Chicago Transit Authority | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 28, 1969 | |||
Recorded | January 27–30, 1969 | |||
Studio | CBS 30th Street, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 76:32 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | James William Guercio | |||
Chicago Transit Authority chronology | ||||
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Singles from Chicago Transit Authority | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Chicago Transit Authority is the debut studio album by the American rock band Chicago, known at the time of release as Chicago Transit Authority. The double album was released on April 28, 1969 and became a sleeper hit, reaching number 17 on the Billboard 200 by 1971. Chicago Transit Authority spawned several successful singles, including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Questions 67 and 68" and "Beginnings". The album stayed on the Billboard chart for 171 weeks, [4] beating the previous record for a rock album's longevity of 155 weeks [5] and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). [6] For this inaugural recording effort, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for 1969 Best New Artist of the Year. [7] The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. [8]
Chicago was formed in early 1967, first as the Big Thing, then Chicago Transit Authority when producer James William Guercio took them on in 1968. [9] Their trademark was fusing brass and jazz with a soulful rock and roll feel that Guercio thought would prove successful, lobbying for his label to sign the band. [10]
Chicago Transit Authority signed to Columbia Records late in 1968 and recorded their first album in late January 1969 at CBS studios on 52nd Street in New York City. [11] While Guercio had recently produced Blood, Sweat & Tears' second album (which proved to be a huge smash), he did so to raise capital for his band, and to secure the contract with Columbia (which was reluctant at first to have two jazz-rock bands since Blood, Sweat & Tears was already on their roster). [12] [13] [14] By the end of the Chicago Transit Authority sessions, the band had decided they wanted it to be a double album. Skeptical, as the band had no track record, Columbia agreed to the concept only if the group would take a royalty cut. [13] [14]
In addition to the material recorded for the album, "Wake Up Sunshine", "It Better End Soon" (both later released on their second album), "Loneliness is Just a Word" (later released on Chicago III ), and an early version of "Mississippi Delta City Blues" (with mostly different music than its eventual versions on Live in Japan and Chicago XI ) all date from this era, and were performed as early as 1968. Other early original songs, such as "Dedicated to Girl Number 1" and "Once Upon a Life", were never released. [15]
Released in April 1969, Chicago Transit Authority (sometimes informally referred to simply as "CTA") was not an immediate hit, eventually reaching No. 17 in the US [16] and No. 9 in the UK. [17] While critical reaction was generally favorable, sales were slow at first and the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as an album-oriented collective. Meanwhile, FM radio, with its album-oriented format, helped push sales along. [18] In 1970 and 1971, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (No. 7), [19] "Beginnings" (No. 7) [19] and "Questions 67 and 68" (No. 71 and No. 24 for the 1971 re-release) [19] all made it into the Billboard Hot 100 belatedly. Buoyed by the success of their later albums, Chicago Transit Authority had stayed on the charts for 171 weeks as of June 1975, [4] setting the then record for a rock album's chart longevity by October 1974 at 155 weeks, [5] and was certified gold (and later platinum and double platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). [6]
While the band toured the album, legal action was threatened by the actual Chicago Transit Authority, forcing the group to truncate their name to simply Chicago. [20]
Keyboardist Robert Lamm, guitarist Terry Kath and bassist Peter Cetera shared lead vocals, while James Pankow, Lee Loughnane and Walter Parazaider handled all brass and woodwinds (trombone, trumpet and saxophone, clarinet and flute respectively) and Danny Seraphine played drums. (Parazaider is pictured in the album package playing flute, but doesn't actually play it on the album.) Band members added percussion during sections of a song when they weren't playing their main instrument. For example, on "I'm a Man", Pankow was on cowbell, Parazaider on tambourine, and Loughnane on claves. [11] Lamm, Kath and Pankow were the band's main composers at this time. According to the band's producer, James William Guercio, Jimi Hendrix was an avowed fan of Kath's playing. [21] [14] According to the album's original liner notes, the solo performance of Kath on "Free Form Guitar" was created without the use of any pedals. [22] In a nod to Hendrix's guitar expressionism (Hendrix most notably used wah and fuzz pedals),[ citation needed ] Kath instead plugged directly into his studio amplifier and improvised the entire track in one take for the purpose of pure tone. [22]
The album is one of two not to have any songwriting contributions from Cetera during his tenure in the band, the other being Chicago V . He started writing songs with the second album, Chicago . [23]
Because of dealings between the recording company and the group's producer, James William Guercio, the group's studio time was limited to only five days of basic tracking and five days of overdubbing by the recording company. [13] [14] According to Guercio, the album was "done 8-track." [24]
According to band member Walter Parazaider, when the group went into the studio to record the album, they " 'found out we knew very little about what we were doing. ... The first song was “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” We tried to record it as a band, live, all of us in the studio at once.' " [13] [14] Finally it was decided that drums, bass, keyboard, and guitars would be recorded first, and then the horns and vocals. [25]
The cover design for the album is called "Painted Shingle" on the group's official web site. [26] The inside jacket features individual photos of each band member, which reviewer Peter Morelli notes, "For a band deliberately constructed to be a leaderless democracy, Robert Lamm (far right, standing) sure stands out in the band photos!" [27]
In 1974, the album was also mixed in quadraphonic sound and released on SQ encoded LP (GQ-33255) and Dolby Quadraphonic 8-Track (QCA-33255).
In 2002, Chicago Transit Authority was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records and Columbia Records. [28] Rhino Records trimmed some of the songs, noticeably the fadeouts on "Questions #67 and #68" (six seconds longer on the LP) and "Free Form Guitar" (five seconds longer), the 10 second gap between "Someday" and "Liberation", and some studio chatter.[ citation needed ]
In 2010, Rhino Handmade re-released the original quadraphonic mix of the album on a limited edition DTS DVD, [29] and in 2016, in DTS-HD Master Audio, as part of Chicago Quadio Box Set. [30]
On June 26, 2019, Rhino Records announced a 50th Anniversary Remix edition of Chicago Transit Authority, offering it in both CD and double LP formats. [31] Although the press release announced an August 30, 2019 release date, the date was pushed back to September 13, 2019 outside of Canada.[ citation needed ] The band worked with engineer Tim Jessup, who also mixed the band’s Live at the Isle of Wight Festival. [32] Robbie Gerson, reviewing the vinyl release for Audiophile Audition, gave an overall positive review, saying, "Rhino has done an outstanding job in re-mastering Chicago Transit Authority to 180-gram vinyl." [33] In his review for All About Jazz , Doug Colette gave the CD four out of five stars, noting that there's "less precedence for the harmony singing," but that there's "wallop to the drums," "edge to the guitar," and "great care throughout to highlight, without overstatement but with proportionate accuracy and impact, the tightly-fused rhythm work of drummer Danny Seraphine and bassist Peter Cetera: both sound equally vigorous and muscular in their playing." [34]
In 1969, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. [7]
In 2014, Chicago Transit Authority was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [8]
Chicago Transit Authority is the only Chicago album listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [35]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction" | Terry Kath | Kath | 6:35 |
2. | "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" | Robert Lamm | Lamm | 4:35 |
3. | "Beginnings" | Lamm | Lamm | 7:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Questions 67 and 68" | Lamm | Peter Cetera, Lamm | 5:03 |
2. | "Listen" | Lamm | Lamm | 3:22 |
3. | "Poem 58" | Lamm | Lamm | 8:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Free Form Guitar" | Kath | — | 6:47 |
2. | "South California Purples" | Lamm | Lamm | 6:11 |
3. | "I'm a Man" | Steve Winwood, Jimmy Miller | Lamm, Cetera, Kath | 7:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Prologue, August 29, 1968" | James William Guercio | — | 0:58 |
2. | "Someday (August 29, 1968)" | James Pankow, Lamm | Lamm, Cetera | 4:11 |
3. | "Liberation" | Pankow | Kath [lower-alpha 1] | 14:38 |
Total length: | 76:32 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [44] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [45] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1967. The group began calling themselves the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, then shortened the name to its current one in 1969. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," their songs often also combine elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music.
Terry Alan Kath was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singles alongside Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera. He has been praised by his bandmates and other musicians for his guitar skills and his Ray Charles–influenced vocal style. Jimi Hendrix cited Terry Kath as one of his favorite guitarists, and considered Kath to be "the best guitarist in the universe".
Chicago is the second studio album by the American rock band Chicago, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Like their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, it is a double album. It was their first album released under the name Chicago—the band's prior name, Chicago Transit Authority, was changed due to a threatened lawsuit from the actual mass-transit operator bearing the same name—and the first to use the now ubiquitous cursive Chicago logo on the cover.
Chicago III is the third studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on January 11, 1971, through Columbia Records. The album was produced by James William Guercio and was the band's third consecutive double album in less than two years.
Chicago at Carnegie Hall is the first live album, and fourth album overall, by American band Chicago. It was initially released on October 25, 1971 by Columbia Records as a four-LP vinyl box set, and was also available for a time as two separate two-record sets. A quadraphonic mix of the album was proposed, but was never made, possibly due to the band's objection to the album being released in the first place. This is the only Chicago album of the group's first ten releases not to have a quadraphonic release in any format.
Chicago V is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on July 10, 1972, by Columbia Records. It is notable for being the group's first single album release, after having released three consecutive double albums and a four-disc box set of live material.
Chicago VI is the fifth studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released on June 25, 1973, by Columbia Records. It was the band's second in a string of five consecutive albums to make it to No. 1 in the US, was certified gold less than a month after its release, and has been certified two-times platinum since. It is the first album to feature percussionist Laudir de Oliveira, who would become a full-fledged member of the band for Chicago VIII. VI is the first studio album to feature the original band members on the cover before the death of leader and co-founder Terry Kath.
Chicago VII is the sixth studio album by American rock band Chicago. It was released on March 11, 1974 by Columbia Records. It is notable for being their first double album of new material since 1971's Chicago III and remains their final studio release in that format. It features session percussionist Laudir de Oliveira, who would become a full-fledged band member for the release of Chicago VIII the following year.
Chicago VIII is the seventh studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on March 24, 1975 by Columbia Records. Following the experimental jazz/pop stylings of Chicago VII, the band returned to a more streamlined rock-based sound on this follow-up.
Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album, and ninth album overall, by the American band Chicago and was released in 1975 by Columbia Records in both stereo and SQ quadraphonic versions.
Chicago X is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch and it was released by Columbia Records on June 14, 1976. The album made it to number three on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 21, 1976, a week after its release. It was the band's first album to be certified platinum, on September 14, 1976, and has since been certified multi-platinum. In honor of the group's platinum album achievement, Columbia Records awarded the group a 25-pound bar of pure platinum, made by Cartier.
Chicago XI is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on September 12, 1977, through Columbia Records. It was both the last to feature guitarist and vocalist Terry Kath prior to his death in a gun accident just over four months later, and the last to be produced by longtime associate of the band James William Guercio.
Chicago XIV is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on July 21, 1980. Recorded at a time of waning interest in the band, Chicago XIV remains one of Chicago's poorest-selling albums, failing to reach Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was deemed a commercial flop. It is also notable for being their last studio album with Columbia Records, and the last one to feature percussionist Laudir de Oliveira.
Lee David Loughnane is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/woodwind section alongside James Pankow and Walter Parazaider.
Daniel Peter Seraphine is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer, and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from February 1967 to May 1990.
"Beginnings" is a song written by Robert Lamm for the rock band Chicago Transit Authority and recorded for its debut album Chicago Transit Authority, released in 1969. The song is the band's second single, but failed to chart on its initial release.
"Lowdown" is a song written by Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine for the rock band Chicago and recorded for their third album Chicago III (1971). It was the second single released from this album, and peaked at No. 35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Cetera provided lead vocals while guitarist Terry Kath used a fuzzbox and wah-wah pedal for his guitar solo and Robert Lamm made prominent use of the Hammond organ.
"Feelin' Stronger Every Day" is a song written by Peter Cetera and James Pankow for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago VI (1973). The first single released from that album, it reached #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Wishing You Were Here" is a song written by Peter Cetera for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago VII (1974), with lead vocals by Terry Kath, while Cetera sang the song's bridge. The third single released from that album, it reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, No. 9 on the Cash Box Top 100, and hit No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart.
"Baby, What a Big Surprise" is a ballad written by Chicago's then bassist/singer Peter Cetera, which appeared on their album Chicago XI (1977), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The first single released from the album reached number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.