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Chicago - Live in Japan CD (album) cover

LIVE IN JAPAN

Chicago

 

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.99 | 33 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
4 stars Japanese questions (67 and 68)

Recorded in 1972, "Live in Japan" was only originally released in that country, and even then not until 3 years later in 1975. The album did eventually secure a release in the band's homeland USA, but not until 1996 by which time they had established their own record label. "Live in Japan" is therefore notable for being a rare official release which does not bear a sequential number (it should probably by "VI", "VIII" or "IX").

The concerts from which the recordings are taken took place in Osaka, Japan over three days when the band were touring to promote the then new "Chicago V" album. There are therefore quite a number of additional songs available to the band when compared with the earlier "Carnegie hall" live box set. Some of the songs on the first three albums which did not make it onto the "Carnegie hall" set are played here instead. Overlaps between the two releases are therefore relatively few, being largely confined to the latter part of the set when the band play their best known singles and album tracks from the first two albums.

The most noticeable thing about this release is the much improved sound quality when compared with the "Carnegie hall" box. The horns especially come across much better, sounding crisp and sharp. Tracks such as "Saturday in the park" and "Make me smile" have a vitality to them which makes them worthwhile variants on their studio counterparts. James Pankow's "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon" also sounds much better here, indeed this is arguably the definitive version of that suite.

The version of "Questions 67 and 68" is worth hearing, as it is sung in Japanese! How well delivered it is in linguistic terms is for others to decide, but their audience must surely have been impressed by the effort at least.

There is no doubt that on their day, Chicago could be a truly awesome live act. The bloated "Carnegie hall" box largely failed to capture that magic. Thankfully, "Live in Japan" is now more widely available, at least in digital format, so the true might of the band in the early 1970's can now be witnessed by all.

Easy Livin | 4/5 |

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