Review by whoareyou March 21, 2014 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
This is a very nice sounding SACD. All percussion nice, no harshness, horns great. Very natural sounding. I just pulled my 30 year old? LP version of this and compared (is it really that old? That LP also still sounds great, but I think I'm preferring this new SACD to the vinyl. All in all a good purchase as opposed to some of the poor SA-CD's I've been disappointed with. Ca't give it 5 stars, cause I have many that sound better, but this is darn good.
Have to disagree with vonwegen a bit on the content. Guess to each their own, but I find the entire album worthwhile, and like some of the non-hits every bit as much as the mega pop hits that drew attention to the album.
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Review by vonwegen January 11, 2014 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
I have the original Joe Gastwirt-mastered CD of this and was quite happy with its sound. But the Mobile Fidelity SACD blows that away--the experience is similar to watching HD television for the very first time. This album is frankly quite spotty in the songwriting department, and without the two hit singles, would be rather forgettable. That said, "Just You & Me" and "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" are among the very best Chicago songs and the band really kicks into gear for both.If you wake up in the morning and discover you're short of coffee, play either song to shake off the cobwebs--it really works!
This album is a classic 1970s "small isolation booth" recording and you can really hear it on this SACD - especially the drums are very 'boxy' sounding, but you _feel_ every drumskin hit, especially when listening on audiophile headphones. The lead vocals almost breathe in your ears, as does the horn section--if you love horns in hi-rez audio, look no further.
Yeah, Chicago II is the better album, but this one is still a winner, even with only 2 keeper songs. And the other 8 songs? Variable. The LP-like cover is a fold-out, and the photo inside reveals just how exhausted the band seemed to be. Big fans of the band might not be as annoyed by Robert Lamm's rhyming dictionary lyrics, and Terry Kath's guitar is is, as always, in fine form. His one song contribution, "Jenny" is not among his very finest, but his lead vocal shines anyway. Cetera's tunes are less memorable - it's only when he & James Pankow teamed up for "Stronger" that the sparks started to ignite.
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