Chicago had been complaining for years about how record companies would not let them record what they want to. The group has often taken great pains to bash the career-saving mid-tempo/ballad songs featuring Peter Cetera, Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff that gave the band a second life in the 1980s, after a significant career slump following the death of the beloved Terry Kath.
So, what does Chicago do? Produce, record and cowrite all the songs on 2014’s Chicago XXXVI: Now, and like their long-delayed Stone of Sisyphus album, still manage to include at least one potentially radio-ready ballad that would not have sounded out of place on Chicago 16, 17, 18 and (ugh) 19. In this case, it’s “Love Lives On.”
Scheff, Cetera’s “replacement” of 30-plus years, delivers this heartfelt composition. Now ended up being Scheff’s last outing with the group, and this album – along with Chicago 18 and the hit “What Kind of Man Would I Be” from Chicago 19 – represent him at his vocal best.
He was often placed in the unfair position of having to approximate prime Cetera’s vocal range, which he never had. As a result, Scheff’s live vocals were extremely hit and miss, and years of singing too high did some serious damage to his voice. Nice guy but another boneheaded move by post-Kath Chicago, which seems hellbent on screwing up any forward momentum.
Still, as much as I find Jason Scheff an acquired taste (at least with Chicago), he really nails “Love Lives On,” which has a special meaning for my daughter and myself as the album came out shortly after my mother’s death. The thought of any love we give living on after we’ve passed really hits home with both of us to this day, even if the song is mostly about a couple’s relationship. For once, trombonist James Pankow delivers a nice solo at the end with excellent tone instead of the “I don’t care” out of tune “dah-de-dah-dah” garbage Kath would have never let him coast on from their glory years.
Yeah “Love Goes On” is a ballad and it’s sentimental, but I really like it and I’m not a huge fan of post-Kath Chicago. I’ve probably stated this before but count me in “the band should have broken up after Terry’s death” camp. Peter Cetera admitted that had he not lacked confidence, he’d have bailed after Kath left us.
Chicago XXXVI: Now showed us that given complete artistic and production control, they can produce a better album than they have in years. So while an aging Chicago often seemed incapable of anything other than “yacht rock with horns,” “Love Lives On” was a cut above the usual snore-fest we’d come to expect.
- Chicago, “Watching All the Colors” (2014): Saturdays in the Park - January 22, 2022
- Chicago, “Love Lives On” from ‘Chicago XXXVI: Now’ (2014): Saturdays in the Park - January 8, 2022
- Chicago, “More Will Be Revealed” from ‘Chicago XXXVI: Now’ (2014): Saturdays in the Park - December 11, 2021
