Chicago "Chicago V"

Chicago V is the fourth studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1972. It is notable for being the group's first single album release, after having released three consecutive double albums and a box set of live material.

Following the release of Chicago III in 1971, the group changed from producing double albums, with many songs arranged in extended suites, in favor of more concise tracks on a single album. Chicago V is also notable for Robert Lamm's prolific songwriting; eight out of its ten tunes are composed solely by him. Terry Kath wrote and sang the album's final track "Alma Mater", which showcased his acoustic guitar abilities and although bassist Peter Cetera didn't contribute any compositions to the album, he still sang and played bass, even using a wah-wah pedal on his bass on "While the City Sleeps"; this would be the last album to not have any compositions from Cetera during his tenure in the band. The song "A Hit by Varèse" is a tribute to French-American composer Edgard Varèse.

Recorded just before Chicago at Carnegie Hall was released in late 1971, Chicago V was cut in just over a week and held over for release until the following summer. Released shortly before the album, the single "Saturday in the Park" was the band's biggest hit to that point, reaching No. 3 in the US. Chicago V was critically acclaimed and became Chicago's first No.1 album, spending nine weeks atop the charts in the US. In the UK, the release managed to reach No. 24. The follow-up single "Dialogue (Part I & II)" also became a hit, peaking at No. 24 in the US.

This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 2002, Chicago V was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with three bonus tracks: a rehearsal of Lamm's "A Song for Richard and His Friends", which was debuted at Carnegie Hall, an early rehearsal of Kath's "Mississippi Delta City Blues" (which would later be re-recorded and released on Chicago XI), and a single edit of "Dialogue".

On August 17, 2011, Warner Japan released this album as a hybrid stereo-multichannel Super Audio CD in their Warner Premium Sound series.

Track listing

Side One

1. "A Hit by Varèse" Robert Lamm Vocals:Lamm 4:56
2. "All Is Well" Lamm Vocals:Lamm 3:52
3. "Now That You've Gone" James Pankow Vocals:Terry Kath 5:01
4. "Dialogue (Part I)" Lamm Vocals:Kath, Peter Cetera 2:57
5. "Dialogue (Part II)" Lamm Vocals.Kath, Cetera 4:13

Side Two

1. "While the City Sleeps" Lamm Vocals:Lamm 3:53
2. "Saturday in the Park" Lamm Vocals:Lamm, Cetera 3:56
3. "State of the Union" Lamm Vocals:Cetera 6:12
4. "Goodbye" Lamm Vocals:Cetera 6:02
5. "Alma Mater" Kath Vocals:Kath 3:56

Bonus track (2002 re-issue)

• "A Song for Richard and His Friends (Studio version without vocals)" (Lamm) – 8:15
• "Mississippi Delta City Blues (First recorded version with scratch vocal)" (Kath) – 5:28
• "Dialogue (Part I & II) (Single edit)" (Lamm) – 5:02

Produced by James William Guercio

Engineered by Wayne Tarnowski

Logo Design – Nick Fasciano

Album Design – John Berg

Photography – Jim Houghton and Earl Steinbicker

Lettering – Beverly Scott

Remastering – Joe Gastwirt