Chicago X

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For other uses, see Chicago 10 (disambiguation).
Chicago X
Studio album by
Chicago
ReleasedJune 14, 1976 (1976-06-14)[1]
RecordedMarch – April 1976
StudioCaribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
GenreRock
Length37:51
LabelColumbia
ProducerJames William Guercio
Chicago chronology
Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits
(1975) 		Chicago X
(1976) 		Chicago XI
(1977)
Singles from Chicago X
  1. "Another Rainy Day in New York City"
    Released: June 1976
  2. "If You Leave Me Now"
    Released: July 1976
  3. "You Are on My Mind"
    Released: March 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

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[3] and it was released by Columbia Records on June 14, 1976. The album made it to number three on the Billboard 200,[4] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 21, 1976, a week after its release.[5] It was the band's first album to be certified platinum,[1][6] on September 14, 1976, and has since been certified multi-platinum.[5] In honor of the group's platinum album achievement, Columbia Records awarded the group a 25-pound bar of pure platinum, made by Cartier.[7] (Billboard magazine reported it as a 30-pound bar.)[8][Note 1]

Chicago X was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year,[13][dead link] and it won a Grammy Award for Best Album Package.[14]

The album produced Chicago's first number one single in the United States, "If You Leave Me Now".[15] 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;[13] and for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists, for arrangers James William Guercio and Jimmie Haskell.[14] It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.[13] 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.[15]

Record World called "You Are on My Mind" "another Chicago X showstopper."[16]

Background[edit]

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,[4] and their first album to chart in the UK in years, at number 21.[17] 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;[18] 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.[19] Originally written at the same time as Chicago VII's "Wishing You Were Here",[20] "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.[21] 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.[21] 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,[21] 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.[22]

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.[21] "You Are On My Mind" was the third single for the album, reaching number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1977.[23] Cash Box said of it that "the 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.."[24] 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 XIV's "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.[25]

Packaging[edit]

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,[26] and winning for Berg a Grammy Award for Best Album Package.[14] 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,[27] and is now in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[28]

Critical reception[edit]

Zachary Houle writing for PopMatters in 2010 said. "It is an album of pop perfection ..."[29]

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.'[30]

Track listing[edit]

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Once or Twice"Terry KathKath3:03
2."You Are on My Mind"James PankowPankow3:24[nb 1]
3."Skin Tight"PankowPeter Cetera3:20
4."If You Leave Me Now"CeteraCetera3:58
5."Together Again"Lee LoughnaneLoughnane3:53
6."Another Rainy Day in New York City"Robert LammCetera3:01
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
7."Mama Mama"CeteraCetera3:31
8."Scrapbook"LammLamm3:28
9."Gently I'll Wake You"LammLamm3:36
10."You Get It Up"Lamm
  • All band members
3:34
11."Hope for Love"KathKath3:03
Total length:37:51
2002 Remastered Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
12."I'd Rather Be Rich (Original Version/Rehearsal)"LammLamm2:35
13."Your Love's An Attitude"KathKath5:59
Total length:46:25

Personnel[edit]

Chicago

  • Peter Cetera – bass, lead and backing vocals
  • Terry Kath – acoustic guitar, guitars (except on "If You Leave Me Now"), lead and backing vocals
  • Robert Lamm – keyboards, lead and backing vocals
  • Lee Loughnane – trumpet, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Together Again"
  • James Pankow – trombone, lead vocals on "You Are On My Mind," backing vocals on "You Get It Up"
  • Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, backing vocals
  • Danny Seraphine – drums, backing vocals on "You Get It Up"
  • Laudir de Oliveira – percussion, backing vocals on "You Get It Up"

Additional personnel

  • David J. Wolinski – keyboards on "Hope For Love"
  • James William Guercio – lead and rhythm acoustic guitars on "If You Leave Me Now", guitar on "Hope For Love"
  • George Hyde, Gene Sherry – French horns on "If You Leave Me Now"
  • Othello Molineaux – steel drums on "Another Rainy Day in New York City"
  • Leroy Williams – steel drums on "Another Rainy Day in New York City"
  • Jimmie Haskell – string and brass orchestration on "If You Leave Me Now" and "Mama Mama", conductor on "Gently I'll Wake You"

Production[edit]

  • Produced by James William Guercio
  • Engineered by Wayne Tarnowski
  • Assistant Engineer – Tom Likes
  • Strings recorded by Armin Steiner at Sound Labs (Hollywood, CA).
  • Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Album Cover Concept – John Berg
  • Logo Design – Nick Fasciano
  • Candy Bar Photo – Columbia Records Photo Studio
  • Inside Photography – Reid Miles

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications and sales for Chicago X
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] Platinum 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[48] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[49] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[51] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Although Rolling Stone reporter Charles M. Young wrote that Chicago was awarded the platinum bar because it was the first band to receive platinum album certification for Columbia Records,[7] this was not the case. Chicago X was certified platinum on September 4, 1976, but Aerosmith's album, Rocks, also on Columbia Records, was certified platinum on July 9, 1976, before it.[9][10] Billboard reported that the platinum bar was awarded in recognition of the group's ten platinum albums.[8] Billboard's account seems more likely in consideration of the two-full-pages advertisement Columbia placed in the June 12, 1976 issue of Record World announcing, " 'Chicago X.' Their tenth platinum album, on Columbia records and tapes."[11] The albums released prior to 1976, however, were not actually certified platinum by the RIAA until 1986.[12]
  1. ^ Some digital and CD versions omit the countoff at the start of the song, thus shortening the track by about 8 seconds, to 3:16.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Albums: Chicago X". Chicago - The Band. Chicago Touring. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r3853/review
  3. ^ Amicone, Michael (July 20, 2002). "A vigorous 35-year-old feelin' stronger every day". Billboard. Howard Lander. p. 42 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b "Chicago - Billboard 200 Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "RIAA Gold Record Winners: Albums". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 42. October 16, 1976. p. 16 – via Google books.
  7. ^ a b Young, Charles M. (December 8, 1976). "Random Notes: Rolling Stone: Capitol out of Lennon suit". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 26. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  8. ^ a b "Platinum All the Way (photo caption)". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 49. December 4, 1976. p. 4. Retrieved December 6, 2017 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Aerosmith". RIAA. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  10. ^ "Aerosmith's First Certified Platinum Album" (PDF). Billboard. July 24, 1976. pp. 12, 13 (Two page advertisement). Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via www.americanradiohistory.com.
  11. ^ "America's favorite. Ask for it by name" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 32, no. 1512. Bob Austin. June 12, 1976. pp. 12–13 (Two-full-pages advertisement for Chicago X). Retrieved March 18, 2019 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com.
  12. ^ Grein, Paul (December 13, 1986). "CBS gets Pre-1976 Certs: 132 Honors Issued". Billboard. pp. 4, 67. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Google books.
  13. ^ a b c "Chicago". GRAMMY.com. May 14, 2017. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c "19th Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Chicago - Hot 100 Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  16. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 9, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  17. ^ "CHICAGO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  18. ^ "Music: Billboard Hot 100 for August 8, 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  20. ^ Cetera, Peter (September 28, 2015). "Peter Cetera/September 28" (audio). Humble & Fred Radio.Com (Interview). Interviewed by Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Humble and Fred Radio. Event occurs at 51:09. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017. I started two songs that night, one was "If You Leave Me Now", and one was "Wishing You Were Here".
  21. ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (Media notes). New York City, NY: Columbia Records. p. 7. Archived from the original (CD booklet archived online) on February 13, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  22. ^ Greene, Andy (December 17, 2015). "Chicago on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Reuniting with Peter Cetera". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  23. ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  24. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 9, 1977. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  25. ^ "Out Now: Chicago, Quadio | Rhino". www.rhino.com. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  26. ^ Amicone, Michael (July 20, 2002). "It's an American Brand: About That Logo". Billboard. Howard Lander. p. 50. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Google books.
  27. ^ Jacobson, Aileen (November 23, 2012). "Album Covers That Are as Evocative as the Music". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  28. ^ "John Berg, Nick Fasciano, Reid Miles. Cover for Chicago's tenth self-titled album. 1976 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  29. ^ Houle, Zachary (October 8, 2010). "Exploring Chicago: 'Chicago X'". PopMatters. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  30. ^ Giles, Jeff (June 14, 2016). "How a Tossed-Off Ballad on 'Chicago X' Redefined the Band Forever". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Chicago – X" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  33. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5096A". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  34. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chicago – X" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Chicago – X" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  36. ^ "Charts.nz – Chicago – X". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  37. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Chicago – X". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  38. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Chicago – X". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  40. ^ "Chicago Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  41. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 428. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  42. ^ "The Top 100 Albums of '76". RPM. Vol. 26, no. 14 & 15. January 8, 1977. p. 11. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  43. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1976 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  44. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  45. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1977. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  46. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  47. ^ "1979 Chicago X Australian Platinum Award". Live Auctioneers. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  48. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Chicago – Chicago X". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  49. ^ "French album certifications – Chicago – Ten" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 4 January 2022. Select CHICAGO and click OK. 
  50. ^ "British album certifications – Chicago – Chicago X". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  51. ^ "American album certifications – Chicago – Chicago X". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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