CHICAGO XI

Having struck gold with "If you leave me now", Chicago's yearning for further commercial success led to them record another commercially orientated album. Oddly though, given his major involvement in the aforementioned single, Peter Cetera takes a back seat for most of this album, writing just one of the tracks ("Baby what a big surprise", which is also the only song he provides the lead vocal for). The song was though another huge hit single for the band, the smooth romantic nature of the song appealing to the same market which the band had found for "If you leave me now".

Things kick off with Terry Kath's "Mississippi delta city blues", a song which had first been demoed around 1972, a version appearing as a bonus track on the CD release of "Chicago V". The principle difference here is the vocal and brass arrangement, but the song remains a workout in pop funk; nice horns though. The aforementioned "Baby what a big surprise" includes a backing vocal credit for Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and a Tim Cetera. The song is pure pop, but a pleasant listen nonetheless.

Although the sleeve notes state that important compositional contributions were made by all the guys (to every track), the album is notable for the way each credited composer takes control over their own track. On "Till the end of time" for example, James Pankow sings lead vocal and plays piano (offering a tongue in cheek apology to Robert Lamm along the way). Lamm take on lead vocal duties for his song "Policeman", working with Pankow on the brass arrangement for the song ( a role usually reserved for Pankow alone). The song offers an unusual view of the life of a policeman, painting a picture of someone with genuine feelings caught up in a world of tragedy, misfortune and solitude.

Danny Seraphine and session musician David "Hawk" Wolinski co-wrote "Take me back to Chicago". Wolinski adds ARP synthesiser to the track, later appearing on "Little one" where he plays Fender Rhodes. Robert Lamm sings lead vocal, but once again the composer (Seraphine) helps with the brass arrangement. The song is one of the more interesting on the album, the varied instrumental arrangement offering something a little more stimulating. Chaka Khan sings backing vocals on the track, coming to the fore on the soulful ending. The track was a minor hit single in the USA.

Robert Lamm's only other composition is "Vote for me", a cynical look at a political manifesto for someone who will do anything to buy your vote. The song features choral vocals by "The voices of inspiration of Compton" and some fine keyboard playing by Lamm. It's very much a fun song, but its toe-tapping nature make it irresistible. Terry Kath co- writes "Takin' it on uptown" with a Fred Kagan, leading to a rather strange publishing credit for this one track. The song is not particularity Chicago like, or for that matter all that good.

Lee Loughnane's sole track is "This time" where he once again offers a rare vocal and inevitably helps Pankow with the brass arrangement. The track includes some good lead guitar to complement the brass, and what probably constitutes the longest instrumental section on the album. The album closes with Danny Seraphine's two part "Little one", a piece he co-wrote with the aforementioned David "Hawk" Wolinski. Lasting for about 6½ minutes this is by far the most accomplished piece on the entire album. The theme may be a bit drippy (dedicated to Seraphine's own kids), and the orchestral arrangement a bit MOR, but the brass and wind arrangement combined with a soulful vocal set the song apart. It is not classic Chicago in terms of the band's early work by any means, but there is a least an attempt here to move beyond the pop rock which now dominates the band's output.

In all then, a pleasantly inoffensive set which sees tracks being developed slightly more than on "Chicago X". There is a disjointed feel to the album brought about by each band member treating their compositional contributions as their own babies.

"Chicago XI" would close an astonishing first chapter in the history of the band. Following the release of this album, the band would split with their long term manager and mentor James Guercio, citing what they perceived as his misplaced dominance over their work (a little ironic given the increasingly possessive attitudes of the band members to their own compositions) . More importantly, and infinitely more tragic, was the accidental suicide in 1978 of founding member Terry Kath, who shot himself with a gun he mistakenly thought not to be loaded. By equally tragic coincidence, the inner sleeve of the LP portrays the band as a gang of bank robbing mobsters in a shoot-out with the police.

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