Chicago "The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997"

The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997 is the fifth greatest hits album, and twenty-third album overall, by the American band Chicago, released in 1997. It was compiled to commemorate the group's 30th anniversary of their formation.

The idea was to bridge their two eras on one CD: the James William Guercio and Columbia Records period of the 1970s, and the David Foster and Warner Bros. Records period of the 1980s. In addition, the band added two new songs, "The Only One" produced by Lenny Kravitz and "Here in My Heart" by James Newton Howard. Both of these new tracks were successful in the adult contemporary market; "Here in My Heart" topped the AC charts, and "The Only One" was a top 20 AC hit.

Though the album was certified gold following its April 1997 release, many critics and fans disapproved of the concept, due to the clashing styles of both decades, and the lack of many significant hits such as "25 or 6 to 4", "Call on Me", and "What Kind of Man Would I Be?". To balance this out, a second album, The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II was released the following year to fill in the missing gaps that were left in the first one. Rhino Records' 2002 two-CD release The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning, with chronological sequencing, is generally considered to supersede both volumes of The Heart of Chicago.

Track listing

1. "You're the Inspiration" (Peter Cetera/David Foster) – 3:49 from Chicago 17
2. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:55 from Chicago X
3. "Make Me Smile" (Single version) (James Pankow) – 2:59 from Chicago II
4. "Hard Habit to Break" (Steve Kipner/Jon Parker) – 4:44 from Chicago 17
5. "Saturday in the Park" (Robert Lamm) – 3:55 from Chicago V
6. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:35 from Chicago VII
7. "The Only One" (Pankow/Greg O'Connor) – 5:59 Previously unreleased
8. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 2:59 from Chicago II
9. "Look Away" (Diane Warren) – 4:00 from Chicago 19
10. "Here in My Heart" (Glen Ballard/James Newton Howard) – 4:15 Previously unreleased
11. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42 from Chicago VI
12. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Single version) (Lamm) – 3:19 from Chicago Transit Authority
13. "Will You Still Love Me?" (Foster/Tom Keane/Richard Baskin) – 5:41 from Chicago 18
14. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 7:54 from Chicago Transit Authority
15. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera/Foster/Lamm) – 5:05 from Chicago 16

The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997 (Reprise 46554) reached No. 55 in the US and peaked at No. 21 in the UK.

Chicago "Hard To Say I'm Sorry (Single & Video)"

"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a power ballad written by bassist Peter Cetera, who also sang lead on the track, and producer David Foster, for the group Chicago. It was released on May 16, 1982, as the lead single from the album Chicago 16. On September 11 it reached No. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's second No. 1 single. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover" in 1978 and it spent twelve weeks in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September of the same year. Songwriter Cetera, a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for the song in the category, Most Performed Songs.

The song, as well as the album on which it is featured, was a marked departure from Chicago's traditional soft rock, horn-driven sound, taking on a polished and modern feel. With minimal horns, the track instead featured more layered synthesizers and heavier distorted guitar in a 1980s power ballad styling. A second movement of the song, "Get Away", does prominently feature the Chicago horns, and it was co-written by Robert Lamm.

Deviating from Chicago's practice of having mostly band members playing on their albums, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" featured several session musicians. The song featured producer David Foster on the piano, as well as three members of the American rock band Toto, including Steve Lukather on guitar and David Paich and Steve Porcaro both contributing synthesizers. The song's vocals were performed by Peter Cetera. The only other member of Chicago besides Cetera that played on the track was drummer Danny Seraphine.

The song was also featured as the ending theme in the movie and soundtrack for Summer Lovers, a 1982 film written and directed by Randal Kleiser, starring Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah and Valerie Quennessen, and filmed on location on the island of Santorini, Greece.

Chicago made a music video for the song. According to Cetera, the videos for "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "Love Me Tomorrow" were shot on the same day. The band appears in a black colored room with diamonds on the wall.

Chicago "You're The Inspiration (Single & Video)"

"You're the Inspiration" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their fourteenth studio album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The third single released from that album, it reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1985 and also climbed to the top position on the Adult Contemporary chart at the same time. The song won honors for Cetera from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), in 1986 in the most-performed songs category.

Peter Cetera re-recorded the song for his 1997 solo album You're the Inspiration: A Collection. That same year he also recorded a single version with the vocal R&B group Az Yet.

Peter Cetera stated in a 2004 interview that "You're the Inspiration" started out as a song for Kenny Rogers:

"David Foster called me up and he said, ‘I’m in the studio with Kenny Rogers, and he would like you to write a song for him.’ And I said, ‘That’s great! As a matter of fact, I’m leaving for Italy...’ I was going to Europe for something. I don’t remember [why]...and this was like nine o’clock in the morning. I said, ‘I’m leaving for Italy tonight around five o’clock. I’ll be there about two weeks, and I’ll call you when I come back.’ And he goes, ‘No, no, no, he means, like, now.’ (....) And so David was in the studio...and of course...you know, last minute. And so I said, ‘Alright, well you come over here right now, and we’ll see what we can do.’ So in the midst of packing, David drove out to where I was then living. And we basically, in about three hours, came up with a little chordal structure for “You’re the Inspiration,” which it wasn’t called that at the time. And we sort of made this little tape of this chord structure; I took it on the plane, [and] went to Italy. And, of course, lying in these beautiful baroque and marble rooms, and singing out the window...I was writing things about, ‘Michelangelo you should know, Michelangelo.’ And I came up with, oh...you’re the inspiration! [So, I] came back with the words, worked on this melody, and came back and presented the song. And [Kenny] basically didn’t have the time or didn’t want to do it. Good for me!"

Cetera then changed some of the words and recorded the song with Chicago for their Chicago 17 album.

The video depicted the band performing intercut with scenes of embracing couples of varying ages ranging from young kids to a couple resembling Billy Idol and Madonna at the time. Lead singer Peter Cetera is seen wearing a T-shirt from the British goth band Bauhaus. During his performance, Cetera is sitting the whole time. Actor Matt Dillon was not in the music video. It also uses an alternate version of the song without the guitar sting between the second and third choruses.

Chicago "Hard Habit To Break (Single & Video)"

"Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album Chicago 17, with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was prevented from any more chart movement by "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. "Hard Habit to Break" also peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Overseas it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Hard Habit to Break" was nominated for four Grammy Awards: Foster and Jeremy Lubbock won the award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s); Chicago were nominated for the song in the categories Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; and Cetera and Foster were nominated for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. Songwriters Kipner and Parker won an ASCAP award in 1986 for most-performed song.

Chicago "Stay The Night (Single & Video)"

"Stay the Night" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing the lead vocals. The song features noted session drummer Jeff Porcaro taking the place of Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine.

Upbeat and rock-oriented, it was the first single released from that album, and reached number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

This song is also remembered for its music video, filmed in and around the Los Angeles River. It shows Peter Cetera chasing a hard-to-get lady, played by Ingrid Anderson with Debbie Evans as stunt double, and features car-chases, notably featuring a red convertible Oldsmobile 442. It may be that Cetera performed some of his own stunts, but in a 1985 interview, bandmate Robert Lamm said a stuntman was used. It was directed by Bob Giraldi and Gilbert Bettman Jr.

Chicago "Chicago 17 (2006 Reissue, Japanese Edition)"

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.

Track listing

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

Total length: 41:53

Bonus tracks on Rhino reissue

1. "Here Is Where We Begin" (featuring David Pack) Lamm Vocals:Lamm with David Pack 3:53

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).

2006 Reissue

Mike Engstrom – A&R, project supervision

Lee Loughnane – A&R, project supervision

Jeff Magid – A&R, project supervision, mixing (bonus selections)

David Donnelly – mixing (bonus selections), remastering

Cory Frye – editorial supervision

Greg Allen – art direction, design

Karen LeBlanc – project assistance

Steve Woolard – project assistance

Mixed at DNA Studio (Studio City, CA).

Mastered at DNA Mastering (Studio City, CA).