Come on... with all the instrumentalists here (myself included), nobody's mentioned them yet?
Possibly the best instrumentals of any rock band ('60s and later). Though from Chicago 16 on, they got away from that (unfortunately).
Transit Authority and Chicago II made me realize as a teenager that playing a brass instrument could lead to other things than Stan Kenton or an orchestra seat. (nothing wrong with those, of course)
But you are correct, ScottN ... when the group leaned more heavily on strings and an "orchestral" sound, they started to slide off my favorites list.
Chicago III was a triumphant album. With such tracks as "Free", "Canon", and "Once upon a Time", it was awesome.
We can make it hap
In the Beginnings, there were two perplexing problems - Questions 67 and 68. And even though I'm a Man, trying to answer them has given me the South California Purples. Someday though, when we've attained true Liberation and have been able to Listen to Poem 58, we can appreciate the Introduction to the new and more challenging question, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
As a Prologue, I purposely left off the selection Free Form Guitar. If you've ever heard it, you'd know why.
Listening to you guys argue about what's Canon makes me just want to be Free. Maybe I'll take a Motorboat to Mars just to escape. After all, Everybody Needs a Little Time Away. I'll give you odds of 25 or 6 to 4 that even If You Leave Me Now, I'll still see you next Saturday In the Park.
OK, so I went a bit overboard.
Oops... it's Hard for Me to Say I'm Sorry, but "Everybody needs a little time away" isn't a title.
ScottN ... you have been able to craft a more elaborate song title paragraph than me, and for that I give you high marks. However, ALL the titles I used in MY posts were from the same album ... (nanny-nanny-boo-boo!)
Can anyone remember the circumstances that caused this group to change it’s name from The Chicago Transit Authority to simply Chicago between their first and second album?
Yeah, they were sued by The Chicago Transit Authority.