Chicago XIII Review

07/13/2005 4:08 AM, AMG


While it might be a stretch to claim that disco in effect killed Chicago, as this effort exemplifies, the dance craze certainly didn't help the band, either. After the moderate success of its previous long-player, Hot Streets (1978), Chicago seemed to have the fortitude to be able to carry on in the wake of the tragic loss of original member Terry Kath (lead guitar/vocals). With the addition of Donnie Dacus (guitar/vocals) and producer Phil Ramone, Chicago scored a pair of strong Top 40 hits with "No Tell Lover" and "Alive Again." By mid-1979, the fickle pop music tides had fully turned toward the beat-intensive drone of disco. Somewhere along the line the rhythm temporarily fixated the band -- much in the same way a deer reacts to oncoming headlights. As Chicago 13 (1979) proves, the results in either instance are not pretty. The nine-plus minute "extended" opener, "Street Player," could easily be mistaken for a Village People number. The same fate befalls the overtly funky and urban-influenced "Paradise Alley." Interestingly, the latter was originally slated as the title track from a concurrent Sylvester Stallone snoozer of the same name. The disc does contain a few redeeming moments, however. Laudir DeOliveira (percussion) contributes the breezy and jazz-flavored "Life Is What It Is." Featuring an equally liberating vocal from Peter Cetera (bass/vocals), it includes one of the more tasteful horn arrangements on the album. The ragtime blues feel on Danny Seraphine's (drums) "Aloha Mama" has some well-seasoned brass augmentation, proving that Chicago had not completely abandoned its roots or audience. The 2003 CD reissue sports not only significantly improved sound, but also a pair of "bonus selections." These appear in the form of an alternate mix of "Street Player" as well as a Dacus' B-side track, "Closer to You." The latter was paired with his "Must Have Been Crazy" and issued as the first of three singles from the LP -- none of which charted in the Top 40. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide