Chicago Album: “Live [Laseright]”

This concert recording has been floating around for a long time under many different names. The titles of the songs are not correct and the song order is wrong.

This is from a concert before Chicago II was released. It does feature many songs that would wind up on Chicago II (this is probably why the titles were not correct on some versions of the album).

The group is still relatively new, and has that raw sound a new, eager band.

The sound quality is only fair. It is like a good bootleg. The mix is also poor and the balance leans heavily to the right side. But, it isn't so bad that you can't listen to it repeatedly. In some respects, it is better than many live recordings released today, especially anything by Dave Matthews, or the original CD releases of Yes concerts. On the plus side, there isn't much audience noise.

This album is heavily guitar oriented with Terry Kath getting in guitar solos on almost every song and a couple of long ones, including one about 8 minuts long on Liberation. Although the horns and the rest of the band are here, no one else takes a solo shot, like they will on Chicago IV.

I didn't like this CD when I popped in my stereo at home and played it in the background. But, playing it in my car and driving around, I appreciated it more. Still, all of these songs are available on Chicago IV. But, if you want to hear them played a little differently, with a little more raw energy and with poorer fidelity, you can get them here.

Chicago Live, recorded at 1969's Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival concert, is an interesting early preview of one of the 70's more popular bands. The raw energy of the band's live sound shines through on the set as does the technical brilliance of the late Terry Kath's guitar work. Cuts such as "25 or 6 to 4" and "Liberation" cook, but suffer from the poor sound quality that dogs the entire album. For the Chicago-phile, this is a must-buy (if only for the historical value--it is the first live recording from the band), but for the average listener, this is definitely a "should-pass."

This CD contains no information of when this was recorded. If I had to take a guess, I'd say about 1969-1970. It sounds like it was recorded across a lake with the microphone in a shoebox. This could have been an interesting snapshot of Chicago early in their career but the quality of the recording is poor. Pass on this. Only for absolute diehard fans only.