Group Portrait | ||||
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Released | October 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1969 | –1980|||
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Label | Columbia/Legacy (1991-Original) Chicago Records (Reissue) | |||
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Chicago chronology | ||||
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Group Portrait is a compilation album by the American band Chicago, released in 1991 by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings originally, [2] later reissued on the band's Chicago Records label. It includes hits and album cuts from the band's first fourteen albums along with rare tracks. [3]
Group Portrait bears notable differences from most of the band's other official compilation and live albums including the following: it is not assigned a number in the album title number sequence; its cover art depicts people instead of just a logo art concept; and it includes commentary from band members James Pankow, Robert Lamm, former members Peter Cetera, Walt Parazaider and producer James William Guercio. [4] Unlike the 2003 anthology The Box released later, this collection only covers their tenure with Columbia Records, and does not include Warner Bros. material. [5] Also, only full-length versions of songs are included. [6]
According to reviewer Byron Mucklow, no remixing was done for this compilation; the material was digitally remastered from the master tapes. He describes the sound as "clear and punchy". [7]
Rock music critic Bill Wyman wrote a generally dismissive review of Group Portrait, for the Chicago Reader , calling it "an altogether fitting testament to Chicago's hippie self-absorption and dopey excesses." He called Chicago "probably the most unforgivably terrible rock 'n' roll band of the 70s" and said Group Portrait memorialized the band "in suitably monstrous fashion". He goes on to say that Chicago had some "decent" singles, already collected on two greatest-hits albums, and names "Wishing You Were Here" as the group's "most notable performance". In his opinion much of the lesser-known material included on Group Portrait belongs in "the nether reaches of our subconscious." [2]
In The Detroit News and Free Press, on the other hand, Group Portrait was faulted for not including more of Chicago's less popular tracks, saying it only "[dipped] a toenail into the vaults", and calling it "a comprehensive if conservative retrospective." Group Portrait merited five out of a possible eight eighth notes on the paper's rating scale – not essential listening, but recommended for fans of the group. [8]
Disc | Track | Title | Length | Original release |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Introduction" | 6:35 | Chicago Transit Authority (1969) |
1 | 2 | "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" | 4:35 | |
1 | 3 | "Beginnings" | 7:55 | |
1 | 4 | "Questions 67 & 68" | 5:03 | |
1 | 5 | "Listen" | 3:22 | |
1 | 6 | "Poem 58" | 8:36 | |
1 | 7 | "I'm a Man" | 7:40 | |
1 | 8 | "Make Me Smile" | 4:35 | Chicago (II) (1970) |
1 | 9 | "So Much to Say, So Much to Give" | 1:02 | |
1 | 10 | "Anxiety's Moment" | 0:57 | |
1 | 11 | "West Virginia Fantasies" | 1:33 | |
1 | 12 | "Colour My World" | 3:00 | |
1 | 13 | "To Be Free" | 1:31 | |
1 | 14 | "Now More Than Ever" | 1:10 | |
1 | 15 | "Fancy Colours" | 5:10 | |
1 | 16 | "25 or 6 to 4" | 4:51 | |
1 | 17 | "Where Do We Go from Here" | 2:50 | |
2 | 1 | "Flight 602" | 2:45 | Chicago III (1971) |
2 | 2 | "Free" | 2:16 | |
2 | 3 | "What Else Can I Say" | 3:13 | |
2 | 4 | "Mother" | 4:28 | |
2 | 5 | "Lowdown" | 3:35 | |
2 | 6 | "A Song for Richard and His Friends" | 6:22 | Chicago at Carnegie Hall (IV) (1971) |
2 | 7 | "A Hit by Varèse" | 4:51 | Chicago V (1972) |
2 | 8 | "Saturday in the Park" | 3:56 | |
2 | 9 | "Dialogue Part I" | 2:57 | |
2 | 10 | "Dialogue Part II" | 4:12 | |
2 | 11 | "Alma Mater" | 3:52 | |
2 | 12 | "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" | 4:14 | Chicago VI (1973) |
2 | 13 | "In Terms of Two" | 3:30 | |
2 | 14 | "Critics' Choice" | 2:49 | |
2 | 15 | "Just You 'n' Me" | 3:43 | |
2 | 16 | "Something in This City Changes People" | 3:42 | |
3 | 1 | "Life Saver" | 5:18 | Chicago VII (1974) |
3 | 2 | "Happy Man" | 3:31 | |
3 | 3 | "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" | 4:28 | |
3 | 4 | "Skinny Boy" | 5:12 | |
3 | 5 | "Byblos" | 6:16 | |
3 | 6 | "Wishing You Were Here" | 4:33 | |
3 | 7 | "Call on Me" | 4:01 | |
3 | 8 | "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" | 4:29 | Chicago VIII (1975) |
3 | 9 | "Harry Truman" | 3:01 | |
3 | 10 | "Old Days" | 3:29 | |
3 | 11 | "You Are on My Mind" | 3:21 | Chicago X (1976) |
3 | 12 | "If You Leave Me Now" | 3:54 | |
3 | 13 | "Together Again" | 3:53 | |
3 | 14 | "Another Rainy Day in New York City" | 3:01 | |
3 | 15 | "Hope for Love" | 3:03 | |
4 | 1 | "Take Me Back to Chicago" | 5:15 | Chicago XI (1977) |
4 | 2 | "Mississippi Delta City Blues" | 4:40 | |
4 | 3 | "Baby, What a Big Surprise" | 3:05 | |
4 | 4 | "Prelude (Little One)" | 0:52 | |
4 | 5 | "Little One" | 5:44 | |
4 | 6 | "No Tell Lover" | 4:13 | Hot Streets (XII) (1978) |
4 | 7 | "Closer to You" | 4:54 | B-side of "Must Have Been Crazy"; recorded during the Hot Streets sessions |
4 | 8 | "Gone Long Gone" | 3:59 | Hot Streets (XII) |
4 | 9 | "Alive Again" | 4:05 | |
4 | 10 | "Must Have Been Crazy" | 3:24 | Chicago 13 (1979) |
4 | 11 | "Doin' Business" | 3:25 | Previously unreleased (1991); from the rehearsal sessions for Chicago XIV (1980) |
4 | 12 | "Song for You" | 3:41 | Chicago XIV |
4 | 13 | "Thunder and Lightning" | 3:32 | |
4 | 14 | "The American Dream" | 3:17 | |
4 | 15 | "Beginnings (Live)" | 6:15 | Chicago at Carnegie Hall (IV) |
The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. It was recorded in August 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, in Hollywood, California, under the production of Paul A. Rothchild. The album features the extended version of the band's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and the lengthy closer "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. Various publications, including BBC and Rolling Stone, have listed The Doors as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
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.
Chicago Transit Authority is the debut studio album by the American rock band Chicago, known at the time of release as Chicago Transit Authority. This 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, beating the previous record for a rock album's longevity of 155 weeks and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For this inaugural recording effort, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for 1969 Best New Artist of the Year. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
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.
Peter Paul Cetera is a retired American musician best known for being a frontman, vocalist, and bassist for the American rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985. His career as a recording artist encompasses 17 studio albums with Chicago and eight solo studio albums.
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 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 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.
"Brown Sugar" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted at number two. In the United States, Billboard ranked it as the number 16 song for 1971.
Fun House is the second studio album by American rock band the Stooges. It was released on July 7, 1970, by Elektra Records. Though initially commercially unsuccessful, Fun House has since developed a strong cult following. Like its predecessor and successor, it is considered an integral work in the development of punk rock.
"Rock and Roll Music" is a song by American musician and songwriter Chuck Berry, written and recorded by Berry in May 1957. It has been widely covered and is one of Berry's most popular and enduring compositions.
The Byrds' Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1967 on Columbia Records. It is the top-selling album in the Byrds' catalogue and reached number 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but failed to chart in the UK.
The Buckinghams are an American pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 and as of 2022 they continue to tour throughout the United States.
"Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and environmentalist, antiwar lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock song. It is built on musical elements contributed by several group members in three different recording studios in the US, and was the first Yardbirds composition to become a chart hit; when released as a single on 25 February 1966, the song reached number three in the UK and number eleven in the US.
"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.
"Little Red Rooster" is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. It is rooted in the Delta blues tradition and the theme is derived from folklore. Musical antecedents to "Little Red Rooster" appear in earlier songs by blues artists Charlie Patton and Memphis Minnie.
"Colour My World" is a song written by American musician James Pankow, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. Part of Pankow's "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" song cycle/suite, it was recorded for their second album Chicago, also called Chicago II (1970). Terry Kath sings the lead vocal, and Walter Parazaider performs the memorable flute solo.