Cheesy or not, Cetera and Co. hit on the anticipatory anxiety of loss that is a nearly universal human emotion: leave me, and part of me, surely, will die. Am I feeling this epic about the anticipation of lost love today? Part of my mental tinkerings always go to this well-trodden topic.
One of the singles from Chicago's pop revival album Chicago 16. This track is a bit too slick for my tastes, but I very much dig the proggy synth lines that emerge around the chorus, which I do believe are a product of the prolific musicians David Paich and Steve Porcaro (both members of supergroupToto as well). It's noteworthy that Paich co-wrote yesterday's song Lido Shuffle with Boz Scaggs, but I had no way of knowing that prior to writing this entry. Maybe I absorbed the information from looking into Lido, and my unconscious mind produced another David Paich collaboration, though I don't think it's likely. Who can say?
Gotta admit, this sappy Chicago ballad has been millin' about for days, almost as if to taunt me for skipping it over in the write-up from Friday. I had to include this link to a Peter Cetera solo performance, complete with wacky cell phone-waving revelry, 'cause the only other versions I'm finding on YouTube are from the post-Cetera era with lead singer Jason Scheff. As if this album weren't enough of a shark-jump (ah, the obvious link between massive commercial success and suckage) it was also Cetera's last work with the band before he flew the coup in 1985.
Artist: Chicago (Peter Cetera) Year: 1984 Rating: Lukewarm
So, the official results of the Best Band Named after a Geographical Location poll are in, and let me just take this opportunity to thank everyone out there for participating and chiming in. In all, 41 folks voted, giving us the following scores:
Many discussants had lots of opinions about the showdown between Chicago and Berlin. Some think that Chicago is simply too commercial and schmaltzy to be the best representative of the Geo-Bands. Others argue that Berlin, while sophisticated and aesthetically hip, are musically inferior to the more diverse jazz-rock symphonics of Chicago. The controversy over this vote is expressed quite well by reader Michael D. of San Francisco, California. He states in a personal (but rather public) forum that:
Berlin may be style over skill, but oh what style! [On Chicago] Well-executed banality is still...banality.
I will agree with that sentiment to a certain point, as Berlin also suits my own aesthetic more than Chicago or any of the other bands in the poll (in fact, I almost didn't include Berlin because they were so very "one of these things is not like the others"). Nevertheless, it is hard to argue with the legacy of Chicago's discography. At 21 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum records, the band has very nearly as many RIAA-awarded albums as all the other bands in the poll combined. (Added up, Kansas, America, Boston, and Asia have 22 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum records. Guess how many Berlin has...that's right, zero.) We know that popular is not always best, but I think our readership made a sound choice with Chicago.
Anyway, enough of the rambles. Here are some of the choicest Chicago tunes just in case you need convincing (and yes, they've been in my head all day):
Arguably Chicago's very best song, certainly the most epic and addictive of their jazz rock catalog.
Song: 25 or 6 to 4
Year: 1970
Rating: Hot!
Oh, it's 1976, and Peter Cetera's hair shows it! This song oozes with pure '70s pop schmaltz, and that's why I love it so.
Song: If You Leave Me Now
Year: 1976
Rating: Luke Hot
A good song representative of their '80s oeuvre.
Song: Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
Year: 1982
Rating: Warm
This one's been milling about in my head since playing Rock Band with Amber and the nieces and nephews last weekend. At the risk of tipping the vote on my geo-band poll, I will share that my nephew Jonathan said, "Definitely the best song by a 'location' band."
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high...
It should be mentioned that even more than the bitchin' guitar riffs, I love/loathe this song for its epic hero's journey lyrics, so emblematic of the crossover between certain proggy classic rock bands and the Ren Faire aesthetic.
(Right - the album from whence this song came; Left - another great example of prog-meets-medieval times on Jethro Tull's album The Broadsword And The Beast.)
Artist: Kansas
Year: 1976
Rating: Hotter than a bubbling cauldron of the witch's brew!
Link: Check out this survey of absurd prog rock album cover art at the Onion AV.
Which band named after a geographical location will readers pick as the totem geo-rock band?
Will it be psychedelic-proggers Kansas, straight-up cock-rockers Boston, the mellow balladeering of America, the jazz-rock fusion of Chicago, the prog-pop anthem rock of Asia, or the sultry new wave of Berlin?
Cast your votes in the poll on the right-hand navigation bar!
Ah, this is a song you need to know about if you're to understand anything about my popculture sensibilities and my undying love of these three subgenres of rock:
Bands named after geographical locations, or geo-rock, as I like to call it. It's more a category of bands than a genre unto itself, because Asia's post-progressive and stadium rock haven't much at all to do with the jazzy mellow pop of Chicago and even less to do with the stylish new wave quirkiness of Berlin. But for some reason, place-named bands have flourished in the annals of rock history and in my consciousness.
Prog Rock - a subgenre I know very little about from a musical standpoint, yet I continue to be enthralled with. The telltale signs of prog, in my lay terms, are dramatic melodic changes during a song not commensurate with a conventional refrain or bridge, often an extended flight of keyboard or instrument other than the usual blues-based guitar riff, and epic—almost symphonic—musical and lyrical themes, with complicated layering. See King Crimson and Yes for some examples. True prog rock fans (I'm just a novice) tend to be big-time music geeks with a lot of knowledge of theory, as evidenced by some of the comment threads on these YouTube videos.
Supergroups - Asia is a band formed by members of many other commercially and/or creatively successful bands, in this case, from an amalgam of gold-star prog and art rock bands: John Wetton (vocals, bass, guitar) had worked with Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep (and loads of other bands); Steve Howe was the guitarist from Yes, Geoff Downes was the keyboardist of the Buggles and briefly with Yes, and Carl Palmer of ELP played drums.
Anyway, dig the totally '80s video, and the cross configuration of the TVs during the singer's martyrish plight.
Now, sure as the sun will cross the sky/This lie is over.
Year: 1976
I had to include this link to a Peter Cetera solo performance, complete with wacky cell phone-waving revelry, 'cause the only other versions I'm finding on YouTube are from the post-Cetera era with lead singer Jason Scheff. As if this album weren't enough of a shark-jump (ah, the obvious link between massive commercial success and suckage) it was also Cetera's last work with the band before he flew the coup in 1985.
1st Place: Chicago, with 12 votes
3rd Place: a tie between Boston and America, with 6 votes a piece (America making a big jump from earlier in the contest.)
It should be mentioned that even more than the bitchin' guitar riffs, I love/loathe this song for its epic hero's journey lyrics, so emblematic of the crossover between certain proggy classic rock bands and the Ren Faire aesthetic.
(Right - the album from whence this song came; Left - another great example of prog-meets-medieval times on Jethro Tull's album The Broadsword And The Beast.)