Among the many live albums in general, and albums ofChicago in particular I have listened to, I findLiberation to be both an uplifting and fun album tolisten to, whether in the car or in the shower. Witha strong mix of electrified instruments, brass hornsand drums, Chicago typlified the urban electrified rockand blues sound made popular by bands like Blood Sweatand Tears, and later immortalized in the movie "The BluesBrothers". Though this album isn't the first live pieceChicago ever did, it is the best example of what the bandcould do once they were outside of the confines of the recording studio. In my experience in listening to live albums, I have often been dissapointed by the fact that a lot of bandsdon't quite sound as good in concert as they in the studio. Well friends let me say that Chicago not only sounds as good in this live album as they do in their studio albums...they sound teriffic. From "Introducion"which opens the album by it's excelent horn section to "Liberation" with it's cacaphony of electrical guitarsand keyboards going from order to chaos and back again,this album truly demonstrates the band's ability to paint a musical picture using broad strokes that only amaster can use. I would highly reccommend this album for anybody who is an affectionado of Chicago, or anyone whojust loves listening to good live rock performances.
