Chicago III

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Chicago III
Chicago III cover
Studio album by Chicago
Released January 11, 1971
Recorded Late November - Early December 1970
Genre Rock
Length 71:29
Label Columbia Records
Producer 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 the 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.

Contents

[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."

Included with the album was a poster of the band dressed in the uniforms of America's wars, standing in front of a field of crosses, representing those who had died in the still ongoing Vietnam War. It also gave the number of casualties from each war up until the time of the album's release.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

  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

[edit] Side two

  1. "Travel Suite" - 18:17
    1. "Flight 602" (Robert Lamm) – 2:45
    2. "Motorboat to Mars" (Danny Seraphine) – 1:30
    3. "Free" (Robert Lamm) – 2:16
    4. "Free Country" (Terry Kath/Robert Lamm/Walter Parazaider) – 5:47
    5. "At The Sunrise" (Robert Lamm) – 2:46
    6. "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home" (Robert Lamm) – 7:26

[edit] Side three

  1. "Mother" (Robert Lamm) – 4:30
  2. "Lowdown" (Peter Cetera/Danny Seraphine) – 3:35
  3. "An Hour in the Shower" - 5:30
    1. "A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast" (Terry Kath) – 1:52
    2. "Off to Work" (Terry Kath) – 0:46
    3. "Fallin' Out" (Terry Kath) – 0:53
    4. "Dreamin' Home" (Terry Kath) – 0:49
    5. "Morning Blues Again" (Terry Kath) – 1:10

[edit] Side four

  1. "Elegy" - 15:27
    1. "When All the Laughter Dies in Sorrow" (Kendrew Lascelles) – 1:03
    2. "Canon" (James Pankow) – 1:05
    3. "Once Upon a Time...." (James Pankow) – 2:34
    4. "Progress?" (James William Guercio/James Pankow) – 2:35
    5. "The Approaching Storm" (James Pankow) – 6:26
    6. "Man vs. Man: The End" (James Pankow) – 1:34

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

v • d • e
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
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Languages