Chicago "Now"

Chicago XXXVI: Now, sometimes stylized as "NOW" Chicago XXXVI or Now: Chicago XXXVI, is the twenty-fourth studio album, and thirty-sixth overall by Chicago. It was written and recorded in 2013–2014, and was released on July 4, 2014. Aside from the occasional few new tracks found in the band's many compilation and cover albums, Now is the band's first full album of new compositions since 2006's Chicago XXX, (not including Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus, which was released in 2008 but recorded in 1993). This album has the first original Chicago credits for veteran musicians Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and Lou Pardini, since joining the band.

The album was produced in a geographically distributed, "just-in-time" fashion. Noted by the band's cofounder Robert Lamm as "a very sort of disjointed way to work", Now's production model was largely enabled by a fully mobile system of the band's own design called "The Rig". It was recorded primarily in hotels and secondarily in studios along the band's American tour, constructed mostly from each musician's isolated performances between concert dates, and then synchronized via a private Web portal site for final overdubbing by coordinating producer and engineer Hank Linderman. The band's songwriting members are each respectively credited as each track's "supervising producer".

Even throughout the album's year-long development, audio preview clips of each track were progressively released to the public online — some before they were completed by the addition of the band's signature brass section. The first preview, "Naked in the Garden of Allah", was released in April 2013, the album was finally made available for preorder in April 2014, and was released July 2014.

The ultimate goal was to make music — and now we're doing that. We're going to see how far we can go with this. Thank goodness we have 46 years of track record behind us. We're just trying to grow the legacy even more.

— Chicago cofounder, Lee Loughnane, on Now

Beginning in April 2013, the Something Else! webzine engaged the band's progressively released preview clips. They said that "Naked in the Garden of Allah" "reanimates" the band's early "cutting" political messages, wherein "the lyrics, and the song's turbulent textures, speak to both the horrors of war and to Lamm's enduring pleas for peace". "Watching All the Colors" is said to resemble Robert Lamm's 2008 solo sessions from The Bossa Project, and "Something's Coming, I Know" "rumbles along with a more scuffed-up cadence — until it's broken up by this sun-streaked, Beatlesque bridge". Recorded on the tour bus, Tris Imboden's drums on "Crazy Happy" are said to "sound modern and appropriate for the song and mesh seamlessly". They complement the album's percussion, as provided by "the great Walfredo Reyes Jr."

It entered the American Billboard 200 at number 82.

Track listing

1. "Now" Jason Scheff, Greg Barnhill Vocals: Jason Scheff with Robert Lamm and Lou Pardini 5:03
2. "More Will Be Revealed" Lamm, Phil Galdston Vocals: Lamm with Pardini 5:11
3. "America" Lee Loughnane Vocals: Pardini 4:04
4. "Crazy Happy" Jason Scheff, Lamm Vocals: Lamm with Scheff 5:02
5. "Free at Last" Keith Howland, Tris Imboden, Lamm Vocals: Lamm 5:13
6. "Love Lives On" Barnhill, Scheff, James Pankow Vocals: Scheff 5:21
7. "Something's Coming, I Know" Gerry Beckley, Lamm Vocals: Lamm with Loughnane 3:48
8. "Watching All the Colors" Lamm, Lou Pardini Vocals: Pardini 4:15
9. "Nice Girl" Howland, Imboden, Scheff Vocals: Keith Howland with Scheff 4:02
10. "Naked in the Garden of Allah" Lamm, Hank Linderman Vocals: Lamm 4:24
11. "Another Trippy Day" John Van Eps, Lamm Vocals: Lamm with Pardini 4:04

Hank Linderman – coordinating producer, engineer, editing, mixing

Phil Galdston – additional production and arrangements (Track 2)

Drew Hester – drum track engineer

Keith Howland – engineer (Tracks 5 and 9)

Dave Collins – mastering

Rick Walsh – additional horn transcriptions

Robert Lamm and Trent Gardner – art direction

Trent Gardner with Rigel Blue Agency and Lucky Thirteen Designs – package design and graphics

The band's composers are each respectively credited as each track's "supervising producer".

Chicago "Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert"

Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert is a live album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-sixth album overall, released in 1999. Their second live album to be released in the US, it was Chicago's first of the sort since 1971's Chicago at Carnegie Hall and 1972's Live in Japan, though the band had released commercial VHS tapes of two concerts in the early 1990s.

Featuring the band's latter day line-up, Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert is composed mostly of their wealth of hits, with three brand new studio recordings ending the album, one of which, Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", features non-band member Michael McDonald on lead vocals.

Released on their own Chicago Records imprint, Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert became the first new Chicago album to fail to chart upon its release (Take Me Back to Chicago, a compilation of hits and album tracks having failed to chart upon its release some 14 years earlier) and, consequently, went out of print a few years later. The imprint has since folded.

The reaction among fans who purchased the album was mixed. Many appreciated that the current line-up of the band finally had an official live release. Others also appreciated that the recording was done with modern recording equipment leading to a crisp, modern sound. The band was also applauded for clean, tight performances compared to sloppier performances in older recordings.

Criticism was often targeted at Michael McDonald's appearance as a lead vocalist when Chicago had several resident lead singers. In addition, the album's use of vocal and horn over-dubs to augment the actual live performance (a common practice with many live albums) received some criticism. Finally, the reaction to the song selection on the album was mixed. Some criticized its lack of representation of music from Chicago's post-1984 catalog while others noted that the live songs chosen for Chicago XXVI weren't substantially different from other live recordings the band had sold commercially in the 1990s.

Regardless of these criticisms, Chicago XXVI remains a popular collector's item, due to its relative obscurity compared to other albums in Chicago's catalog.

Track listing

1.-  "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" (James Pankow) – 13:29

• "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"

2.-  "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (Pankow) – 4:40

3.-  "Mongonucleosis" (Pankow) – 3:39

4.-  "Hard Habit To Break" (Steve Kipner, Jon Parker) – 5:16

5.-  "Call on Me" (Lee Loughnane) – 4:33

6.-  "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (Peter Cetera, Pankow) – 4:24

7.-  "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 6:18

8.-  "Beginnings" (Robert Lamm) – 5:51

9.-  "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera, David Foster, Lamm) – 5:38

10.- "25 or 6 to 4" (Lamm) – 5:51

11.- "Back to You" (Lamm, Keith Howland) – 3:41

12.- "If I Should Ever Lose You" (Burt Bacharach, Tonio K) – 4:30

13.- "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, Carl Smith) – 4:11

• Features Michael McDonald on lead vocal
• The above three tracks are new studio recordings

Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert (Chicago 26) did not chart in the US or UK.

Roy Bittan – producer (11)

Mervyn Warren – producer (13)

Roger Gibbons – engineer

Ted Perlman – engineer

Ed Thacker – engineer, mixing (1-10)

Humberto Gatica – mixing (11, 12, 13)

Carlos Garcia – additional engineer

Chris Blazier – production coordinator

John Kosh – art direction, design

Chicago "Live In Toronto 1969"

In 1969, Chicago appeared at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, the same one day rock festival that produced John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto 1969. (Also appearing at the Festival were Alice Cooper, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry - whose performances of the event were also issued on albums.) Since 1978, there have been innumerable unauthorized LP, Cassette and CD releases of the same poor-quality recording of this performance.

There were eight songs recorded at the gig, seven from Chicago Transit Authority plus the then unreleased "25 or 6 to 4." Almost all of these releases include only seven of the songs; "Beginnings" is nearly always omitted, its title often being wrongly given to the first track "Introduction". "South California Purples" is often listed as "Purples," "Purple Song" or "South Carolina Purples", and sometimes given an incorrect writing credit—i.e., to composer Carl Michalski or "John Gunner/J.Marks".

The one song in the set not to appear previously on any official live album is "Liberation", which is frequently edited or faded early and whose correct total runtime is approximately 16:05. On some versions, all the songs are faded early. Some LP versions include talking between songs, most notably Lamm pointing out that "25 or 6 to 4" was a brand new song.

Despite its shortcomings, some reviewers have regarded the recording quite positively. For example, the 1984 LP release Chicago: Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 69 by Design Records is considered by reviewer Doug Stone to be a "choice concert souvenir...captur(ing) the group in its live prime. Supporting the Chicago Transit Authority debut, before mastering wedding material, Chicago was a rock & roll force to be reckoned with." A reviewer of an earlier version of same recording, entitled Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume 1 (Accord, 1981) considers that "...there's certainly nothing wrong with the performance. In some ways, the at times fuzzy sound works in the album's favor, giving Chicago a garage-y edge rarely found on their studio works."

Chicago "Chicago 19"

Chicago 19 is the sixteenth studio album by American rock band Chicago, released in 1988. After recording Chicago 18 with David Foster, the band worked primarily with producers Ron Nevison and Chas Sandford for this album. Their Full Moon Records imprint moved to Reprise Records. This is the final album to feature the band's original drummer Danny Seraphine, who was later dismissed from the group in 1990.

With a reception similar to its predecessor, Chicago 19 became a success on the album chart, going platinum and yielding hit singles. The album includes "Look Away" (No. 1), "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (No. 3), and "You're Not Alone" (No. 10). A slightly remixed version of Jason Scheff's "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" (No. 5) would also be successful in late 1989, as part of the follow-up Greatest Hits 1982-1989 release. The album relied heavily on outside writers, continuing a trend from the previous album. The first two singles were written by Diane Warren, and the third by British-born songwriter Jimmy Scott.

After the tour for Chicago 19, original drummer Danny Seraphine was fired from the band for undisclosed reasons. Session drummer Tris Imboden then permanently joined the band, for the recording of Twenty 1.

Track listing

Side One

1. "Heart in Pieces" Tim Feehan, Brian MacLeod Vocals: Jason Scheff 5:04
2. "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" Albert Hammond, Diane Warren Vocals: Bill Champlin 3:55
3. "I Stand Up" Robert Lamm, Gerard McMahon Vocals: Robert Lamm 4:06
4. "We Can Last Forever" Jason Scheff, John Dexter Vocals: Scheff 3:45
5. "Come in from the Night" Bill Champlin, Bruce Gaitsch Vocals: Champlin 4:43

Side Two

1. "Look Away" Diane Warren Vocals: Champlin 4:02
2. "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" Jason Scheff, Chas Sandford, Bobby Caldwell Vocals: Scheff 4:21
3. "Runaround" Bill Champlin, Jason Scheff Vocals: Champlin and Scheff 4:10
4. "You're Not Alone" Jim Scott Vocals: Champlin 3:56
5. "Victorious" Marc Jordan, John Capek Vocals: Lamm 6:02

Chicago 19 (Full Moon/Reprise 25714) reached #37 in the US during a chart stay of 42 weeks. It did not chart in the UK.

Outtakes: An alternative version of "Come in from the Night" exists called "Hide Behind the Window". A cover version of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose" was intended for Chicago 19 and was performed live in July 1988. "Dancing in The Streets" was omitted, and performed in 1989 in Houston, Texas as part of an encore; Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" was also performed at the same show.

Producers – Chas Sandford (Tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 & 10); Ron Nevison (Tracks 2, 4, 6 & 9).

Tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10 engineered by Gary McGachan and Chas Sandford, assisted by Daren Chadwick.

Tracks 2, 4, 6, and 9 engineered by Ron Nevison, assisted by Nick Basich, Michael E. Hutchinson, Stan Katayama, Jeff Poe and Bob Vogt.

Mixed by James Guthrie, Chas Sandford and Greg Walsh.

Recorded and Mixed at Record Plant and Secret Sound (Los Angeles, CA); A&M Studios (Hollywood, CA); Gold Mine (Woodland Hills, CA); Can-Am Recorders (Tarzana, CA).

Production Assistant to Ron Nevison – Deandra Miller

Production Assistant to Chas Sandford – Lisa M. Allen

Art Direction and Design – Janet Levinson

Computer Illustration –Jim Hillin for DeGraf/Wahrman Inc.

Direction – Howard Kaufman for Front Line Management

The album makes extensive use of the then popular Roland D-50 synthesizer presets. For example: "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" with "Pressure Me Strings" and "Look Away" with PCM E-Piano.