Chicago X Explained

Chicago X
Type:Album
Artist:Chicago
Cover:Chicago - Chicago X.jpg
Released:[1]
Recorded:March – April 1976
Studio:Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
Genre:
Length:37:51
Label:Columbia
Producer:James William Guercio
Prev Year:1975
Next Title:Chicago XI
Next Year:1977

Chicago X (affectionately called "the Chocolate Album" by fans) is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch[2] and it was released by Columbia Records on June 14, 1976. The album made it to number three on the Billboard 200,[3] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 21, 1976, a week after its release.[4] It was the band's first album to be certified platinum,[1] [5] on September 14, 1976, and has since been certified multi-platinum. In honor of the group's platinum album achievement, Columbia Records awarded the group a 25-pound bar of pure platinum, made by Cartier.[6] (Billboard magazine reported it as a 30-pound bar.)[7]

Chicago X was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year,[8] and it won a Grammy Award for Best Album Package.[9]

The album produced Chicago's first number one single in the United States, "If You Leave Me Now".[10] The single went on to win two Grammy Awards: for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, the band's first Grammy Award;[8] and for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists, for arrangers James William Guercio and Jimmie Haskell. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.[8] It would later go on to be featured in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V on the Los Santos Rock Radio station.

The two other songs released from the album as singles also charted on the Billboard Hot 100; "Another Rainy Day in New York City" made it to number 32 and "You Are On My Mind" went to number 49.

Record World called "You Are on My Mind" "another Chicago X showstopper."[11]

Background

After recording Chicago VIII in a state of exhaustion, Chicago did not return to the studio until the spring of 1976, feeling refreshed after a substantial break away. Chicago X was released on June 14, 1976, to a receptive audience, giving Chicago a number three album on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and their first album to chart in the UK in years, at number 21.[12] This was the group's most pop-oriented effort up to that point given that every song on the album starts with the 3-minute mark, coming in stark contrast to the lengthier and more complex compositions of the albums that had preceded it.

The album featured two top forty singles: Robert Lamm's composition, "Another Rainy Day In New York City", which peaked at number 32 after a brief run in August 1976;[13] and Peter Cetera's composition, "If You Leave Me Now", which became the band's first number one single in October of that same year.[14] Originally written at the same time as Chicago VIIs "Wishing You Were Here",[15] "If You Leave Me Now" was one of the last to be completed and, according to reports, was very nearly left off the final product.[16] Band member Walter Parazaider has been quoted as saying he heard the song on the radio while cleaning his pool and initially thought "it sounded like McCartney," not realizing it was his own band's work. The song became the band's first number one hit in the US and the UK. Some band members felt the song's success changed the public's perception of the band, leading to more demand from Columbia Records for ballads, although Robert Lamm has since acknowledged that the band had started moving away from their politically-oriented music into the mainstream years earlier, beginning with 1972's Chicago V.[17]

Band members who normally were not vocalists received vocal credits on this album. The album is notable for the lead vocal debut of trombonist James Pankow. Different band singers tried "You Are On My Mind," but Pankow felt they were not nailing it the way he heard it in his head as the song's composer, so producer Guercio said, "You sing it," and that effort landed on the final album.[16] "You Are On My Mind" was the third single for the album, reaching number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1977.[18] Cash Box said of it that "[t]he same mellow vocal blend is here, along with a velvety texture on the horns, but the rhythm section has speeded into a quick samba, decorated with colorful percussion."[19] Lee Loughnane contributed the lead vocal for his song "Together Again". (Both Pankow and Loughnane would contribute lead vocals again on the next album, Chicago XI.) The brief vocal section of "You Get It Up" was sung by the entire band in unison — thus the album's atypical crediting of Danny Seraphine, Walter Parazaider, and Laudir de Oliveira with "vocals".

In 2002, Chicago X was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with an early rendition of Chicago XIVs "I'd Rather Be Rich" by Lamm, as well as Kath's "Your Love's An Attitude" — both cut in 1975 — as bonus tracks. This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.[20]

Packaging

Designed by Art Director of Columbia/CBS Records, John Berg, the album art depicts a partially unwrapped chocolate bar with the Chicago logo on it, resembling a Hershey's chocolate bar as it was packaged at the time,[21] and winning for Berg a Grammy Award for Best Album Package. The cover design is labeled "chocolate bar" on the band's official web site.[1] The cover art was included in a 2012-2013 exhibit of Berg's album covers at Guild Hall of East Hampton,[22] and is now in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[23]

Critical reception

Zachary Houle writing for PopMatters in 2010 said. "It is an album of pop perfection..."[24]

In 2016 Jeff Giles wrote, Chicago X may have arrived on June 14, 1976 with a little more spark and overall energy than you might expect from a group that had been on the road for a decade, but it lacked the compositional depth and musical muscle they'd shown earlier in their career. It was essentially a pop album — not a bad one, outside the somewhat lyrically dunderheaded "Skin Tight" and "You Get It Up," but one that couldn't help but feel a little light when held up against the double-LP sets of years past.'[25]

Personnel

Chicago

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly Charts

Chart (1976–1977)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[26] 3
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[27] 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 54

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[29] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 31
US Billboard 200[31] 71
Chart (1977)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 28
US Billboard 200[33] 90

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Albums: Chicago X. Chicago - The Band. Chicago Touring. August 11, 2018. August 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180811200653/https://chicagotheband.com/js_albums/chicago-x/. live.
  2. Amicone. Michael. A vigorous 35-year-old feelin' stronger every day. July 20, 2002. Billboard. Howard Lander. 42. en. Google Books.
  3. Web site: Chicago - Billboard 200 Chart history Billboard. www.billboard.com. en. August 4, 2017. October 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171023201309/http://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/billboard-200. live.
  4. News: Gold & Platinum - RIAA. RIAA. August 4, 2017. en-US. March 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210305065414/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Chicago&ti=Chicago+X&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section. live.
  5. October 16, 1976 . RIAA Gold Record Winners: Albums . Billboard . 88 . 42 . 16 . Google books.
  6. News: Young. Charles M.. Random Notes: Rolling Stone: Capitol out of Lennon suit. Tallahassee Democrat. December 8, 1976. 26. Newspapers.com. December 7, 2017. December 8, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171208004125/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15626604/tallahassee_democrat/. live.
  7. December 4, 1976 . [{{Google books|ASUEAAAAMBAJ|page=14|plainurl=yes}} Platinum All the Way (photo caption) ]. . 88. 49. 4. December 6, 2017. Google Books.
  8. News: May 14, 2017 . Chicago . en . GRAMMY.com . dead . August 4, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190320024210/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/chicago . March 20, 2019.
  9. News: 19th Annual GRAMMY Awards. January 16, 2013. GRAMMY.com. August 4, 2017. en. March 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190321041148/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/19th-annual-grammy-awards. live.
  10. Web site: Chicago - Hot 100 Chart history Billboard. www.billboard.com. en. August 4, 2017. August 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210812044927/https://www.billboard.com/music/chicago/chart-history/hot-100. live.
  11. Record World. April 9, 1977. 2023-02-16. Hits of the Week. 1.
  12. Web site: CHICAGO full Official Chart History Official Charts Company. www.officialcharts.com. en. October 6, 2017. December 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171204115420/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13861/chicago/. live.
  13. Music: Billboard Hot 100 for August 8, 2017. Billboard. August 4, 2017. January 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170126111808/http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1976-08-07. live.
  14. The Hot 100 . . 2 January 2013 . 2020-02-20 . 2019-04-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190420214046/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1976-10-23 . live .
  15. Cetera . Peter . Peter Cetera . Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson . Peter Cetera/September 28 . audio . Humble & Fred Radio.Com . Humble and Fred Radio . Toronto, Ontario, Canada . September 28, 2015 . 51:09 . I started two songs that night, one was "If You Leave Me Now", and one was "Wishing You Were Here". . October 3, 2017 . August 4, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170804214429/http://www.humbleandfredradio.com/listen-to-humble-and-fred/2015/09/peter-cetera-september-28.html . live .
  16. Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set). 1991. 7. January 29, 2016. William James. Ruhlmann. CD booklet archived online. Columbia Records. New York City, NY. February 13, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160213222057/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/Chicago_Box_Set_-_Page_7.html. dead.
  17. Chicago on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Reuniting with Peter Cetera. Greene. Andy. December 17, 2015. Rolling Stone. December 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190331231718/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/chicago-on-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-reuniting-with-peter-cetera-56636/. March 31, 2019.
  18. The Hot 100 . . 2 January 2013 . 2020-02-20 . 2019-07-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190705223940/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-04-30 . live .
  19. News: CashBox Singles Reviews. April 9, 1977. 17. Cash Box. 2024-06-20. 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20211127192538/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-04-09.pdf. live.
  20. Web site: Out Now: Chicago, Quadio Rhino. June 17, 2016. www.rhino.com. en. November 3, 2017. November 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107003524/http://www.rhino.com/article/out-now-chicago-quadio. live.
  21. Amicone . Michael . July 20, 2002 . It's an American Brand: About That Logo . Billboard . Howard Lander . 50 . April 22, 2023 . Google books.
  22. News: Album Covers That Are as Evocative as the Music. Jacobson. Aileen. November 23, 2012. The New York Times. December 28, 2017. January 16, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180116105703/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/nyregion/exhibition-at-guild-hall-focuses-on-album-cover-artist.html. live.
  23. Web site: John Berg, Nick Fasciano, Reid Miles. Cover for Chicago's tenth self-titled album. 1976 MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art. en. October 25, 2017. October 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171025185026/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/188964?locale=en. live.
  24. Web site: Houle . Zachary . October 8, 2010 . Exploring Chicago: 'Chicago X' . April 23, 2023 . PopMatters . en-US.
  25. Web site: Giles . Jeff . June 14, 2016 . How a Tossed-Off Ballad on 'Chicago X' Redefined the Band Forever . April 21, 2023 . Ultimate Classic Rock . en.
  26. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 62.
  27. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. June 20, 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Chicago".
  28. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 . . Roppongi, Tokyo . 2006 . 4-87131-077-9 . ja.
  29. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 428.
  30. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1976 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart . . November 8, 2021 . November 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211103215326/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=3865 . live .
  31. Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End . . 2 January 2013 . November 8, 2021 . December 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222190714/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1976/top-billboard-200-albums . live .
  32. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. 1977. GfK Entertainment Charts. de. April 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20211024095103/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-1977. October 24, 2021.
  33. Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End . . 2 January 2013 . November 8, 2021 . October 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211030221342/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1977/top-billboard-200-albums/ . live .

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