Three Deep Tracks Prove How Artistic, Sophisticated And Eclectic Chicago's Early Music Could Be

Chicago has taken a lot of heat from critics over the years, and many fans - including me - have lamented what this formerly outstanding band became after beginning their career as darlings of the counterculture.

Terry Kath could easily shred with the best of the axmen of the era, but the group often combined jazz, some classical, and even a little bit of country music into their often-sophisticated rock songs. So, to show non-believers the kind of music Chicago was capable of creating a long time ago here are three of their very early deep tracks that prove my point.

"Mother"  from Chicago III  (1971)

Chicago's third album was one of the group's more ambitious works and "Mother" - the song that opens side three of the original double LP - is a perfect example of the era’s political activism and musical eclecticism. The track is Robert Lamm’s obituary for planet Earth and is exactly the kind of song that was very much in vogue at the time.

In their early years Chicago was never a band to shy away from expressing their political beliefs. The anti-war wall poster that came with the third album - seen at the top of this post - is proof of that. Lamm was the group's primary political spokesman, and he couldn’t be more direct than on this environmental track with the closing lines: “Our Mother has been raped and left to die in disgrace. She is gone.”  Lamm’s lyrics lean a little more toward doomsday thinking than is necessary, but the singer and keyboard player gets his point across.

I’m sure this outspokenness from Chicago’s excellent composer is sincere – and I agree with him on this issue – but I always found it a bit hypocritical how he and other rock stars would pontificate on this subject while sucking up gobs of electricity onstage to power the largest amplifiers the world has ever seen.

A bouncy, electronic keyboard opening precedes Lamm’s vocal accompanied by some great harmonies. Then the horn section takes over for a few bars before James Pankow contributes an up-tempo, jazzy, trombone solo and - with an assist from the wonders of modern recording technology - a competing solo layered on top of his first one. Finally, Lamm and company return for the last verse before the arrangement slows down, allowing Pankow to take an additional turn on his horn.

While this track is a mostly a showcase for Lamm and Pankow, it also proves the importance of sidemen. Bassist Peter Cetera and drummer Danny Seraphine are superb once again and the unselfish Terry Kath – who could have easily set himself up as the rock star hero of the band – contributes outstanding rhythm guitar work, especially on Pankow’s final solo.

"Fancy Colours" from Chicago II  (1970)

This is another Lamm offering that opens side three of their sophomore album, and Chicago uses it to prove how complex rock music can be. This isn't garage rock. It's not just three simple chords with a rudimentary back beat.

After a long fade-in featuring wind chimes and Cetera’s ploddingly perfect lead vocal on top of some martial sounding horns, "Fancy Colours" suddenly explodes in several directions. Kath does his own thing on the wah-wah pedal, while Walt Parazaider offers up a jazzy counterpoint on his flute. Meanwhile, the horn section is also veering off onto an entirely different path. Finally, the vocalists join in. We have four separate, disparate themes and melodies all played at once, yet somehow they're layered on top of each other into a cohesive whole.

Next, Lamm blasts out a bluesy organ solo. Then Kath takes a turn. Finally, the Chicago horns come back to ride the song home, once again sounding almost militaristic after Seraphine plays a drum fill that sounds like he has seventeen hands.

Although the two songs sound nothing alike, “Fancy Colours” reminds me of Yes’s “Close to the Edge.” On both, everyone involved appears to be creating their own solo track, but in the end they unite their individual muses into a cohesive whole.

Anyone who says rock music is too simplistic to be art after hearing this Lamm arrangement needs to rethink their position.

"Liberation" from Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

People forget that "Liberation," the final track on 1969’s Chicago Transit Authority, is a Pankow composition because his 14:38 instrumental is really just a showcase for guitarist Kath to display his talents.

"Liberation" opens with a lively horn chart that provides no clues of what is in store for listeners on the rest of the tune. This upbeat, opening salvo segues into a long, loud and frantic Kath solo that is heavily influenced by one of his fans, Jimi Hendrix. He received solid support from bandmates Lamm on organ, Cetera on the bass and Seraphine on drums who really shines here.

The arrangement abruptly changes and we find Chicago’s versatile axman heading toward a reprise of "Free Form Guitar." However, before he reaches that questionable musical graveyard, the rest of Chicago – with the horns joining in on the now atonal affair – screech like a herd of stampeding elephants.

Then comes another change in direction. Kath reveals his softer side with some quite tasteful, gentle strumming on his electric that is suitable for a coffeehouse stage, before Chicago gradually increases both the tempo and intensity and rides the track home.

Unlike anything else Chicago ever recorded, this totally live-in-the-studio blast of rock ‘n roll – with no overdubs or studio trickery added – is admittedly not for everybody. Listeners who prefer tightly arranged, more conventional fare could be put off by "Liberation," but if you’re looking for something freewheeling and on the wild side, you may find a lot to like here.