Musically, Chicago 16 was one of the top albums of the ’80s, but Chicago 17 actually solidified the band as being back. The follow-up to 16 arrived nearly two years later, which is late considering the wave of success they were experiencing after their previous release.
After significant chart action throughout 1984 with “Hard Habit to Break,” “Stay the Night,” and “You’re the Inspiration,” Chicago released “Along Comes a Woman” as a single in February 1985. While the song didn’t do quite as well as its predecessors – “Along Comes a Woman” reached No. 14 on the Billboard charts – a case can be made that it was possibly the most “Chicago” of those releases.
In contrast to the previous singles, especially the similarly up-tempo “Stay the Night,” “Along Comes a Woman” feels like it has a foot in both eras of Chicago’s success. The song isn’t overwhelmingly synth driven like many other songs on the album, instead preferring to lean more on guitars to drive forward. There are three guitars being played on “Stay the Night,” but the one that stands out is the clean rhythm guitar that takes the solo during the bridge.
That’s very reminiscent of the understated but essential parts played by the late Terry Kath on earlier Chicago songs which were not guitar driven, such as “Call on Me” or “Just You ‘n’ Me.”
Another important aspect of “Along Comes a Woman” that is more prevalent than the previous singles is the upfront aspect of the horns. This group, sidelined for much of Chicago 17, is present and apparent; they’re even featured during the bridge.
It all adds up to another fantastic effort by David Foster. As a producer, he is adept at arranging songs in a way that allows the instruments to breathe. Each one occupies a specific place in the arrangement and creates a sonically clear result.
On “Along Comes a Woman,” we are given just one more example of an incredible convergence of talent and musical skill between Foster and the early-’80s edition of Chicago. Unfortunately, change loomed. This would be the last Chicago single with Peter Cetera.
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