Written by: Kassidy at 6:16 pm
Filed under: Music
Any band that celebrates a 40th Anniversary deserves to put out a Best Of, Hits CD. It’s only fair considering how musicians come and go these days. No matter who you are, you know at least one Chicago song. In the 70s the band was a staple. You couldn’t get much hotter and more talented than this band was. The band is still talented and despite many bands of their time having retired or stopped playing regularly, Chicago is still out and about, having made their last original CD in 2006, proving that they are still alive and kicking.
In 2002, Chicago had released another double disc set, similar to this one, called The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning. This CD also falls along the lines of the CD put out in 2002. Both CDs have a lot of the greatest Chicago hits of all time. The main difference is that the 40th Anniversary discs are able to contain songs from Chicago XXX, the album put out in 2006. However, the 2002 release tends to have more of the greatest hits and the 40th anniversary edition skimps on some of the big hits in favor of some of the new stuff. For instance, there are about nine or ten less songs on the 40th Anniversary edition in comparison to Only the Beginning.
Don’t get me wrong because I am definitely not complaining. There is some good music on these two discs. Some of my favorite listed Chicago songs include the following, in order of song track:
2. “25 or 6 to 4″
3. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
15. “If You Leave Me Now”
16. “Baby What a Big Surprise”
18. “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”
19. “Love Me Tomorrow”
20. “Hard Habit to Break”
21. “You’re the Inspiration”
22. “Will You Still Love Me?”
24. “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love”
25. “Look Away”
26. “What Kind of Man Would I Be?”
At twelve songs out of thirty that is just shy of the halfway mark. These are just favorite songs though. I found the majority of the set to be listenable and enjoyable. However, as a big Chicago fan I feel that there were some things missing from the 40th Anniversary edition that should have been included. This is the CD that is meant to be a shining accomplishment. The problem is that with the 2002 release it would have been a duplicate copy if they had tried to make a perfect hits compilation because they had already done that.
That being said, Chicago’s 40th Anniversary set is excellent in quality. Offered through Rhino Records, the sound is magnificent. It literally transports you back to a simpler time when music was good and the heroin that musicians took was taken behind closed doors. This is not the definitive collection for a die hard Chicago fan, but it will offer much music that you can enjoy and many songs that will bring back a lot of great memories. Even though it doesn’t have all of their accomplishments and reasons for praise, it has enough to make it a good set. I recommend checking this one out. Chicago fans won’t be disappointed.
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Technorati Tags: Chicago, 40th Anniversary, CD Review, Rhino Records, Music, Fans, Compilation, Hard to Say I’m Sorry, Hard Habit to Break
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Written by Kassidy - Visit Website
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Kassidy received her degree in Journalism in 2002. She lives in the Midwest with her husband of six years, Jason, and their two little girls, Madison (5) and Emma (2.5), with one (a boy) on the way. The couple is very excited to welcome their first son next January. Passions in life for Kassidy include painting, scrapbooking, writing, being a Mommy, watching romantic comedies, and dancing.
