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Ever since I first heard the debut album from Chicago, "Chicago Transit Authority", my appreciation for its brilliance has only grown. At the tender, impressionable age of 16 on one fateful night, I was introduced not only to this work of art, but to the wonders of listening to music under headphones and the amazing studio process of panning. Opening up with the engulfing, "Introduction", it was exciting to hear the many chord changes that could occur in a single song. Part jazz, part pop, part rock and part soul, "Introduction" was a clever way to embark upon the wondrous journey that is "Chicago Transit Authority". This track did not fit comfortably into any format. But it did accent the best of the burgeoning new FM radio band that was as thrilling to my generation as the digital magic of today's music, that underscores this generation.
The first true level of passion comes in Robert Lamm's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?". It has been said time and time again that the 60s was a decade of change. This song and this album arrived at the end of the decade as a true reflection of how daunting the millions of changes were in the 60s. The hippie generation would open the doors to both the women's liberation movement and the gay liberation movement while it gave an entire race of people, some dignity and respect after years of being subjected to relatively milder insults like the Jim Crow laws to the crippling effects of slavery that unfortunately still to this day has bled upon an entire people's psychic. So the very basic question of "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", truly reflected the mind boggling revolution that occurred in that decade. Layered inside of the inquiry was the art of panning that forced a music listener to really digest the lyrics. "People running everywhere, don't know where to go....." captured the enormous effect of change it had on the entire nation, scratch that, the entire world. The passion in Robert Lamm's voice is undeniable. The brass section led by the classically trained impresario, James Pankow, is regal and definitive. The song's hook is as basic as the morning sun and just as descriptive.
"Beginnings" could be a great love song and it also could be anthemic for the graduating classes of the late 60s into the early 70s. The acoustic guitar is as prevalent as the brass is to this group. And once again, the song's hook is nearly unremovable from your brain as an implanted brainwave. It closes out side 1 of, what was once, a 4-sided disc.
The next two songs, "Questions 67 & 68" and "Listen" both seem to address the uncertainty that the generation faced as it was clear that monumental moments like the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to "the summer of love" of 1967, would contrast greatly with the devastating assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 to the equally impactful assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the would be President Robert Kennedy which all contributed to the frightening and ultimately debilitating race riots that summer. It is the thread that led us to "Free Form Guitar" and then the confusion and searching reflected in "Southern California Purples". Some say that song was about LSD. It very may well have been. Still, it is also the song that says "since I lost my baby, I been losing my mind".
The remainder of the album has been challenged for being far too self indulgent and hubristic. That may well be. But one must consider that the group included fresh new talent directly out of college, some still in some form of edification. So I give a lot of space to that consideration. Sometimes it provides for intriguing listening and at other times it can support its most damned critics harsh assessments. In the end, it returns to a 180 take on its brilliance!
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Reviews with images
Complete “Bait and Switch” BUYER BEWARE!!!!
I was a total Chicago fan as a kid back in the 70’s. I owned all their albums in vinyl, but sadly parted with them years ago. I am now returning to vinyl and wanted this cherished classic in my collection.Reading the reviews in this section, I ponied up $89.77 plus shipping (yes, you read that correct, OVER NINETY DOLLARS!!!) for what was supposed to be the well-regarded 2002 Rhino re-mastering. Instead, I was sent the 2019 “50th Anniversary Remix” remastered by Tim Jessup (this edition also has Rhino on the label). Nowhere in the description of this item does it indicate it is the “50th Anniversary Remix.” If you do a simple Amazon search of “Chicago Transit Authority 50th Anniversary,” you will find this brand new remix on vinyl for $29.99. Totally dishonest practice by this seller! The Re-mix is absolute CRAP. “Introduction” is simply a jumbled mess that sounds (even on my $15,000 + system) like it’s coming out of a 1970’s AM car radio. “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is” sounded a little better, but still not great. On “Beginnings,” Peter Cetera’s bass just disappears. Total inconsistency. I only had to hear side 1 to know this was complete junk!Go back and look at all the good reviews for this listing. Almost all of them are pre-2019. The original CTA album was released in 1969, so do the math... Inside the gatefold of this “50th Anniversary Remix” it says, “2019 Re-mix Produced and Mixed by Tim Jessup, with Chicago and Bob Ludwig.” If you want to see the bad reviews, Google “Chicago Transit Authority Tim Jessup.” Prepare yourself - it gets ugly in a hurry!I am completely dissatisfied this seller is charging $90.00 for a brand new shrink-wrapped remix that sells everywhere else for $30. I am sending it back and will look elsewhere for one of my favorite albums of all time.EDIT Jan 8, 2020: Just received a USED original 1969 pressing of CTA I ordered on another site. WOW! WOW! WOW! It’s ALL there, the sound is fantastic, which, in my mind, validates my derogatory comments about the 50th Anniversary Tim Jessup remix. I’ve seen some online commentators say the 1969 version was not mixed all that well and the “modern” remixes are somehow better. Total BS!!! It sounds fantastic IF you have a good system.
