''Chicago VIII'' is the seventh studio album, and eighth album overall, by

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 ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, released in 1975. Following the experimental

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

/ pop stylings of ''

Chicago VII ''Chicago VII'' is the sixth studio album (seventh overall) by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1974. It is notable for being their first double album of new material since 1971's ''Chicago III'' and remains their final studio rel ...

'', the band returned to a more streamlined rock-based sound on this follow-up.

Background

After five consecutive years of constant activity, the members of Chicago were feeling drained as they came to record ''Chicago VIII'' at producer

James William Guercio James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...

Caribou Ranch Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built by producer James William Guercio in 1972 in a converted barn on ranch property in the Rocky Mountains near Nederland, Colorado, on the road that leads to the ghost town of Caribou. The studio was in op ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

of 1974. While the variety in styles explored on ''Chicago VIII'' were reminiscent of ''

Chicago VI ''Chicago VI'' is the fifth studio album (sixth overall) by American rock band Chicago and was released on June 25, 1973. It was the band's second in a string of five consecutive albums to make it to No. 1 in the US, was certified gold less th ...

'', this particular album had a more distinct

feel, as exemplified on

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 ...

's "Anyway You Want" (later covered by Canadian singer

Charity Brown Charity Brown (born Phyllis Boltz in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian film actress, singer, and voice artist for television animation shorts. She is one of Eastwood Collegiate Institute's notable alumni. Biography Charity Brown began singing wit ...

) and "Hideaway", as well as

Terry Kath Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...

Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

tribute "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" and

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 ...

's hit "

Old Days "Old Days" is a song written by James Pankow for the group Chicago and recorded for their album '' Chicago VIII'' (1975). It was the second single released from that album with lead vocals by Peter Cetera. Background Pankow has said that the son ...

" (#5). The ballad "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" charted at #61. Preceded by Lamm's "

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

" (#13) as lead single, ''Chicago VIII'' was held over for release until March 1975 as ''Chicago VII'' was still riding high in the charts. While it easily reached #1 in the US, the album had a lukewarm critical reception — still commonly considered, by some, as one of their weakest albums from the original lineup, resulting in the briefest chart stay of any Chicago album thus far. It was also the first album to feature session percussionist

Laudir de Oliveira Laudir Soares de Oliveira (6 January 1940 – 17 September 2017) was a Brazilian musician and producer mostly renowned for his time as percussionist with the band Chicago. Oliveira grew up in Rio de Janeiro, and started working professionally in ...

as a full-fledged band member rather than merely a sideman, the first addition to the original lineup. Inside the original LP package was an iron-on

t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

decal of the album cover and a poster of the band in a station wagon being pulled over by a policeman. This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 2002, ''Chicago VIII'' was remastered and reissued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

with two unreleased songs: "Sixth Sense" (an instrumental, or possibly a backing track) by Kath and "Bright Eyes" by Lamm, as well as a version of "Satin Doll" recorded for a

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

's "Rockin' New Year's Eve" special - all as bonus tracks.

Track listing

Personnel

Chicago *

– bass, lead and backing vocals *

– electric and acoustic guitars, lead and backing 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, lead and backing 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, backing vocals *

– 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 ...

– saxophones,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

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 *

– percussion Additional personnel * Caribou Kitchenettes – vocal chorus on "Harry Truman" (John Carsello, Donna Conroy, Laudir de Oliveira, Bob Eberhardt, Steve Fagin, Kristy Ferguson, Linda Greene, Lee Loughnane, Brandy Maitland, Katherine Ogden, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, Joanne Rocconi, Richard Torres and Angele Warner) * String orchestrations on "Brand New Love Affair", "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit", "Long Time No See" and "Old Days" – Patrick Williams

Production

* James William Guercio – producer * Wayne Tarnowski – engineer * Jeff Guercio – engineer * Mark Guercio – engineer *

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business par ...

– mixing * John Berg – cover design * Nick Fasciano – cover design * Anthony Maggiore – artwork and handwriting *

Reid Miles Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for Blue Note Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Reid Miles was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1927 but, fo ...

– poster photography

Charts

Singles - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago 08 Chicago (band) albums 1975 albums Albums produced by James William Guercio Columbia Records albums Albums arranged by Patrick Williams (composer) Albums with cover art by Reid Miles