The Box [Box] by Chicago

There are not a lot of major bands/artists out there anymore that can claim to have been recording albums and touring the world since the sixties – the Rolling Stones come immediately to mind, as do Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Santana, but there really aren't that many left.

One band that probably doesn't leap to the tip of the tongue is Chicago…

Founded in 1967 as The Big Thing, followed by a short stint as Chicago Transit Authority until the actual CTA sued to force the band to change their name, Chicago remains something of an oddity in the music industry – a large band of up to eight members with three lead singers and a fluid pop style featuring jazz-influenced sounds of trombone, trumpet and woodwinds. Chicago became famous not only for their unique sound and the dozens of hits released over four decades, but also for their nearly un-interrupted string of self-titled albums featuring the name of the band in a new artistic interpretation. Chicago albums were often anticipated for their artwork as much as their songs.

The staff at Rhino Records were well aware of this history and tradition, and with the release of this gorgeous six-disc box set, have presented a marvelous re-telling of the story of the band. The set comes complete with their most important early works, a thorough presentation of the transitional periods the band experienced in the seventies and eighties, and of course, the package is resplendent with many new interpretations of the famous Chicago logo. A thick booklet of over 60 pages explains the bands history in great detail, includes many pictures of the band throughout the years, as well as personal observations from many of those who have been in or are now in the band. Rhino Records' Chicago box set is a loving tribute to a band that continues to play their particular brand of pop to this day.
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Traditionally, greatest hits packages spread out the hits across the collection, following the pattern of most normal albums. This must be thought to help ensure the listener's continued interest for the length of the album. The rise in popularity of the comprehensive box set has begun to move such recordings towards chronological presentations, showing the development of the band over time. Rhino Records took the chronological approach with the Chicago set, but this collection is not merely a trip through the band's adult contemporary radio hits in the order they were released.

While identifying and including the biggest hits of the band is simple, it must have been a daunting task to attempt this huge box set of over one hundred songs and fill in the spaces that fall between albums and hits. Rhino's producers did a masterful job of choosing songs to accompany those most familiar to casual pop radio listeners over the years.

For example – on disc four, nestled between the band's most famous ballads from their biggest selling albums 16 and 17, you'll find songs included to remind you that the band could play a decent rock song, or offer a neat jazz groove as well. Songs like Chains, What You're Missing and We Can Stop the Hurtin' rock and swing to prove the band's versatility amongst monster hits Love Me Tomorrow, Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away, Hard Habit to Break and You're the Inspiration.

Rhino wisely includes several tracks from the first three, highly influential Chicago albums. Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II are both double-albums that are fired by a strong social conscience. It's important to realize that Chicago wrote a lot of songs that spoke of making a change for the better in society, and some of their most interesting work can be found in the thematic suites that make up portions of these first albums. There are twenty-two tracks from the first three albums represented in this collection and they showcase a very different Chicago – at least, different to those of us who didn't know the band until the days of the massive radio hits that came in the early to mid seventies. Early on, Chicago's sound was much more organic in nature, a potent mix of jazz horns and super groovy bass and drum licks that doesn't much resemble today's slickly produced product. Some key tracks to pay attention to in this section - Rhino includes a stereo mix of the original single version of Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, the hippy peace-love sentiments of Questions 67 and 68, and the symphonically named "movements" of It Better End Soon…
Can't stand it no more
The people dying
Crying for help for so many years
But nobody hears
Better end soon my friend
It better end soon my friend
…hmmm, Chicago's old music is still relevant today.

The balance of the collection is fairly evenly spaced, with around three or four tracks representing each of the many albums Chicago released. Familiar A/C hits like Saturday in the Park, If You Leave Me Now, Baby What A Big Surprise and No Tell Lover are all here, as well as album cuts like A Hit by Varese, Mama Mama, Mississippi Delta City Blues and even Good for Nothing from the USA for Africa project.

The end of Disc four and all of Disc five represent the post-Peter Cetera years – amazingly, Cetera's replacement as vocalist and bass player, Jason Scheff, has now been in Chicago longer than Cetera was. The simple truth is that the songs of the Cetera-era are more famous, as Chicago's fame waned in the late eighties after he departed, but I think Chicago's best years were in the first half of their career, those spent with Cetera. It seems to me that the years since have been spent trying to be that "other" band, instead of moving on into new territory with their new member. The final disc shows that the Scheff-era Chicago is still a very good band, and that Scheff's skills with his voice and the bass are easily a match for Cetera and for performing with Chicago. Of interest here is the band's take on Duke Ellington's Caravan and a return to more socially conscious songs by Robert Lamm and Bill Champlin, though the string of made-for-their-aging fanbase ballads are here too, with a few by the schlock-penned hitmaker Diane Warren as well.

Finally, the collection is topped off with a DVD that shows the band in concert in 1972 at the Arie Crown Theater as well as a promotional film for Chicago 13. These are a nice addition for Chicago fans, but there is nothing overly impressive or urgent-gotta-have-it about the DVD – Rhino could have left out this disc and still have released a wonderfully complete and beautifully rendered Chicago collection.

All in all, the Rhino Records Chicago Box Set is a fabulous work of inspiration – I am glad that a record company will go to great lengths to produce a collection such as this that is thorough, interesting, nice to look at and listen to, and will be a treasured part of my collection for years to come. I highly recommend the Chicago box set as a gift for any serious Chicago fan, and for music collectors as well.
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a note to epinions members

This review is my second entry into plorentz's Best Of/Box Set write-off. Take a few minutes to check out my review of Def Leppard's accurately named Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection.
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Chicago - Rhino Records' 5 CD/1 DVD Box Set
Released July 23, 2003 by Rhino Records

Track Listing
This list will be nearly half as long as my review, but since epinions doesn't have the full track listing, here goes:

Disc: 1
Introduction / Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? / Beginnings / Questions 67 To 68 / Listen / South California Purples / I'm A Man / Movin' In / Wake Up Sunshine / Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: Make Smile/So Much To Say, So Much To Give/Anxiety's Moment/West Virginia Fantasies/Colour My World/To Be Free/Now More Than Ever / Fancy Colours / 25 Or 6 To 4 / Poem For The People / It Better End Soon: 1st Movement/3rd Movement/4th Movement

Disc: 2
Loneliness Is Just A Word / Travel Suite: Flight 602/Free / Mother / Lowdown / An Hour In The Shower: A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast/Off To Work/Fallin' Out/Dreamin' Home/Morning Blues Again / A Hit By Varese / All Is Well / Saturday In The Park / Dialogue (Part One & Part Two) / Just You 'N' Me / Something In This City Changes People / In Terms Of Two / Feeling Stronger Every Day / (I've Been) Searchin' So Long / Mongonucleosis / Wishing You Were Here / Call On Me / Happy Man

Disc: 3
Harry Truman / Old Days / Brand New Love Affair - Part I & II / Never Been In Love Before / You Are On My Mind / Mama Mama / Hope For Love / Another Rainy Day In New York City / Gently I'll Wake You / If You Leave Me Now / Mississippi Delta City Blues / Baby, What A Big Surprise / Take Me Back To Chicago / Prelude (Little One)/Little One / Gone Long Gone /No Tell Lover / Alive Again / The Greatest Love On Earth / Little Miss Lovin' / Hot Streets

Disc: 4
Street Player / Must Have Been Crazy / Manipulation / Thunder And Lightning / Song For You / The American Dream / Love Me Tomorrow / Chains / What You're Missing / Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away / Stay The Night / We Can Stop The Hurtin' / Hard Habit To Break / Along Comes A Woman / You're The Inspiration / Good For Nothing / If She Would Have Been Faithful / Forever / Will You Still Love Me? / Niagra Falls

Disc: 5
Heart In Pieces / Look Away / What Kind Of Man Would I Be? / I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love / We Can Last Forever / You're Not Alone / Hearts In Trouble / Only Time Can Heal The Wounded / You Come To My Senses / God Save The Queen / Chasin' The Wind / All The Years / Stone Of Sisyphus / Bigger Than Elvis / Caravan / Here In My Heart / The Only One / All Roads Lead To You / Show Me A Sign

Disc: 6
Chicago Live at the Aerie Crown Theatre
Bacstage & Buildup / Now That You've Gone / Devil's Sweet / Saturday In The Park / Dialogue / End Credits
Promotional Film for Chicago 13
Intro / Must Have Been Crazy / Cat Pranks / Run Away / Street Player