Chicago VIII

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Chicago VIII
Studio album by
Chicago
ReleasedMarch 24, 1975
RecordedAugust – September 1974
StudioCaribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
GenreRock
Length39:18
LabelColumbia
ProducerJames William Guercio
Chicago chronology
Chicago VII
(1974) 		Chicago VIII
(1975) 		Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits
(1975)
Singles from Chicago VIII
  1. "Harry Truman"
    Released: February 1975
  2. "Old Days"
    Released: April 1975
  3. "Brand New Love Affair"
    Released: July 1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Chicago VIII is the seventh studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on March 24, 1975 by Columbia Records. Following the experimental jazz/pop stylings of Chicago VII, the band returned to a more streamlined rock-based sound on this follow-up.

Background[edit]

After five consecutive years of constant activity, the members of Chicago were feeling drained as they came to record Chicago VIII at producer James William Guercio's Caribou Ranch in Colorado in the summer of 1974. While the variety in styles explored on Chicago VIII were reminiscent of Chicago VI, this particular album had a more distinct rock feel, as exemplified on Peter Cetera's "Anyway You Want" (later covered by Canadian singer Charity Brown) and "Hideaway", as well as Terry Kath's Hendrix tribute "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" and James Pankow's hit "Old Days" (#5). The ballad "Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II" charted at #61.

Preceded by Lamm's "Harry Truman" (#13) as lead single, Chicago VIII was held over for release until March 1975 as Chicago VII was still riding high in the charts. While it easily reached #1 in the US, the album had a lukewarm critical reception — still commonly considered, by some, as one of their weakest albums from the original lineup, resulting in the briefest chart stay of any Chicago album thus far. It was also the first album to feature session percussionist Laudir de Oliveira as a full-fledged band member rather than merely a sideman, the first addition to the original lineup.

Inside the original LP package was an iron-on t-shirt decal of the album cover and a poster of the band in a station wagon being pulled over by a policeman.

On The RPM Canada charts, confusion endured when the LP was mis-identified during its chart run as Chicago VII; the catalog number listed proved it was really VIII.

This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 2002, Chicago VIII was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records with two unreleased songs: "Sixth Sense" (an instrumental, or possibly a backing track) by Kath and "Bright Eyes" by Lamm, as well as a version of "Satin Doll" recorded for a Dick Clark's "Rockin' New Year's Eve" special - all as bonus tracks.

Track listing[edit]

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocalist(s)Length
1."Anyway You Want"Peter CeteraCetera3:37
2."Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II"James PankowKath & Cetera4:28
3."Never Been in Love Before"Robert LammCetera4:10
4."Hideaway"CeteraCetera4:44
5."Till We Meet Again"Terry KathKath2:03
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocalist(s)Length
6."Harry Truman"LammLamm3:01
7."Oh, Thank You Great Spirit"KathKath7:19
8."Long Time No See"LammLamm2:46
9."Ain't It Blue?"LammKath & Cetera3:26
10."Old Days"PankowCetera3:31
Rhino Box Set Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocalist(s)Length
11."Sixth Sense (Rehearsal)"KathInstrumental5:07
12."Bright Eyes (Rehearsal)"LammLamm3:41
13."Satin Doll (Live)"Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny MercerInstrumental2:48

Personnel[edit]

Chicago

Additional personnel

  • Caribou Kitchenettes – vocal chorus on "Harry Truman" (John Carsello, Donna Conroy, Laudir de Oliveira, Bob Eberhardt, Steve Fagin, Kristy Ferguson, Linda Greene, Lee Loughnane, Brandy Maitland, Katherine Ogden, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, Joanne Rocconi, Richard Torres and Angele Warner)
  • String orchestrations on "Brand New Love Affair", "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit", "Long Time No See" and "Old Days" – Patrick Williams

Production[edit]

  • James William Guercio – producer
  • Wayne Tarnowski – engineer
  • Jeff Guercio – engineer
  • Mark Guercio – engineer
  • Phil Ramone – mixing
  • John Berg – cover design
  • Nick Fasciano – cover design
  • Anthony Maggiore – artwork and handwriting
  • Reid Miles – poster photography

Charts[edit]

Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 27
United States (Billboard 200)[3] 1

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1975 Brand New Love Affair, Part I & II Billboard Hot 100[4] 61
1975 Harry Truman Billboard Hot 100[4] 13
1975 Old Days Billboard Hot 100[4] 5
1975 Old Days Easy Listening[5] 3

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[6] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[7] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r3850/review
  2. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 62. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  3. ^ "Billboard 200: Chicago III". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Chicago - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  5. ^ "Chicago - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Chicago – Chicago VIII". Music Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago VIII". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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