Chicago VII

My revisitation of the fiery guitar of Terry Kath during his tenure in Chicago continues. The flute work of Walter Parazaider and ARP/Mellotron sounds of David Wolinski add tinges of the mystical and modern. Also, the brass is on a very short leash for much of this album, which makes for more spacious grooves. Chicago VII is possibly the last of the truly great Chicago albums. The first 2 sides are off-the-hook!

Chicago VII review by Lindsay Planer:

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. As such, Chicago VII (1974) was not only a double LP, but much of the effort likewise returned them to their former jazz/rock glory while continuing the middle-of-the-road (MOR) ethos that was concurrently impacting the pop charts. Nowhere is this more evident than the trio of sides extracted as singles — including the Top Ten hits “(I’ve Been) Searching So Long,” “Call on Me,” and “Wishing You Were Here.” The latter of which features some stunning backing vocals from Beach Boys Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Alan Jardine. The group were continuing in their incorporation of additional musicians, most notably Laudir DeOliveira (percussion) and David J. Wolinski (ARP synthesizer) — both of whom are prominently featured throughout the sides. The opening instrumentals, including “Prelude to Aire,” “Aire,” and “Devil’s Sweet,” reflect Daniel Seraphine’s (drums) tremendously underrated skills as a writer as well as the combo’s recently underutilized talents as ensemble musicians. All three tracks provide a brilliant showcase for the brass/woodwind section(s) to flex their respective muscles, drawing heavily upon the styles of Weather Report and to some extent Miles Davis and Santana. The nature of their seemingly experimental fusion is stretched out even further on “Italian From New York.” The cut includes some interesting ARP interjections from Robert Lamm, whose decidedly free-form contributions weave alongside some rubbery and liquefied fretwork courtesy of Terry Kath (guitar/vocals). His lead bobs around Lamm’s synthesizer and an equally prominent cool-toned Fender Rhodes keyboard bed. The second half of Chicago VII directly contrasts the less structured instrumentals with more inclusive sides such as the previously mentioned hits “Call On Me” and “Wishing You Were Here.” Other highlights include Lamm’s funky mid-tempo “Life Saver,” Peter Cetera’s (bass/vocals) laid-back and unencumbered “Happy Man,” and a double shot from Kath in the form of two serene ballads, “Song of the Evergreens” and “Byblos” — which features some stellar acoustic strumming. This collection would be Chicago’s final two-disc set by the original lineup and offers the best of the band as improvisational instrumentalists as well as concise, emotive vocalists and song crafters.

Side one:

1) “Prelude to Aire” (Danny Seraphine) – 2:47
2) “Aire” (James Pankow/Walter Parazaider/Danny Seraphine) – 6:27
3) “Devil’s Sweet” (Walter Parazaider/Danny Seraphine) – 10:07

Side two:

1) “Italian From New York” (Robert Lamm) – 4:14
2) “Hanky Panky” (Robert Lamm) – 1:53
3) “Life Saver” (Robert Lamm) – 5:18
4) “Happy Man” (Peter Cetera) – 3:34 On the original LP & CD this song begins with a false start, and about 20 seconds of studio chat/noise. This is omitted on some copies of the remastered edition.

Side three:

1) “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long” (James Pankow) – 4:29
2) “Mongonucleosis” (James Pankow) – 3:26
3) “Song of the Evergreens” (Terry Kath) – 5:20
4) “Byblos” (Terry Kath) – 6:18

Side four:

1) “Wishing You Were Here” (Peter Cetera) – 4:37
2) “Call on Me” (Lee Loughnane) – 4:02
3) “Woman Don’t Want to Love Me” (Robert Lamm) – 4:35
4) “Skinny Boy” (Robert Lamm) – 5:12 The same track appears on Robert Lamm’s 1974 solo album Skinny Boy, but without horns and a fade-out at 4:30.

Bonus track (2002 re-issue):

1) “Byblos (Rehearsal)” (Terry Kath) – 5:40

The Band:

Robert Lamm – keyboards, vocals
Terry Kath – guitars, vocals, bass (07,11,12,15)
Peter Cetera – bass, vocals, guitar (12)
James Pankow – trombone, backing vocals, percussion (08), timbales (09)
Lee Loughnane – trumpet, vocals (lead on 10), flugelhorn (03,05)
Walter Parazaider – saxophones, flute (01,02)
Danny Seraphine – drums
Brass Arrangements : 04 by James Pankow/Robert Lamm ; 06,08,09,13,14,15 by James Pankow

Additional personnel:

Laudir de Oliveira – percussion on 1 3 4 6 9 11 12 13 16, congas on 2 4 6 8
David Wolinski – ARP synthesizer, Mellotron on 3, 4
James William Guercio – acoustic guitar and bass on 7, 10
Jimmie Haskell – strings on 8
Wayne Tarnowski – piano on 10
Guille Garcia – congas on 11
Al Jardine – additional vocals on 12
Carl Wilson – additional vocals on 12
Dennis Wilson – additional vocals on 12
The Pointer Sisters – additional vocals on 15
Ross Salomone – drums on 15