Published on Dec 12, 2005
During the course of our current “Dynamic Debuts” retrospective,
you are going to see some classic albums. What makes
Chicago Transit Authority (hereafter referred to as
CTA) different than these other albums is that it is one of
those rarities in popular music, a debut album that remains the
group’s best work.
Chicago fans in general rank
CTA pretty high on the list of the band’s best albums.
However,
II and
V usually take the top spot. To me,
II is a just a tad too long winded, and falls apart on the
second half of the album.
V comes close, but to me,
CTA represents the best Chicago could offer.
From the get-go, it’s apparent this incarnation of Chicago had
some balls. “Introduction” works on multiple levels: besides being
the first song of their career, it allows each band member to shine
through with their individual talents. From this point, it’s really
one killer track after another until the infamous “Free Form
Guitar.” You’ve got the brilliant jazz/rock fusion of “Does Anybody
Really Know What Time It is,” and the rollicking love song
“Beginnings,” featuring one of those patented, Latin flavored
Chicago fadeouts.
So, within the first three songs of
CTA, you’ve got two of the band’s most popular songs. Not a
bad start, but the fun doesn’t stop there. “Listen” spotlightss one
of Terry Kath’s greatest moments; he sustains the opening note of
the song for about 40 seconds. Kath’s work was greatly
underappreciated back in the day, and little touches like this just
show how good he truly was. But when we talk about Kath and
CTA, “Poem 58” has to be mentioned. This is pure, balls-out
rock at it’s finest. While Danny Seraphine and Peter Cetera lay
down the beat, Kath just tears away for a good five minutes,
showcasing a devastating variety of riffs and solos, each more
impressive than the next. It’s mind-blowing stuff, and gives
credence to what Jimi Hendrix said to Walt Parazaider; “Your guitar
player is better than me.”
As I mentioned earlier, “Free Form Guitar” is derided by Chicago
fans of all ages, and I have to agree with them. On some level, the
sounds Kath makes with the Stratocaster are inventive, however they
just sound annoying and go on for way too long.
Luckily for the listener, things pick right back up with “South
California Purples,” (see if you can spot the Beatles reference!).
Now, the next song brings up an old debate for me. “I’m A Man,”
apparently was first recorded by Spencer Davis Group, but I had not
heard the original upon my first listen of
CTA. So to me, the true “cover” of the song would the
original, not Chicago’s version. Weird, ain’t it?
What is left after “I’m A Man,” is the underrated “Someday
(August 29, 1968)” and “Liberation.” The former is probably as
close to pure pop as
CTA gets; on this track I particularly enjoy the trading off
of vocals between Robert Lamm and Cetera. Chicago has always been
blessed with great vocalists, and here the group gets to show off
that diversity. The latter track, while not the worst jam I’ve ever
heard, goes on for a bit too long. This type of over indulgence
would occur over and over again for the band, lasting all the way
through the 70’s. That being said, the first few minutes are pure
gold.
The shortcomings aside,
CTA is quite simply the best album Chicago has ever
recorded. Though they’ve come close, the group’s brilliant
combination of jazz and rock has never been as perfect as it is
here. For that, this album gets that sought-after “A.”