago III
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $13.55
Your Save: $ 5.43 ( 29% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0081227617325
Format: Original recording reissued
Label: Rhino / Wea
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Rhino / Wea
Release Date: 2002-07-16
Studio: Rhino / Wea
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: By far my favorite Chicago album
Comment: To me, I thought Chicago faced a similar fate to Genesis: they later found themselves sacrificing their credibility to pop chart success. Likewise, Phil Collins got the blame for ruining Genesis, Peter Cetera was often the one to blame for ruining Chicago. And both bands also had the same problem that the fans of their early stuff was not necessarily fans of their later stuff, and vice versa, and of course both bands received plenty of MTV exposure in their '80s pop heyday. But of course neither are hardly alike, Genesis was a pioneering prog rock band, and Chicago (just like Blood, Sweat & Tears) was a pioneering horn rock band.
For me, as for as both Genesis and Chicago are concerned, I prefer their early stuff, and in the case of Chicago, I really felt their third album, released at the beginning of 1971 shows the band at their high point. It's interesting that they released three double albums in a row (they won't see a single album until 1972 with Chicago V). It's also quite an eclectic album where the band explores jazz rock, country, Crosby, Stills & Nash-influenced folk-rock, funk, soul, Southern rock. Many of these explorations in these styles make it hard to believe this band really is Chicago, especially when the horns of Lee Loughnane, Walter Parazaider, and James Pankow are not present. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" shows a funkier side of the band that you handn't heard from them before. It also seems like the band got to hear Soft Machine's Third (1970) album around this time, because the instrumental passages of this song (as well as several other cuts on this album) remind me of that album. Robert Lamm's "Loneliness is Just a Word" shows a more jazzy side of the band, and he also gives us a nice organ solo to go with it. While Peter Cetera was often the pop hit making baladeer of this band, here he gives us "What Else Can I Say" which has an oddly country feel to it, complete with pedal steel guitar! Terry Kath's "I Don't Want Your Money" has a strong British blues feel to it, almost like early, This Was-era Jethro Tull (but no flute), even the vocals sound like early Ian Anderson. "Travel Suite" is a movement of several cuts, starting with the amazingly Crosby, Stills & Nash-like "Flight 602", with similar vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, and even Graham Nash-like vocals. Danny Seraphine gives us "Motorboat to Mars", which unsurprisingly is a drum solo (after all he was the drummer of the band). Then comes Robert Lamm's "Free", which I have heard on the radio before. Next is "Free Country" which is a more experimental piece dominated by Robert Lamm's piano and Walter Parazaider's flute. Lamm also gives us "At the Sunrise", but Peter Cetera is singing it, and a rather pop-orinted number. Then there's the jazzy, almost Soft Machine-like "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home", with an extended electric piano and flute solo. "Mother" once again shows a more jazzy side of the band, while Cetera's "Lowdown" is more pop-oriented (supposedly the album's biggest hit, although I don't recall hearing that one on the radio, unlike "Free"), but has some nice horn passages. Robert Lamm gave us "An Hour in the Shower", which is basically a several movement suite, surprisingly this ends up with a strong Southern Rock feel, something like the Allman Brothers, but the horns do surface. Then the album closes with the epic "Elegy", with spoken poetry, some medieval-sounding fanfare on the horns, a mellow instrumental passage that brings to mind the previous album's "Colour My World", an experimental passage with the sound of traffic, with the horns also imitating the sound of traffic, then comes an extended guitar solo that wouldn't be out of place on the Chicago Transit Authority album.
Certainly Chicago III didn't spawn any huge hits like their previous two, but don't let that scare you off. Any fan of early Chicago should own this album!
Customer Rating:
Summary: see, Chicago USED to be cool
Comment: Want to know why I think this album, along with the previous two Chicago albums, aren't considered to be some of the best rock and roll of the early 70's? Because for nearly 20 years now people have been walking into banks and hearing "you're the inspiration" and "hard to say I'm sorry" played softly over the speakers, and they assume Chicago is just your ordinary soft rock band. Little do these people know back in the late 60's/early 70's Chicago was doing something MUCH different, and I believe they were responsible for some of the most satisfyingly creative music at the time. Even if you don't like their music, you have to at least admire what they were doing in the early days. You name a style of rock and it probably can be found on either Chicago's first, second or third album.
People more familiar with Chicago will tell you they had a bunch of hits, and that they frequently used brass instruments to give their music a distinct sound. With all due respect, I don't think many of these people are aware of the things Chicago was doing in the early days. When I listen to this third album, I hear influences of the Beatles, the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, the J. Geils Band, Sly and the Family Stone, the Who and even King Crimson, at certain times.
In addition to these influences, they were also able to write memorable hooks, so if you don't care for lengthy jams you can always look forward to the nicely written vocal melodies that are scattered all over the album. If you're more into rocking and jamming, to my surprise, and to many people's surprise, they have PLENTY of that. Some of these jams carry on for long periods of time. Their style of jamming is pretty fantastic and beautifully written too, and if that doesn't impress you, you should know that each of the jams found on Chicago III has its own feel, and therefore isn't like the one before. For example, one of the jams on here is raw, dirty, and funky, while another one is more colorful with flutes and acoustic guitar. It's awesome to hear a band experiment in such a way, especially when it's a band you didn't know could play rock and roll like this. None of this comes across as cheesy either, which is sure to please Crazy Horse or Grateful Dead fans. If you consider early 70's rock the best type of rock you can find you are SURE to enjoy most of this album, no doubt about it. Ignore the fact that the band permanently changed their sound by the mid 70's. The stuff here is ROCK, baby.
It's amazing this album only had a couple hits, and really, these days you don't even hear them anymore. "free" is one of those hits, and it's funky and memorable (though only a couple minutes long, unfortunately). It's not at all like what Chicago would soon turn into by the 80's- this is raw rock and roll, with touches of creativity all over the place. I don't know how someone would be able to say they can't hear all the experiments found on Chicago III, and to make it all better the band even brought in some keyboards on a a couple of the songs, and if you've ever read some of my other reviews you know keyboards are probably my favorite thing about rock music. It's the instrument I always look forward to, and some of the songs here use it.
As far as I'm concerned, Chicago's early period has been ignored for far too long and it's time for people to hear what they've been missing. What we have on the first three Chicago records is just about anything a rock and roll fan could want out of a band. I think their third album, despite many people who would disagree with me, is their finest hour. It's also a double album, though in this case, both albums were fortunately put on a single CD and what you have is around 70 minutes of music. I believe their previous two albums were also double records, so in a way it's like you have a total of 6 solid albums.
Let me mention some of the songs you will find on this underrated record. "sing a mean tune kid" is not only 9 minutes of total butt-kicking, but it's also proof that the band used to be entirely different in the early days. The first part of the song features jazzy horns and a nice bluesy vocal melody, and the second half is all about letting loose the funk and jamming on the guitar. The drums are even good on this track. I thought for sure after hearing all those soft rock radio hits that the drumming would be the ONE thing the band would have trouble with on the early albums, but even THAT's good! If it wasn't for the singers voice (Peter Cetera, I believe) people who only know 80's Chicago wouldn't even know this album is by the same band.
Now, even though this album is underrated and I find the entire thing good, there are a couple ballads that might rub people the wrong way. To be fair, the ballads here are closer to something like "lady jane" from the Rolling Stones or "sunrise" by the Who. COOL and respectable ballads. "at the sunrise" has EXCELLENT vocal work, but it's understandable if someone wouldn't like the other ballad "what else can I say?" That's the only moment on the entire album I can think where the band becomes more soft and mushy than many people would probably be able to handle. But it doesn't matter- this song is SHORT, and you have nearly 70 minutes or so of great rock music straight ahead.
More enjoyable vocal work is found on tracks like "mother", "lowdown" and the 5-song suite towards the end, featuring soulful singing from Terry Kath. When he sings in that manner, it's impossible to hate. The lyrics DO sound kind of funny, and I think they're supposed to. The "dreamin' home" part reminds me of the Who. "flight 602" is a song you can imagine Poco or the Eagles doing, and it wouldn't surprise me if either of these artists DID cover the song, maybe in concert. It's a melodic song with great lyrics, particularly the line "you are in a hotel, and in your room alone, lying there, but not knowing where you're supposed to be". "motorboat to mars" is just your typical short drum solo, similar to what Led Zeppelin, Cream, Black Sabbath, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer have done, and no doubt many more bands have done the same thing.
"free country" is maybe where some of the members of Chicago were listening to King Crimson at the time, as the song is a 5-minute unmelodic instrumental similar to the things King Crimson used to put on their records such as the noodling section on "moonchild". I'm not sure if the two bands are familiar with each other, though. It would be fascinating if they were.
Before I finish this review, I want to make it clear that I'm not bashing Chicago's softer, radio-friendly career. It was bound to happen anyway, even if Terry Kath hadn't died. I grew up with those 80's songs and I will always have a soft spot for them. It's just that I feel the early stuff like Chicago III give us something truly special and more people should know about early Chicago. Please, give it a try!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The so-so reviews are wrong...Chicago's best work.
Comment: Okay...I have a lot of convincing to do here. This is Chicago's best album. What?!!? There aren't any "greatest hits" here. Chicago's career can be sliced into eras. Their first three (double) albums are the first era. Out of those 3 albums, Chi III is the most ambitious and artistically successful. It has a 70s sound, but isn't dated. The playing is the best that Chicago ever offered. The songs are better than their first album, and they've survived the test of time better than most of the songs on their second album (the exception being 25 or 6 to 4, which still sounds great). This album has a touch of tasteful country, CSN-style folk, hard jazz, an actual drum solo, a spoken word poem (!!) and Chicago's best foray into funk and blues. It's aggressive and free. They do their best singing out of all 3 albums, too. Musicians will flip over these songs and solos. If you can stand "challenging" music or if you play an instrument, buy a greatest hits of theirs for their accessible poppy side and then come to this for the actual MEAT! (Buy Chicago 5, too).
Customer Rating:
Summary: chicago III
Comment: they used the same formula for this disc as the did on their 2nd album but the material on here just downright SUCKS while i enjoy "sing a mean tune kid" and most of the "travel suite" tracks but as far as the other material goes it is just not good at all they reall blew it with this one sorry guys but i will give them credit for trying
Customer Rating:
Summary: Chicago III is my favorite album as a whole
Comment: I hope your reading this Bill Fleck. Your proof that, just because your a good writer, doesen't mean you have good taste in music!!! Chicago III is simply a masterpiece. Like you stated, their are no big hits (nothing from their three volumes of greatest hits) on this cd, but I could care less about that. Bill Fleck go to music school and learn to get some taste, into your puny little brain. You don't like the "Hour in the shower" suite, that's just classic stuff, that most that are only familiar with their hits probably have never heard. It would take too long, to talk about each song, but every song fit's the album. This cd, didn't have to grow on me like some other's did. This is just a complete masterpiece, and by far the best CHICAGO album!!!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Remastered and repackaged edition of their 1971 album. Featuring the hit singles 'Free' and 'Lowdown' and lots more pop, rock, and psychedelic soul. Digipack in a slipcase with a 16 page booklet featuring complete lyrics and detailed liner notes by Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild. 2002.
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