Chicago at Carnegie Hall (1971)Peter Cetera - Bass, Vocals
Terry Kath - Guitar, Vocals
Robert Lamm - Keyboards, Vocals
Lee Loughnane - Trumpet, Percussion, Guitar, Background Vocals
James Pankow - Trombone, Percussion
Walt Parazaider - Saxophone, Flute, Percussion, Background Vocals
Danny Seraphine - Drums
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ORIGINAL 4-LP and 3-CD TRACK LISTING
In the Country
10:35Fancy Colours
5:15Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (free form intro)
6:20Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
3:47South California Purples
15:34Questions 67 and 68
5:35Sing a Mean Tune Kid
12:53Beginnings
6:27It Better End Soon
15:55 1st Movement
2nd Movement (Flute Solo)
3nd Movement (Guitar Solo)
4th Movement (Preach)
5th Movement
Introduction
7:09Mother
8:20Lowdown
3:58Flight 602
3:31Motorboat to Mars
3:00Free
5:15Where Do We Go From Here
4:08I Don't Want Your Money
5:23Happy Cause I'm Going Home
7:56Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon
15:25 Make Me Smile
So Much to Say, So Much to Give
Anxiety's Moment
West Virginia Fantasies
Colour My World
To Be Free
Now More Than Ever
A Song for Richard and His Friends
6:5825 or 6 to 4
6:35I'm a Man
8:51REMASTERED VERSION FOURTH DISC
Listen
4:16Introduction*
6:37South California Purples*
12:41Loneliness is Just a Word
2:44Free Form Intro (Naseltones)*
5:58Sing a Mean Tune Kid*
10:51An Hour in the Shower
6:00 A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast
Off to Work
Fallin' Out
Dreamin' Home
Morning Blues Again
25 or 6 to 4*
6:21*Previously unissued alternate versions
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With most bands, after three or four albums, you release a live album. A double album, because live versions often have extended solos and maybe some other things you want to include, and also to more closely represent an entire concert. But Chicago is not most bands. Chicago's first three albums were all double LPs, so their live album had to be on the same scale. It was a four-LP box set, with each record in its own jacket, a book with large, color pictures of each member, two huge posters, and an insert with voting information for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The 1972 election was approaching, after all, and it was time for the people to speak.
Chicago at Carnegie Hall is loved by many, but also derided by some, and often for the same reasons. It is very long. It is indulgent; we hear them tuning their instruments between songs, talking quietly to each other, joking around. The audience is very quiet both during and between songs, not screaming the whole time as at a... well... a "normal" rock concert. The question isn't whether any of this is good or bad, but whether you like it or not. There are factors which divide audiences further. Carnegie Hall was designed for classical music, not amplified music, and this presented challenges in recording. After the second song, the bass is cut drastically because Peter Cetera's bass amp was overpowering everything else (this has been corrected in the remastered version). The horns sound thin, "like kazoos" according to James Pankow (this has also been corrected in the remastered version). Also, some say that the performances are too much like the studio versions, stale and lifeless. I personally think people who say that are out of their minds. With seven players and some very complex, tight arrangements, I think it's amazing how much they groove, how much freedom they take with the arrangements, and how much the original arrangements are embellished.
It opens with the ambient sounds of Carnegie Hall and the band coming out to warm up. We hear the audience react. There is applause, cheering, and something which sounds like "Hello!" being shouted by someone in the audience, to which the band replies "Hello!" and "Hello there!" Then there is over three full minutes of warming up and tuning up. If this were a classical music concert, it would not be unusual in the least. The orchestra must tune, and they do this after they come out. That's exactly what happens here, for this is Carnegie Hall, the Mecca of the classical world. Chicago, however, is a rock band. But they are not like other rock bands. They were at the height of their first wave of popularity, and this is an incredible document of that time. And you are there.
So "In the Country" is listed at 10:35, but that includes the band coming out and tuning up. All of the track times include everything else that they chose to include. The song itself isn't much different from the studio version, although the single pickup note by the horns at the very start of the song changes the feel of the intro, and the slightly slower tempo adds some gravitas. They double the length of the buildup at the end, and one of my favorite additions is some adi-lib piano during the horn break leading up to it. Overall, it's a heavier, more rocking version, where the studio version was more light and poppy.
Robert Lamm thanks the audience for the reception, explaining what it's like to be at Carnegie Hall and "we can feel you, as well as see you, and it's really great." He then asks us to imagine a set of wind chimes on each side of our heads, as they start "Fancy Colours".
The one-minute free form intro to "Does Anybody Really Know What It Is?" has evolved into its own track. It's now six minutes, and drummer Danny Seraphine joins in halfway through when things really get rocking. Then we hear the familiar fanfare which starts the song, which is pretty straightforward, save for a little embellishment to the trombone cadenza at the end.
Terry Kath's two-bar cadenza at the end of "South California Purples" has somehow grown into a 10-minute solo. It starts with Terry holding an E as the rest of the band stops, then he's eventually joined by the bass, keys, and drums building into a jam. The horns come back for the closing chords, ending what is easily one of the highlights of the album.
A rousing version of "Questions 67 and 68" follows. It's introduced by Terry as "our first boss, hit-bound single that never was a boss, hit-bound single." It's the same as the studio arrangement, but somehow the horns pack more punch, and Terry is on fire, as always.
"Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is next, and we're treated to another extended guitar solo. As with the studio version, it starts as a 3/4 variation of the main progression, then slowly mutates into another open jam by the main quartet (the horns take a break). It's a bit slower than the studio version, adding a bit more funk to what is probably Chicago's funkiest tune.
"Beginnings" follows, and like "Questions 67 and 68" it pretty much follows the original arrangement but still adds more punch, especially during the trumpet and trombones solos and duet. They don't do the percussion break at the end, but you don't really miss it.
"It Better End Soon" has expanded from four movements to five, with a guitar solo movement added after the flute solo, and both are great. Interestingly, the "Preach" movement is completely different. And as with the album
Chicago, the only lyrics included in the album are the words to the "Preach".
The third LP of the original box set opened with "Introduction" which welcomes us back after the intermission. It's stepped up a few beats from the original, and really cooks. The syncopated horns breaks are stunning, and all the solos are inspired.
"Mother" is next, expanded a little. The intro takes its time to build more and is probably more effective because of it. The trombone duet during the 5/8 section is now a trombone solo, then the sax joins, making it a duet, then finally the trumpet, making it a trio. As on
Chicago III, "Lowdown", its thematic twin, follows.
The first three parts of the Travel Suite come next. "Flight 602" (with Lee Loughnane on second guitar), "Motorboat to Mars", and "Free", which has been expanded to include a saxophone solo and a reprise of the chorus.
"Where Do We Go From Here" is a touch slower than the original version, and I think it works better. It's a contemplative song. Lee Loughnane plays guitar on this one as well.
"I Don't Want Your Money" smokes, with Terry simply torturing his guitar. James Pankow once said that Terry Kath was the only guy who can play lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and sing, all at the same time. Here's an example.
"Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home" is somehow more laid back than the original, though it's at the same tempo. I think the electric guitar rather than the driving 12-string acoustic is the difference. Walt Parazaider's flute solo is amazing.
They close the concert with the "Ballet for a Girl in Buck-hannon". All those ad-libbed lines by Terry on the studio version, he does them here as well. Honestly, I've never been a fan of a lot of "Oh yeah" during songs, either live or studio. But it's a great, high-energy version of the Ballet.
Side Eight of the original set was the encores, starting with the only track not from a studio album, "A Song for Richard and His Friends". Don't be fooled by the title and the lovely handwritten script that characterized every Chicago album from
Chicago through
Chicago IX; this is an angry, bitter song. It calls for president Richard Nixon to quit, because of how poorly he's been handling the Viet Nam War. Ironically, the Viet Nam War would end on President Nixon's watch (though much of the credit generally goes to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for that), and President Nixon eventually did resign, the only U.S. President to do so, but it was in the fallout of the Watergate scandal and cover-up. It had nothing to do with the war.
Then of course, "25 or 6 to 4" is the real closer. And as you might expect, Terry's solo is absolutely blistering. Cetera's vocals sound amazing; exhausted and emotionally drained, adding greatly to the feel of the song. Coming as it does at the end of the night, their last night of a week at Carnegie Hall, I'm sure he really was exhausted and drained.
The crowd refuses to let them go, and the band, minus the horn section, come back for one more song. Robert Lamm says "We're going to do something we haven't done for a while" but it's unclear whether he means doing a second encore, or the song itself, "I'm a Man" from the first album. But it's the last single, the only one they haven't played, and one that they can get away with not having the horn section.
The four LPs were originally issued on a 3-CD set. The Rhino remaster adds a fourth CD of four songs not included in the original release and four tracks taken from alternate nights.
"Listen" opens the bonus disc, appropriately enough. This song is fine, and I like the message, but overall I've just never been a big fan of it. They drop the tempo a hair, giving it more of a driving, heavier feel, but it just isn't that kind of song. The horns sound great, though.
The alternate version of "Introduction" is great. The solos are completely different, yet each is just as excellent as on the original live version.
"South California Purples" -- the song part -- isn't much different, although it's interesting how differently it starts. The real gem here is Terry's solo, another ten-minute jam by him and rest of the quartet, built again from the ground up.
"Loneliness is Just a Word" is a nice addition, though not much different from the studio version. It's a short song, but one of my favorites from
Chicago III.
The oddly named "Free Form Intro (Naseltones)" is an alternate version of the piano solo intro to "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" It's similar yet different, in much the same way that Terry's guitar solos are similar to yet different from the versions on the original release. It fades out when they start up the song, however, which is a strange move, since the song itself isn't very long. After all, they included the entire tracks for "South California Purples" and "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" when obviously the point of inclusion was the guitar solo. Why not include "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" when you've included the piano solo? It's not like the fourth disc is completely full (it's only 55 minutes total time).
The alternate version of "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is a bit tighter, a bit funkier, and has yet another great extended guitar solo by Terry Kath.
"An Hour in the Shower" is another interesting inclusion. There's not much room for variation in the arrangement, so Terry has a little fun with the words here and there. You just have to hear it to understand what I mean.
And again, "25 or 6 to 4" is the closer, and again, it features an absolutely amazing guitar solo.
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I was 12 years old. At that time, my music collection consisted of a K-Tel mix tape and two 45 RPM singles. My friend Dave asked me if I liked Chicago. I'd heard of them, knew some of their songs. Sure, they're pretty cool, I guess. He said his sister had bought their live album, listened to the first side, and didn't really like it. She kept the two posters (they were already on her walls), and had thrown away the voting information, but she sold me the rest of the box for five dollars. So I got the records and the big picture book for five dollars.
Five dollars! I took it home, put it on, and was in another world. I had no idea. I didn't know that you weren't supposed to include three minutes of the band coming out, tuning up, messing around on stage, all before the first song. I didn't know that the audience isn't supposed to sit quietly and listen to the band tell stories which introduced the next song. I didn't know that people would complain about the quality of the recording when clearly it was the performances that mattered. I didn't know how different this live album was from pretty much all others before or since, because I had nothing to compare it to. I
did know that a four-record live album was pretty unusual, though.
To this day,
Chicago at Carnegie Hall is one of my favorite albums. Tomorrow, I'll be driving to Michigan to jam with my buddies from home and, as is tradition, I will listen to this album from start to finish during the trip. And I'll be 12 years old again, just learning about music, with no idea what is possible, no preconceived notions of what a band "should" be or "should" sound like.
The alternate versions of "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" and "South California Purples" really opened my eyes. Or ears, or something. I had a co-worker who was a huge Grateful Dead fan. Hey, they're cool, and I can appreciate bands that can just cut loose on stage, let the music change and evolve, make every performance a little different, a little special. But I guess I didn't really understand it. Hearing Terry's solos from some other night (it doesn't say which for any of them), it just reminds me that they played six nights there and recorded every night. And I'm sure every solo, every night, was amazing. I want to hear the other nights! I want to hear all the solos. I didn't realize. I had no idea.
Get this album. It's a little expensive, yeah, I know. But it's worth it.