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Chicago Transit Authority (album)

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Chicago Transit Authority
Back cover of LP releases and front cover of CD reissues.
Studio album by
Chicago Transit Authority
ReleasedApril 28, 1969 (1969-04-28)
RecordedJanuary 27–30, 1969
StudioCBS 30th Street, New York City
Genre
Length76:32
LabelColumbia
ProducerJames William Guercio
Chicago Transit Authority chronology
Chicago Transit Authority
(1969) 		Chicago
(1970)
Singles from Chicago Transit Authority
  1. "Questions 67 and 68 / I’m a Man"
    Released: July 1969 (US)
  2. "I’m a Man"
    Released: January 1970 (UK & Ireland)[2]
  3. "Beginnings"
    Released: October 1969
  4. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"
    Released: October 1970
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

Chicago Transit Authority is the debut studio album by the American rock band Chicago, known at the time of release as Chicago Transit Authority. The double album was released on April 28, 1969 and became a sleeper hit, reaching number 17 on the Billboard 200 by 1971. Chicago Transit Authority spawned several successful singles, including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Questions 67 and 68" and "Beginnings". The album stayed on the Billboard chart for 171 weeks,[4] beating the previous record for a rock album's longevity of 155 weeks[5] and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6] For this inaugural recording effort, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for 1969 Best New Artist of the Year.[7] The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.[8]

History

[edit]

Chicago was formed in early 1967, first as the Big Thing, then Chicago Transit Authority when producer James William Guercio took them on in 1968.[9] Their trademark was fusing brass and jazz with a soulful rock and roll feel that Guercio thought would prove successful, lobbying for his label to sign the band.[10]

Chicago Transit Authority signed to Columbia Records late in 1968 and recorded their first album in late January 1969 at CBS studios on 52nd Street in New York City.[11] While Guercio had recently produced Blood, Sweat & Tears' second album (which proved to be a huge smash), he did so to raise capital for his band, and to secure the contract with Columbia (which was reluctant at first to have two jazz-rock bands since Blood, Sweat & Tears was already on their roster).[12][13][14] By the end of the Chicago Transit Authority sessions, the band had decided they wanted it to be a double album. Skeptical, as the band had no track record, Columbia agreed to the concept only if the group would take a royalty cut.[13][14]

In addition to the material recorded for the album, "Wake Up Sunshine", "It Better End Soon" (both later released on their second album), "Loneliness is Just a Word" (later released on Chicago III), and an early version of "Mississippi Delta City Blues" (with mostly different music than its eventual versions on Live in Japan and Chicago XI) all date from this era, and were performed as early as 1968. Other early original songs, such as "Dedicated to Girl Number 1" and "Once Upon a Life", were never released.[15]

Released in April 1969, Chicago Transit Authority (sometimes informally referred to simply as "CTA") was not an immediate hit, eventually reaching No. 17 in the US[16] and No. 9 in the UK.[17] While critical reaction was generally favorable, sales were slow at first and the album initially failed to produce any hit singles, with the group seen as an album-oriented collective. Meanwhile, FM radio, with its album-oriented format, helped push sales along.[18] In 1970 and 1971, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (No. 7),[19] "Beginnings" (No. 7)[19] and "Questions 67 and 68" (No. 71 and No. 24 for the 1971 re-release)[19] all made it into the Billboard Hot 100 belatedly. Buoyed by the success of their later albums, Chicago Transit Authority had stayed on the charts for 171 weeks as of June 1975,[4] setting the then record for a rock album's chart longevity by October 1974 at 155 weeks,[5] and was certified gold (and later platinum and double platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6]

While the band toured the album, legal action was threatened by the actual Chicago Transit Authority, forcing the group to truncate their name to simply Chicago.[20]

Musical style, writing, composition

[edit]

Keyboardist Robert Lamm, guitarist Terry Kath and bassist Peter Cetera shared lead vocals, while James Pankow, Lee Loughnane and Walter Parazaider handled all brass and woodwinds (trombone, trumpet and saxophone, clarinet and flute respectively) and Danny Seraphine played drums. (Parazaider is pictured in the album package playing flute, but doesn't actually play it on the album.) Band members added percussion during sections of a song when they weren't playing their main instrument. For example, on "I'm a Man", Pankow was on cowbell, Parazaider on tambourine, and Loughnane on claves.[11] Lamm, Kath and Pankow were the band's main composers at this time. According to the band's producer, James William Guercio, Jimi Hendrix was an avowed fan of Kath's playing.[21][14] According to the album's original liner notes, the solo performance of Kath on "Free Form Guitar" was created without the use of any pedals.[22] In a nod to Hendrix's guitar expressionism (Hendrix most notably used wah and fuzz pedals),[citation needed] Kath instead plugged directly into his studio amplifier and improvised the entire track in one take for the purpose of pure tone.[22]

The album is one of two not to have any songwriting contributions from Cetera during his tenure in the band, the other being Chicago V. He started writing songs with the second album, Chicago.[23]

Recording and production

[edit]

Because of dealings between the recording company and the group's producer, James William Guercio, the group's studio time was limited to only five days of basic tracking and five days of overdubbing by the recording company.[13][14] According to Guercio, the album was "done 8-track."[24]

According to band member Walter Parazaider, when the group went into the studio to record the album, they " 'found out we knew very little about what we were doing. ... The first song was “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” We tried to record it as a band, live, all of us in the studio at once.' "[13][14] Finally it was decided that drums, bass, keyboard, and guitars would be recorded first, and then the horns and vocals.[25]

Artwork

[edit]

The cover design for the album is called "Painted Shingle" on the group's official web site.[26] The inside jacket features individual photos of each band member, which reviewer Peter Morelli notes, "For a band deliberately constructed to be a leaderless democracy, Robert Lamm (far right, standing) sure stands out in the band photos!"[27]

Reissues

[edit]

In 1974, the album was also mixed in quadraphonic sound and released on SQ encoded LP (GQ-33255) and Dolby Quadraphonic 8-Track (QCA-33255).

In 2002, Chicago Transit Authority was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records and Columbia Records.[28] Rhino Records trimmed some of the songs, noticeably the fadeouts on "Questions #67 and #68" (six seconds longer on the LP) and "Free Form Guitar" (five seconds longer), the 10 second gap between "Someday" and "Liberation", and some studio chatter.[citation needed]

In 2010, Rhino Handmade re-released the original quadraphonic mix of the album on a limited edition DTS DVD,[29] and in 2016, in DTS-HD Master Audio, as part of Chicago Quadio Box Set.[30]

On June 26, 2019, Rhino Records announced a 50th Anniversary Remix edition of Chicago Transit Authority, offering it in both CD and double LP formats.[31] Although the press release announced an August 30, 2019 release date, the date was pushed back to September 13, 2019 outside of Canada.[citation needed] The band worked with engineer Tim Jessup, who also mixed the band’s Live at the Isle of Wight Festival.[32] Robbie Gerson, reviewing the vinyl release for Audiophile Audition, gave an overall positive review, saying, "Rhino has done an outstanding job in re-mastering Chicago Transit Authority to 180-gram vinyl."[33] In his review for All About Jazz, Doug Colette gave the CD four out of five stars, noting that there's "less precedence for the harmony singing," but that there's "wallop to the drums," "edge to the guitar," and "great care throughout to highlight, without overstatement but with proportionate accuracy and impact, the tightly-fused rhythm work of drummer Danny Seraphine and bassist Peter Cetera: both sound equally vigorous and muscular in their playing."[34]

Awards and honors

[edit]

In 1969, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.[7]

In 2014, Chicago Transit Authority was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]

Chicago Transit Authority is the only Chicago album listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[35]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Introduction"Terry KathKath6:35
2."Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"Robert LammLamm4:35
3."Beginnings"LammLamm7:54
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Questions 67 and 68"LammPeter Cetera, Lamm5:03
2."Listen"LammLamm3:22
3."Poem 58"LammLamm8:35
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Free Form Guitar"Kath—6:47
2."South California Purples"LammLamm6:11
3."I'm a Man"Steve Winwood, Jimmy MillerLamm, Cetera, Kath7:43
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Prologue, August 29, 1968"James William Guercio—0:58
2."Someday (August 29, 1968)"James Pankow, LammLamm, Cetera4:11
3."Liberation"PankowKath[a]14:38
Total length:76:32

Personnel

[edit]

Production

[edit]

2002 reissue

[edit]
  • Lee Loughnane – A&R, project supervisor
  • David McLees – A&R, project supervisor
  • Gary Peterson – A&R, project supervisor
  • Mike Engstrom – project manager
  • April Milek – project assistant
  • Bob O'Neill – project assistant
  • Ingrid K. Olson – project assistant
  • Randy Perry – project assistant
  • Steve Woolard – project assistant
  • Jeff Magid – audio supervisor
  • Cory Frye – editorial supervisor
  • Steven Chean – editorial research
  • David Donnelly – remastering
  • Hugh Brown – photography
  • Maria Villar – art direction, design
  • David Wild – liner notes

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[44] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[45] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Briefly near the end: "Oh, thank you people"

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Frank Hoffmann (12 November 2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. pp. 374–. ISBN 978-1-135-94950-1.
  2. ^ "I'm a man | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  3. ^ Chicago Transit Authority at AllMusic
  4. ^ a b "Top 200 Albums | Billboard 200 chart for week of June 7, 1975". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (October 19, 1974). "Joel Whitburn's Record Research Report". Billboard. p. 10. Retrieved January 18, 2019 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum: Chicago Transit Authority". RIAA. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Grammy Awards: Chicago". GRAMMY.com. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "2014 GRAMMY HALL OF FAME® INDUCTEES". www.grammy.org. Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  9. ^ Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. pp. 47–72. ISBN 9780470416839.
  10. ^ Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City: Columbia Records. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 86. ISBN 9780470416839.
  12. ^ Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 85. ISBN 9780470416839.
  13. ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City: Columbia Records. p. 2. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d e "A Chicago Story – Chicago". Chicagotheband.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  15. ^ As heard on early live recordings, including those from Barnaby's in Chicago IL (June 1968) and Itcheyfoot Mose in Los Angeles CA (September 1968).
  16. ^ "Chicago Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  17. ^ "CHICAGO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  18. ^ Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 105. ISBN 9780470416839.
  19. ^ a b c "Chicago Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  20. ^ Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City: Columbia Records. p. 3. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  21. ^ Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City: Columbia Records. p. 8. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Chicago Transit". aln2.albumlinernotes. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  23. ^ Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (CD booklet archived online) (Media notes). New York City, NY: Columbia Records. p. 4. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  24. ^ Guercio, James William (interviewee), Sinclair, Michelle Kath (director) (2016). The Terry Kath Experience (documentary film). Event occurs at 18:36.
  25. ^ Seraphine, Danny (2011). Street Player: My Chicago Story. John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 86. ISBN 9780470416839.
  26. ^ "Chicago Transit Authority". www.chicagotheband.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority". Paul Morelli, DMA. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  28. ^ Waller, Don (July 20, 2002). "Killer Catalog: Ambitious Rhino Reissues Program Salutes "One of the Great Groups"". Billboard. p. 42. Retrieved January 18, 2019 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ Marchese, Joe (April 12, 2010). "Review: Chicago – "Chicago Transit Authority" Quadradisc". The Second Disc. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  30. ^ "Out Now: Chicago, Quadio | Rhino". www.rhino.com. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  31. ^ "Chicago Transit Authority 50th Anniversary Remix". www.rhino.com. June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  32. ^ Marchese, Joe (June 26, 2019). "Beginnings: Rhino Remixes "Chicago Transit Authority" For 50th Anniversary". The Second Disc. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  33. ^ Gerson, AudiophileRobbie (October 4, 2019). "Chicago Transit Authority - 50th Anniversary Remix - Rhino Entertainment". Audiophile Audition. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  34. ^ Collette, Doug (October 12, 2019). "Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority 50th anniversary Remix album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  35. ^ "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...1001 Albums". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  36. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 62. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  37. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6040". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  38. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  39. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  40. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  41. ^ "Chicago Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  42. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1970". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  43. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1971". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  44. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Chicago – Transit Authority". Music Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  45. ^ "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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