CHICAGO (ALBUM)

'''Chicago''' is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Chicago. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority after releasing their same-titled ''debut'' album the previous year.
Although the official title of the album was ''Chicago'', it came to be retroactively known as ''Chicago II'', keeping it in line with the succession of roman numeral-titled albums that officially began with ''Chicago III'' in 1971.
While ''The Chicago Transit Authority'' was a success, ''Chicago'' is considered by many to be Chicago's breakthrough album, yielding a number of Top 40 hits, including "Make Me Smile" (#9), "Colour My World" (#7), and "25 Or 6 To 4" (#4). The centerpiece of the album was the thirteen-minute song cycle "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon", which is considered one of Chicago's finest moments. In addition, guitarist Terry Kath also participated in an extended classically-styled piece in four separate songs. The politically-outspoken Robert Lamm also tackles his qualms with "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Peter Cetera, later to play a crucial role in the band's music, donated his first song to Chicago and this album, "Where Do We Go From Here".
Released in January 1970 on Columbia Records, ''Chicago'' was an instant hit, reaching #4 in the US and #6 in the UK and has gone on to become - perhaps - the band's most revered album.
In 2002, ''Chicago'' was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records with the single versions of "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4" as bonus tracks. (Trivia: The song "25 or 6 to 4" refers to a songwriter trying to write song lyrics at 25 or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning.)

Contents

Track listing

Bonus tracks (2002 reissue)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Track listing

#"Movin' In" (James Pankow) – 4:06
#"The Road" (Terry Kath) – 3:10
#"Poem for the People" (Robert Lamm) – 5:31
#"In the Country" (Kath) – 6:34
#"Wake Up Sunshine" (Lamm) – 2:29
#"Make Me Smile" (Pankow) – 3:16
#"So Much to Say, So Much To Give" (Pankow) – 1:12
#"Anxiety's Moment" (Pankow) – 1:01
#"West Virginia Fantasies" (Pankow) – 1:34
#"Colour My World" (Pankow) – 3:01
#"To Be Free" (Pankow) – 1:15
#"Now More Than Ever" (Pankow) – 1:26
#
★ ''Tracks 6–12 form the Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon suite''
#"Fancy Colours" (Lamm) – 5:10
#"25 or 6 to 4" (Lamm) – 4:50
#"Prelude" (Kath/Peter Matz) – 1:10
#"A.M. Mourning" (Kath/Matz) – 2:05
#"P.M. Mourning" (Kath/Matz) – 1:58
#"Memories of Love" (Kath) – 3:59
#
★ ''Tracks 15–18 form the Memories Of Love suite''
#"1st Movement" (Lamm) – 2:33
#"2nd Movement" (Lamm/Walter Parazaider) – 3:41
#"3rd Movement" (Lamm/Kath) – 3:19
#"4th Movement" (Lamm) – 0:51
#
★ ''Tracks 19–22 form the "It Better End Soon" suite''
#"Where Do We Go From Here" (Peter Cetera) – 2:49

Bonus tracks (2002 reissue)

#"Make Me Smile (Single version)" – 2:58
#"25 or 6 to 4 (Single version)" – 2:51

Personnel

★ Robert Lamm – keyboards, vocals

★ Terry Kath – guitar, vocals

★ Peter Cetera – bass, vocals

★ Danny Seraphine – drums

★ Lee Loughnane – trumpet, vocals

★ James Pankow – trombone

★ Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, vocals

Charts

'Album'

Year	Chart	Position
1970	Billboard Pop Albums	4

'Single'

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1970	"25 or 6 to 4"	Billboard Pop Singles	4
1970	"Make Me Smile"	Billboard Pop Singles	9
1971	"Colour My World"	Billboard Pop Singles	7

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	April 13 1970
RIAA – USA	Platinum	August 9 1991