Chicago VIII
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Chicago VIII is the eighth studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1975. Following the experimental jazz/pop stylings of Chicago VII, the band returned to a more streamlined sound on this follow-up.
Background
After five consecutive years of constant activity, the members of Chicago were feeling drained as they came to record Chicago VIII at producer James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch in Colorado in the summer of 1974. While the variety in styles explored on Chicago VIII were reminiscent of Chicago VI, this particular album had a more distinct rock feel, as exemplified on Peter Cetera's "Anyway You Want" (later covered by Canadian singer Charity Brown) and "Hideaway", as well as Terry Kath's Hendrix tribute "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" and James Pankow's hit "Old Days" (#5). The ballad "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" charted at #61.
Preceded by Lamm's nostalgic "Harry Truman" (#13) as lead single, Chicago VIII was held over for release until March 1975 as Chicago VII was still riding high in the charts. While it easily reached #1 in the US, the album had a lukewarm critical reception - still commonly considered, by some, as one of their weakest albums, resulting in the briefest chart stay of any Chicago album thus far. It was also the first album to feature session percussionist Laudir de Oliveira as a full-fledged band member rather than merely a sideman, the first addition to the original lineup.
Inside the original LP package was an iron-on t-shirt decal of the album cover and a poster of the band in a station wagon being pulled over by a policeman.
This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 2002, Chicago VIII was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with two unreleased songs: "Sixth Sense" (an instrumental, or possibly a backing track) by Kath and "Bright Eyes" by Lamm, as well as a version of "Satin Doll" recorded for a Dick Clark's "Rockin' New Year's Eve" special - all as bonus tracks.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocalist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Anyway You Want" | Peter Cetera | Cetera | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" | James Pankow | Kath & Cetera | 4:28 |
| 3. | "Never Been in Love Before" | Robert Lamm | Cetera | 4:10 |
| 4. | "Hideaway" | Cetera | Cetera | 4:44 |
| 5. | "Till We Meet Again" | Terry Kath | Kath | 2:03 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocalist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Harry Truman" | Lamm | Lamm | 3:01 |
| 7. | "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" | Kath | Kath | 7:19 |
| 8. | "Long Time No See" | Lamm | Lamm | 2:46 |
| 9. | "Ain't It Blue?" | Lamm | Kath & Cetera | 3:26 |
| 10. | "Old Days" | Pankow | Cetera | 3:31 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocalist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Sixth Sense (Rehearsal)" | Kath | Instrumental | 5:07 |
| 12. | "Bright Eyes (Rehearsal)" | Lamm | Lamm | 3:41 |
| 13. | "Satin Doll (Live)" | Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer | Instrumental | 2:48 |
The band
- Peter Cetera – bass, lead & background vocals
- Terry Kath – electric & acoustic guitars, lead & background vocals
- Robert Lamm – keyboards, lead & background vocals
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet, background vocals
- James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangements
- Walter Parazaider – saxophones, flute, clarinet
- Danny Seraphine – drums
- Laudir de Oliveira – percussion
Additional personnel
- Caribou Kitchenettes – vocal chorus on "Harry Truman" (John Carsello, Donna Conroy, Laudir de Oliveira, Bob Eberhardt, Steve Fagin, Kristy Ferguson, Linda Greene, Lee Loughnane, Brandy Maitland, Katherine Ogden, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, Joanne Rocconi, Richard Torres and Angele Warner)
- String orchestrations on "Brand New Love Affair", "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit", "Long Time No See" and "Old Days" – Patrick Williams
Production
- Produced by James William Guercio
- Engineered by Wayne Tarnowski, Jeff Guercio and Mark Guercio
- Strings recorded by Armin Steiner at Sound Labs (Hollywood, CA)
- Mixed by Phil Ramone
- Cover Design – John Berg and Nick Fasciano
- Artwork/Handwriting – Anthony Maggiore
- Poster Photography – Reid Miles
Charts
Album - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II | The Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
| 1975 | Harry Truman | The Billboard Hot 100 | 13 |
| 1975 | Old Days | The Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| 1975 | Old Days | Easy Listening | 3 |