Chicago (the band)

On Wisconsin on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 06:50 pm

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I discounted this band for a long time since the part of their catalog that I was most familiar with was unfortunately the awful adult contemporary stuff.

Then I hear the song Dialogue Parts 1 and 2 in a store the other day and come to find out that it’s Chicago and it really rocks. And after a little more exploration they have a lot of early rocking songs and the guitarist Terry Kath kicks ass.

But Peter Cetera is in the band too so it sounds like it was a struggle between rocking and sucking until Terry couldn’t take Peter any more and killed himself. So now I’m wondering if instead PETER killed him self (or if Terry killed him and was found not guilty) if Chicago would have been a much different, and better, band.

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Lucky Day

Timmy Hoover on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 06:53 pm

I’m still hoping Steve Kimock

I’m still hoping Steve Kimock does a tour of Peter Cetera songs. Peter Cetera is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s music that makes me laugh.

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Bucky Badger

On Wisconsin on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 06:56 pm

I didn’t know anyone liked

I didn’t know anyone liked Peter I’m not going to apologize for my hypothetical where he gets murdered either

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Lucky Day

Timmy Hoover on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 06:58 pm

No apology necessary. I know

No apology necessary. I know he’s terrible and Chicago could have been rad. I just like Karate Kid 2 enough to give the guy a pass.

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Mr. Sunshine State

Earl on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 07:48 pm

I liked the 1st 3 Chicago

I liked the 1st 3 Chicago albums- they were actually my 1st rock concert 100 years ago and Terry Kath was a serious badass.

Can listen to this one 2 or 3 times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMuqSscfw2o

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Def. High

Surfdead on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 07:57 pm

Cetera was a pretty bad-ass

Cetera was a pretty bad-ass bass player on those early records.

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Bucky Badger

On Wisconsin on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 08:06 pm

Yeah there are some funky

Yeah there are some funky bass lines on that early stuff I’ll give him that I don’t know if peter’s contributions on bass will ever overcome this: https://youtu.be/ahp-AmJFpb8

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Lance HTT Newberry

heathentom on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 10:04 pm

For a good long time Chicago

For a good long time Chicago WAS "rad" and the original lineup was always a great band that was stocked with great players (including Cetera) and that could dominate multiple styles.

Unfortunately they got caught up on writing hits & making money, but even then they continued to put out really good songs and even some of the ballads and pap were still really well written songs, and they could always rock damn hard live. Their drummer Danny Seraphine was as good as it got and is a favorite of mine. I saw the original band once in '77 and that show was fucking amazing, a show that sadly turned out to be Kath's final performance.

And the story about him is that he did not intentionally commit suicide, but was drunk at a party and was fucking around with guns, something he apparently did often, showing off thinking the gun was unloaded.

That could be a cover, but there were many people at that party and the story has always been the same.

Either way a terrible shame.

BTW, Peter Cetera gets a bad rap IMO. Sure he created that rap himself by becoming a sugar sweet pop star, but he is also a really good bass player, a fine singer, a talented songwriter and was a central part of a great and extremely unique band that stood tall during a time when there were A LOT of great and unique bands.

One of my favorite Chicago songs is one of his...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-wHixgp2RE

And of course there's this one, which he didn't write but did sing and is a classic none the less...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uAUoz7jimg

I'll always have a place in my heart for that band as I was in a Chicago cover band throughout my high school years. My best friend and leader of the band played trumpet, so he/we didn't have much choice in style (and for a while we had the trombone player who has toured with Santana for years and who's daughter plays trombone with the Trey Anastasio Band now. I bet he'd deny ever being in 100 Proof, but he was!)

We never got too many gigs but we had a blast doing it for almost five years. Every other high school band at the time were covering Smoke On The Water, Free Bird and Stairway To Heaven and we were playing Introduction, Make Me Smile and Beginnings. And of course Colour My World.

This year is their 50th by the way, and they still have four of the seven original members. I don't go out of my way to see them but they still sound good.

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.............

Jambone on Friday, November 24, 2017 – 10:09 pm