Chicago VIII
| Chicago VIII | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Chicago | ||||
| Released | March 24, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | August – September 1974, Caribou Ranch, Nederland, CO | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 39:18 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | James William Guercio | |||
| Chicago chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Chicago VIII is the seventh studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1975. Following the experimental jazz/pop stylings of Chicago VII, the band returned to a more streamlined sound on this follow-up.
After five consecutive years of constant activity, the members of Chicago were feeling drained as they came to record Chicago VIII at producer James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch in Colorado in the summer of 1974. While the variety in styles explored on Chicago VIII were reminiscent of Chicago VI, this particular album had a more distinct rock feel, as exemplified on Peter Cetera's "Anyway You Want" and "Hideaway", as well as Terry Kath's Hendrix tribute "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" and James Pankow's hit "Old Days" (#5). The ballad "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" charted at #61.
Preceded by Lamm's nostalgic "Harry Truman" (#13) as lead single, Chicago VIII was held over for release until March 1975 as Chicago VII was still riding high in the charts. While it easily reached #1 in the US, the album had a lukewarm critical reception - still commonly considered, by some, as one of their weakest albums, resulting in the briefest chart stay of any Chicago album thus far. It was also the first album to feature session percussionist Laudir de Oliveira as a full-fledged band member, the first addition to the original lineup.
Inside the original LP package was an iron-on t-shirt decal of the album cover and a poster of the band in a station wagon being pulled over by a policeman.
In 2002, Chicago VIII was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with two unreleased songs: "Sixth Sense" (an instrumental, or possibly a backing track) by Kath and "Bright Eyes" by Lamm, as well as version of "Satin Doll" recorded for Dick Clark's "Rockin' New Year's Eve" special - all as bonus tracks.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocalist(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Anyway You Want" | Peter Cetera | Peter Cetera | 3:37 | |
| 2. | "Brand New Love Affair, Parts 1 & 2" | James Pankow | Terry Kath & Peter Cetera | 4:28 | |
| 3. | "Never Been in Love Before" | Robert Lamm | Peter Cetera | 4:10 | |
| 4. | "Hideaway" | Peter Cetera | Peter Cetera | 4:44 | |
| 5. | "Till We Meet Again" | Terry Kath | Terry Kath | 2:03 | |
| 6. | "Harry Truman" | Robert Lamm | Robert Lamm | 3:01 | |
| 7. | "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" | Terry Kath | Terry Kath | 7:19 | |
| 8. | "Long Time No See" | Robert Lamm | Robert Lamm | 2:46 | |
| 9. | "Ain't It Blue?" | Robert Lamm | Terry Kath & Peter Cetera | 3:26 | |
| 10. | "Old Days" | James Pankow | Peter Cetera | 3:31 |
| Rhino Box Set Bonus Tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocalist(s) | Length | ||||||
| 11. | "Sixth Sense (Rehearsal)" | Terry Kath | Instrumental | 5:07 | ||||||
| 12. | "Bright Eyes (Rehearsal)" | Robert Lamm | Robert Lamm | 3:41 | ||||||
| 13. | "Satin Doll (Live)" | Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer | 2:48 | |||||||
The band
- Peter Cetera - bass, vocals
- Terry Kath - guitar, vocals
- Robert Lamm - keyboards, vocals
- Lee Loughnane - trumpet, vocals
- James Pankow - trombone
- Walter Parazaider - woodwinds
- Danny Seraphine - drums
- Laudir de Oliveira - percussion
Additional personnel
- Caribou Kitchenettes - vocal chorus on "Harry Truman"
- John Carsello
- Donna Conroy
- Bob Eberhardt
- Steve Fagin
- Kristy Ferguson
- Linda Greene
- Brandy Maitland
- Katherine Ogden
- Joanne Rocconi
- Richard Torres
- Angele Warner
Charts
Album - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II | The Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
| 1975 | Harry Truman | The Billboard Hot 100 | 13 |
| 1975 | Old Days | The Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| 1975 | Old Days | Easy Listening | 3 |
References
| Preceded by Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin |
Billboard 200 number-one album May 3–16, 1975 |
Succeeded by That's the Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire |
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