VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do

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VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do
VI Decades Live This Is What We Do.png
Live album by
Chicago
ReleasedApril 6, 2018 (2018-04-06) [1]
Recorded1969-2014
Venue
Studio Caribou Ranch (Nederland, Colorado)
Label Rhino
Chicago chronology
Quadio
(2016)		VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do
(2018)		Chicago II Live on Soundstage
(2018)

VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do is a four-CD and one-DVD live box set by the American rock band Chicago, released on April 6, 2018 by Rhino Records. The collection features previously unreleased live performances recorded between 1969 and 2014, including the band's full concert at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 and a 1977 performance filmed for the German television program Rockpalast. [2] The box set includes a 24-page booklet containing rare photographs and archival material. [3] Unlike previous live releases, none of those recordings are included in this set, which consists entirely of previously unreleased material. [4]

Contents

Background

The project was compiled from Chicago's vault of live recordings, drawing on tapes spanning the band's first six decades. According to Rhino, the set was designed to highlight the group's evolution in concert, showcasing multiple lineups over their career. The Isle of Wight 1970 performance represents one of the earliest complete Chicago concerts ever officially issued. [4]

Critical reception

VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do received positive reviews from music critics. The Second Disc described the Isle of Wight performance as "raw, powerful, and politically charged," calling the early Chicago lineup "a force of nature onstage." [4] Reviewer Jeff Burger highlighted the box set's focus on Chicago's early, horn-driven period, stating that the majority of the material comes from the band's “most inventive and energetic years.” [5]

NoTreble praised the release for offering “an expansive live history” of the band, particularly noting the quality of the vintage tapes used. [6]

Track listing

Side one
No.VenueTitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1"Isle Of Wight Festival" (August 28, 1970)"Introduction" Terry Kath Kath6:55
2"South California Purples" Robert Lamm Lamm10:28
3"Beginnings"LammLamm6:06
4"In the Country"Kath6:34
5"Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Free Form Intro)Lamm3:52
6"Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"LammLamm3:16
7"Mother"LammLamm6:29
Side two
No.VenueTitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1"Isle Of Wight Festival" (August 28, 1970)"It Better End Soon"Kath16:18
2"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon"Pankow
  • Kath
  • Lamm
13:24
3"25 or 6 to 4"LammCetera8:24
4"I'm a Man"
  • Lamm
  • Kath
  • Cetera
8:29
Side three
No.VenueTitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1 Olympia Hall (December 8, 1969)"Poem for the People"Lamm
  • Lamm
6:02
2"25 or 6 to 4"LammCetera6:17
3"Liberation"Pankow16:10
4 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (September 16, 1971)"Goodbye"LammCetera6:26
5 Hordern Pavilion (June 26, 1972)"Now That You're Gone"PankowKath4:55
6 Chicago Stadium (August 13, 1973)"A Hit By Varèse"LammLamm16:30
7 Oakland Coliseum (December 1, 1977)"If You Leave Me Now"CeteraCetera4:31
8"Takin' It on Uptown"
  • Kath
  • Fred Kagan
Kath6:44
Side four
No.VenueTitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1 Greek Theatre (August 11, 1978)"Hot Streets"Lamm
  • Lamm
6:23
2"Little One"Kath9:48
3 Pensacola Bay Center (March 21, 1987)"Forever"
  • Lamm
  • Bill Gable
Lamm5:48
4"Medley" Jason Scheff 13:40
5 Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre (May 30, 1992)"You're Not Alone"Jim Scott Bill Champlin 4:27
6 Caesars Atlantic City (July 28, 1994)"The Pull"
  • Scheff
  • Champlin
4:19
7"In the Mood"Champlin4:19
8"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" Duke Ellington
  • Champlin
  • Lamm
3:30
9 A&E Network (September 5, 2002)"Look Away" Diane Warren Champlin4:27
10 Grand Opera House (May 7, 2014)"America" Lee Loughnane Lou Pardini 4:26

Chart performance

Chart (2018)Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [7] 66

References

  1. ↑ "Chicago: VI Decades Live (This Is What We Do)". Rhino.com. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Chicago VI Decades Live Available April 6". Rhino Media. April 6, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Chicago VI Decades Live". ChicagoTheBand.com. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Review: Chicago, "VI Decades Live: This Is What We Do"". The Second Disc. April 27, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ "New Collections Feature Vintage Concert Material from Chicago". ByJeffBurger.com. April 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Chicago Looks Back with VI Decades Live". NoTreble. April 10, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Chicago – Live - VI Decades Live" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
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