''Chicago 18'' is the fifteenth studio album by the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
soft rock
Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
band
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, released on September 29, 1986. This album is the first without cofounding member
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...
, and the first to feature
Jason Scheff
Jason Randolph Scheff (born April 16, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, and songwriter. From 1985 to 2016, he was the bassist and one of the lead vocalists for the rock band Chicago; he is the longest-serving member in the bassist/vocalist p ...
on bass guitar and vocals.
With Cetera having been fired by the band in 1985 because he wanted to record a solo album, Chicago eventually hired Scheff to fill Cetera's position as vocalist and bassist. With Scheff and
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...
, who had joined the band in 1981, the most prominent voices in Chicago now belonged to its two newest recruits.
Chicago again hired producer
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
to create a followup to ''Chicago 17''.
The band recorded an updated, high-tech remake of their classic "
25 or 6 to 4
"25 or 6 to 4" is a song written by American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the band Chicago. It was recorded in 1969 for their second album, ''Chicago'', with Peter Cetera on lead vocals.
Composition
In a 2013 interview, R ...
" (#48). Scheff recalled when he asked Foster on the way he should sing the song, the latter responded: "Just like Cetera." The following singles, "
Will You Still Love Me?" (#3) and "
If She Would Have Been Faithful..." (#17) became hits. Scheff was lead vocalist on all three releases. The album also features a brief instrumental horn riff, Pankow's "Free Flight."
Despite the success of its predecessor, ''Chicago 18'' ultimately only went gold, peaking at #35 on the Billboard Top 200 charts.
Reception
''Chicago 18'' (Full Moon/Warner Bros. 25509) reached gold status and #35 in the US during a chart stay of 45 weeks. It did not chart in the UK.
Track listing
Notes:
*A re-recorded version of "When Will the World Be Like Lovers?" (Robert Lamm/Tom Keane/David Foster) appears on Robert Lamm's 1995 solo album ''Life Is Good In My Neighborhood''. The original recorded version from the ''Chicago 18'' sessions also appears online.
*"Free Flight", a short unlisted instrumental composed by
James Pankow
James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Early life, family and education
Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...
, appears at the beginning of "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now".
Personnel
[All credits from CD booklet.]
Chicago
*
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...
– keyboards, vocals
*
Robert Lamm
Robert William Lamm (born October 13, 1944) is an American keyboardist, guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including " Questions 67 & 68", " Does ...
– keyboards, vocals
*
Lee Loughnane
Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Early life and education
Lee David Loughna ...
– trumpet
*
James Pankow
James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Early life, family and education
Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...
– trombone, brass arrangements
*
Walter Parazaider
Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...
– woodwinds
*
Jason Scheff
Jason Randolph Scheff (born April 16, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, and songwriter. From 1985 to 2016, he was the bassist and one of the lead vocalists for the rock band Chicago; he is the longest-serving member in the bassist/vocalist p ...
– bass, vocals
*
Danny Seraphine
Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from F ...
– drums, drum programming
* Vocal arrangements by Chicago, Bill Champlin, and David Foster
Additional musicians
*
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
– keyboards, additional arrangements, brass contributions
*
Tom Keane
Thomas Lawrence Keane (September 7, 1926 – June 19, 2001) was an American football cornerback.
High school
Keane played football and graduated from Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia (now known as the Linsly School) in ...
– keyboards, backing vocals
*
Michael Boddicker
Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...
– synthesizer programming
* David Boruff – synthesizer programming
*
Rhett Lawrence
James Everett "Rhett" Lawrence is an American record producer and songwriter. He has produced, mentored, and helped launch the career of 5 artists amongst the top 200 artists to be featured on Billboard magazine's top charts from 1955-2012, who ...
– synthesizer programming
* Bo Tomlyn – synthesizer programming
*
Michael Landau
Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...
– guitars
*
Howard "Buzz" Feiten – guitars
*
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...
– guitars
*
Jeremy Lubbock
Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter.
Life and career
Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...
– string arrangements on "If She Would Have Been Faithful...", "Will You Still Love Me?", and "I Believe"
* Jules Chakin – string contractor
* Gerald Vinci – concertmaster
* Betty Joyce – kids choir contractor on "One More Day"
* Jon Joyce – kids choir conductor on "One More Day"
* Rebecca Clinger, Christopher Leach, Julie Leach, Myhanh Tran, Peter Wade, Jason Pasol, Brandon Roberts, Alitzah Wiener, Betty Joyce, Laurie Parazaider, Felicia Parazaider, Melody Wright and Bettina Bush – kids choir on "One More Day"
Production
* Produced by David Foster
[
* Engineered and Mixed by ]Humberto Gatica
Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...
* Recorded at Chartmaker Studios (Malibu, CA) and Lion Share Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA), assisted by Claudio Ordenes and Ray Pyle.
* Horn Sessions recorded at Skyline Recording Company (Malibu, CA), assisted by Britt Bacon and David Garfield.
* Mixed at Lion Share Recording Studio, assisted by Laura Livingston.
* Originally mastered by George Marino
George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Biography
Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
* CDD Pre-mastering by WCI Record Group
* Art Direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff (born January 20, 1947) is an American record executive who has worked for A&M, Warner Records, Virgin U.S., Work Group, Apple, and Shangri-La Music. He founded Rock the Vote in 1990 in response to a censorship campaign aga ...
* Design – Hugh Brown and Jeri McManus
* Album Cover (Mosaic) – Maria Sarno
* Photography – Hugh Brown
* Stylist/Wardrobe – Kali Korn
* Group Photography – Guy Webster
Charts
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Chicago (band) albums
1986 albums
Albums produced by David Foster
Full Moon Records albums
Warner Records albums