Chicago III

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Chicago III
Chicago III cover
Studio album by Chicago
Released 11 January 1971
Recorded Late November -
Early December 1970
Genre Rock
Length 71:29
Label Columbia Records
Producer(s) James William Guercio
Professional reviews
Chicago chronology
Chicago
(1970)		 Chicago III
(1971)		 Chicago at Carnegie Hall
(1971)


Chicago III is the third album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1971. It is also band's third consecutive double album of new studio material in less than two years, a feat that has yet to be repeated by any major artist or group.

In the wake of Chicago's enormous worldwide success, Chicago spent almost all of 1970 on the road, an exhaustive undertaking. When the band came to record Chicago III at the end of the year - which producer James William Guercio had already determined would be another double, they were physically drained.

Their long hours on the road gave the principal songwriters, Robert Lamm, Terry Kath and James Pankow, much food for thought, resulting in more serious subject matter, which contrasted with the positivity of their first two sets. Lamm documented his homesickness in the "Travel Suite", while Pankow bemoaned the winning battle of industry over nature in the purely instrumental "Elegy" suite, (an issue Lamm also touches upon in "Mother"). While Kath's multi-part "An Hour In The Shower" provides a reprieve from the sobering explorations elsewhere, Chicago III was undeniably the result of a band who had seen the flip side of the world over the last several months.

Chicago III is also notable for its variety of musical genres, with the band relying slightly less on their trademark horns. Both "Sing A Mean Tune Kid" and "Free" feature the influence of funk, "What Else Can I Say" and "Flight 602" have a country feel, while abstract qualities are found in "Free Country" and "Progress?"

Released in January 1971, initially on Columbia Records, Chicago III - their first album to sport a Roman numeral in its title - sold well upon its release, yet its paucity of big hit singles and its more experimental nature meant that it didn't wear as well with the masses as The Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago did. "Free" was a Top 20 hit, and Peter Cetera's "Lowdown" reached the Top 40. And while Chicago III marked a dwindling in UK fortunes, reaching #9 in a brief chart run, it provided Chicago with their highest charting disc yet in the US, going to #2.

In 2002, Chicago III was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records.

[edit] Trivia

In 1974, the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded a suite of tunes from this album, arranged by Bob Curnow, on the album Kenton Plays Chicago. "Canon", "Mother", "Once Upon A Time", and "Free" were included under the title "Chicago III Suite". Kenton's disdain for rock music was well-known, but in a 1975 radio interview, when asked about his feelings concerning popular music, he replied "It's all crap. Except Chicago."

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" (Robert Lamm) – 9:13
  2. "Loneliness Is Just a Word" (Robert Lamm) – 2:36
  3. "What Else Can I Say" (Peter Cetera) – 3:12
  4. "I Don't Want Your Money" (Terry Kath/Robert Lamm) – 4:47
  5. "Flight 602" (Robert Lamm) – 2:45
  6. "Motorboat to Mars" (Danny Seraphine) – 1:30
  7. "Free" (Robert Lamm) – 2:16
  8. "Free Country" (Terry Kath/Robert Lamm/Walter Parazaider) – 5:47
  9. "At The Sunrise" (Robert Lamm) – 2:46
  10. "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home" (Robert Lamm) – 7:26
    • Tracks 5 - 10 form the "Travel" suite
  11. "Mother" (Robert Lamm) – 4:30
  12. "Lowdown" (Peter Cetera/Danny Seraphine) – 3:35
  13. "A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast" (Terry Kath) – 1:52
  14. "Off to Work" (Terry Kath) – 0:46
  15. "Fallin' Out" (Terry Kath) – 0:53
  16. "Dreamin' Home" (Terry Kath) – 0:49
  17. "Morning Blues Again" (Terry Kath) – 1:10
    • Tracks 13 - 17 form the "An Hour in the Shower" suite
  18. "When All the Laughter Dies in Sorrow" (Kendrew Lascelles) – 1:03
  19. "Canon" (James Pankow) – 1:05
  20. "Once Upon a Time...." (James Pankow) – 2:34
  21. "Progress?" (James William Guercio/James Pankow) – 2:35
  22. "The Approaching Storm" (James Pankow) – 6:26
  23. "Man vs. Man: The End" (James Pankow) – 1:34
    • Tracks 18 - 23 form the "Elegy" suite

Chicago III (Columbia 30110) reached #2 in the US during a chart stay of 63 weeks. It also peaked at #9 in the UK.

[edit] Personnel

Chicago
Robert Lamm | James Pankow | Lee Loughnane | Walter Parazaider | Bill Champlin
Jason Scheff | Tris Imboden | Keith Howland
Terry Kath | Peter Cetera | Danny Seraphine | Laudir DeOliveira | Donnie Dacus | Chris Pinnick | Dawayne Bailey
Discography
Studio albums: The Chicago Transit Authority | Chicago | Chicago III | Chicago V | Chicago VI |Chicago VII | Chicago VIII | Chicago X | Chicago XI | Hot Streets | Chicago 13 | Chicago XIV | Chicago 16 | Chicago 17 | Chicago 18 | Chicago 19 | Twenty 1 | Night & Day Big Band | Chicago XXX
Live albums: Chicago at Carnegie Hall | Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert
Compilations: Chicago IX - Chicago's Greatest Hits | Greatest Hits, Volume II | Greatest Hits 1982-1989
The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997 | The Heart of Chicago 1967-1998 Volume II | The Very Best of: Only the Beginning | Love Songs
Christmas albums: Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album | What's It Gonna Be, Santa?
Unreleased album: Stone of Sisyphus
Box sets: The Box
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