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Chicago XI

W. Neyers | Arizona | 10/22/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Fresh Chicago, interesting. "Take me back to Chicago" was a great new track with a lot of feeling. Great brass as you would expect. Some of this disc reminds one of parts of the first album. A little uneven in spots, but mostly satiisfying, especially since Terry is no longer with us. Purist Chicago fans should be happy with this disc. Three and a half stars would be more accurate....."

Take Us ALL Back To Chicago!!

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 05/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this day and age it's really hard to look at music for any creative purposes.I admit it it's all getting better in many ways but the fact is the attitude that "it's not show art,it's show business" seems to have pretty much saturated everyone,from the industry to the record buyer for at least the last decade and a half. When Chicago recorded this album 32 years ago the the perception of music was quite different.Many had learned to understand the best way to sell records was to do something innovative and exciting,basically never to look down the nose of the record buyer and give them credit for their musical enjoyment abilities. The sad fact is this album will always represent an ending for Chicago;it was not only their final commercial triumph of the 70's but as we know founding member Terry Kath never lived to see the album become so successful.And that's interesting because this is an album only features one song by Peter Cetera and that of course is "Baby What A Big Surprise",an unusually orchestraded epic ballad that is pretty likely one of radio listeners main attractions to this album if they don't go directly for the best-of packages.Terry's "Mississippi Delta City Blues" really gives up the funk in a series way;he was always great with the whole blues functioning as funk (you really cannot have one without the other anyway) and get's the album started on a great note to boogie down to.The slightly jazzier "Till The End Of Time" is a milder funk tune with some great vocals from Pankow.Robert Lamm,in an apparent turn against public opinion of the day to law enforcement paints a lonley,poetic picture in "Policeman",another terrific breezy jazz-oriented tune.David Wolinski started out as a sideman for Chicago before he joined Rufus,a band that....in many ways shared many musical similarities with the funk/rock side of Chicago and that comes across all too strongly on "Take Me Back To Chicago";the fact that Chaka Khan does her thing on the song's closing breakdown really certifies the connection.Lamm again throws down another funny political satire in "Vote For Me",complete with this gospel beat and hallelujah chorus.Both Terry Kath and Lee Loughanne,who himself never sings too often on a Chicago tune get a turn at rockier songs on Terry's riff heavy "Takin' It On Uptown" and Lee's "This Time",although the latter naturally leaning towards the jazz side of things."The Inner Struggles Of A Man" is a very cinematic,movie score kind of orchestration from Dominic Frontiere that leads very well into a prelude that begins "Little One",a wonderfully touching epic written by Wolinski and Danny Seraphine,with the singing handled with soulful sincerity from Terry Kath. The album ends with rehearsals of future songs "Wish I Could Fly" and "Paris".The hornless versions of these tunes are interesting though don't add a whole lot to the finished versions. This album is not only a huge triumph (as well as epitaph) for Terry Kath in terms of his participation but also flaunts the many talents he had within the band and it's principle members.The collaborative nature of the musicians in this band that made every recording from earlier epics such asChicago Transit Authority and even the previous album Chicago X was still very much in attendance here. It would seem to split in a million different directions in the years to come but in terms of Chicago's classic hit making period that had begun only eight years earlier.And the fact Chicago had a presense on the charts and in the record stores for every single one of those years says an awful lot for one of the hardest working (and recording) bands of it's era."