BEFORE: And now big movie THREE THOUSAND is here, I figured this milestone would hit sometime during the Rock Doc chain, and I worked hard to make sure that if it had to happen here, that it would happen on a film for a band that I not only enjoy, but one that I've seen in concert - twice, as a matter of fact. I think one time we saw them on a bill with Hall & Oates, and the other time they played with REO Speedwagon. Umm, yeah, we like to go see the acts that are still out playing on the nostalgia circuit.
And Chicago's a big band, don't sell them short, because they've been recording and touring since 1967, which is over 50 years by my count, 49 gold and platinum albums, 40 million records sold. And they're one of the FEW bands active in the 1960's who are still touring - I think it's just down to the Stones, the Eagles and Chicago now, is that right? Oh, yeah, the Beach Boys, but how many original members are still playing in each band, that's the question. (Well, I'm going to get to all of those bands, and a whole lot more, coming up in my Rockumentary chain!)
Great news about the films "Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars" and also "Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child" - I kept such cohesive notes about the people who were interviewed for both films and the ones who appeared in archive footage that I submitted updates yesterday to the IMDB, listing all the cast members who were missing. Within a couple of HOURS the cast lists were updated! I'm used to submitting updates to the IMDB and watching them take weeks or even months to be processed, checked and then updated. So now everyone will know who appears in these films, the interviewed people will get proper credit, and it's all thanks to me! I think maybe I've built up a good reputation with the IMDB, because I've submitted information often, pointed out where mistakes were made or when two records need to be combined, and I'm usually (always) right about these things.
The other reason for putting a film about Chicago HERE in the countdown, as movie #3,000, has to do with their band history, the way they title their albums, always with a number or roman numeral. Even their Christmas album was "Chicago XXV" - because Christmas is on Dec. 25, get it? So numbers are very important to them, and I figured, why not make the film about them fall on a very important milestone number?
According to the IMDB, Jimi Hendrix carries over from "Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child", and so does one other person, which leads me to believe they used some of the same talk-show footage that was in the last two docs.
AFTER: Yep, I was right. Jimi Hendrix appears here in archive footage from the Dick Cavett Show, and that makes three films in a row that used that - I'm guessing Jimi didn't do a lot of TV interviews in the U.S. But what I did NOT know was that Chicago (then known as the Chicago Transit Authority) toured with Hendrix (I'm not sure if it was before or after the Monkees did) and then later on in Hollywood, Chicago played with another famous artist, who is the subject of tomorrow's film! Am I a great planner or what? But even if you think of Chicago as an 80's band, their roots put them squarely in the late 1960's, so their place here in my chain is therefore justified. (Whew!)
They toured with Hendrix, they made it through the disco 70's, the pop-ballad 80's, returned to their old sound in the 90's, and Jesus fuck, they're still playing to huge crowds. Thinking about the 1960's rockers is a bit like thinking about the dinosaurs and how they all died out, but then you remember, "Oh, yeah, they evolved into birds, so they're sort of still around, just in a different form."
Obviously, when a band has been around for so damn long, there are going to be a lot of phases, a lot of changes, a lot of comings and goings. Chicago started with 6 core musicians, then that became 7, then for a while it was 8 (still containing 5 of the original 6), and since 1990 it's basically been the "Core Four" plus 4 or 5 newcomers, with additional musicians added as necessary to make up the touring band. But when a guy's been in the band for 25 years and is still considered the "rookie", you know that band's been active a LONG time. Three of the four originals left comprise the horn section, so that should maybe tell you where the band's priorities are.
When we saw Chicago play live, they mentioned Terry Kath, how important he was to the early days of the band - I never really understood this until I watched this doc, so now I feel like more of an expert. Dealing with Kath's death in 1978 really shook the band, and while grieving they had to decide whether to continue to play as a band, and in what form. That led to some rough starts, and a very unlucky thirteenth album (Chicago 13) that failed to produce any chart hits. Again, it was the disco era, and jumping on that trend might have been part of the problem.
By the time they got to Chicago XV, Columbia had dropped them from their contract, and turned that album into a Greatest Hits compilation to fulfill their obligation. New record label, new producer (David Foster), new sound, and then they were making hits again - only they were ballads that didn't even use the horn section. Peter Cetera, the bassist, really clicked with the new producer, and took center stage both in the songs and in these new things called "music videos", because he had a certain Hollywood-star look.
But that sort of success is a double-edge sword, and if the change in sound and producers resulted in number one hits, the record company obviously wants a repeat of that success, only more so, and that means to repeat what seems to work - which created tension between the new lead singer and the rest of the band. Then comes the question about what to do during the live concerts - play the radio hits, which don't give some band members anything to do, or put on a bigger show with the horn section and play something else. Still, if you think about it, having such a huge catalog that you're not sure what songs to play live seems like a nice problem to have. And so does wondering what exactly your next platinum album should sound like.
I wonder if it took so long to get Chicago into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because they had those stigmas of being a "horn band", then a "pop band", and people just sort of forgot that they started covering rock songs (like "I'm a Man", first recorded by the Spencer Davis Group) and then rocking out on their own before all of the changes in the music industry. From the looks of things, it was a very special moment when Chicago was finally voted into the Hall in 2016 - I nearly teared up myself. This was long overdue.
Now, as the core four members of Chicago look back on their careers in this film, they display an attitude where they can be both proud of what they've accomplished and also aware enough to try to live in the moment, and instead of just resting on their laurels, express a desire to ask, "What's next?" and that's a perfect mantra for me as I hit my own milestone tonight. I look back on how many films I've watched, but still want to live in the moment and enjoy tonight's movie, and then ask, "OK, what's next?"
Also starring Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, Walter Parazaider, James Pankow, Danny Seraphine, Peter Schivarelli, Jason Scheff, Tris Imboden, David Foster, Keith Howland, Lou Pardini, Chris Pinnick, Walfredo Reyes, Ned Colletti, Carlos Amezcua, Irving Azoff, Larry Fitzgerald, Clive Davis, Joe Mantegna (last seen in "Alice"), Jimmy Pardo, with archive footage of Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Don Dacus, James Guercio, Bill Champlin, Dawayne Bailey, Dick Cavett (also carrying over from "Voodoo Child"), Bill Clinton, Merv Griffin, Janis Joplin, Paul Shaffer (last seen in "Blues Brothers 2000"), Robin Thicke, Rob Thomas.
RATING: 7 out of 10 Grammy awards
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