Twenty 1

Twenty 1
Studio album by Chicago
Released	January 29, 1991 (1991-01-29)
Recorded	1990–1991
Genre	Rock, adult contemporary
Length	52:01
Label	Full Moon/Reprise Records
Producer	Ron Nevison Except "Explain It To My Heart": Humberto Gatica
Chicago chronology
Group Portrait (1991) Twenty 1 (1991) Night & Day Big Band (1995)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Twenty 1 is the seventeenth studio album (and twenty-first overall) by the American band Chicago. Released on January 29, 1991, it was their first album of the 1990s. Twenty 1 spent eleven weeks on the American Billboard 200, peaking at position #66,^[2] and did not chart in the UK.

Background

The production of Twenty 1 saw a significant personnel reconfiguration. The recent departure of founding drummer Danny Seraphine had made way for new permanent member Tris Imboden on drums, though session player John Keane played the majority of this album's tracks. Their touring guitarist since 1986, Dawayne Bailey, performed as an extra guitarist for Twenty 1's sessions.

The band retained producer Ron Nevison from Chicago 19. According to Nevison, work on the album was somewhat fragmented, with the band members rarely being in the studio together, and with work continuing with session musicians while the band was on tour. The fragmentation was furthered when Humberto Gatica was assigned to mix the final version of the album without Nevison's input.^[3]

They weren’t there every night to get a mix, like most bands, and take them home, and listen to them, and digest them. They were on tour … they came in when they needed to do stuff, and you do lose some continuity with that approach, but I don’t fault them for that.

— Twenty 1 producer, Ron Nevison^[3]

While the music for Twenty 1 was considered to be of a commercially viable nature, the shifting of popular musical trends toward the impending grunge movement, is said to have lost Chicago some valuable radio support. Nevison maintains that if his original mixes had been used, he'd have been much happier and the album could have theoretically been more successful: "It all would have worked if they’d left it alone. I promise you."^[3] The single "Chasin' The Wind" peaked at No. 39 and Twenty 1 peaked at #66 during its eleven week period on the charts,^[2] making it their second least successful non-greatest hits album, only behind Chicago XIV.

For what was intended to be the band's twenty-second album, Stone of Sisyphus, Chicago hired producer Peter Wolf to develop what could be considered a more ambitious and experimental effort. That 1994 release was indefinitely postponed, and then finally released over 14 years later on June 17, 2008 as Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus. A demo of "Love is Forever" from the Twenty 1 sessions was included on the Sisyphus release.

Twenty 1 would be Chicago's last full-length album release of original songs until Chicago XXX in 2006.

Track listing

1. "Explain it to My Heart" (Diane Warren) – 4:44
2. "If It Were You" (Jason Scheff/Darin Scheff/Tony Smith) – 4:43
3. "You Come to My Senses" (Billy Steinberg/Tom Kelly) – 3:49
4. "Somebody, Somewhere" (Bill Champlin/Dennis Matkosky/Kevin Dukes) – 4:21
5. "What Does It Take" (Jason Scheff/Gerard McMahon) – 4:38
6. "One from the Heart" (Robert Lamm/Gerard McMahon) – 4:43
7. "Chasin' the Wind" (Diane Warren) – 4:18
8. "God Save the Queen" (James Pankow/Jason Scheff) – 4:19
9. "Man to Woman" (Jason Scheff/Adam Mitchell) – 3:56
10. "Only Time Can Heal the Wounded" (Robert Lamm/Gerard McMahon) – 4:43
11. "Who Do You Love" (Bill Champlin/Dennis Matkosky) – 3:20
12. "Holdin' On" (Bill Champlin/Tom Saviano) – 4:15

Unreleased:

• "Love is Forever" was recorded during the Twenty 1 sessions and later released as a bonus track on Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus.
• "Secrets of the Heart" remained unreleased from the final cut, circulating unofficially online.
• "Holdin' On" has been found online in demo form. This was recorded with Bill Champlin's wife, Tamara on lead vocals. This may have been recorded as early as 1987.

Personnel

• Dawayne Bailey – guitars, background vocals
• Bill Champlin – keyboards, lead & background vocals, brass arrangements (11)
• Tris Imboden – drums, percussion
• Robert Lamm – keyboards, lead & background vocals, brass arrangements (6)
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet, flugelhorn, background vocals, brass arrangements (1-9,11,12)
• James Pankow – trombone, background vocals, brass arrangements (1-9,12)
• Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, background vocals
• Jason Scheff – bass, lead & background vocals

Additional personnel

• John Keane – drums
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards
• Efrain Toro – keyboards
• Tom Keane – keyboards
• Steve Porcaro – keyboard programming
• David Foster – acoustic piano
• Michael Landau – guitar
• Stephen "Doc" Kupka – baritone saxophone
• Jerry Hey – brass arrangements (10)
• Dennis Matkosky – co-brass arrangements (11)

Production

• Produced and Engineered by Humberto Gatica (track #1)
• Produced and Engineered by Ron Nevison (tracks #2-12)
• Assistant Engineers – Jim Mitchell & Jeff Poe
• Additional Engineering – Alex Rodriguez
• Mixed by Humberto Gatica
• Production Assistant – Deandra Miller
• Photography – Chris Cuffaro
• Art Direction & Design – Kosh Brooks Design
• Management – Howard Kaufman & Peter Schivarelli

^[4]

References