The gold-selling ‘Chicago 13′ nearly cracked the Billboard Top 20 after arriving 45 years ago this week. But, as fans are now painfully aware, something was very wrong. The band was in the midst of a creative dive bomb that would soon become a commercial one, too. Still, here are five moments from this very spotty LP that weren’t completely terrible:
‘STREET PLAYER’
Former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine titled his autobiography after “Street Player,” the album-opening song from 1979’s Chicago 13 which he composed with writing partner David “Hawk” Wolinski. Keyboardist at the time for the soul-funk band Rufus, David was an old friend from the city of Chicago. The song tells of Seraphine’s childhood in a tough Italian neighborhood in the Windy City, and his escape from that life by his making it big with the band Chicago.
Chicago 13 again avoids the Roman numeral album titles that had, until recently, been standard practice with the group. The previous Hot Streets, their first without deceased lead guitarist/lead vocalist Terry Kath, was also the first exception. That uneven project proved there was at least some commercial potential left in Chicago. However, neither that album nor any of its singles cracked the Top 10, a comedown from the dizzying heights of their discography up until that point.
Some background is in order: According to Danny Seraphine’s memoir, Chicago was not initially signed to Columbia Records. James William Guercio, the band’s former manager and producer, was actually contracted to the label and leased Chicago’s recordings to Columbia. The band now had their own contract with the label. Seraphine never made it clear if adding lead guitarist/lead vocalist Donnie Dacus to fill Kath’s slot was a condition of signing with the label, but in any case, Chicago 13 is the band’s second and last album with Dacus.
Chicago had made no bones about the fact that Dacus did not mesh, and his over-the-top stage antics were not appreciated. Columbia, which seemed to have a man crush on Dacus (they told him he was the new band leader) made sure that all but one single they released during his time with Chicago contained at least one lead vocal with their guy. Even on the song at hand, Dacus could clearly be heard on the outro:
“Street player, watch me move and I’ll make you groove
Yeah, yeah yeah! Whoo!”
To be honest, all the partying was taking a toll on the band, especially in the songwriting department. Many consider Chicago 13 the worst they ever made. I personally don’t feel that way, as some of the later albums in the 1980s are worse. Either way, Terry Kath’s genius is impossible to replace: His death robbed the band of its heart and soul.
“Street Player,” which I really love, begins with a snare hit from Seraphine and the horns kick in with a wicked figure, one of the most complicated, but satisfying we will hear from Chicago. Lead vocalist/bassist Peter Cetera passionately sings Seraphine’s autobiographical lyrics:
“Never forget those endless years
Street sound swirling through my mind”
Portions of the song were then looped by the Bucketheads for their huge hit, “The Bomb.” Many long-time fans were outraged because Chicago dared to release a funk/disco track. The Rolling Stones classic “Miss You,” from the previous year, boasted a similar feel, yet is mostly praised. Chicago “can’t get no satisfaction,” as usual.
Cetera’s rubbery bass bubbles along perfectly. The chorus changes tempo into more of a Latin feel as Dacus gets in some effective rhythmic fills. Cetera’s voice reaches into the stratosphere with a falsetto (think the Bees Gees, without the annoying whine) and the horns are punchy. Guest artist Maynard Ferguson plays a screech trumpet solo that is something to behold.
The chorus repeats and a lengthy percussion section is next, courtesy of the band’s Laudir de Oliveira and Latin jazz great Airto Moreira. Keyboardist/lead vocalist Robert Lamm plays some jazzy piano chords and Dacus rips off one of his best solos. That ending tag mentioned above comes into play. Maynard comes back to wail with some impossibly high notes and we’re out.
A dance mix of the song was also released: This version begins with a timbale roll and a prominent synthesizer part not found on the original. The percussion is slightly more prominent on the dance mix as is the bass drum, which is really thudding on every beat. Seraphine’s high hat is really pushed to the fore to get that disco vibe. The guitar solo is somewhat different, while retaining elements of the original. The percussion section is close to the original, but a new section with handclaps and a capella vocals and percussion ends things. Strangely, the dance mix is shorter than the nine-minute plus original by a minute.
In either mix, “Street Player” did not make much of an impact on the Hot 100. Chicago 13 only went gold, without any hit singles to boost it. The album contained only one ballad, which was not released as a single, probably because Donnie Dacus doesn’t have a lead vocal. Still, “Street Player” was an impressive beginning to an album that very quickly went down the dumpster.
Peter Cetera was carrying the band on his shoulders, something the original remaining members still touring with Chicago can’t stand, as they trash Cetera at every opportunity. He sings almost everything on Chicago 13 except the Dacus features and Lamm’s one lead vocal. Make no mistake, this was a band in crisis: Their main songwriters were practically MIA and they had a new member they couldn’t stand.
Things actually got darker, but “Street Player” gave the ill-fated Chicago 13 a great lead-off track. – Bob Helme
‘MAMA TAKE’
“Mama Take” is not a standout track. There are no standout tracks on Chicago 13. In fact, nothing on 13 even reaches for greatness — but “Mama Take” at least makes a struggling grasp for mediocrity.
Even Peter Cetera’s vocal deliver on “Mama Take” comes across as somewhat terse. He sings as if he can’t wait to finish the damned song because there’s something else he’d much rather be doing.
The track actually opens with a catchy guitar riff from Donnie Dacus; it’s arguably his best playing on Chicago 13 – though the bar is admittedly set rather low. It sounds like a song with a promising arrangement that never fully evolved from the demo stage into what would be considered acceptable for placement on an album.
Stylistically, the arrangement is reminiscent of Cetera’s later material on Chicago XIV and on his 1981 debut solo album – and luckily Cetera fleshed out his arranging skills on XIV. The seeds were here on “Mama Take,” but they didn’t really germinate until songs like “Overnight Café” on XIV or “On the Line” from his first record.
With “Gone Long Gone,” Cetera showed himself inching towards his inevitable 1985 exit. “Mama Take” seems to inch him a bit closer yet.
While the arrangement shows some promise, and I have little doubt that under James William Guercio’s production, Chicago could have made “Mama Take” a decent song – but the quality of Phil Ramone’s production drove off a cliff somewhere between 1978’s Hot Streets and Chicago 13.
In “Mama Take,” I do hear the potential for what could have been a much better song. The ingredients are certainly there, but on Chicago 13 there seemed to be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen – or maybe it was a case of too many nostrils on the mirror. Instead of fully realizing any of the material on the album, all of it falls somewhere between dreadfully unlistenable and forgettably mediocre.
So, given the rest of the album, perhaps “Mama Take” being forgettably mediocre could be considered a success in comparison — especially if one puts the emphasis on the “suck” part of the word “success.” – Perplexio
‘MUST HAVE BEEN CRAZY’
Much like a majority of the material on Chicago 13, this band’s unluckiest of albums, “Must Have Been Crazy” is not a bad song. Musically, it’s kind of catchy and Donnie Dacus delivered a bit of Texas roadhouse guitar to the song. It’s a style I don’t think Chicago had ever explored before nor since.
But those lyrics – those uninspired, bland, repetitive and unoriginal lyrics – are aurally painful. I daresay I’d prefer to listen to the Baby Shark song on repeat than listen to these lyrics. Actually, one could argue the Baby Shark lyrics show more originality than “Must Have Been Crazy.”
The vocals are as inoffensive as they are forgettable. Where Dacus’s singing stood out on Hot Streets, they’re just kind of “there” on “Must Have Been Crazy.” However, where Dacus’s lead vocals are merely forgettably mediocre, the background vocals descend into a mire of awfulness. Someone call roadside assistance for Peter Cetera: His vocal cords have gone flat.
On revisiting this lemon of an album, one is left to wonder how Chicago 13 ever got released. Maybe Phil Ramone was just too nice. Maybe he was afraid to lay the hammer down on Chicago. But 13 isn’t an album; it’s a collection of maybe one or two passable singles – and a handful of working demos that weren’t quite ready for release, or should have hit the reject bin.
Perhaps with a stronger personality producing the project, a bit more polish and development could have been put into it. The execs at Columbia who green-lit this album’s release “Must Have Been Crazy” if they expected it to slow Chicago’s creative and commercial slide. And it didn’t. – Perplexio
‘RERUNS’
“Reruns” is one of only two listenable songs on this worse-than-not-so-good LP. It’s happy, upbeat arrangement belies its subject matter.
The song is actually about a broken relationship that the protagonist wants to resurrect because he doesn’t feel he should be punished forever for hurting someone who appears to be his former love.
“Reruns” is pure pop, and would only count as pleasant filler on a stronger album – but, unfortunately, it’s one of this LP’s assets. Robert Lamm’s singing is appealing, James Pankow’s horn chart is top drawer and the latter is what really makes this track a decent piece of music.
Sadly, “Reruns” is another reminder of where Chicago was heading in their not-too-distant future. Lamm, their best composer, caught the same disease that infected the rest of the band, and it prevented him from writing his often unique, sometimes high-brow or avant garde work.
“Reruns” may actually be better than I’m giving it credit for. After all, we know the man who gave us “A Hit By Varese,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time Is,” and even “Hot Streets” is capable of higher-quality work.
Could it be I’m holding that against Lamm and the song? – Charlie Ricci
‘LIFE IS WHAT IT IS’
“Life Is What It Is” is the only composition to ever come from Chicago percussionist Laudir de Oliveira. Another interesting thing about this song, which was co-written by Marcos Valle, is that it doesn’t sound like it belongs on the stink-fest that is Chicago 13.
The opening acoustic guitar chords bring the same semi-Latin feel as “Beginnings” from the band’s classic debut album, 1969’s Chicago Transit Authority. OK, it’s certainly not in that song’s league, but it’s still a nice bossa-nova oasis in an uninspired desert of mediocrity.
Peter Cetera brings his A-Game for one of the few times on Chicago 13. Cetera gives it his all on his lead vocal and his rippling bass powers the song along. The horns are nice and mellow but hardly boring. Trombonist James Pankow’s horn chart isn’t like anything he’d done prior to this point in the band’s recorded history – and that’s a compliment. Pankow even contributes a nice little trombone solo – which is nice to hear, as horn solos were becoming more and more rare on Chicago albums as time went by.
The subject matter is as light and breezy as the arrangement and lead vocal. The narrator is musing over the ups and downs of ordinary life in the big city. Let’s not forget Laudir’s important percussion contributions: As usual, he is a master of taste. Unfortunately, like a lot of gifted musicians Chicago has employed over the years and discarded, he was given the boot in 1981 to make room in the budget for another musician (Bill Champlin).
As usual, short-term Terry Kath replacement Donnie Dacus’ backing vocal in the middle section is pushed too far up front, since he was Columbia Records’ golden boy. But even that can’t ruin “Life Is What It Is,” which deserved to be a single.
This song, Street Player” and “Reruns” are about the only things I can recommend on Chicago 13, a turkey of an album. Enjoy this “light and breezy” effort. – Bob Helme
