Chicago V

Not to be confused with Chicado V.
Chicago V
Studio album by Chicago
Released July 10, 1972
Recorded September 20-29, 1971 at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York
Genre Rock, jazz rock
Length 45:16
Label Columbia
Producer James William Guercio
Chicago chronology

Chicago at Carnegie Hall
(1971)
Chicago V
(1972)
Chicago VI
(1973)
Singles from Chicago V
  1. "Saturday in the Park"
    Released: July 1972
  2. "Dialogue (Part I & II)"
    Released: October 1972
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone (not rated)[2]

Chicago V is the fourth studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1972. It is notable for being the group's first single album release, after having released three consecutive double albums and a box set of live material.

History

Following the release of Chicago III in 1971, the group changed from producing double albums, with many songs arranged in extended suites, in favor of more concise tracks on a single album. Chicago V is also notable for Robert Lamm's prolific songwriting; eight out of its ten tunes are composed solely by him. Terry Kath wrote and sang the album's final track "Alma Mater", which showcased his acoustic guitar abilities and although bassist Peter Cetera didn't contribute any compositions to the album, he still sang and played bass, even using a wah-wah pedal on his bass on "While the City Sleeps"; this would be the last album to not have any compositions from Cetera during his tenure in the band.

Recorded just before Chicago at Carnegie Hall was released in late 1971, Chicago V was cut in just over a week and held over for release until the following summer. Released shortly before the album, the single "Saturday In The Park" was the band's biggest hit to that point, reaching #3 in the US. Chicago V was critically acclaimed and became the biggest hit album of 1972, becoming Chicago's first #1 album and spending nine weeks atop the charts in the US. In the UK, the release managed to reach #24. The follow-up single "Dialogue (Part I & II)" (#24) also became a Top 30 hit in the US.

In 2002, Chicago V was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with three bonus tracks: a rehearsal of Lamm's "A Song for Richard and His Friends", which was debuted at Carnegie Hall, an early rehearsal of Kath's "Mississippi Delta City Blues" (which would later be re-recorded and released on Chicago XI), and a single edit of "Dialogue."

On August 17, 2011, Warner Japan released this album as a hybrid stereo-multichannel Super Audio CD in their Warner Premium Sound series.[3]

Track listing

Side One
No. TitleWriter(s)Vocals Length
1. "A Hit by Varèse"  LammLamm 4:56
2. "All Is Well"  LammLamm 3:52
3. "Now That You've Gone"  PankowKath, Cetera 5:01
4. "Dialogue (Part I)"  LammKath, Cetera 2:57
5. "Dialogue (Part II)"  LammKath, Cetera 4:13
Side Two
No. TitleWriter(s)Vocals Length
6. "While the City Sleeps"  LammLamm 3:53
7. "Saturday in the Park"  LammLamm, Cetera 3:56
8. "State of the Union"  LammCetera 6:12
9. "Goodbye"  LammCetera 6:02
10. "Alma Mater"  KathKath 3:56

Bonus track (2002 re-issue)

  1. "A Song For Richard And His Friends (Studio Version,without Vocals)" (Lamm) – 8:15
  2. "Mississippi Delta City Blues (First Recorded Version, with Scratch Vocal)" (Kath) – 5:28
  3. "Dialogue (Part I & II) (Single Edit)" (Lamm) – 5:02

Personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1972 Billboard Black Albums 33
1972 Billboard Pop Albums 1
1972 Billboard Jazz Albums 1

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1972 "Dialogue (Parts I & II)" Billboard Pop Singles 24
1972 "Saturday in the Park" Billboard Pop Singles 3

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold July 31, 1972
RIAA – USA Platinum November 21, 1986
RIAA – USA |Double Platinum November 21, 1986

References

  1. Planer, Lindsay. "Chicago V - Chicago : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  2. "Chicago: Chicago V : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". RollingStone.com. 1972-12-07. Archived from the original on 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  3. "Warner Premium Sound 17 August 2011 releases" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-11-03.
Preceded by
Honky Château by Elton John
Billboard 200 number-one album
August 19 - October 20, 1972
Succeeded by
Super Fly (soundtrack) by Curtis Mayfield