Chicago III

Chicago III Artist: Chicago
Label: Chicago Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 703404300324
EAN: 0703404300324
ASIN: B0000021RE


Release Date: 1995-02-28

Chicago III


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Soft Rock Soft Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Sing A Mean Tune Kid
  2. Lonliness Is Just A Word
  3. What Else Can I Say
  4. I Don't Want You Money
  5. Travel Suite: Flight 602
  6. Travel Suite: Motorboat To Mars
  7. Travel Suite: Free
  8. Travel Suite: Free Country
  9. Travel Suite: At The Sunrise
  10. Travel Suite: Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home
  11. Mother
  12. Lowdown
  13. An Hour In The Shower: A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast
  14. An Hour In The Shower: Off To Work
  15. An Hour In The Shower: Fallin' Out
  16. An Hour In The Shower: Dreamin' Home
  17. An Hour In The Shower: Morning Blues Again
  18. Elegy: When All the Laughter Dies In Sorrow
  19. Elegy: Canon
  20. Elegy: Once Upon A Time...
  21. Elegy: Progress?
  22. Elegy: The Approaching Storm
  23. Elegy: Man Vs. Man: The End

Similar Items:

  1. Chicago 16
  2. Chicago VI
  3. Chicago Transit Authority
  4. Chicago X
  5. Chicago II (Repackaged)

Amazon.com

While Chicago were based in Los Angeles by the time they made this album, the band's horn-laden pop stylings had not changed dramatically since their inception in 1967. Still featuring the triple-threat vocal attack of Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera, Chicago were a well-orchestrated rock band showcasing jazzy compositions and slick arrangements. The late Terry Kath's bluesy guitar and voice were showcased in the ambitious "Hour in the Shower" while Pete Cetera's mainstream leanings were unveiled in "Lowdown." Producer and longtime mentor James William Guercio is not as efficient on III, indicating a lack of focus within the band. Despite lengthy suites, lots of soloing, and elaborate horn charts, the songwriting leaves something to be desired. Verdict: Not as good as their first two recordings. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Progressive and Experimental.......2006-04-09

"Chicago III" was a more experimental outing by Chicago than their previous two albums. The styles range wider, with barely a nod to mainstream music of the late 60s and early 70s. It is likely that the ability to have such a large variety was made possible by the success of their previous two albums.

As originally released, this CD was a double album set. The CD clocks in at about 71 minutes. An amazing 71 minutes it is. Three suites on the album include 17 of the 23 tracks. The suites are organized as follows: the "Travel Suite" includes tracks 5 through 10; "An Hour in the Shower" includes tracks 13 through 17; and "Elegy" includes tracks 18 through 23. In effect, the album includes three conceptual sections and six additional, separate tracks.

The six separate tracks illustrate the musical diversity of Chicago. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is 70s funk with Chicago's trademark horn section jazzing up the funk. "Loneliness is Just a Word" is styled as a jazz song, with a flavor of bebop. Continuing with the changeups, "What Else Can I Say" has a bit of a country flavor but the guitars sound right out of a Beatles song. Part of the harmony also has a bit of Beatles' flavor to it as well. "I Don't Want Your Money" takes us to another corner of musical style with the hardest rocking selection of the CD.

The other two separate tracks are "Mother" and "Lowdown," both appearing between "Travel Suite" and "An Hour in the Shower." "Mother" combines strong horn music with a solid rock tapestry. The vocals here presage 10cc's later 70s music that would frequently use a similar style, though without the brass. Brass will always set apart and define Chicago's early music. "Lowdown" contains a strong organ lead-in a one of the more pop-like tracks on this CD, containing funky musical elements and style that were typical of that era.

The separate tracks tell the listener that this group has an incredible musical breadth. However, it is in the three concept portions of the album where Chicago stretches their musical muscle and lets you know that this group was helping define one or more directions for music.

"Travel Suite" fits well with the late 60s and 70s when many young Americans became nomads, wandering about the country in flower-painted vans and Beetles, on the search for enlightenment. The musical flavor here starts out like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. However, the drum solo of "Motorboat to Mars," relatively rare in rock music, is experimental and definitely unusual, leading into the rock with horns song, "Free," the defining word for the travelers of the time. "Free Country" has musical elements I associate with King Crimson, though they are classical in some respects as well. The suite continues through "At the Sunrise" to "Happy `Cause I'm Going Home," a fitting end to a suite about wanderlust.

"An Hour in the Shower" is a group of bluesy songs that covers much in a very short period of musical time. The songs could all have been one song, but instead opens and closes with similar lyrics and style, and reflections on that style in the middle compositions. In some respects the style is similar to the technique The Moody Blues used to introduce and end smaller groupings of songs.

The final suite is "Elegy," a rather depressing grouping of songs, from the title, at least, that again would seem to fit well with the era of the late 60s. The songs seem to combine all the concern we had at the time regarding the war in Viet Nam, the side effects of technology, the state of the economy, the arms race, and whether we had the potential as a race to survive. The introduction to the suite is spoken poem, leading to two instrumentals with classical elements, almost seeming like a sound track to a movie. These two pieces lead to "Progress?" which uses, for the first and only time in my knowledge, the sound of a flushing toilet to end the composition. The instrumental with a combination of instruments and sound effects, asks the musical question whether the current state of our society is progress, or whether we are all in the toilet.

The next composition is "The Approaching Storm," another instrumental, with more rock elements. While the title would seem to indicate that it is an indication of travails for mankind, the music here is fast-paced guitars and strident horns, with little indication of the dark foreboding that the title would seem to indicate. The final selection, "Man vs. Man: The End," dovetails without pause with the previous selection. Finally some of the foreboding elements enter the music, and you come to sense that perhaps one of the ends for mankind is we against us, to the end.

"Chicago III" is a monumental work in that it combines so many musical styles and tries to do so many different things on one CD. There are few artists outside classical music that would attempt the scope of this CD. Furthermore, of those who would try something of this scope, few could pull it off. In some ways, "Chicago III" defined the peak of progressive Chicago, incredibly experimental and seemingly fearless for 71 minutes in 1971.

2 out of 5 stars Chicago III.......2003-04-29

With this release, Chicago had produced three double-LP sets within 2 years, which cluttered the market and drained the band members' creativity. The result was a fall off in quality and sales, though Chicago III did manage to stay on the charts for over a year, selling a million copies. The hits are "Free" and "Lowdown", neither of which is among the group's best.

5 out of 5 stars One of Chicago's Best!.......2001-05-04

Quite frankly, this album is almost as good as Chicago Transit Authority. Both of these albums are the perfect mix of rock, funk, and jazz. If you appreciate solos, Sing a Mean Tune Kid has what you want. Free sports Chicago's great horn section. Motorboat to Mars is a 1:30 long drum solo (only Chicago can do that :-) ). Chicago really tries some new styles in Chicago III. The best part of this CD is that there are so many different types of music on this album (jazz to rock to ballads etc). Chicago III is very energetic and has to be one of Chicago's most underrated and best CDs.

5 out of 5 stars a FINE, UNDERRATED ALBUM.......2000-09-07

While I agree that this album came as something of a shock, following the superb first two albums, this is still a fabulous blend of styles. From the explosive energetic charge of "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" to the quietness of "Man vs Man", there is much to savor.

It does tend to wear out towards the fourth side, but the sheer poignancy of the poem "When the Laughter Turns to Sorrow" and the parallels to Vietnam manage to salvage the sluggishness of the material.

Overall, a remarkable achievement from an innovative band.

4 out of 5 stars

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  7. Orgasm
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Gigi ~ Gigi

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Visions and Rhythms ~ Various Artists

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