Chicago - Twenty 1 (12 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

Warner Bros. Gets Blackjacked by Windy City Boys

Robby Icellosconi | Chicago, IL United States | 05/16/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Being Chicago's last studio record full of original material, Chicago Twenty 1 offered a sonic glimpse of a power ballad dinosaur being put out to pasture. Only one song, "Chasin' the Wind," would barely chart in top 40 territory. For Chicago, this was a long-welcomed failure: the record company pushed Chicago's buttons, the hit machine gave them what they wanted, and the formula did not yield expected results! Sadly, Twenty 1 would mark another post-departure effort for the group: original drummer Danny Seraphine was allegedly voted out of the band in favor of session drummer, Tris Imboden.Sonically, the record shimmers with Ron Nevison and Humberto Gatica serving as engineers/producers. This was Chicago's first slab recorded entirely in the digital domain (recorded, mixed and mastered in digital). Even though a couple or so tunes have compromised or absent horn arrangements, I could still get into them (e.g. "Somebody Somewhere," "Man to Woman," "Holdin' On"). Expectedly, the studio musicianship is no let-down with help from Tom Keane, Michael Landau, David Foster, and Steve Porcaro. The songwriting is good, lyrically lacking, but good (Chicago never had a Bob Dylan or Roger Waters; their music always spoke volumes). Of course, Diane Warren makes contributions with encouragement from the powers that be. Sorry, but Diane Warren and Chicago, for the most part, do not pair well. Twenty 1 is not as magical or hit-worthy as 17 or 18, but there's still some good stuff here. First off, let me express my lack of enthusiasm for certain tunes. "Chasin' the Wind," in typical Diane Warren fashion, is barely more than a 4 chord formula---not much that the horn guys could augment, arrangement skills notwithstanding (and basically, they didn't). There is something unsettling in the choruses of "Only Time Can Heal the Wounded," perhaps it's the repetitiveness. The horn solo and key change are really cool, though. "Who Do You Love" just doesn't do it for me, though Bill Champlin's voice almost redeems the track. Now for positivity. "Explain It To My Heart" is probably one of Diane Warren's best songs. Jason Scheff and Bill Champlin share the lead vocal, complimenting one another nicely. In my opinion, Diane Warren is best known for lyrical sentiment and in this tune, it's as good as it gets: the mind can come to terms with a break-up, but the heart cannot. I love the key change with the horns, too (Diane Warren didn't write that, did she?). "If It Were You" is one of my favorites, with an upbeat tempo, killer horn arrangement and bassline. Presented with a critical relationship dilemma, "would you hold on... or just give up forever that part of your life... what would you do if it were you?" "You Come To My Senses" is a nice ballad... wussy, but nice. "Somebody Somewhere" is a good rock tune, co-penned and sung by Bill Champlin. "What Does It Take" is good. The guitar solo rocks! "One From the Heart," sung and cowritten by Robert Lamm, has a cool swing feel that reminds me of "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" "God Save the Queen" is an awesome, funky number about impending environmental doom: "God save the queen, dear Mother Earth is dying away." In shades of 18's "One More Day," the song offers the same optimism: "one more tomorrow depends on today." "Man to Woman" is another decent love song. "Holdin' On" is another Scheff/Champlin duet---a splendid ballad with a gorgeous vocal and instrumental arrangement (my favorite on Twenty 1, anyway). As the final track, it should have, perhaps, served as Chicago's testament for what it had endured and was about to endure again: waning commercial success, popularity, corporate support, etc. After Chicago Twenty 1, it was definitely time for a change. The original studio effort, Chicago 22 (Stone of Sisyphus), would never be released by Warner Bros. They would not allow Chicago to creatively reinvent itself, despite lessons learned (?) in losing at Twenty 1. Twenty 1 ends another important chapter in Chicago's history, and is overall, a good listen---well worth the money. It's definitely a good buy that stands on its own as good music."

Only so-so

Rollie Anderson | Forney, Texas United States | 05/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Was this cd the reason Chicago stopped making new music? It might be a disappointing effort but it isn't a total loss by any means. "Chasing the wind" "Explain it to my heart" and "God save the Queen" are very good cuts that I look forward to when I put this one on. But 3 good ones don't make up for the mediocre songs that remain. It's just that the tunes are not well-written because the production and musicianship are top-notch, as always. And the vocals are outstanding throughout. I only wish they had continued to push onward considering the great songwriters they have in the band."

Most of the songs sound the same!

sfleck@cyburban.com | 07/13/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"OK - to start, let's take the typical "80s ballad formula" on which most of "Twenty One" is based: massive rhythm section, layers of fizzy keyboards, VERY high lead vocals, and a wailing guitar solo after the second chorus. Rounded off with a highly original key change thrown in for good measure (as on "Explain It to My Heart" and "You Come to my Senses.")This approach certainly worked for Peter Cetera-period Chicago (and for that matter, innumerable 80s soft-rock groups.) Therein lies the major flaw with this release. While there are a few good tracks scattered around the album (the best being "God Save the Queen" and "If It Were You," funky & reminiscent of early Chicago with the famed horn section back with a vengeance!), much of the material could have been released by Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton, Def Leppard, or Bon Jovi. It's simply not "real" Chicago, just a collection of (mostly) externally-written, bland love-songs, most of which sound more or less identical."Chasing the Wind" sounds excellent when it starts with just keyboard & Bill Champlin's vocals, but predictably deteriorates into yet another over-produced power-ballad, with (you guessed it!) the cliched, way-over-the-top squealing guitar solo!There are still some flashes of brilliance - in places, the horns nearly come to the rescue - but somebody in the record company killed this band's creativity - WHY was Stone of Sisyphus never released????Well if recent talk / rumours are anything to go by, Chicago XXVII is on the way, which should be a big improvement & something to look forward to!"

Not By Any Means Good, But Important

Steven R Fleck | Rockville Centre, NY United States | 12/31/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Twenty 1, in it's unqualified commercial failure, proved to Warner Brothers that Chicago covering Diane Warren's generic, 3-chord power ballads doen't necessarily equal success. This idea paved the way for the fantastic (but still unreleased) all-original Chicago 22 (Stone of Sisyphus), a gem that all fans need to obtain.Back to the topic, Twenty 1 does contain 3 breakout tracks which far exceed the similarly rated tracks on their last couple of albums. Jason Scheff's IF IT WERE YOU, Jimmy Pankow/Scheff's GOD SAVE THE QUEEN & Bill Champlin's WHO DO YOU LOVE do a whole lot for restoring the credibility of these guys as excellent songwriter/musicians. That they're sandwiched on bread containing the externally written EXPLAIN IT TO MY HEART, YOU COME TO MY SENSES & CHASIN' THE WIND, among other good but forgettable originals makes STONE OF SISYPHUS & hope for the future that much more positive."

Welcome To The Third Decade

sfleck@cyburban.com | New York | 02/15/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Some 2-3 years after their last studio album, the stilted & slightly produced Chicago 19, the boys eased back into the world of the living with a ray of hope. Their 4th Warner/Reprise set, Twenty 1, notable for being the 1st release since 1968 without the services of founding drummer Dan Seraphine, eased into AOR radio. Returning from 19 was veteran producer Ron Nevison, along with the standard crop of studio musicians & co-writers so unfortunately prevalent in the band's David Foster-era set.By this time in pop music, Nirvana had already upset what was considered formula & turned it into a post-psychedelic revolution, rendering the power ballads of Chicago & the bands of the Big 80's DOA--at least on the Pop charts.What Twenty 1 did, above all, was relegate the likes of Chicago to airplay soley on Adult Contemporary radio--a sentence the band has never recovered from.Twenty 1 being their last original "Pop" recording to date doesn't break any new ground, but does make a stab at being a posthumous cry for help.Beginning with the ill-planned formula sap-ballad Explain it to My Heart (a Diane Warren tune), it quickly switches gears & shines a ray of hope. Peter Cetera-replacement Jason Scheff's (son of Elvis bassman Jerry Scheff) funky If It Were You treads the ground which Chicago hadn't walked since Chicago 17 some seven years prior. With inspired & punchy James Pankow (& now Lee Loughnane) horns & a danceable groove, it reminds one of the best of Toto. Why not, since virtuoso Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro is present?The cover You Come to My Senses was another AOR hit, hook-laden yet unremarkable but for the chararacterisitc trombone-heavy horn arrangement by Pankow & Loughnane.Disappointing is the albums' Bill Champlain-penned debut, Somebody Somewhere, a lackluster arrangement in need of Pankow's singular brass acumen.Another Scheff composition, What Does It Take, while trite with lyrics such as, "You-are-my-DES-TIN-Y," is supierior in it's aggressiveness to anything on their previous effort.Former ace writer Robert Lamm resurfaces with One From the Heart, and while tugging on any Chicago fan's 'strings by the very presence of his vocals, his song seems like an end title tune to some crappy 80's teen relationship movie.Back to Diane Warren's dead-pen for Chasing the Wind, another lame ballad, which wastes the vocal prowess of Grammy award winning Champlain. The modulation is nice, however, & those soaring horns tend to fix things.Pankow's co-composition with Scheff, God Save the Queen, lifts the listener again. Reverb-laden with Chicago VII-esque horns as an opening, Champlain's vocals are finally well-utilized, as are the tight rythym lines procured by vet session drummer Tris Imboden. Some credit must be given here to Dawayne Bailey on guitar, for at least a damn good Steve Lukather imitation. The horn interlude is vintage.Scheff's Man to Woman is standard Cetera without Cetera. At least he appeared to be consistently writing when no one else in the band was. While it's not a strong composition, it is more listenable than many of their recent covers.Lamm offers an equally lame ballad with a similarly trite moniker--Only Time Can Heal the Wounded. Again, the James William Gurceio-era trombone heavy brass arrangements make it palatable--especially in the bridge.Champlain's Who Do You Love is a standout, rocking like nothing since Bad Advice on Chicago 16. Here, the distorted rythym guitars & synthesized organ form a blistering groove, punctuated by fat brass lines that knock you out like the blow of Mike Tyson. This is an area that the band should have explored more in depth, possibly earning them exposure amongst an audience that rocked to Extreme's Get the Funk Out. Champlain's recently thin vocal timbre (perhaps a result of his weight-shedding) seemed a memory on material such as this.Closing with Champlain's Holding On, a pleasant but forgettable ballad, I was left with the impression that better times were coming with this band--indeed, the unreleased & herealded Stone of Sisyphus followed & promised but never saw the daylight of major label release.While Twenty 1 hints at the shadow of brilliance etched in the memory of this singular band (much like the old logo is ghosted on the album cover), it promised more than it's ensuing projects were able to keep."

Search - Chicago :: Twenty 1

CD Details

Synopsis

Similar CDs

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews