Using the well-worn formula of one part Diane Warren (song), one part Ron Nevison (production) and two parts Bill Champlin (lead vocal), Chicago was expecting a big hit from the first single off 1991’s Twenty 1.
Instead, “Chasin’ the Wind” made a No. 13 showing on the old people – ah, Adult Contemporary Chart, while only getting to No. 39 on the main pop charts. That pretty much marked the end to the group’s pop expectations.
Like a middle-aged debutant trying to wear a mini skirt, Chicago was out of place on the pop and rock charts and out of step with the flannel-wearing hoard. But that doesn’t mean “Chasin’ the Wind” wasn’t good.
Bill Champlin continued to bring his ‘A’ game (at least in the studio). His partnership with Diane Warren songs produced strong pop efforts. Yet this was the weakest Warren song that Chicago would record. The fake strings and fake drums don’t do “Chasin’ the Wind” any major favors (thanks to remixer Humberto Gatica), and the James Pankow-Lee Loughhane horn chart seems like an afterthought, but the song nevertheless has a good cinematic flair to it.
Still, “Chasin’ the Wind” is as middle of the road as you could get, with almost no identity. Overall, this comes across as a paint-by-numbers effort included to appease a record company chasin’ a hit.
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