Search - Chicago :: Chicago Xiv

Time Does Change Things

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 05/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I wrote an earlier review for this album after hearing a vinyl album that sounded awful. It's a pity too because,frankly upon hearing this remastered CD it emerges as far stronger then I remember. We are dealing with a recording that almost ruined Chicago's career though and I think that is part of the reason why this gets so many poor reviews. Aside from that what sets this album apart from a lot of other Chicago album?Well the previous album,the also unsuccessful Chicago 13 was really based in a jazzy R&B/rock sound where rhythms were as emphasized as much as songwriting. On this outing the band in general are going for a far harder rocking sound. The awkward part is the bands new guitarist Chris Pinnick was a session player who was never officialy part of the band so his sound tends to clash with Chicago's in a lot of cases.On "Manipulation" Robert Lamm does a good job at keeping that from happening and the song retains enough of Lamm's jazzy touches to give it a nice bite.On "Hold On","I'd Rather Be Rich" and "The American Dream" the sound is a bit more out front and are really very powerful songs,among the best here in general. As far as Peter Cetera's talents as a balladeer go the best of the lot if "Song For You",which goes pretty much right along with his triumphs of the 70's. Where he went wrong was "Where Did The Lovin' Go",no matter how you cut it it just sounds bloodless and insincere-NOT qualities I see as part of Cetera's abilities.Although not a Cetera song "Birthday Boy",co-written by Rufus's David Wolinski yet again is not much better sadly enough. Cetera saves his day with the Caribbean rock flavored "Overnight Cafe",a bright little tune that will have your head easily bobbing along.The real triumph of this though is "Thunder And Lightening",the only semi-successful single from this collection that deserved a far better commercial fate:with it's rhythms,horns,great hook and harmonies this could've easily spelled a modernized update of that the bands classic sound circa....Chicago II (Repackaged) even. It's easily the very best song here and I could listen to it forever.The bonus tracks really make you wonder why a couple of the songs that made the final selection ended up there. It wasn't the edgy,overcooked outtake rocker "Doin' Business" that really caught my ear but the two others;the extended funk oriented jam of "Live It Up" and "Soldier Of Fortune" did though;now that last one really captures a certain Becker-Fagan flavor in the overall sound and....if the two dud tracks on the album had been removed in favor of these two the album would've likely fared a lot better then it did.Maybe a little more to be realistic. But upon hearing this with crisp,remastered sound and at least two excellent bonus tracks this earned the album at least one more star for me and this will be something I will be taking time to listen to again and again."

One of the Weakest Albums in the Chicago Opus

Reviewer | USA | 02/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Even compared to Chicago XIII, the up-tempo 1979 release with only a moderate amount of good tracks, Chicago XIV takes the band to probably their lowest point. This album comes at the early part of the 80s, as the band struggled to balance the disco era, punk era, new wave, and soft-rock power ballads that commanded the radio.



In many respects, this album was Chicago's attempt to balance the popular genres of the radio and the menagerie came out a relative mess. Even the seemingly catchy "Thunder and Lightning," which was a minor hit on the album, seems lost in time. Dare anyone see the YouTube clip of them singing it live and you'll like the song less.



Better tracks include "I'd Rather Be Rich," a fast-tempo, "hard rock for Chicago" song that embraces the yuppieness of the 80s--maybe ahead of its time.



"Soldier of Fortune" is an underrated track, with a solid drum line and catchy chorus. However, Robert Lamm sounds nasally through the song, at least to me. He did sing this, right?



Overall, Chicago was in a confused place between the classic songs of the 70s and the ballads of the 80s. This album, hate to say it, doesn't represent the best of this top notch group."

Even the deity we know as Tom Dowd couldn't save Chicago

Misha Bendavid | Austin, Texas United States | 05/30/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Tom Dowd needs no introduction. He's a deity if you love 60's and 70's music. So, bringing him in to pull Chicago's commercial fat out of the fire seemed to be a great idea. I bought this record simply because I couldn't imagine him being involved with a dud. Another deity, Phil Ramone, failed to get the band turned around with "13", and Dowd, a close friend of Ramone's, should have read that email from Ramone and seen this coming. Oh wait. There was no email in 1980. Duhhhhhh.



The material ranges from bland to cluelessly bad. Dowd can't make gold out of gum wrappers. These are gum wrappers. Bleechhhhh."