One critic, in reviewing this four-record live set by Chicago, recommended sides two and five. Now think about that for a minute. We're not going to be that selective. What we will say is that anyone who appreciates Chicago will revel in this box of goodies. Virtually all of their most familiar material is included -- "Questions 67 and 68," "Make Me Smile," "25 Or 6 To 4," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" -- but they were to be expected. More surprising is the fine quality of sound which runs throughout. There is nary an off note either -- probably because the tracks were selected from among a full week's worth of music during the band's engagement at Carnegie Hall. A nice feeling of closeness pervades the proceedings. We can hear asides from members of the group, in addition, of course, to comments from the audience. Nothing like informality -- and that's really what this is all about. After several highly polished and successful records, Chicago just lets their hair down and plays for the people. And that's what time it really is.
- Ed Kelleher, Circus, 2/72.
Bonus Reviews!
I'm not claiming actually to have listened to this four-record set -- you think I'm a nut? -- but the event is too overwhelming to ignore altogether, and Chicago is a C- group if I ever heard one. Anyway, the packaging offers textual support for my opinion. The shrink-wrap is so loose that many Christmas gift recipients are going to suspect their girlfriends of buying review copies. And the lack of paper sleeves inside the cardboard sleeves inside the big box means that the only way to avoid scratching these plastic documents is to put the whole shebang out on the coffee table and never touch it again. C-
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
Carnegie Hall may be prestigious, but it has never been a good rock venue, and Chicago seems intimidated on this four-LP (three-CD) set, recreating material from its first three albums. Completists should note the inclusion of the anti-Nixon "A Song For Richard And His Friends," not previously available. *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Main Page |
Readers' Favorites |
The Classic 300 |
Other Seventies Discs |
Search The RockSite/The Web