The Boney 500: Album #75

[T_Bone0806]

75. CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY-CHICAGO (1969)

Strange bit of chart history: the hits on this album were not hits until AFTER two songs from their SECOND album hit it big.
This was their debut album, and what a debut: Some people forget what a breath of fresh air their sound was back then. Other
than Blood, Sweat & Tears, there wasn't a whole lot that sounded like this...and while I like BS & T, their arrangements were
a lot more finessed..the horn section in Chicago tended to punch you n the gut and kick you in the pants. BS & T were
JAZZ-rock, Chicago was more often jazz-ROCK. They grab you right by your ears from the start of this album with "Introduction".
Of course, they knew their way around a melody, as evidenced by the next two songs, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"
and "Beginnings". More great tunes follow over the next 3 sides, with only a couple of missteps along the way (I usually skip
over "Free Form Guitar"..Terry Kath was great, but seven minutes of THAT was not...not to me, anyway). They disappointed me when
they started cranking out the sap and started burying the horns further back in the mix, but in their early days they RULED.

[Ritterskoop]

I love rock horns right behind rock piano.

Great pick.

[T_Bone0806]

I love rock horns right behind rock piano.

Great pick.

Thanks pal!

[Vandal]

Love the early Chicago stuff. They didn't get too creative with album names after this.