Home » Jazz News » Video / DVD

162

DVD Review: Chicago, "Chicago Transit Authority" (Quadrophonic Mix)

Source:

Sign in to view read count
I don't think there's a band on the planet that's done a more thorough job of repackaging its hits than Chicago and in the 20 years since scoring its last meaningful hit, the band has really cranked the compilation machine into overdrive, churning out best-ofs, ballad collections, live albums, anniversary sets, and any other type of reissue you can think of, as well as a few you probably haven't. So when the Chicago catalog was folded under the Rhino umbrella some years ago, I had my doubts as to whether their partnership would amount to anything meaningful; the remaining original members of the group seem to be more interested in cashing checks than adding to their increasingly debatable legacy.

Rhino, for its part, has done a pretty solid job of managing the Chicago vaults. Though they haven't been able to resist the urge to continue flooding the marketplace with dumb crap like Love Songs, they did remaster the bands back catalog, reissuing it with expanded artwork and bonus tracks (at least up through Chicago 17; the label seems to have no interest in revisiting the post-Peter Cetera years). Rhino was also responsible for bringing Chicago's long-delayed lost album, Stone of Sisyphus, to market, along with Chicago XXX, the bands first album of new material in 15 years.

Still, there's no getting around the fact that Chicago is all but completely an oldies act at this point, and their increasing indifference toward new material has left Rhino with little choice but to get creative with the catalog. So they've gone back to the beginning literally by reissuing the bands first album.

Chicago Transit Authority? Yet again? Well, yes. But you've almost certainly never heard it like this.

For all the reasons I listed above, and many more, I was a little disappointed when I heard Rhino would be releasing a quadrophonic version of Chicago Transit Authority. Yeah, quad sound is cool, but there isn't a Chicago fan on the planet who hasn't heard CTA more times than he can count. Hell, I was born in 1974, became a fan of the band with Chicago 16, and I've always regarded CTA as a druggy blend of pop hooks and silly horseshit and I still don't ever need to hear “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" again.

Continue Reading...

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.