Chicago - Chicago

Once again, my listenings have brought me back to one of my top 5 favorite albums ( Thick as a Brick was the other, so far). Chicago was a huge hit in the seventies. It seems that everybody I know (and by that I mean everybody I know's parents) has at least one of their albums in their LP collection. If you could only have one, though, there's no other I would recommend than this one. As a side note, I want to mention that most people will call this album Chicago II. The "II" is often added to fit in with their eventual numbering system.
So why is this album so great? Let me tell you!
The album opens with "Movin' In," which sets the mood wonderfully. The playful trombone/trumpet opening really lays out the style and groove for the whole album. Then, as it quiets down, you hear the gravely, baritone voice of the late, great Terry Kath. He may not have been a particularly great singer, but the mood he sets and the emotion he infuses can't be matched by anyone else. I really like the background horns in this song, too: they're catchy, but don't steal the show. In the jazzy soli/solo section, each player really breaks out, giving an explosive 8-measure solo. The reason I mention this is because it's something Chicago has always done well. Their horn parts are always vital, but never outstay their welcome. The solos are wonderful, but short: the way they should be.
"The Road" is a great choice to follow with in my opinion. In this track, you'll hear less focus on the horns, and more on the sweet, passionate voice of Peter Cetera. It's another great track I look forward to every time. All of the tracks on the first "side" are solid singles. However, it's the second side I want to focus on.
Many casual listeners to Chicago will probably know the songs "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World." However, they might not necessarily know that they're both part of the same 13-minute suite of songs called "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon." You might recognize this name from the honorable mentions of my Epics Countdown. It starts out with the familiar, staccato chords of "Make Me Smile," but after the (shredding) guitar solo, it melts into "So Much to Say, So Much to Give." The middle tracks of the suite are very colorful little tunes that will capture you every time. "Colour My World" is a great ballad that I'm sure my older audience will remember well from their high school prom. A cool thing about it is that it only has one verse and one flute solo. That's it. Short and simple, but beautiful.
After the "Ballet" concludes in a somewhat-progressive fashion, we get "Fancy Colours" which will fool you. It starts out very slow and mysterious, but erupts into a "sexy party"-worthy psychedelic romp. Keep an ear out for the lyrics, too. They're full of creative little puns. I don't think I need to say much about the next track, "25 or 6 to 4" except that it has one of my favorite guitar solos ever. EVER. After a few orchestral tracks, you get another soft ballad called "Memories of Love" and another suite, called "It Better End Soon." This collection is more jazz-based. It's also full of a lot of grainy instrumentation. I dig it a lot. Finally, we conclude with a song that is a great finisher to the album, "Where Do We Go From Here?"
I hope you guys all like this album, because if you don't, I don't know if we can be friends anymore. Just kidding, but seriously, nobody should miss this album. Happy listening!

Free link to the album on Napster:
http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=10915632