Chicago "Chicago 17"

Chicago 17 is the fourteenth studio album by American band Chicago, released on May 14, 1984. It was the group's second release for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, their second album to be produced by David Foster and their last with founding bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera.

Four singles were released from the album, all of which placed in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The success of the singles propelled Chicago 17 to achieve an RIAA certification of six times platinum. Chicago 17 remains the biggest-selling album in the band's history.

In 1985 the album received three Grammy Awards. David Foster won for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (tied in this category with Lionel Richie and James Anthony Carmichael), Humberto Gatica won for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical, and David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock won for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for "Hard Habit to Break" which was also nominated for Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. In his review of the album for AllMusic, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine says Chicago 17 is "the pinnacle of [producer David Foster's] craft and one of the best adult contemporary records of the '80s," and one of the most influential albums "within its style."

In 2006, Rhino Entertainment remastered and reissued the album, using the original analog versions of "Please Hold On" (which was co-written with Lionel Richie who was enjoying success from his album Can't Slow Down) and "Prima Donna" and adding a Robert Lamm demo, "Here Is Where We Begin" as a bonus track.

In keeping with the majority of their albums up to that time (1984), the traditional "Chicago" logo, designed by John Berg and Nick Fasciano, is the main feature of the album cover of the vinyl LP record and the cover does not feature any photos of individuals in the group. In a 2020 article for Muse by Clio, it was listed among "9 Great Album Covers, Chosen by Gregory Sylvester." Sylvester describes the cover as, " ... an illusion of a package within a package ... brown kraft paper, twine and a faux red stamp." The vinyl LP album cover looks like a package wrapped in brown paper tied with twine and (on the back) secured with tape. On the front, the "Chicago" logo appears to be in bas-relief (it is not), covered by the wrapping paper. The number "17," in Arabic numerals rather than the Roman numerals used by the group formerly, appears to be stamped on the wrapping paper below the logo. In the upper left-hand quadrant of the cover back, a pink "receipt form" is depicted (designated as a "TOPS FORM 3014" in small print at the bottom of the "receipt"), tucked underneath the "twine," with the "Chicago" logo stamped on it near the top in purple ink and, below the logo, a "DESCRIPTION OF PACKAGE" lists the tracks on side one and side two. The bottom of the "receipt form" shows production and engineering credits and the Warner Bros. logo "stamped" on the slip. On the inner dust sleeve, a large group photo of the band appears on one side: (back row, left to right) Lee Loughnane, Bill Champlin, James Pankow, Walt Parazaider, Robert Lamm, (front row, left to right) Danny Seraphine, Peter Cetera. The reverse side of the dust sleeve gives track listings, song lyrics, and song and album credits, including credits for artwork and packaging: Art Direction/Design, Simon Levy; Album Cover Art, Larry Vigon; Photography, Harry Langdon, James Goble.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Stay the Night" Peter Cetera, David Foster Vocals: Peter Cetera 3:48
2. "We Can Stop the Hurtin'" Bill Champlin, Robert Lamm, Deborah Neal Vocals: Robert Lamm 4:11
3. "Hard Habit to Break" Steve Kipner, John Lewis Parker Vocals:Cetera with Bill Champlin 4:43
4. "Only You" Foster, James Pankow Vocals:Lamm with Champlin 3:53
5. "Remember the Feeling" Cetera, Champlin Vocals:Cetera 4:28

Side two

1. "Along Comes a Woman" Cetera, Mark Goldenberg Vocals:Cetera 4:14
2. "You're the Inspiration" Cetera, Foster Vocals:Cetera 3:49
3. "Please Hold On" Champlin, Foster, Lionel Richie Vocals:Champlin 3:37
4. "Prima Donna" Cetera, Goldenberg Vocals:Cetera 4:09
5. "Once in a Lifetime" Pankow Vocals:Champlin with Cetera 4:12

Total length: 41:53

Some songs were recorded during the Chicago 17 sessions but not released. "Good for Nothing" was later released on the We Are the World superstar charity album in 1985. This is the last released Chicago song to feature Peter Cetera on vocals.

A song called "Sweet Marie" that was supposed to be released on the Chicago 17 album has been performed by the Norwegian band called TOBB. Bill Champlin offered this song to perform with the band. It was released on May 14, 2014 by the band, the 30th anniversary of the Chicago 17 album that was released on May 14, 1984. It was performed by Chicago on rare occasions back in 1984, and has surfaced online from VHS recordings of some of their performances.

A subsequent international release in 2010 (included in the Studio Albums 1979-2008 box set from 2015) has the original album restored, with additional bonus tracks of the alternate versions of "Only You", "You're the Inspiration", and "Prima Donna" as well as "Here Is Where We Begin". There also exists a demo version of "Hard Habit to Break".

David Foster – producer

Humberto Gatica – engineer, mixing

Terry Christian – assistant engineer

Eddie Delena – assistant engineer

Laura Livingston – assistant engineer

Larry Fergusson – mix assistant, additional overdubs

Paul Lani – additional overdubs

Simon Levy – art direction, design

Larry Vigon – album cover art

James Goble – photography

Harry Langdon – photography

Recorded at The Lighthouse (North Hollywood, CA); Sunset Sound (Hollywood, CA); Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA).

Mixed at Lion Share Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA).