Chicago VReleased in 1972
This was Chicago's first release that was a single album, as opposed to the double albums CTA, II, and III. Of all the Chicago albums, this held the #1 spot on the Billboard charts for an impressive nine weeks.
Vocals are split between Robert Lamm, Terry Kath, and Peter Cetera, often in midsong. This effect is used best in Dialouge, where the older, mature Kath asks the young, slightly air-headed Cetera about his views on the current condition in the country. This is one of the better tracks on the album, though the "We Can Make It Happen" coda tends to wear itself out after the first few minutes. This number falls in the realm of the plethora of political songs that Lamm has penned for the group. Dialouge's impending optimism is neutralized by State of The Union, one of Chicago's trademark bashes against the Nixon-era establishment.
Two more Lamm songs give the album some lukewarm filler tracks that would appeal more to the general audience of the time. These are Goodbye and All Is Well. Perhaps the strangest track on the album is A Hit By Varese, inspired, as the title indicates, by avant-garde maestro Edgar Varese. Here, Robert Lamm laments the current state of stale popular music, which Chicago would, ironically enough, fully endow itself in during the '80's.
The album's standout track, however, is Saturday in the Park, the album's most remembered song, which peaked at #3. Featuring excellent Lamm and Cetera vocals, this turns the tide of the album over to a more optimistic outlook for the future.
Compared to previous efforts, this album is a little stale. While it has a couple good tracks, the mediocore material sets it back quite a bit. Cetera's contributions to the album are notable by their absense, and James Pankow, arguably the band's best songwriter, contributes only one number, Now That You're Gone, which is forgettable, except for it's harmonic bridge. Robert Lamm reaches his songwriting peak with this album, writing eight of the ten tracks, far too many for a band with four prolific songwriters. Chicago V is redemmed, however, by Saturday in the Park and Dialouge, two testaments to Chicago's impact on the seventies.
Mark's Rating: Five stars.
