“Rediscovery” is one of the coolest songs on 1973’s Chicago VI. Robert Lamm, whose lyrics are usually straightforward, is quite cryptic here. The tune could be about a relationship but, if you can find meaning in the lyrics, I’d like to hear your thoughts. The song appears to be about nothing, and that would make George Costanza proud.
Now we can retrace
All we have begun
New oblivion
Havin’ lots of fun
Got to get back inside
Dreams and thoughts collide
“Rediscovery” is more subtle than most of Chicago’s work. The track’s coolness comes from its pseudo-funk arrangement. The highlights are Lamm’s slow burning, electric piano groove, his funky vocal, and Terry Kath’s wah-wah guitar solo. The horns add some intensity towards the end.
This track could easily have fallen apart in the hands of an arranger not as eclectic as Robert Lamm, and with a less versatile guitarist than Kath. Chicago may have regressed a little with VI, but the band proved that when they weren’t aiming for a mainstream hit, this was still one of the best outfits on the scene.
Charlie, I hear this as a song about the band moving to Caribou Ranch (“this mountain majesty”) and re-discovering itself!