Robert Lamm

This is a good CD to introduce someone to Chicago or to let them know who it was who sang songs like "25 or 6 to 4" or "Saturday in the Park" (perhaps 2 of their most recognisable songs). This collection features exclusively the original (and the best) lineup of Peter Cetera…

Although commercially successful, Chicago's previous long-player, Chicago VI (1973), had not been received as warmly from both the critics as well as from some bandmembers. Both parties expressed their dissatisfaction with the lighter fare and significantly shorter material. In response, the combo briefly returned to their previously tried and true methodology on their follow-up album…

Chicago 16 finally gave Chicago a big hit after a four-year drought, thanks in large part to new producer David Foster, who steered the jazz-rock veterans toward a streamlined, crisply produced pop direction on that 1982 effort. Given that success, it's no surprise that the septet teamed with Foster again for its next album, 1984's Chicago 17 (apparently Roman numerals were left behind along with their progressive jazz-rock).

Chicago went home to its namesake city last year to record a live version of the band’s multi-platinum second album, Chicago II. Recorded at the historic WTTW-TV studios, the performance features every song from that classic album, including several that haven’t been played live since the 1970s. The concert is airing now on select PBS stations as part of the network’s Soundstage series.

As noted in other reviews, this DVD, which features a live performance of the supergroup Chicago that aired on PBS, is recommended highly over their other live DVD, "Live by Request" which was shown on A&E. The less-than-excellent sound and visual editing on the A&E disc has been corrected on the Soundstage production and makes this DVD a worthy document of one of the great rock bands of all time. The vocals are tight and well mixed and the horns, those all-time great horns, sound fat and up front in the mix.