Published on Feb 22, 2006
About a year ago, my
review for Chicago XIV went up. Needless to say, it
wasn’t pretty, because it was a terrible album, not just by
Chicago’s standards but in general. Unfortunately, its predecessor,
13 is not much better — these two albums are generally
considered Chicago’s worst, and I’d be hard pressed to argue.
First off, I shall commit the cardinal sin of Chicago
fandom and defend “Street Player.” I’ve always thought Chicago
would have been well suited for disco, particularly because of the
horns. To me, “Street Player” reaffirms that belief. Sure, the song
drags on too long, but there are some good bits to be found in
between, such as the Maynard Ferguson appearance.
With 13, it’s just easier to mention the very
few good tracks. Essentially, you’ve got “Reruns” and “Life Is What
It Is.” These two songs are decent efforts that aren’t amazing by
any stretch of the imagination, but when compared to the rest of
the material, they stand above. “Reruns,” in particular, seems to
have caught Chicago in a good day in the studio; the band sounds
like it’s involved. The horns are flowing, Robert Lamm delivers his
usual professional vocal and it’s got a catchy refrain. “Life Is
What It Is” is a bit more gentle, almost jazzy at times. The
acoustic underpinnings add a nice touch, and Peter Cetera sounds
like Peter Cetera, as opposed to P.C. Moblee (more on that in a
sec).
The rest of 13 is sloppy, uninspired,
half-assed drivel. You’ve got Cetera singing in a completely
different style, one that just plain grates on the nerves. Legend
has it that it was an attempt to create a new character called P.C
Moblee, but thankfully, as the legend goes, Moblee died in a plane
crash, never to be heard from again.
Also, the contribution from Donnie Dacus, the man
hired to replace Terry Kath, is just insipid. I get the feeling the
band was trying to get “heavy,” but it didn’t work out that way at
all. “Run Away” ranks up there with the band’s worst closing
numbers, failing to provide any momentum or drive at all. “Reruns”
should have taken its place.
“Mama Take” used to be a favorite of mine off the
album, but after giving it another listen, it’s lost its appeal.
The music is pretty solid, but it just lacks something to grab a
hold of. “Aloha Mama” starts off interestingly enough, with the
horn section throwing out a little honky tonk, but lo and behold
who is that on the mic? Why, it’s P.C. Moblee! Track ruined!
XIV got a D, but 13 will avoid that
honor, just barely. The three decent moments I mentioned keep it
from being their worst piece of music. Chicago at this point was in
the throes of their worst period creatively and personally, and the
music reflected it. Sometimes artists can take personal strife and
create something truly special with it. Chicago 13 isn’t one
of those cases.