Chicago The Very Best of: Only the Beginning By David Chiu

Chicago doesn't get the props from the critics and even from some listeners in their now storied 35-year history. Sure those '80s power ballads might make the claims of those cynics viable. But on the whole, Chicago was and still continues to be a mainstay of pop radio: songs like "Saturday in the Park," "25 or 6 to 4," "Colour My World," "Beginnings," are damn near inescapable on the transistor (or should I say boom box to be more current). No doubt the individual parts made the sum of the band strong, particularly the horn section of Jimmy Pankow, Lee Loughnane, and Walt Parazaider-they were an integral part of the music than just accompaniment; drummer Danny Seraphine was a superlative drummer. And with the vocal triad of Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, and Terry Kath, Chicago was assured of strong singers and songwriters. Disc One of this new anthology charts the amazing, almost innovative, path of the band-surely no one can question the art-minded ambitions of the band as in the case with "Question 67 and 68" and "Dialogue Parts I and II," but art was overtaken by an infectious pop sheen as evidenced by those aforementioned hits. And Chicago gradually grew to be a MOR band thanks to songs like "If You Leave Me Now" and "Baby What a Big Surprise." With the tragic death of Terry Kath in the late 70s, Chicago entered a really mediocre period that would have spelled the end but in the early to mid '80s they had a second string of heartfelt romantic hits, albeit songs of high-quality gloss: " You're the Inspiration, "Hard Habit to Break," "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (the inclusion of the brilliant funky yet underrated "Along Comes a Woman" adds bonus points to this collection). Even the departure of Cetera, whose songs became the dominant focus of the '80s resurgence, hadn't prevented the band to scoring a few more hits in "Will You Still Love Me" and "Look Away." In Bond-speak, if you prefer the Sean Connery '70s era of Chicago or the Roger Moore '80s version, you can't go wrong either way on this compact and well-assembled collection. Whatever one might say about this band, Chicago is one of the few bands that can score hits in three different decades and still going strong, providing the nostalgia soundtrack to many a lazy hazy day baby boomers. Note to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Haven't you exiled this band long enough? C'mon, have a heart-given this band's chart history and longevity, they are worthy of induction.

http://www.chicagotheband.com

Note: This release was reviewed without the provision of press materials by the record company's (less than forthright, and not very helpful) "media department" despite numerous requests made way in advance of the album's release. The review was written for the interest of readers/listeners. KCMKQG pyw